Sep 2004
I hope your frame bushings have fared better than the spring-eye bushings. They are a pain to change. Much moreso than the one's in the springs themselves, especially for "rust-belt" cars.  I would also recommend new springs- to save ya some trouble. Unless you are fairly mechanical, and have access to some nice tools- IE: Large vice, oxy/acetylene torch, etc...

If you plan on doing them yourself- Here is what I do to most of my customer springs. They are usually weak and the rear of the car is sagging. The following will return your ride height- without sacrificing ride quality.  

  1) Remove the springs and disassemble- including pressing out the bushings. Mark each spring for reassembly- I usually mark in a place that is hidden when assembled.

 2) Wire brush (on a grinder) the springs and POR-15 them

 3) Purchase new spring seperator material if the old is deteriorated

 4) find/purchase a used set of (matching size) springs (I have bunches of extras)

 5) Remove the main leaf and 3rd leaf from the used set- clean/paint as above

 6) Cut the main leaf's spring-eyes off about 3" from the eye, cut 3" from each end of the 3rd spring. This will make them fit better when added to the original springs.

 7) Purchase new through-bolts, 1" longer U-bolts for the rear axle, and some new spring-clamps.

 8) Assemble springs- by length- including the 2 extra springs each side.

 9) INSTALL- and drive the car around.

 10). IF the ride height is too high, you can use a die grinder w/cutoff wheel- to remove sections of the 2 extra springs- about 3" at a time- until you reach a height you like. Be sure to drive around a bit to settle the springs at the new height. Typically, removing metal from the rear of the spring- is more effective in lowering the car.  

Ray


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Use a standard bolt of at least grade 5. The nut must be made
so that it will not loosen or work loose. GM products typically use what is
termed a deformed nut. If you look at one of them from the end (through the
hole) if will not be quite round or the flats for the wrench will have a
square dimple in it. The dimple creates a tight spot in the threads which
prevents the nut from backing off the bolt.
Your original bolts may have been cooper plated so that they didn't seize to
the bushing inner metal tube. The other type of nut I was referring to can
be found in the Studebaker Chassis Parts Manual and will be listed under the
Standard Parts Section. These self-locking nuts are used in other places
too, like cross members that are bolted to the frame. You can recognize them
because no lock washer is used and they will have thin slots that are very
close to the edges of the flats on the nut. Marsden nuts are not Castle
nuts. Castle nuts use a cotter to lock them in place.

For the 1951 thru 1954 cars the leaf spring bolts are listed as part number
2-0764 and the nuts are listed as 264-07. In the Standard Parts index, these
parts numbers correspond to a 7/16"-20 X 4" long carbon steel bolt and a
hex, lock nut (marsden-which is a type of lock nut) standard steel (NF-2)
which means, National Fine fit type 2, 7/16"-20 thread. If you go to a good
bolt supplier in Houston, i.e. an industrial supplier, they will undoubtedly
have just what I have listed here. If your bolts are 1/2" then it would be a
1/2"-20 thread. All of the spring bolts were NF-2 threads. Studebaker used
NF-2 threads in all highly stressed applications. You shaould be able to
find the Marsden type of nut, even if you have to do an internet search. It
is an excellent lock nut and will not back-off regardless of the vibration.

Paul V