Overkill Monza springs

[wally409]

I just safely (with a huge amount of care and respect) removed the very stiff Monza front springs that I installed into my 72 Vega. Prior to that, I had parted out a 76 V8 Monza from which I removed all the suspension parts and rear diff and installed them in my Vega. Have you seen any heavy duty springs like these? There was no ID on the springs but I wonder if they were not only V8 springs but those for an AC car as well. In my Vega, there was no give to the springs so it rode like a tank. I'm going to intall a pair of 4-cyl 1976 Monza springs and hopefully that will drop the front end by at least 3-inches. I've attached a photo of the Monza V8 spring (red) and the 4-cyl spring. You can see how much thicker the red spring is and even though there is only a half-inch difference in height, the black spring has thinner and fewer loops so I'm hoping it'll ride much better. If you live in the Pacific northwest and want the heavy springs, they're free if you want to pick them up. Cheers Wally

[Smiley]

Later H-bodies had different lower control arms with deeper spring pockets so using 76 springs on a 72 increases the preload on the springs.
The early Vega bodies are lighter than the Monzas, so you might still only need V6 or 4cyl AC Monza springs.
You may need to cut them shorter if you keep the shallow pocket control arms on the 72.

[wally409]

I'd actually replaced the original shallow-pocket 72 lower control arms with the deep-pocket units from the 76 Monza - and the spring was way too stiff. I think the 4-cyl Monza spring should do the job given that the front ends of the early Vegas are not as heavy as their Monza cousins. Cheers. Wally

[73 307 GT]

Let us know how this works out.

[wally409]

I was having trouble getting one of new springs in when one of the guys in the shop recommended that I get them banded and I remembered that some of the guys on the site recommended this procedure to make spring swaps simpler. I phoned several spring and suspension places in the Vancouver area before I found someone who would do the job. I took them to his shop this aft and and asked him to compress them at least 4-inches and I'll pick them up tomorrow. I've never had this done so it'll be interesting to see what they look like banded. And I'll install them this weekend and I'm thinking it will be a lot simpler and less time consuming. Cheers. Wally

[wally409]

Just picked up the springs I had banded to install into my 72. It was an interesting process to watch - the spring shop owner had a monstrous press and had the job done in minutes. I thought he'd put a band on each side but he installed three which makes me feel more comfortable when I put them in. The stiff (red) V8 Monza spring is 14-inches tall and the 4-cyl Monza spring was 13.5 inches tall and is now about 9-inches high which should make installation much easier. I'll take photos of the installation and post them here. Cheers. Wally

[wally409]

Finally got the 'new' front springs in my 72 and it dropped the front end by 2.5 inches - exactly what I wanted. Lots of anxious times and carefull planning but no loss of fingers or other parts of the anatomy. Also the car doesn't ride like a jacked-up 4X4 anymore. I haven't yet driven over railway tracks and speed bumps so we'll have to see what that will be like. Here's a photo of how it sits now - and it doesn't feel like I'm taking off in a rocket ship anymore. Next step will be to re-drill the rotors to take the 5-stud wheels. Cheers Wall

[73 307 GT]

Looks like a success! Were the springs you installed for a non a/c 4 cylinder Monza? I'm thinking about having my rotors redrilled for 5 lug as well. I've also installed control arms, spindle and brakes from an '80 Monza on my '73 quite a few years ago.

[chevyart]

wally that baby does have a nice stance. a little taller tire in the back and wow. art