Getting a Rise in the rear of a 67

Hi, I have searched high and low looking for any reasonable method to raise up the ass end of a 67. So far I can't even locate anyone that makes air shocks for a 67. Any ideas apprecaited. Mark

New springs. That's a coil spring rear, isn't it?

yes, coils..however to get them higher i would need custom made..store bought coild would give me what i have. i want to put some wider tires on 60s i think..but 1st i need some height..

That's what I meant, I'm sure you can get custom coils. However, if yours are originals, replacing them with new stock replacements could lift it up, 40+ yr old coil springs have been known to sag.

BTW, I'm a distributor for Firestone's Coil-Rite air bag kits, but they also do not spec any kits for your app. And they are more of a ride stabilization tool anyway, though they do effectively control body twist when launching, in hi perf applications.

yup, you're probably right but i am afraid i put on new coils and end up with the same result..i can't believe no one in the country makes some type method to jack up the rear on my riv..it's been frustraiting. i realize rivs aren't race cars but mine will look sweet with a little height and some old school racing wheels and tires. i've had the stock road wheel on there forever..

You can buy rubber spacers to twist inbetween the coil spring wires, to firm it up some, but I wouldn't say it would raise it.

Are you a member on www.V8Buick.com ? That would be a better place to inquire on your options for a 67.

Also, do you know the stock ride height in the rear? Factory manuals would give you measurements from the ground to specific points on the body/chassis. If you are riding low, new stock springs should be an improvement.

i'm a long standing member of the ROA and wrote my year tech advisor. he was not very helpful..i've found anytime you are looking to do anything outside of stock they don't wanna help..

Yeah, the formal clubs tend to know mostly about stock information, not so much about mods from stock. We have a lot of older Riv owners on the V8Buick board, and I'm sure somebody there will be able to offer some options. I have a buddy who races his 67 Riv locally, has it in the 11's with a 455. Of course, jacking up the rear isn't productive in a RWD car, so he wouldn't be of much help.

Let us know what you find out, Dave. Thanks for your help!

Mark needs to go on the V8 board and investigate this himself, I'm afraid I have far too little free time available.

Mark,
How about a pair of those helper springs that slide over the shocks?
I found these doing a quick search.
http://www.carparts.com/RIDE-CONTROL-HELPERS/GP_2005874_N__10618.car
Just an example to show what I am talking about. I'm not endorsing car parts.com.

Another idea would be to find out both the extended and compressed lengths of the shocks you have, and try to match them up with a pair of air shocks.

hey those ride control helpers look really interesting. you guys are great! i got more ideas here today than i have in a month of searching myself..keepem' comin!

Marks_67 wrote:

hey those ride control helpers look really interesting. you guys are great! i got more ideas here today than i have in a month of searching myself..keepem' comin!

I remember those springs being used by a lot of guys to raise the rears of their cars back in the 70's.

I would check into getting some new custom coil springs made. When I lowered my '54 Buick I put new coils in the rear that were 2" lower than stock and they only lowered the rear of the car 1/4" from where it was because the original springs had settled that much. Just an example of how much springs can settle over time. If you put some new ones in it should raise the car back up to stock ride height and you can order them with a stiffer spring rate than stock also so the car won't settle so much when you have passengers riding with you, etc. Add new coils with a set of the ride control helpers on the shocks mentioned above you should be good...

I would just check out the moog catalog specs and choose a new rear spring based off of that. You could go a little firmer, and a little higher.

http://bbb-carb.com/moog_Coil_Springs.htm