Hello,
I have a question about 1963 Ford Galaxie rear leaf springs.
I was told that a 1963 Galaxie with 6 leaf spring packs sits 3 Inches lower than a car with 5 leaf spring packs.
Do you agree with this?
Thank you for your time,
-Cliff
Cliff,
The one who is spreading this information does not understand springs.
While there is a 2.75 Inch difference in the free arches of the springs, their makeup allows them to sit the car at roughly the same height.
The 63 Galaxie non-station wagon cars used 2 different rear springs.
One being a 5 leaf and the other a 6 leaf.
The 6 leaf being the heavy duty spring. Both springs sit the car at roughly the same ride height.
There is not a 3 Inch difference.
The 5 leaf spring has a spring rate of 103 Lbs., a design load of 955 Lbs., and free arch of 8.5 Inches.
The 6 leaf spring has a spring rate of 157 Lbs., a design load of 1,015 Lbs., and a free arch of 5.75 Inches.
Both springs are designed to have a 1 Inch reverse arch when at their design load.
More can be learned in our Spring Tech 101 download, available free when you sign up for our newsletter.
The above of course only applies to our springs which are made right to the original blueprint.
If a spring is improperly designed or built, it will raise or lower the ride height, in relation to it being too weak, too strong, or just plain being the wrong spring for your application.
If you encounter 5 leaf Galaxie springs that are changing the ride height vs. the 6 leaf (without being designed to do so), you are probably dealing with some improperly designed or built springs.
Mike
