leaf spring front segment

I am thinking about putting cal-tracs on my belvedere,should I stay with 20" front seg.or go longer?Springs are already moved into the frame so fabbing for longer springs is not an issue.Thanks,Sam.

Longer. Use the chevy length spring.

I can't remember the exact front segment length but I'm pretty sure the spring for an S-10 pickup has the longest segment. There isn't one "Chevy" length. It depends on the model.

Pretty sure the length everyone uses is 25". Stock Mopars are either 20" or 22" IIRC. If you talk to Calvert Racing about the monoleaf springs, they'll tell you.

Dont forget 21 also The early models had it.My 65 B runs a 21 inch but now has 20 inch SS springs with the correct hangers.Rocky

I went with the chevy front segment length, its 25 inches. Calvert will help you on the phone with spring selection.

Digby runs the 20inch still and his cars been 4.19 in the 1/8th.
I run the 20 also and have been 5.46 so far .

So if you run a longer front segment do you have to compensate by moving the front spring hanger forward?

Yes, by how ever longer you go with the segment. To keep the axel in same location.

Ok I’ll bite. What is the secret to making the 20” spring work?

$$$ good shocks is my guess. On really really fast car anyway. Like custom Mencer or Santhuff.

I still think the longer segment is the way to go but after talking with Menscer's tech they've convinced me they can make the 20" work. I even gave them the option of the longer spring and they said it's not needed. Since I already own the shocks its just the cost of the valving. I'm looking at the same money to relocate and (re)buy the parts for the springs.

I still plan on mounting the shocks straight up, and maybe move them to the front of the axle.

For the OP - I'd still go with the longer springs. I haven't heard anyone report regretting doing so.

I did have menscer do the shocks on mine .
The DA afco's were at the limit .

Got it. Are you using the CalTrac bars, Assassin bars or something else?

cals. took some time but with help from Demon gup over the phone we got it working .

Good to know. Thanks.

Was it the extension part you had to work on firming up?

Can you give some details on your setup?

They changed both settings.
When the car was in the 10's the afco DAs worked good .
Now that it's in the 8s it just over powered the afcos the way they were valved.
71 Demon 540 on nitrous stock front and rear suspension mini tubed springs moved in 3 inches 28x10.5 tire .4.10 gears cope 2nd gear leave trans brake valve body .

Guys, I'm really confused with this possibility to change front spring segment lenght.

My concern is about front hangers, I'm using relocation spring kit and can't see how I can move hangers forward as you can see in this example attached.

Pictures will be great!

Thanks

Same here, it was worse after we put lowering blocks on too.

Hey Quick, how do you like those Assassin bars? Do you think they work better then CalTracs bar? They are identical in cost so i was wondering if one was better then the other...

Still building the car so no data yet. I liked the adjustability of them and there are some very fast radial guys running them. May not work any better than the caltrack but I liked them better.

Nice car! Are you running Bias Plys or Radials? If you are running Bias Plys, have you tried Radials with any success?

Where do you have the Cal Tracs bars set, top or bottom hole? I'm chasing my tail a bit with a similar setup, a little heavier and less power. 528ci, nitrous @ 3480lbs in an E-body.

Have not tried radials yet almost bought some this year .
On the bars I have them in the bottom hole just touching on drivers side 2 flats on other side .
I have my car very tight on the shocks .
Afco DAs in front full tight on ext. and went from slant 6 T-bars to 318 bars.
Really think I need to go to a even heavier bar to be honest .
On rear I have the ext. pretty tight to slow separation.
But we are still working on it and next year should get it dialed in pretty quick .

Thanks for the info! I put Vi-King DA's all around this year and have been struggling. If I tighten the back even near 1/2 way on extension, it incinerates the tires almost at the hit. With the extension looser, it at least tries to hook, but isn't staying planted as I ramp the nitrous in over ~1-1.3sec. That's with the bars in the top hole so I figured I would need to slow the extension down if anything. I may try them in the bottom hole to see if we can lean on it and hold the tire down farther out. Although both times out have been nearly no-prep conditions....Once was a Wed night at LVD and the other was the last Saturday of the season. Not much bite. I might try ATCO Black Fri to see if I can get it to work a little better.

How much nitrous are you putting at it on the hit ?

0.030 jet at 30% on the hit. Ramped in over 1.0 sec. It went 1.39 60ft. Not stellar. I tried 35% to see if hitting the tire a little harder would help but it didn't like it. Are you leaving in 2nd? I put a 2.28 low gear in it, 3.73's with a 29" tire. It's more tame than it was with stock 2.45 low and 4.10's but I think I'm fighting wheel speed now.

I spray 20% at 2 10ths out .
Yeah 2nd gear launch ,
Best 60ft so far has been 1.27 but we are working on that

It went 1.34 with 15yr old Rancho and Stocker Star Single adjustables leaving at 28% ramped over 1.3sec. Still not stellar, but we're going the wrong way. I know it's me and not the new shocks, just frustrating when you spend $$ to slow down!

I have a CRT 2nd gear leave VB, but we haven't been able to get it to work right so we installed an old A&A and all it's fine for now. I think it'll be OK with the taller 1st and 3.73's, just have to figure it out. I feel like the car might be too heavy to leave in 2nd with 29's and 3.73's but it'd probably work well on the street.

I also don't think the front segment is the problem. The car should 60ft way better the way it sits. Just figured I'd pick some fast guys brains when I saw this thread. Thanks again for the info!

With a 2nd gear leave I did a 300 ft wheelie .

Hey now! That's 20% initial at .2sec? What's the ramp time?

That was 20% at the hit over I think 1.5 sec.

I went w/the 25" and love it plus w/new Hoosiers this thing hooks on the street but I also angled my shocks more straight up which helped a bunch.........

Dang! Did you lower the rear? What is your front/rear bias?

I have the 1 under stock springs .
I have no idea on the bias since I put the aluminum engine in .
Since then I have taken 2 1/4 inches of travel out of the front .

What heads are on the new motor?

B1 org. KB block