new leaf springs install (any tips?)

Thanks for the tips, and bolt sizes. Am I correct that I do not tighten the rear or front shackles till the weight is on the wheels?

do it before it is on the ground.

yes. Till it is down.

What I found was it seemed like the new ones were too short. Turns out you have to compress them to make them "long enough" to bolt up.

So what I did was bolt up the rear shackels first to the car.
The the fronts to the springs. I had to get a second jack to push up the spring. With my foot, I would jack up the jack, and use my hands to stab the front hanger into the body of the car. Then I could get a thread or two on the stud and pull it through so I could get nuts on the rest of the hanger.

For me, the bolt that holds the front hanger to the spring only fit one way. It was too long to nut it on the frame side. So you have to put it on first.

Well just got the cuda' tucked in for the night. Was able to finish the install of the leaf springs, and new rear adj shocks. Only thing not installed was pinion snubber but that will have to wait till next weekend. Took the car for a drive, ride is great no too stiff, and sits at a nice stance. (pics to follow in the am). I was hoping it would help the car hook up better, but if anything it hooks less. (on the street with radials.)Currently running 235/60/15's on all 4 corners. Wondering if something like a 275/60/15 would fit in the back and offer some more traction. Currently 3.23 s.g. but would like to up grade to 3.91's. Any suggestions or tips welcome. Just a street driven car, but she longs for the track.

275's probably are not going to make a difference in the car's ability to hook on the street especially if you're thing of going to 391's. Maybe a set of DOT slicks? What is the torque on your engine and what kind of car?

70 cuda', 69 440 .030 over, 2295f Pistons, 906 heads, 226 int./234 exh.@ .050, 268 int./276 exh adv, 0.494 int./0.513 exh. lift, eddy perfor intake, 750 mech speed demon, 3400 stall, 727.

Interested in opinions on what kind of power it might make, and also how it would do in the quarter.

Don't really know but I just had a .030 over 440 engine dynoed on Friday. It has 11.5:1 Ross pistons, Eagle crank & H beam rods, solid lift cam (lost cam card), roller rockers, Mopar high rise single plane intake, 1,000 cfm Holley dbl. pump carb and a set of Indy SR alum. heads and it made 591 h.p. & 590 ft. lbs. of torque. I'm simply guesssing yours will be in the 450-500 range, depending on any work done to the heads, compression ratio, etc. Probably plenty of h.p. for the street but I still don't think 275's will hook up. DOT slick are gonna work better. Have fun with it.