Alex72cutty

I want to change the rear springs on my cutlass due to slack and was thinking about buying Moog 5385 Heavy duty springs. Has anyone used this brand or have any advice?

rjohnson442

Moog make good stock springs, I didn't get the heavy duty but they ride nice. Get new donuts with em also.

RetroRanger

I have the 5385 on the rear and the 5450 on the front (72 CS) pretty happy w them as far as ride goes, I also have a 1" rear sway bar and 1.25" front sway bar. The car sat exactly perfectly level w those springs and new rubber isolaters. I wanted it to be slightly higher in the rear so i got some global west 1" rear spring spacers (ebay $50). it now sits 1" higher in the rear I only put those in last weekend so i cant really say much more than its a subtle change but so far I like it. I will try to post a pic later tonite

oldcutlass

Moog is a very good brand Alex. I got mine from ORielly auto parts, sometimes Rockauto is a bit less expensive.

Here is a link to the moog spring chart if you want to explore other options. You can sort by 5.57 diameter then look at rates, heights, and bar diameter. You can also look up any part number others suggest.

http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com...il_Springs.asp

RetroRanger

heres a pic of the global west spring spacer. they came in natural aluminum I painted it to blend in, you cant really notice it even looking under the car

oldcutlass

Looks good. I wanted a bit more dramatic so I went with station wagon springs in the back and a longer stiffer spring in the front.

Alex72cutty

Wow thanks!!! I was thinking of going with heavy duty since I do a lot of traveling in the car.. I quoted them at orielly's but also saw them on eBay for $69 for the pair (rear) and $120 for the front pair.

Alex72cutty

Thanks everyone for the help. I plan on attending summer last blast in Vernon, Tx in August so this is on the "To Do" list.

kbdecatur

Summit has the rear 5385 for 61.97 and the front 5450 for 87.97 Moog coil springs..

Alex72cutty

Thank you Kbdecatur!!!!! I will order them today..

oldcutlass

Double check Rockauto also, somewhere on here is a discount code. If your doing fronts, I might suggest ball joints and bushings since your taking all that apart.

leroycjr

You can always get a RockAuto code by googling it, there is always a valid on floating around. I agree with above might as well do full front end (sway bar bushings, tie rods, ball joints, upper/lower control bushings, etc). Will have you driving on a pillow.

Where is Rob when you need to peer pressure someone

Alex72cutty

Ok. I'll check the site. Thanks

Alex72cutty

Does anyone know what is factory specs are for the heights, rate, etc

RetroRanger

rob (lady n rob) posted a thread on that once IIRC the 5385 and 5450 were similar to the fe2 (442) rates but slightly higher

the ride height specs are in the CSM, they measure from the rocker panel in a specific location for ease I measured from the top of the wheel arch w the 5450 and 5385 I show 27.25" fr and rr...i dont recall what i got when I measured from the CSM location as its a little fiddly to get a good measure there

Lady72nRob71

The 5385 has a rate of 167.5 lbs, which is a tad more than the stiffest rear springs ever put in a 72 A body from the factory. Those springs would go on cars with manual tranny and heavy duty suspension.
I put the convertible equivalents of those in my car and the back end is a bit jittery when traveling solo. When I had four adults in it, it rode great!
The standard Moog rear springs have the rate almost equivalent of the W29 suspension. I bought this set and just have not installed it yet, despite how easy they are...

There is a sticky in the GENERAL section for rockauto 5% off codes.

Sunshn

Hello all, just wrote a long post, which I don't' think submitted, so here is the abbreviated version:

I just received 72 Olds Cutlass yesterday (MO to MA). For the most part, car is as reported in inspection. What i failed to realize is the ridiculously large wheels (22", see link) the previous owner had required suspension that would not work with stock wheels (which I have).

So now I must change coil springs and need advice. One poster in this thread has the exact same coils as recommended by "Diverse Suspension Technologies" which are Moog 5450's for the front and 5385 HD for the rear and loved them… "I have the 5385 on the rear and the 5450 on the front (72 CS) pretty happy w them as far as ride goes, I also have a 1" rear sway bar and 1.25" front sway bar. The car sat exactly perfectly level w those springs and new rubber isolators..."

However, in another post "The 5385 has a rate of 167.5 lbs, which is a tad more than the stiffest rear springs ever put in a 72 A body from the factory. Those springs would go on cars with manual tranny and heavy duty suspension. I put the convertible equivalents of those in my car… "

I wonder what the equivalents are?

What I want is the original, even stance. Not high in the front or back. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/...pso4nvzgld.jpg

RetroRanger

hey sunshn i know your not in mass unless you just moved here in the last 3 days cuz we havent had any sunshine here in a long time except for the last 3 days LOL...

anyways welcome to the forum I posted above ive got the 5450s and 5385s that was 2 years ago I still have them but I plan to swap to the 5536 in the front to drop it down 1 " (w similar rate) and remove the 1 " spacer in the rear...net result 1" lower all around but the same stance of ~1" higher in the rear.

w the 5450s and 5385s the car sat perfectly level as measured on a level surface.

Fun71

5536 in front and PST "442" springs in back (I think they are equivalent to Moog 5409s):


1971convertible15x7SSIIIc_zps66f89e96.jpg

Sunshn

Hey RetroRanger,
Yes, in MA, believe it or not. Thought the nickname went well with the color of the car. It was snowing two weeks ago when I created it

Thanks to you and Fun71 for the info. Sounds like (and looks like) the 5536s and 5409s is the way to go for the correct height. But, I do like the sound of "perfectly level". Plus, will probably have passengers front and rear .

Retro, why the change? Too high appearance-wise or not as good handling?

It's a tough choice, but I'd like to order this week.

On another note: Fun71: your droptop looks incredibly perfect when down, with the boot on. I haven't put the boot on mine yet (previous owner didn't have one), but it looks like the top sits too high when down. See added pic. Is there any trick to making it more flat?

Thanks all

http://s1065.photobucket.com/user/kevin359/library/

Run to Rund

Check Amazon also on pricing.

RetroRanger

looks to high appearance wise so dropping it 1" should get it where i want it.

Fun71

Why yes, there is. It's called having the top in the garage when the car is in the street.

Seriously, I took the top off to restore the frame and haven't put it all back together yet, so the boot cover is just laying over the frame with no fabric or rear window under it. With the complete top underneath it would be bulging up a bit, which is completely normal.

edit: I found this picture from 1990 before I did any resto work on the car and the boot looks flat even with the top under it, so I guess it's all about how far the top drops into the well. Manually folding the material so it lays between the top frame sections as they fold makes a big difference. (That's my co-pilot Sandy the Aussie Dog to the right).

washedlineup_topdown.jpg