which leaf springs?

[Dino]

I decided to let my mechanic install new springs and bushings but I'm not sure which ones to get.  Again I forgot which bushing is recommended to be replaced with poly.  I want rubber bushings mostly for a softer ride.  Roads here are horrible so I also need springs that are not too hard.  Which ones should I get?

When I hit a series of potholes or take a hard turn, I can feel lateral movement around the axle.  The shackle bushings are dried up.  Can I hope to see improvement after replacing the springs and bushings or is this feeling normal?

[c00nhunterjoe]

The car weighs 2 tons. Keep that in the back of your mind. It weighs as much/more then small pickup trucks and they have full frames under them. If your springs are not visably sagging then i would just lut new rubber bushings in. If they are shot, then i would get the hd springs from firm feel inc. I would also put weld in frame connectors on. You want to talk about night and day difference? Do the frame connectors, nothing else, and go for a test drive.

[303 Mopar]

ESPO custom matches their springs, and they are made in Detroit (no cheap China stuff).  http://www.springsnthings.com/leaf-spring.htm

[Mike DC]

    
 

Keep the front spring eye bushings rubber.  Do the rear shackles (both upper and lower pivots) with poly.  

Conventional wisdom says get the springs at least R/T level stiffness.  But XV Motorsports did a bunch of hi-tech tuning on these cars and ended up actually wanting the springs a step softer than R/T.  (They also ran a thick rear swaybar and quality shocks along with the lighter leaf springs though.)



The lateral shift is pretty normal.  In the early 1980s the "Dukes of Hazzard" TV stunt crew put together a dedicated car for balancing on the side 2 wheels.  They ended up adding a panhard bar onto the rear axle to get that flex out.  

If you have tire treads that are wide compared to the rims, that can also introduce a lot of lateral flex you will feel.