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**bird 60** · June 30, 2015, 06:12 AM

Springs

Andy, there's a place only a mile away from me that manufactures springs. Industrial Engineers & Springmakers
#08-83462276. I had new springs made there for my '61 T.Bird about 14 years ago. They don't list T.Bird but they do list Ford LTD. There's two other places here in Adelaide.
Look up ''Springmakers in Adelaide.''
I came across 6 in the Melbourne area & one is just down the road from you in Cambellfield.
Look up "Springmakers in Melbourne".
If you have your springs take one there so that they can match it. I actually took my Bird there & had them fitted but I can't remember the cost.

Best of luck.

Chris......From OZ.

**YellowRose** · June 30, 2015, 06:21 AM

Front Spring Measurements

Chris, this is fantastic! I just sent Andrew a PM telling him to check up here and see what you just posted to him! This sounds great, and one pretty close to him! Thanks! What great information to pass on to him!

**Dakota Boy** · June 30, 2015, 08:04 AM

600 for a set of springs.

Ouch.

**hunty** · June 30, 2015, 06:17 PM

thanks heaps guys, yellowrose you are a gentleman indeed. Chris I'll have to have a look but the last places I rang said they'd need my old ones first and there would be a couple of weeks turn around. maybe they just didn't want the job. yep when you add around $200 us for shipping and the aus dollar being so low it would be around the $600 mark. it may be going into storage now so there may not be as much of a rush but I'll definitely try those shops.

**bird 60** · June 30, 2015, 08:04 PM

Andy, looking at your age your pretty young

. You've got to have patience with these old cars especially with the likes of springs, It's not as easy as changing spark plugs. I wouldn't contemplate in using second hand ones.
Get a new set & you won't have to worry about springs again for at least 30 years or more. I'll make enquiries with the people here in Adelaide.

Chris.....From OZ.

**bird 60** · June 30, 2015, 08:52 PM

Springs

Just got off the phone with the Guy here in Adelaide. To specially make them for the T.BIRD, hold your breath....$450

with a 3-4 week waiting time. Not to mention freight to Victoria which would be around $40?
For my own interest, I'll email Larry's & ask for the full cost including freight.

I recently received a A/C compressor for my Cadillac from the States, the price was $187 U.S. With shipping it worked out
$320AUS all up. The Springs should be similar.

Chris......From OZ.

**hunty** · July 1, 2015, 05:11 AM

thanks for all the time you spent Chris it's appreciated.
I thought if I got the measurements surely ford aust would have used a similar spring in a falcon or fairlane that I could just buy off the shelf. I don't really want secondhand ones but if they're good and cheap enough then I would use them. even $320 is a bit on the pricey side if you ask me. I've got some more time now so I'll pull them out and try the local spring shops and see what they say.

**bird 60** · July 1, 2015, 05:44 AM

What's actually wrong with yours?

Chris.....From OZ.

**YellowRose** · July 1, 2015, 05:56 AM

Front Spring Measurements

I have been searching this Forum for additional information on front coil springs. Here is what I came up with..

The coils I took out of my car were still the specified 15 3/4" free length, so I did not replace them. They still bore their original markings so I assume that they were the original springs with 150K+ miles on them. Posted by DGS...Last year...

Comments by Dave Dare - simplyconnected.

Three springs have the identical 2225-lb rating. Why did Ford need three of the same springs? Beats me, but it tells volumes about the springs that our vendors sell. They can be off by a lot and still work just fine.
Let's look at 'Load Height' @ 2225 Lbs:
L = 9.6
P = 9.6
C = 9.72 (one tenth of an inch taller, sure ain't much)

Here is what Howard Prout posted regarding this.

There seems to be a lot of different numbers floating around on this. The attached is the chart from the Master Parts Catalogue. B7A-5310-Q is for a 352 engine and B7A-5310-L is for a 430 engine. However, the chart shows the "Q" springs have gray markings while the text says they have purple markings for all the applications listed. I have always thought that the 430 springs had purple markings. It is interesting to note that the 430 springs have a shorter "free height" than the 352 springs and are of heavier stock but the "load heights" are the same, 9.60". Also note that the "load pounds" is larger (2325 vs. 2225) for the 352 springs than the 430 springs, whatever this means - load to compress a given amount?

Front Coil Spring Free Height at the "Aluminum Marking" 15 1/2" and at the "Yellow Marking" 15 3/4".

Additional Comments by me.

MAC's told me that the company who makes the coil springs is Coil Spring Specialty and I just talked with them. They said their coil springs for the Squarebirds, are constructed to OEM specs at 15 1/2" 8 1/2 coils. They also said that originally, Ford was putting 14 1/8" springs on the Squarebird, but then changed to the 15 1/2" length later in the Squarebird production runs. He also said that the information in the Ford parts book might have been correct at the time that book was published. He said many of the early Squarebirds had 14 1/8" front springs installed in them, but the front coil springs they supply to Squarebird parts houses are the later Squarebird production run uncompressed 15 1/2" springs.

Much of this information came from this thread regarding front coil springs and a problem one of our guys ran into with MAC's...

http://www.squarebirds.org/vbulletin...rebird+springs

Here is the graphic that Howard Prout posted. Coil Spring Identification Chart.

Attached Files

Spring Identication Chart.jpg (49.0 KB, 87 views)

**hunty** · July 1, 2015, 06:30 PM

Chris my springs are sagged, alot they may have also been cut. they have little wedges in them to raise the height and the new wheels still hit the guards. I haven't touched the front end yet but it needs work.
yellowrose your a gem, that's so much information the spring guys will have to help lol and who knows I might find a place old enough to still have some sort of cross reference. all I have to do now is pull them out.
thanks guys

**bird 60** · July 1, 2015, 09:03 PM

Hi Andy, got the price from Larry's this morning.
$185US for the springs,$217US for shipping.
That makes it $402US. After the exchange rate you're looking at around $520AUS. "WOW"

Seeing that you got all the info from Ray see what you can come up with in Victoria. It wouldn't surprise me if the Aussie '70s Fairlane or LTD would be the same or very similar in weight. (the car that is). If nothing happens in Victoria & you decide to order from the States see what other parts you need along with the springs so you get to save money on shipping.

Hope for the best.

Chris......From OZ.

**Penelope** · July 1, 2015, 09:50 PM

Hi Andy, over here in Perth the prices are similar. My 59 was a little saggy in the rear (aren':t we all

) and I ended putting air shocks in it. That did the trick and 5 years later, still no problem. I will say that wasn't all that bad initially though.

**YellowRose** · July 1, 2015, 10:12 PM

Front Spring Measurements

Some weeks back, I posted information regarding an Aussie company that specializes in bringing in parts from the USA for Aussie classic car owners. Then they ship those parts to the Down Under purchaser. Supposedly, this is a cheaper way to get parts, but unfortunately, I cannot find that post or the name of that company.. If anyone remembers it, please let me know. In the meantime, if you have not seen this listing in the Advertisements Forum, you might want to check it out.

http://www.squarebirds.org/vbulletin...ad.php?t=18958

This is a list of Down Under companies that specialize in bringing in classic cars and parts from the USA.

**hunty** · July 2, 2015, 03:23 AM

thanks chris, so I wasn't too far off my guess of $600

i've got a few numbers for some spring joints here in Melbourne. one that my dad knew of that's third generation, so id say they would know something.

i'll report back when I find out what they're worth.