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VintageWatercooleds.com Technotes :: greggearhead Technote - B1 Dasher Rear Springs

I wrote this up for the Dasher Forum - though some of you might get a kick out of it:

So, I really don't enjoy driving vehicles that don't handle or perform well, at least in most respects. The Dasher obviously isn't a super car, but I am confident in can be improved greatly to be a really fun vehicle. The 2.0 engine was a good 1st step. Being that I only drove it a very short amount of time with the damaged, underpowered 2cyl 1.6 - I didn't realize how bad the suspension was. It is atrocious. Besides being over 25 years old, it wasn't designed to be a performer when it was produced originally.

I wasn't looking to lower the thing to the ground - enough guys in the local club do that and I have much more fun with a vehicle I can go over speed bumps with and not get high-centered on a bottle cap. Besides, riding on the bump stops doesn't really make for good handling.

So, my goal for the suspension is to be low enough to handle well, and stiff enough to corner without excessive body roll but not lose any functionality. Heck, I may even autocross it!

So, because the Dasher is my low-buck project car, and because there is nothing produced off the shelf in terms of lowering sport springs, I headed out to my favorite salvage yard (yes, they know me by name in a city of 600,000 people). I planned on doing the rear first, as the springs were sagging badly and the tires would rub going over anything resembling a bump. Tape measure in hand, I was looking for something dimensionally similar to the Dasher coils, but from a heavier car, thinking they would have to be a higher/stiffer spring rate. (BTW - my setup is not a coil-over - separate springs and shocks on the 79 2dr). Example pic:

After a lot of crawling around, I pulled out some Volvo 240 springs, as I heard they would work, but they didn't match my measurements so I left them there. Next, I found some early Nissan Maxima rear springs that were pretty close, but not perfect. I held onto them until I found a Volvo 740. It is a rear wheel drive, straight axle 4 dr sedan, rather large compared to the Dasher, but much smaller than, say, a Ford Crown Vic. Anyway, one bolt on each side and the springs were out. Measured up VERY close to what I was looking for.

After picking up some other parts (salvage yards are like Home Depot for me - I can't leave without buying a bunch of stuff), I went home and started disassembling the rear suspension.

Removing the bottom bolt of the shocks allowed the rear axle to swing down, supported by a jack, and the springs were free. As an aside, I had a clunking in the rear end with any minor loading/unloading of the suspension - think a gravel road. Hard loading or cornering didn't do it, so I suspected the shock mountings. Yep. The shocks are KYB Gas A just and the upper mount on the driver side had a metal tube that the shock bolt goes through, surrounded by a rubber bushing. Well, that metal tube ID was too large for the bolt. The right side was fine. Weird, but I wasn't just going to put up with it. So I got out some aluminum sheet stock to try to make a shim inside the tube to be tight against the bolt. Even my thinnest aluminum was too thick. Then I noticed the beer can on my desk in the garage from the night before. Hmmm. Cut it up and yessiree, it worked perfectly. Just snug enough to allow the bolt to fit and still be tight. Just an FYI for those of you that might run into similar situations. OK - back to the Spring swap:

So, with the Dasher spring out, I set the Volvo spring next to it as well as a rear Corrado G60 spring for comparison purposes. From left to right - Stock Dasher, Volvo 740, Corrado G60

So, with that comparison of the free heights, and the greater stiffness of the Volvo springs, I thought I would start out by just cutting off the pigtail at the end of the Volvo spring to make it fit - by estimating, that should have been about where I wanted to be with ride height.

The top of the Volvo spring winds in to a smaller diameter and needs to be removed - looking top-down on the spring I marked with yellow paint where I was about to cut. You can see it in the 8:30-9:00 position.

So, 10 sec later with a cutting disc and the spring was ready. With the both prepped, I started to install them, using the Dasher upper rubber isolators. Well, the Volvo springs are a tiny smidge smaller in ID of the coil, and the spring wire is a smidge larger in cross-section, so they didn't want to fit on and stay securely. Luckily, I had pulled and kept the Volvo lower rubber isolators. They mocked up perfectly but had two small "ears" that had to be cut off.

Tin snipes made short order of those and I put the springs in and started moving the axle back up into position. It took a little careful pushing and prodding to make sure the springs went to their new homes correctly, but it came out fine. Bolted the lower shock mounts back to the axle and let the car down.

Bounced it a few times and it looked very good to me. About 1/4=3/8" higher than before, but still fitting well within the wheel well opening.

A quick test drive around the block and I was ecstatic. The rear suspension was transformed. No more rubbing over bumps and the rear didn't squat at all like it did before. The front was still as wallowy as ever, but until I get new strut inserts, I am going to have to wait.

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