Raising Rear Suspension

What's involved and costs etc of raising the rear suspension on my 70 Satellite ? Want to get bigger tyres under there so only want to raise it a bit, thanks

what rear suspension do you have? leaf spring, ladder bar, 4 link?

You might be able to take the front spring hanger and flip it upside down, effectively putting the leaf mount lower on the body, raising the car up a bit. However, the bolt pattern is not exactly symetrical from what i remember, so you can elongate the holes slightly to flip it. I believe the upper holes are slightly closer together than the lower ones. You can confirm by looking at the nuts on the front side to see pattern. I have done this very slight mod before with no problem. I dont remember how much height i gained, but maybe 3/4-1”.

Mancini has hangers with 2 positions, not sure if one is stock and one is lower or higher.

https://www.manciniracing.com/maraspha.html

You will get very little lift by repositioning that front hanger. I don't know how much more clearance you're looking for, but if only very little, like MAYBE 1/2" or less, you might get that from the front hanger. But I think you're really going to have to spring (haha) for the cost of new leafs with added leafs to get significant lift.

call espo and get some +2" springs. should bring it up some.. http://www.springsnthings.com/

Flipping the stock front hangar will LOWER the car.

Here is a recent thread on this subject. The search function is your friend.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthread...e-need-more-rear-spring.html#Post2623641

Cheapest would be to get a helper leaf spring and add it in to your existing leaf spring pack. Some guys even get junkyard springs and add a leaf to their existing springs. Better would be to have your springs re-arced or replace them with aftermarket but that would be more expensive.

Even cheaper for longer shackles

But I wouldn't do that or helper springs either

What is wrong with using leaf type helper springs to raise the rear the little bit that the OP wants?

Somebody original resto numbers guy will point it out somewhere along the line...

Because it's a crutch and the cheap ones make it handle squirrelly.

.there are some areas you shouldn't cheap out on, brakes and suspension being in the top of that list

To bash an entire product line based on the cheapest ones available is disingenuous.

So how about the Hellwig brand of helper springs? They are American made, family owned, known for quality, and are not cheap. As for being 'a crutch', when properly applied, adding a half leaf helper is no more of a 'crutch' than adding a full leaf to a set of springs. Both are in reality helper springs. In fact, most of our Mopars came with half leafs from the factory. Those are essentially half leaf helpers. Proving that helper springs, when used correctly, most certainly have a place on our cars. Plus, the Hellwigs have the advantage of being adjustable.

So what is wrong with adding a quality American made half leaf that is fully adjustable?

Because someone saiod "cheapest way is helper springs" Pay attention.


But if you are going to piss away Hellwig money on helper springs just buy the new correct ones.

It's not rocket science.

This is just a thought and I'll probably take heat for saying this, but what about a set of Monroe air shocks for around $70 or $80 bucks.

Always with a caustic response.

Hellwigs are cheaper than a new set of springs, but are not cheap. Two different things there. And they are adjustable. And they will do exactly what the OP wants with no down side. And a new set of leaf springs is no guarantee that the OP will be any happier down the road. Plenty of threads here about that subject.

So why shouldn't the OP use quality adjustable leaf helper springs?

Air shocks would be my first choice too, however..... a good inspection of the upper mounts would be required. They're only sheet metal and not really designed to hold up the car so if they're not in good shape it would be a crap shoot. Generally speaking air shocks and Mopars don't mix well for that reason.

I put Monroe's on my '64 Polara Super Stock recreation, but I also heavily reinforced the upper shock mounts by welding in a 2"x 2" square .120 wall crossmember. Works well too.

Yes, you are absolutely right. My mistake. I have mp superstock hangers on my cars for the past 11 years or so, so i was relying on a picture of stock hangers when i answered. Sorry to the OP.

I'm sticking with my original answer. The right way to do it is new springs with additional leaf/leafs, or same number replacing worn ones. If that's "bashing" something, I'm sorry.

To raise it just a little like an inch or so you can change the rear hangers. I wanted to raise the rear of my 63 about a 1/2" or so and I ended up getting different rear shackles. I believe they are Mr Gasket shackles that are very thick and strong and have about 4 different settings. I figured the hole I wanted to use to raise the car a bit and then cut the rest of the shackle off and kinda rounded it off to look like stock shackles. And that's because I hate to see 3 inches of shackle hanging down under a Mopar. They worked great and have been on my 63 about 10 years. Here is how they look and it raised my car a good 1/2 to 3/4" in the rear just like I wanted. If I used a lower hole it may have raised it about up to 2 inches at most. Ron

I believe this is the kit I used. Ron

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrg-1300