I’m considering replacing the rear leaf springs on my 1973 Mustang convertible. It’s pretty “saggy” in the back. I’m not a mechanic, but I am capable of most do it yourself repairs. Can anyone reading this give me some advice as to whether this is a “do it yourself” job or do I need to take the car to a suspension shop to do this?
My goal is to restore the car to its original ride height. Some of the replacement springs I find are more performance oriented and actually lower the rear end by an inch or so. I do not want to do that so I would buy the standard springs. Any thoughts or words of advice on whether I should tackle this job on my own? Thanks.
Depends on what you have for tools. Its an old car so I’m sure they are pretty rusty and it’s going to take more than just a wrench or two. If I were you, if you don’t have any power tools or air tools, take it to a shop and let them deal with the headache. It’s worth the money. Trust me.
I suggest you purchase a service manual for your Mustang, and read through the procedure for spring replacement. Then you can decide whether or not you want to attempt this yourself.
It can be cheaper to install Monroe Load Leveler shocks on the back. Air shocks can last a long time too. The leafs aren’t expensive but the rusted u-bolts and shackle bolts may have to be torched off the car or ground off. It would be cost effective to pay somebody else to do it at a shop.
It’s not hard at all to do from a mechanical standpoint, but you should have all new hardware, U-bolts, spring pads, etc.
You should assume the existing nuts and bolts will never come apart due to rust/age and the fastest and easiest option is to just cut it all apart with a torch or grinder rather than wrestle with PB Blaster and frozen bolts.