New Rear Leaf Springs 2

The new Grab-A-Trak 5 leaf, standard eye leaf springs arrived this past weekend.  From the moment they arrived, I have worried that I made a mistake in accepting the 5 leaf springs instead of waiting for the 4.5 leaf springs to be available.  I'm afraid they will produce an overly stiff ride which is not really what I'm looking for but there is no turning back now.

I took off the 4.5 leaf, mid eye springs today and sat one on the ground next to the new 5 leaf springs.  The 4.5 leaf springs appears to have flattened out over time as it is 1" longer than the new 5 leaf spring.  The 5 leaf spring is taller by 1.5" at the axle mounting plate.  I imagine this means the car will sit about 1.5" taller but that is a rough guess.  That is more than I expected so we will see.

The 5 leaf springs seem exceptionally heavy so I thought I would weigh both sets before installing them.  I found the 5 leaf springs weight 37 lbs each and the 4.5 leaf springs weigh 35.2 lbs each.  I expected the 5 leaf springs to weight much more just from holding them but am glad to see there is little difference.

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I installed the 5 leaf springs over the course of the last three evenings.  The front leaf eye bolt and shackle nuts remain relatively loose so the suspension can settle quickly.  Once I drive it around the block once, I will get them all tight so there is no binding.  Unfortunately, when I took the vehicle off the jacks, the rear height is at 27" which is way high.

I installed the springs using the original length shackles instead of the extended ones which raised the rear 5/8" a few years back.  Since the height using the mid-eye springs with the original shackles was 25", I expected a height of 26".  This was my expectation as the mid-eyes are advertised as... "They will set the rear of your Mustang 1" below stock ride height".  My new 5 leaf springs are advertised to... "They will restore the rear of your Mustang to stock ride height". I can't help but believe this is because they are 5 leaf springs and do not give as much under the weight of the car but the man I spoke with (Doug) indicated that would not make a difference when he spoke with me about changing my order to a 5 leaf spring.

I've not driven around the block yet as it is rather late.  I've rolled the car back and forth some and bounced the back end with my body weight but it makes no difference.  The car did not settle much in the past when I installed the 4.5 leaf springs.  While they appeared flattened on the ground next to the 5 leaf, I measured from the day I installed until recently and nothing has changed.

This is one of the major disappointments of restoring a classic Mustang.  More often that I would like, the parts you purchased to fix or restore your car are advertised incorrectly, don't fit, or are simply of very poor quality.  It unfortunately makes the two steps forward and one step back statement a reality.

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