Restoration
Continued from Page 1

When the Wagoneer was back on its feet, the body was at just the right height, and the springing was pretty much as it had been before the effects of wear and tear. Most older Jeeps have seen a lot of off-road duty, so the spring rates are designed for survival rather than luxury.


If you want a different spring height—either a bit higher for a truck, or a bit lower for a more aggressive stance on a cool road car—all you have to do is specify, as it's no more difficult to make springs the correct original height or a bit higher or a bit lower. Just don't go too crazy or you'll run into complications with your suspension and steering.


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Photo Guide

These springs are 20 years old and have seen over 120,000 miles of abuse, so finding flat and broken leaves was no surprise.

This hydraulic press re-bends the springs, in a gentle curve, back to their original shapes. It takes a few years of experience to judge where and how to apply the force.

The snapped leaves are discarded and replaced. Then the right length of spring steel is cut off from stock.

The ends of the new leaves are chamfered off to make them the same shape as the old leaves that are being replaced.

Next, a central hole is drilled in the completed spring for locating the leaves on the spring and the spring to the axle.

A bolt runs through the center of the spring and holds it all together.

With the repaired spring's parts reassembled, the height of the complete spring is measured.

Fresh clips secure the leaves so they remain pointing the right way and work as a stack.

After a few hours' work, the rebuilt springs are back on the Jeep and good for another 20 years.

That's a bit more like it. The ride height is up by several inches to where it was originally supposed to be.



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