VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Pesky Leaf Spring Questions

Still alive and now on vacation to work on my 1938 Coupe. Finally doing something with my leaf springs. Was going to tear down and restore a set of mine but after reading a thread that Christech started on his 30 or 31 a few months back, I agree that cost wise and ride quality would be better off with brand new springs.

I have a couple full sets of springs from Canadian cars:

Front Springs: The parts manuals clearly shows one spring eye on top of the spring and one eye on the bottom. Of course the picture says "conventional springs". Both sets of my springs have both eyes on the top of the spring. I have a kick shackle on the front as did many Canadian cars.

Rear Springs: Parts manuals show both spring eyes on the top side of the spring. The Engineering specs for 1938 describe one spring eye on the top and one on the bottom being new for 1938. I have 2 sets of rear 1938 springs and one set has both eyes on the same side and the other has the eyes staggered.

1) Any thoughts? Does it really matter which side the eyes are on from a restoration perspective? I know flipping the eyes can lower the car a bit but any concerns otherwise?

2) Does anyone have any spring specs for 1938? Dimensions, leaves, weight on each axle, etc? I recall a link that Tiny posted a few years back that showed this for many 1938 models but I can't find this post or literature. (EDIT: Found Tiny's post and Old Car Manuals Specs contributed by Gene so will look at. My car has way more leaves than the specs so might copy the USA specs to lower/soften the ride a bit.)

Thanks guys!

I would used the Canadian springs and the kick shackel that were designed for your Canadian Pontiac.

My 38 Master has what is called the soft ride springs. They are listed in the shop manual along with what models they are on. The manual includes the Pontiac models. My front springs have an extra set of bumpers to stop spring wrap up, I think it is called due to severe braking. The stiffer springs don’t need them. I would suggest using the exact spring design that came on it.

When I was sorting front springs for my 1/2 ton it had a different shaped spring on each side of the front, someone kindly emailed me the correct specs which came into effect for the 37 model this included off set spring eyes 1 on top and 1 centered on the main leaf. This was for a light truck but may apply to sedan as well.
Tony

Thanks guys.

Fred, how did you identify having the "soft ride" springs? Based on the parts manuals, mine seemed to match based on number of leaves and the extra suspension bumpers. When the shop made your springs, did they use book specifications or did they simply physically copy your originals?

So I have not replaced my front springs but I did replace the rear ones as I had a better rebuilt set for the rear. I can count the leaves and get other details if you like.

I have the 1938 shop manual from General Motors Canada. On pages 2, 3 and 4 features of the various models are listed. Model 2500 is the Pontiac Special series and 2600 is the Pontiac Deluxe series. My model is the 1200s, the Master Special series. At the start of section three, there is a section on types of front suspension. Series 1000 has the Enclosed knee type action, Seines 2600 has the open type knee action, series 1200, 1200s and the 2500 have the "Soft Rude" conventional axle with kick shackle. Also series 1200, 2100s and 2500 Firm Ride and all trucks have conventional springs and axle with conventional spring bolts and shackles.

Tim,
When I didn’t have my steering box sorted out correctly, I experimented with adding some caster. Somewhere it mentions that caster shims are not used on the soft ride setup. I ended up with the death wobble at about 20 mph. It was so violent I thought something was broken. Needless to say I removed them. The steering box is now set correctly and it is a real pleasure to drive.