Where to purchase leaf springs?

You likely have a local spring shop that rebuilds springs for trucks. If your main leafs are OK, you might be money ahead to rebuild your current springs. Depends on the spring shop. The spring shop we have here is cheaper then I can buy springs online and get them shipped to me. Our local guy bends U bolts too. Gene

Compress the spring on either side of the middle bolt with a pair of C clamps then remove the nut with a nut cracker. Most times the nut is rusted and or the threads are fubared & if you try to uncrew the nut you'll snap the shaft & that is a special bolt. Chase the threads & a new grade 8 nut loctited & that situation is dealt with

1) Check for local shop first because shipping now is a killer.
2) St. Louis Spring — They usually have the original prints/plans on file. Order additional arch if desired.

I run SuperStock springs on my 63 and I bought them from Mancini and got a good deal on them. Tell them you are a Moparts member and they should give you a 10% discount as they did for me. This is how it sits with the SS springs. Ron

Good stuff guys, thanks. The reason I think it needs new springs is they were sagging pretty bad when I got it. I put helpers on it, and it did help for awhile. I've noticed while driving it recently, that when it hits a bump with more than one person in it, the rear tires scrape. It has new shocks, so I'm thinking the springs are giving a too little much bounce in the rear. $250/pr for a set of springs aren't in his budget. So, it'll just have to scrape for awhile.

I will check with a local shop on re-arching them. That might be the way to go. Finding a set in a junkyard these days maybe be hard to do, but that's a thought too.

Attached is a pic of it at a cruise-in this past summer. I think it has a pretty good stance. It was originally a slant 6 car, so the helpers did raise it a bit in the rear.

In my opinion Eaton springs is the only way to go. OEM supplier working off original blueprints in USA using quality materials. Can do stock -/+ 1",2",3". If can't afford it now it is worth waiting until you can. I was very happy with the quality of their work.

BTW Randy, tell your son he has a great looking ride there! Very nice he and you should be proud!
Now if I could just talk me son into a cool car like that.

Eaton is great and honest and they work from OEM info. I vote for them as well.

That is a sweet looking car.
I remember these cars doing what you describe back in the 70's.
It's more about the over size tires than wore out springs.
That's why those hated long shackles and air shocks were used.
Don't go that route.
I don't think you are gonna find 10 to 20 dollar springs in any junk yard either.
I would add a leaf and, or get yours redone. Talk to local hot rodders to find a good shop.
Maybe a slightly narrower or shorter tire might help, but it won't look as good...

Dixie thats one nice Demon your son has. Reminds me of my sons Dart pitured here which has the 002 & 003 SS springs on it. I like the Demons alot and your sons looks great. Ron

Thanks for the compliments on the car, guys. The camera hides a lot of flaws. But, for a High School car, it's works fine. Door dings are gonna happen. He can drive it and not panic if he gets caught in the rain.

The rear tires are probably a bit too tall. I got a screaming deal on them and the wheels, so I bit. I think they are 255/60/15's off the top of my head. They are almost new, so when they wear out, we'll get a smaller set. Of course, I hope that takes awhile.

One item of note. I had the front end originally a little lower. I put the tires on it and had them balanced, the new weights are larger. They hit the upper a-arms. So, by raising the height a little, I got them to clear. All I want for Christmas is a tire changing machine and a few tons of good old fashion lead weights!

As several have posted, adding a leaf may be a cost effective fix. One full leaf at my local spring shop costs $100 and change and increases height by about an inch... stiffness also.

Less cost than Eaton, but still good selection and quality are leafs made by Stanley Springs in Harrisburg Pa. Contact them for a local supplier. Otherwise, see what shipping is from Stengel Bros.
http://www.stengelbros.net/Leaf-Springs_c_177.html
At the bottom of the page is a link to listings of springs available by application.

Having gone the helper spring route as a greenhorn, allow me to suggest ditching them at the first opportunity. They really are best for situations where there is extra weight being carried in the rear. They make the rear stiffer (in the upward direction) and in doing so make the car more likely to fishtail and spin.* This is worse at higher speeds (like a highway to highway interchange) and slicker conditions. Don't ask me how I learned this before I understood this...

You can get a little more ht in the rear by cranking up the front. Factory spec on front ride ht for Dart/Valiants is about 2 1/8" IIRC. That's from the bottom of the t-bar anchor to the lower ball joint. If you change the ride ht, then reset camber, caster, and toe in that order.

Leaf and coil springs do lose rate and hieght after 75 - 100,000 miles. Quicker if abuse (overloaded, raced with stickies) and longer if only driven on smooth roads by super smooth driver weighing 95 pounds. Also the interleafs wear out, but those and the clamps (bands) can be replaced.

*edit: With extra weight on the rear, the extra spring rate won't tend to cause fish tailing. One method trucks and utility vehicles use to get best of both worlds is have a bottom leaf whose ends hang in the air until there's a bunch of weight in the bed and the leaf pack flattens enough to touch.

i would leave re-arching off the table. if you are going to spend any money, it might as well be towards a new set of springs. if you have the time and patience and can get another set of used springs super cheap that might work OK. but all in all a new set of springs is the way to go. i have bought 3 sets of springs from ESPO, i am sure the others are fine too. OEM mopar springs sit almost flat for a stock ride. this is because the spring will have the least amount of "sway" around turns.

I just bought new springs at the local Chrysler-Dodge dealer for a Big Block B-body. Mopar Performance ( or whatever they are now called) still sells them for a little over $100 each. Check your local dealer see if they still sell A body springs

Thanks guys. rm, I'll pm you.