FYI: Call Springs & Things in FL for heavy duty coil springs for
the 55/56PLY and other Mopars.
I installed the HD coils in my ‘56 Ply (still under construction) and the
stock spec is approx. 394lbs./in and the HD coils are 477lbs./in which is a
sizeable difference. Additionally, I have added the ‘56 Imperial front
sway bar to my ‘56 since it is a direct bolt in; difference is approx. .0812”
Ply vs. .0875” Imperial which equates to approx. 17-20% increased stiffness in
handling.
Can we step out of the shock absorber sand box we have
been playing in for several days?
How did the factory firm up front suspension to create
the Chrysler Letter Cars and Dodge 500 /501 cars?
In '55-56 they FIRST installed heavy duty coil springs;
secondly they added heavy duty oil shocks which back in the day didn't do
much. In 1957 and later torsion bar cars FIRST they installed H.D. torsion
bars; secondly they added H.D. oil shocks which didn't do much.
There were no polyurethane or polygraphite bushings
available for any placement. There were no factory heavy duty anti sway
bars (the Windsor /Saratoga bars are the same as the Chrysler 300).
Chrysler called anti-sway bars "sway eliminator shafts" if you want to check
that in section 17-29-0 of your parts books.
I am of the opinion that there would be many more car
owners interested in purchasing reproduction heavy duty coil springs or torsion
bars for their cars at perhaps $300 per pair than Koni shocks at $500 per pair
and NOT JUST because of the price, BUT because it is the CORRECT first step to
firming the suspension.
It would seem that the '57-59 car owners are the most
interested in this discussion. I'm not an all around expert but for
that year set, if one pair of repro HDs for the Dodge /Plym and another pair of
repro HDs for the Chrysler /DeSoto were done it would be covered. (My
'55-58 parts book doesn't show '59 if I'm missing something) Success of
that project determines whether '60-61 projects are considered.
'55-56 owners can look into HD coil springs but they can
already be ordered.
And don't get me wrong; I still want two pairs of
Koni fronts for two of my cars. One a 300 and the other an Imperial and
both cars CURRENTLY have HD torsion bars in them.
Wayne Graefen
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