Green Machine in surgery

I have been driving the Green Machine for almost two years now and the low suspension was bothering me more and more. Banging and rattling of the suspension, the smell of burned rubber as the thread of the rear tires was being scrubbed away by the wheelarch...

I decided enough is enough and after a few tries 'the easy way' by putting rubber blocks in the coil springs and pumping up the hijackers in the rear, I decided to raise the damn thing.

Now I know, low=cool but I want to enjoy driving the thing. In fact, I spend way more time driving it than looking at it so I took the plunge.

I got some used leaf springs and coils and some new bump stops (the old ones were pounded to dust by the suspension arms) and got to work.

Dismantling the rear suspension was easy, the underside is still really clean and rustfree and I had no trouble loosening the nuts and bolts and getting the old leaf springs out. Check out the difference between the old one and new one:

At this stage, I was getting a little worried about the amount of extra height I was gonna get by fitting this new pair. Even though the new pair has one leaf less, it looks like it's going to sit a lot higher. I also noticed the non-original shackles, probably fitted by someone who wanted to get some extra height the easy way. Doesn't look that safe to me, compared to the originals...

I fitted the springs, lowered the van and my fear was reality...

Next week I'll fit the front coils and try to get the right stance, stay tuned....