# 1966 6.4 389 front and rear spring options



## louie3888 (Oct 9, 2011)

Guys,

For my 66 GTO I would like to restore stock ride height at an affordable price. Would you know what part numbers are recommended for this? Thought about airbags but I rather go with pure springs. Why is it that whenever you lookup rear springs for the 66 they only sell fronts? If you go 67 than you get more options.

Thx


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Louie, Check with OPGI or PY, or AMES....if you want made to order springs, try EATON SPRING. Eric


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## louie3888 (Oct 9, 2011)

Thx. Which is PY?


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## Joe C2 C5 (Apr 13, 2011)

If you use PY or Ames you will get generally Moog generic springs for your application which means they fit all A body GM cars. If you go with Eaton or Custom Spring Specialties you can get exactly the specs the factory used or even modify from that point. Most people don't like the stock rear height ( which is low) and want a little more lift. The Custom guys can dial in whatever you want. When I got rear springs for my '66 I was able to talk with an engineer from Custom Spring and he told me Pontiac original springs were really soft so we went with a 15% increase in stiffness as well as a 1" increase in height (tail doesn't drag now) to get exactly what I wanted. There is a cost for this but not excessive and I felt worth it. Good luck in your choice.


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## rickm (Feb 8, 2012)

convertible rear springs on a coupe or hardtop will give your car a real nice stance..rickm.


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## leeklm (Mar 11, 2012)

Joe C2 C5 said:


> If you use PY or Ames you will get generally Moog generic springs for your application which means they fit all A body GM cars. If you go with Eaton or Custom Spring Specialties you can get exactly the specs the factory used or even modify from that point. Most people don't like the stock rear height ( which is low) and want a little more lift. The Custom guys can dial in whatever you want. When I got rear springs for my '66 I was able to talk with an engineer from Custom Spring and he told me Pontiac original springs were really soft so we went with a 15% increase in stiffness as well as a 1" increase in height (tail doesn't drag now) to get exactly what I wanted. There is a cost for this but not excessive and I felt worth it. Good luck in your choice.


Similar to my experience... Ordered the "convertible" rear springs from AMES, which still sit plenty low. Ordered the front springs from Summit (Moog), which sit high if anything, but I actually need that height to get clearance on my 225/70/15 front tires. Could also be why my rear looks low... Ended up spending another $80 on rear air bags, which I like, and of course now can set the rear height based on load, etc.


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## rickm (Feb 8, 2012)

leeklm said:


> Similar to my experience... Ordered the "convertible" rear springs from AMES, which still sit plenty low. Ordered the front springs from Summit (Moog), which sit high if anything, but I actually need that height to get clearance on my 225/70/15 front tires. Could also be why my rear looks low... Ended up spending another $80 on rear air bags, which I like, and of course now can set the rear height based on load, etc.


hey, roughly how much height adjustment do you get out of a set of airlift bags? the convertible rear springs worked great on my '65 coupe. im also using monroe load leveler rear shocks, maybe they help some too. rickm.


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## chuckha62 (Apr 5, 2010)

I bought Lemans wagon springs for the rear of my '67 from Rock Auto and they were inexpensive (something like $65 or $70 for the pair). They gave me an inch of additional height in the rear, which is what I was looking for. 

They carry Moog, AC Delco, and Raybestos

Check 'em out at rockauto.com


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## leeklm (Mar 11, 2012)

rickm said:


> hey, roughly how much height adjustment do you get out of a set of airlift bags? the convertible rear springs worked great on my '65 coupe. im also using monroe load leveler rear shocks, maybe they help some too. rickm.


With only 15 pounds of air, I raised the back at least an inch or more. I have not yet attempted more, but my guess is 2-3 inches if I maxed the air pressure on the springs.n It is actually a little high now, so I am going down to about 10 pounds of air.


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## ppurfield001 (Jan 21, 2008)

louie3888 said:


> Guys,
> 
> For my 66 GTO I would like to restore stock ride height at an affordable price. Would you know what part numbers are recommended for this? Thought about airbags but I rather go with pure springs. Why is it that whenever you lookup rear springs for the 66 they only sell fronts? If you go 67 than you get more options.
> 
> Thx


I recommend a god set of coil-over shocks.


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

louie3888 said:


> Thx. Which is PY?


PY+ Performance Years, they are located in Pennsylvania


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## pontiac (Mar 6, 2011)

no coil over shocks or air bags. just get the right springs and you don't need all these patches.


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## leeklm (Mar 11, 2012)

the comment on coil over shocks brought back memories... In the early 80's I had a 71 Dodge Demon with saggy leaf springs. I first bought a set of "clamp on" add-a-leaf springs, which helped a little, but not enough for a high school kid and his first car. I then bought a set of "coil over" springs, which were installed on your stock shock absorbers with a pair of muffler clamps. They were adjustable by extending or minimizing how far the clamps were spaced on the shock.

Now those were classics! Noisy pieces of garbage, lol.


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