[69ChevelleAddict]

Hello everyone, I have kinda ran into a little issue re-assembling my car for spring.
Car is a 71 Chevelle.
I took the whole front end apart to swap out just about everything, bushings/springs/disc conversion/lines ect.
The old springs are the stockers about 300lbs/in and tired if I remember correctly.
The new ones are a LOT heavier at 950lbs/in.

How can I SAFELY get these things compressed enough to where I can get them into the car?
I dont trust the cheap-o tools you can rent from the auto parts stores.

[Blazin72]

My dad and I swapped some 1050lb springs into the front of my Malibu and it was a nerve racking pain in the butt. I don't quite remember how we got them in there but it was not much fun. I do know that I bought a Snap On spring compressor and as we were installing them we put a floor jack under the A-arm to help retain things if the spring came loose. Also, when you're compressing the spring work from the side of the spring and not the ends. If something comes apart you don't want it flying at you.

Good luck...

[68NovaSS]

I put heavier springs in my '68 Nova, about 2 to 3" taller than stock, worn springs. I got the front end very high, safely blocked it, put a chain through the spring coils and A-Frames, supported the lower A-Frame with a floor jack and broke the ball joint loose, leaving the castle nut just raised off it's seat.

With the rotor/spindle pulled out of the way I slowly lowered the jack, standing clear, and was able to drop it far enough to just lift out the old spring. The new spring was a little taller, I set it in the upper socket, close to the indent, lifted the lower arm to meet it and put some pressure on it with the jack. Staying clear was able to pry the lower coil into place, re-chained it with no slack and gently jacked up the arm. The spring was pretty securely in it's pocket, once the jack came up a bit there's no way, other than losing the jack footing, it would come out. When it was high enough, re-chained it all together, attached the lower ball joint. The entire time everything was chained to retain anything that spit out and stayed clear of it's path. Pretty backyard, but I've had issues using different types of compressors and the tight quarters.