Dk Met Grn 80 L82

I have an 80 with Gymkahana factory suspension. I have a copy of the window sticker. My rear spring counts 9 leafs, but when I look in EK and others they show 7 leaf for gymkahana. Was it different number of leafs in differnt years? I plan to change out the spring next week and want to match what was originally in. I don't think this spring is the standard 9 leaf spring, because she still sits high with plenty of room over the tires after 23 years and she sits tight and level on the turns. :crazy:

gdh

it was always 7 as far as I know, 9 was the std suspension.

Dk Met Grn 80 L82

I just found in an 80 spec manual, RPO FE7, rear spring rate 304 lb/in, 7 leaf with spacer. Maybe they put the wrong spring in to start with??

MN-Brent

Here is what my book ("Corvette Restoration Guide" by Richard Prince) says.

STANDARD SPRINGS
1978-1980 all and 1981 with 4 speed used 9 leaf steel 2 1/2 inch wide as standard suspension spring

1981 automatics and all 1982 with standard suspension used composite spring. (1982 were all automatics)

GYMKHANA SPRINGS
1978 1979 FE7 used 7 leaf 2 1/4 steel spring. There should be spacers on both sides of the spring to fit the 2 1/2 dimension mounting location.

1980-1982 FE7 used 9 leaf steel spring.

Also the black plastic liners in OEM FE7 springs are not painted grey as they were not installed in the spring at the time of painting. The standard OEM springs have these liners painted grey.

Brent...

hunt4cleanair

Quote:

GYMKHANA SPRINGS: 1980-1982 FE7 used 9 leaf steel spring.

Also the black plastic liners in OEM FE7 springs are not painted grey as they were not installed in the spring at the time of painting. The standard OEM springs have these liners painted grey.

And the winner is Brent!

You can confirm your vehicle is equipped with FE7 by checking for the rear sway bar...probably the most obvious indicater. Also your shock absorbers are heavy duty and the rears should have a part number like 22012402.

Check it out and let us know what you find.

Dk Met Grn 80 L82

Thanks for the replies guys. In checking with Eaton spring, their specs called for the same as mentioned above. 1980 Gymkhana spring was 9 leaf at 2 1/2" wide with a spring loading of 266lbs. Checked the EKLR parts folks for the loading on their 1980 spring, 2 1/2wide with a loading factor of 267lbs. Looks like a match! :party:
I wonder if they put the same rear spring in all vettes in 1980 whether they were gymkhana or not?

pillowmeto

maybe who ever replaced it earlier jsut put in a normal spring to save money or didnt know better.

MAtt