The original springs on my 67 Coronet station wagon are about done. ESPO would not quote me - they claim that SW springs used a thicker steel and the rear shackles were different too.

I know I have a tailgate and some extra roof, but I assume I can go ahead and use sedan springs with a higher rate and not have them whizz apart like a feeler gauge at the first corner I take.

I'm thinking something in the 150lb range? I have seen guys with 3200-3300# cars run these springs for race and the wagon carried 300-400lbs curb weight additional. I'm not sure if my Deluxe actually would've been 3,625lb as I have found since that number isn't listed as with/without AC, roof rack, other junk I don't have.

The car handles okay with the stock tired springs and upgraded sways, so I don't want to go nuts. Does AFCO vs Mopar XHD vs anyone else make a difference? Composite would be overkill for me. I will be pairing them with either .96 or 1.03 T-bars and I'm using Hotchkis' Fox shocks (not the very latest, the ones from a couple years ago).

Stanley Springs has a pretty complete line, US Made
- if no one local, Stengel Bros will ship 'em.

http://www.stengelbros.net/Leaf-Springs_c_177.html

http://www.stengelbros.net/Dodge-Coronet-Charger-and-Super-Bee-Leaf-Springs_c_465.html

Are the springs the same length as a sedan B/E? I guess they are.

XHD springs run about 142 lb/in and XHD + 1 full leaf runs around 172 lb/in. I run the XHD + 1 leaf on my E with 1.00 front bars. I added the leaf to get more rate... and it also compensated for the sag after a while on my MP XHD's.

With your bigger front bars and decent shocks I would suggest something in the 170 lb/in range as a start. Maybe start with XHD's and have your local spring shop add a leaf as/if necessary.

Detroit Eaton lists a 175 lb/in for a B-body wagon.

I got a quote from John R Spring for my Polara wagon and they had them in stock for shipment any time.

https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/ordering/parts-lookup/

https://www.eatondetroitspring.com/ordering/parts-lookup/

Kevin

Interesting about ESPO. When I built my '63 Savoy wagon, I spec'd new leafs from them on the phone, told them it was a wagon and I wanted +1". After installation the car was barely stock height. If I had to do it again and wanted +1, I'd ask for +2. So maybe someone there looked into it by the time you called, and found that wagon springs were thicker than sedans.
It rode fine but it was a Maxie clone thing and not a cornering build.

Check with your neighbors down in Vancouver, aka Firm Feel. You may want to get the car scaled so you can get the total weight plus front to back and corners.

At first I couldn't find that rate you're quoting - if I put in a 318 like the car has, it only showed me 130lb as the highest rate. But then I put in a 440 and they showed up.
I currently have 6 leaf springs on the car so I'm guessing it probably rolled out with a 130lb rate.

How would this thing likely ride at a 175lb rate? I understand that spring rates used to be much softer largely for the sake of shock technology being unable to handle damping required for higher rates, but I have no real understanding of the effective difference especially on leaf spring suspensions. If I go clop clop down the highway like an empty pickup it'll kind of ruin the car.

I really keep forgetting they're in Vancouver. I am actually moving much closer to their shop in May or June and I need a new steering box too, so I'll pay them a visit before I pull the trigger on this.

Dick and company are way cool.

The parts book shows 3 possible spring packs that were installed on '67 Cornet wagons.
The spring packs were unique to the wagons, but the main leaf was the same as used on Taxi sedans and all Heavy Duty packs except the Hi-Po cars (which got unique left/right springs).

170 lbs/in spring rate seems a bit high for a production leaf pack. For comparison, Direct Connection Super Stock springs were 160 lbs/in.

Standard Spring, with bushing
Station Wagon,
- 2 Seat 2585 638
- 3 Seat 2585 639
- Police 2585 644

Heavy Duty Spring, with bushing
Station Wagon,
- 2 Seat 2585 644
- 3 Seat 2585 645

Main Leaf, w/ bushing
Std. Station Wagon, Taxi: 2485 648
Heavy Duty, All except 426, 440: 2485 648

FWIW highest production spring rate that I know of is the XHD at around 142 lb/in. The OP's Cornet wagon has much stiffer than OE front torsion bars so the rear probably needs stiffened in proportion.

With good shocks, I think the ride will be OK @ 170 ish lb/in. I drove my (lighter) E more than 2,100 miles in 3 days from IL to CA and did not feel beat up with 172 rate rear springs. 3 days back also. Not all the roads I traveled were smooth either.

Good idea to call Firm Feel. Also, especially if you have a good local spring shop, no harm in starting around 140/150 lb/in and increasing if needed with an added leaf. That is what I did. The XHD's @ ~142 lb/in were too soft with 1.00 front bars on my particular car.

Whatever you choose, please post how it develops.

Thanks, this is good info to build on. Knowing I already have an HD main leaf in the stock pack is really helpful.

AHY, Good points. I missed the intended t-bar upgrade in my intitial reading. And I run 200 lb/in Landrum leafs - no rear sway bar, with the current 1.09 t-bar (about 250 lb/in wheel rate). With the Spax shocks it's definately smoother over rough surfaces than my Wagoneer unloaded (live axles, leafs on all corners).

So here's my take.
I don't know the weight distribution, cg, or general feel of the station wagons, so I only caution that unloaded it may feel a bit like an unloaded pickup truck (as my Wagoneer does). In any event, if going up in the rear roll rate through springs and/or sway bar, go up at the same time or before in the front.

Agreed going to .990 or 1.03 front torsion bars will be a big step up from stock. It's not so radical that it neccessarily demands a big jump in rear roll rate. The rear roll rate should increase at only a percentage of the front roll rate. This goes back to the Neutral Handling line. Exactly where you feel comfortable will depend on the tires, use, loading and any other changes.

As AHY wrote, keep us posted. Something a bit different and interesting.

Also agree FF are good people and they have some personal race track experience in addition to supplying the needs of street enthusiasts.