Grab A Trac leaf springs in OZ?

[Borgche]

Hi Mungus

I am thinking of Grab a Trak 4 1/2 leaf reverse eyes myself teamed up with Bilstein's. I have a 65 with The '69 20 gallon tank. I like the configuration (same as Maier racing leafs) I have 17" rims and do not want the ride overly rough either, they rate them as 175lb and 1 1/2 lower than original. Can't find them here need to ship in from the US.

Im doing Shelby drop, have cast iron head 289, modern AC, lightening via TCP rack, alloy manifold, radiator and water pump, fibreglass hood. I am hoping the Kings KFFL-59 front springs will level out with the rear springs.

Any comments or suggestions on other options.

[booah]

Mike Maier inc is doing leafs and has a good video explaining the technical aspects of them.

https://www.facebook.com/Mikemaierinc/

The post on Jan 28th is the video.

I also heard they will be coming out with composite springs in the near future.

[trav68]

Booah - Flexaform apparently do nice composite leafs if you are ever interested and is what I would get if chasing new leafs (when the next resources boom comes our way....)

I got my TCP leafs as a special order via Hills Mustangs after the original Scott Drake items I purchased from Hills turned out to be from a dud batch with slightly incorrect dimensions. The 5 leaf SD were driveable but when provided with the opportunity to return them I selected TCP 4.5 leafs instead and these were much more to my liking.

Mungus - I would suggest 4.5 mid eyes would most likely suit your objectives re height and stiffness.

Borghe - As stated I have 4.5 reverse eyes and run Lovells FFL-2SL up front with a 1" Shelby drop.

Specs according to Lovells engineering are calculated working height – 262mm, spring rate 545lbs/inch. Installed with 1/8 to 1/4" coil cut results in tyre 15mm below guard and vehicle is perfectly level fore/aft. The coil cut reduced the ride height approx 10mm as I am pendantic and I don't like a raked look.

[Pinto-Pete]

And will have stiffened your front springs further. .

[Borgche]

Booah - Flexaform apparently do nice composite leafs if you are ever interested and is what I would get if chasing new leafs (when the next resources boom comes our way....)

Borghe - As stated I have 4.5 reverse eyes and run Lovells FFL-2SL up front with a 1" Shelby drop.

Specs according to Lovells engineering are calculated working height – 262mm, spring rate 545lbs/inch. Installed with 1/8 to 1/4" coil cut results in tyre 15mm below guard and vehicle is perfectly level fore/aft. The coil cut reduced the ride height approx 10mm as I am pendantic and I don't like a raked look.

Thanks for the info Trav

I had a look at the composites. But they are quoting a 200lb spring rate, so not sure how they compare they say conventional leafs have friction between the leafs which could account for it though cannot find too much info on line.

[Borgche]

Interesting thing about leaf springs


Maier Racing from http://www.maierracing.com/product/must ... f-springs/ $US495
'The Maier Racing Ent 165L leaf spring is the signature product from Maier Racing. It would not be too difficult to prove that nearly anyone selling a leaf spring for a 1965-70 Mustang is trying to duplicate this part. This is a 4 1/2 leaf design, with a mid eye front bushing eye. The springs are sold 1′ Lower than stock ride height for 1965-70 Ford Mustangs. You CAN buy stock height springs; call in for details. It was originally made in the mid 1970’s with Multi-time auto-crossing champion Frank Stagnaro...this spring does the job! Buy these and a pair of the Bilstein rear shocks and you will likely eliminate 90% of any wheel hop you may have from hard acceleration to hard braking. You can buy other springs for 1/2 the price. You get what you pay for with this product, they work!'


TCP (look familiar) http://www.stangtv.com/tech-stories/bra ... -products/
'Total Control’s leaf-spring suspension system options include 4, 4 1/2 or 5- leaf springs, with standard, mid or reverse mounting-eye styles. US $300
Standard-eye being the stock height position. The mid-eye provides about a one-inch drop and the reverse-eye will sit roughly one-and-a-half inches below stock. Stock first generation Mustangs used very soft springs by today’s standards, ranging from below 100 lb/in to around 140 lb/in.
We offer a three spring stack for a stock-like ride, a 4-leaf with 165 lb/in rate for a firmer than stock ride but still very comfortable, a 4-1/2-leaf with 180 lb/in rate popular with pro-touring style builds, and a 5-leaf stack with 200 lb/in rate recommended for high-performance or heavy-load uses.'


Grab a track from https://www.mustangsplus.com/1965-1973- ... 00683.html US $223
Do the most options of and configurations but heres a blurb from the one I'm looking at
'Our 4½-Leaf Reverse Eye Mustang Leaf Springs will fit your 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Mustang. These are designed for the street oriented driver who jumps on the gas now and then. These springs have a strategically placed extra ½ leaf to minimize wrap up and helps prevent wheel hop under load. They will set the rear of your Mustang 1½" below stock ride height.' 175 lb/in rat

Then there's the latest offering from Mike Maier as per posts above which Maier Racing is his Dad i think US$495

many ways to skin a cat

[trav68]

Yes they would be slightly up on 545 lbs due to 1/8" coil cut.

[ozbilt]

Interesting thing about leaf springs


Maier Racing from http://www.maierracing.com/product/must ... f-springs/ $US495
'The Maier Racing Ent 165L leaf spring is the signature product from Maier Racing. It would not be too difficult to prove that nearly anyone selling a leaf spring for a 1965-70 Mustang is trying to duplicate this part. This is a 4 1/2 leaf design, with a mid eye front bushing eye. The springs are sold 1′ Lower than stock ride height for 1965-70 Ford Mustangs. You CAN buy stock height springs; call in for details. It was originally made in the mid 1970’s with Multi-time auto-crossing champion Frank Stagnaro...this spring does the job! Buy these and a pair of the Bilstein rear shocks and you will likely eliminate 90% of any wheel hop you may have from hard acceleration to hard braking. You can buy other springs for 1/2 the price. You get what you pay for with this product, they work!'


TCP (look familiar) http://www.stangtv.com/tech-stories/bra ... -products/
'Total Control’s leaf-spring suspension system options include 4, 4 1/2 or 5- leaf springs, with standard, mid or reverse mounting-eye styles. US $300
Standard-eye being the stock height position. The mid-eye provides about a one-inch drop and the reverse-eye will sit roughly one-and-a-half inches below stock. Stock first generation Mustangs used very soft springs by today’s standards, ranging from below 100 lb/in to around 140 lb/in.
We offer a three spring stack for a stock-like ride, a 4-leaf with 165 lb/in rate for a firmer than stock ride but still very comfortable, a 4-1/2-leaf with 180 lb/in rate popular with pro-touring style builds, and a 5-leaf stack with 200 lb/in rate recommended for high-performance or heavy-load uses.'


Grab a track from https://www.mustangsplus.com/1965-1973- ... 00683.html US $223
Do the most options of and configurations but heres a blurb from the one I'm looking at
'Our 4½-Leaf Reverse Eye Mustang Leaf Springs will fit your 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Mustang. These are designed for the street oriented driver who jumps on the gas now and then. These springs have a strategically placed extra ½ leaf to minimize wrap up and helps prevent wheel hop under load. They will set the rear of your Mustang 1½" below stock ride height.' 175 lb/in rat

Then there's the latest offering from Mike Maier as per posts above which Maier Racing is his Dad i think US$495

many ways to skin a cat

If you compare the 3 diff makes of springs, you will see the Maier has the extra springs all stacked at the front & that makes that part of the spring basically solid. That is what I like about them.

With a mono ball fitted in the front bush position, they would act like a Watts link (not allowing much sideways movement) & that is why, I think, they were designed that way. That was an old racing trick, bolt the leaf ends together forward of the diff & fit a mono ball in the front bush position. Then only the rear half was doing the work of a spring.

Both the Chris Alston (TCP) & Ron Bramlett (Grab a Track) springs are very similar, but more towards a "normal" type leaf spring.

Keep in mind Alston is from a drag racing background & Bramlett is more historic circuit racing, but old enough to have been around back in the day. Bill Maier was racing these cars when they were new. All of them are good people who I have dealt with over the years & still do.

For what they cost + import, I would get them made locally.

[trav68]

That is a very good point about the clamps on the Maier springs Kerry.

[mungus]

I'm curious as to whether someone good locally can rebuild my old 4 leafs to the same sort of spec...

[Pinto-Pete]

I'm curious as to whether someone good locally can rebuild my old 4 leafs to the same sort of spec...

These blokes used to do good work.

http://www.bairnsdalesuspension.com.au/

[hybrid]

Carrolls springs in Smithfield NSW are also very good.

[mungus]

Thanks guys. Anyone in VIC worth asking?

[Pinto-Pete]

Umm, Bairnsdale is in east gippsland..

[mungus]

Should have sad Anyone in central VIC worth asking?