heavier rear springs?

I am looking at a 1970 Chevy Kingswood wagon this coming week. I plan on doing a light restoration on the wagon to be able to drive it without issues. I am a regional KBS rust preventive Dist. and plan on using the wagon as a rolling demo of the products we sell. So suspension work etc. will be a priority.

I have had a couple of Mopar wagons between Super Bees, Road Runners, Cuda'a etc.
I plan on hauling 800 pounds or so of KBS in the wagon to swap meets and car shows here in the midwest. This will be my first Chevrolet that was not a car to turn and sell.

I know that it has original springs that have some sag. One of my customers who does high end rods said to bag the rear so I could have the ability to adjust it for each load condition.

I really want to put KBS chassis black on the frame and other components. Is there a way to put 3/4 ton springs from another compatible chevy or are there heavier springs available? I would really like to keep the suspension stock looking but have the ability to haul some weight and still drive well.

Am I over thinking this? Will new springs handle the weight fine? I am looking to add a rear sway bar also. The wagon has 130,000 miles but has cold a/c and looks really good for being original.

If it was a mopar, I would just add another spring and be done. But chevy's are new to me as I have never taken a GM suspension apart for rebuild. I like the looks of mopar wagons, but the parts are really expensive. This 70 Kingswood is a good looking wagon and I will enjoy working on it.

Thanks for putting up with a simple question. Jeff

 

rear sprngs

I would look at coilover load leveler shocks from Gabriel. Inexpensive and work unbelievable ! of course you could do it the right way and do new springs , but I still run the shocks with that kind of load all day. Sorry about the mis-spelling !

 

Welcome to Station Wagon Forums..
You could go with the rear springs from something like a 1970 Buick Roadmaster wagon if you want to "beef" it up a bit on the spring side of things. Considering the mileage, I am certain that both front and rear springs are pretty much shot. I wouldn't use coil over shocks on that car, but instead, I would have air shocks added. You can tailor the amount of lift by adding additional air to the shocks, and letting out air when you don't need the additional lift. If you decide to go with replacement springs, PM me your telephone number, and I will give you the contact information for a very reliable spring manufacturer..
If your territory includes Hot Springs South Dakota, let me know. I have a 1969 Cadillac ambulance that is presently being restored there, and we sure would like to try out some of your free samples of coatings...
For those that are not familiar with the KBS coatings, here is a link to there website. I have heard nothing but good things about them, although I have never had an occasion to use them..
http://www.kbs-coatings.com/stop-rust-paints.html

 

I understand Junk's post but , Airshocks ride like ..... for everyday use. ( Unless loaded down might be okay
)

 

I am thinking 4 new springs, as I plan on putting new bushings etc. in the front and rear. I will be blasting and painting the suspension pieces frame etc. with KBS. I was unsure if it would be ok to try 3/4 ton springs in the rear or if that was even an option. These cars are so heavy, I thought they might be 3/4 ton springs already.

 

I have air shocks in the rear of my 1962 Bel Air wagon, and keep them at 30 PSI with the car empty, and it rides as smooth as can be. If I load the car for a trip, then I just put enough air into them to level it out, and it continues to ride as if there was nothing in the car.. Smooth as glass is the way that I would describe it. Most times that cars ride terribly, it is a result of wrong tire pressure or worn out suspension parts.

 

Air shocks are not a bad idea. I did notice that wagon springs had a different part number from regular impalas. Are they heavier? My 68 sport suburban wagon road ok, but was a leaner in the corners. Hopefully a new suspension, springs and a rear sway bar will help the Kingswood if I get it.

 

The wire diameter and the number of turns to the springs determine the amount of load that they can handle, and the ride hight. I have had springs custom made for my 1969 Cadillac ambulance, and they were made to the original factory specification that was used in 1969. When I ordered them, they gave me the option of having the springs a little longer to raise the front end, without effecting the ride qualities. Since I am restoring this car back to its original glory, I chose to have no modifications made to the springs. The car sits with a slight rake to the front, since the rear compartments have yet to be loaded. Once loaded, the car will sit level, and drive level. Occasionally someone decides that they can re engineer the suspension to change some quality that they don't like in the car. All too often they just make the handling worse, and sometimes it leads to a negative situation, such as loosing control of the vehicle, and hitting a stationary object, like a tree. I am certain that there are people out there that have the knowledge to do it right, however, most weekend mechanics don't ..

 

With my 65 Chevelle 2-dr wagon, I used to haul complete motors 40 miles one way, between speed shops in Indiana, and an engine builder near O'hare.
Sometimes approaching 2000 lbs., I got away with limosine springs and Gabrial air shocks, after jacking the trailer tongue level and adding 150 lbs. of pressure!
But, I was still young and stupid!!

 

Since you plan on doing all 4 springs and shock anyway, I would go with the factory heavy duty trailer towing springs and properly calibrated Monroe shocks all the way around. Make sure you balance the heavy duty rears with the commiserate fronts to keep the handling balanced. Given that these cars were rated for some serious tongue weights you should find no problems with the loads you plan on carrying. It takes all the guess work out of the equation, since the G.M. engineers already figured it all out. You might consider the air shock idea if you want the car absolutely level even when loaded, though.

 

I have Air Lift helper bags installed in my Vista Cruiser. They let me use lowering springs while still handling the extra load. The added benefit over air shocks is that I can run a performance shock absorber for better handling. Plus it doesn't ride like a truck.

 

Does anyone know the part numbers for those? Are they going to be GM or do they make them aftermarket?

Thanks guys for the info.

 

Those what? Springs? Air shocks? Air bags?

 

I would either beef up the rear springs or install air bags. I used to have a pair of air shocks on my '65 Chevy until they tore one of the upper shock mounts out of the car. My '55 Chevy wagon came with a pair. I removed them, re-arched the rear springs and added a leaf and installed new shocks on the car and it rides and handles 300% better than it did with the air shocks.

 

The shock tower was a concern. Mopars are bad about the towers being destroyed with air shocks etc. We would add a spring to the rear set up. Towers are not for holding weight.

I will check on the heavier tow package springs, but where is a good place to get them? Do wagons have heavier front suspension pieces? or just normal impala parts?

thanks, Jeff