120y suspension advice for a new member

[crustywhip]

Im after a lower and firmer ride in the rear. Its a 76 120y wagon with leaf spring rear. Will reseting the leaves work or should I use some thing from another car? Ideally Id like it to go at least 3 inches.

Any help would be much appreciated

Cheers Kane

[Rusty]

we ran commodore shock absorbers

[dirtyleppa]

yeah, you could get stiffer shocks, and resetting the leaves will help. get them reset 2 inches, and maybe add an extra leaf if its still too soft, then use some 1" blocks to get it abit lower if wanted

[mint16]

wagon leaves already have the extra leaf for carrying weight, you shouldnt need to be going stiffer in the springs.
sedans only have 4 leaves, the wagons have 5, if your wagon doesnt have 5, then it will need 5.
it was reasonably low in the rear when i owned, id throw some 2inch blocks at it and see where that sits.

[crustywhip]

Its got 5 leaves under there. What year commodore shocks can I use? Il get them reset and only use blocks if I need to. Legally im pretty sure you can only go 2 inch max. I may be wrong tho.
So there is nothing else I may be able to have reset that may be firmer? other vans etc
Kane

[Bartman]

if you get em reset, have the eyes reveresed. Otherwise they'll be too flat, and wont work like springs are suposed to.

[Rusty]

Its got 5 leaves under there. What year commodore shocks can I use? Il get them reset and only use blocks if I need to. Legally im pretty sure you can only go 2 inch max. I may be wrong tho.
So there is nothing else I may be able to have reset that may be firmer? other vans etc
Kane

will find out the munroe code for you tomorrow

[Hey-mish]

i think 2 inch blocks are legal.. anything over that you will need a cert.

[Bartman]

The downside of blocks is that they extend the lever lenght, and can create/exassabate(spelling?) axles tramp issues. I used to have flat (and I mean they were as flat as a bowling green, flat) rear leaves in my 1200. It used to light up the rears anytime I applied even the slightest hint too much throttle/changed gears (even the littlest bit) too hard. This can be remedied by various means. I'd start by having the leaves reset 1st, and then if you need more low-ness add blocks later. IMO, people get too caught up in having their cars as low as humanly possible. But it ussually ends up sacrificing ride quality, and ultimately some handling is also detrimentally effected too.

[crustywhip]

Thanks for all your help guys you have given me heaps to consider and work with.
Its running 15 inch rims atm so with the rear arch on the rim it would still have over 100mm road clearence.
Heres a pic taken with some heavy stuff in the boot and I didnt paint the bonnet or the mustard spots.