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I need some springs for my chevette, but nobody makes springs for chevettes. Could I just order springs that are the same diameter with the spring rate I want and cut them until I have the desired ride hight? I just need two. How much do custom springs cost?
Is there a way I can measure mine so I can order them ready to go when I get them?
If you cut a spring, you are increasing the spring rate.
I'd check with a circle track supplier. They seem to have a lot of different sizes/rates for cheap.
That should be pretty easy to do. There are online calculators to figure coil spring rate, like this one: http://www.stockcarproducts.com/pstech10.htm The rule of thumb is that if you cut off, say, 10% of the length of a spring the spring then becomes 10% stiffer. There's no reason you couldn't find some boneyard springs the same OD but with thicker wire and use those.
Keep in mind that the rate at the SPRING and at the WHEEL are different! That's a different set of calculations, but you must first know the spring rate to calculate the wheel rate.
If you must have custom springs, please see one of the two companies below. I know they do amazing work with off-road trucks but they make any spring, any size..
Sounds like a good application of a set of cheap Ebay coilovers :) 2.5" springs are available in a lot of rates and lengths, so you should be able to find something off-the-shelf (ie, cheap) to suit your needs.
http://www.coilsprings.com/ will make anything your heart desires.
many options:
look for some front coils off Impulse and start cutting
a few Fiero aftermarket springs are available but are likely quite low, may need spacers
if you don't mind paying the freight there are options via Europe and Oz
for starters try contacting these folks: TJM
search KadettC and you'll find a lot euro stuff. fyi 'fahrwerk' refers to chassis
Aussie companies like King, Lovells, Pedders, etc make springs for Holden Gemini. there is now a Pedders USA so may be able to order through them and save on shipping.
custom coils:
impulsive wrote:many options:
look for some front coils off Impulse and start cutting
a few Fiero aftermarket springs are available but are likely quite low, may need spacers
if you don't mind paying the freight there are options via Europe and Oz
for starters try contacting these folks: TJM
search KadettC and you'll find a lot euro stuff. fyi 'fahrwerk' refers to chassis
Aussie companies like King, Lovells, Pedders, etc make springs for Holden Gemini. there is now a Pedders USA so may be able to order through them and save on shipping.
custom coils:
I accually posted a thread asking about this but I can't get a strait answer. Nobody seems to know if the euro T-platform and the American one have the same suspension. If I could varify this then I could get anything I wanted, but I don't want to pay shipping from the UK or Australia and it not fit.
Heck, I'd just measure the diameter of the spring and the wire diameter, head to the boneyard and start measurin'. I got bored (no customers this afternoon, must be too cold here in Chucktown) and Moog still offers OE springs. There was one thread at hotrodders.com where a guy was planning a V6 swap in a Chevette and was asking about springs, one guy said he had gotten aftermarket diesel springs but they were flattened out within a year!
I also found this thread over at 60degreev6.com:
http://60degreev6.com/forum/f109/chevette-swap-which-engine-is-best-t40268
It seems that there are a bunch of interchangeable parts with other makes.
EDIT: And when I look further, seems you have already been there. 
Heck, I'd just measure the diameter of the spring and the wire diameter, head to the boneyard and start measurin'.
Seriously. It's a berkeleying coiled up piece of metal ferchrissake. Use anything. Truck springs, honda springs, volvo springs, whatever. Locate with a couple of worm-drive clamps and rubber PVC cap if necessary, and away you go.
The Holden Gemini Is the same as a chevette. They sold them here as the Isuzu I-mark. I have seem them and looked at them, and the suspension is exactly the same. Look at the link for the white autocross car that I posted in your other thread, that is a USA car, not from europe or australia. From what I could see looking at pics, the Vauzhall chevette at least looks the smae under the hood (shock towers, etc).
Travis_K wrote:The Holden Gemini Is the same as a chevette. They sold them here as the Isuzu I-mark. I have seem them and looked at them, and the suspension is exactly the same. Look at the link for the white autocross car that I posted in your other thread, that is a USA car, not from europe or australia. From what I could see looking at pics, the Vauzhall chevette at least looks the smae under the hood (shock towers, etc).
I just checked the local parts store and the shocks don't cross over from the I-mark to the chevette.
Hmm they are physically different? I wanted one of those cars for a while and i looked at alot of them in the junkyard and they looked the same.
mrdontplay wrote:Just because the part's #'s don't cross over, doesn't mean they won't work or fit. I'd want to have one in each hand and compare them, rather than just a parts guy saying they don't cross reference.Travis_K wrote:The Holden Gemini Is the same as a chevette. They sold them here as the Isuzu I-mark. I have seem them and looked at them, and the suspension is exactly the same. Look at the link for the white autocross car that I posted in your other thread, that is a USA car, not from europe or australia. From what I could see looking at pics, the Vauzhall chevette at least looks the smae under the hood (shock towers, etc).
I just checked the local parts store and the shocks don't cross over from the I-mark to the chevette.
shocks are the same, control arm bushings are the same, ball joints are the same. go to rockauto and partsamerica catalogs and look around some more.
Travis_K wrote:The Holden Gemini Is the same as a chevette. They sold them here as the Isuzu I-mark. I have seem them and looked at them, and the suspension is exactly the same. Look at the link for the white autocross car that I posted in your other thread, that is a USA car, not from europe or australia. From what I could see looking at pics, the Vauzhall chevette at least looks the smae under the hood (shock towers, etc).
Not quite, the Gemini is a RWD platform whereas the I-mark is FWD, nothing is the same
Checking on the Gemini forums the front upper shock mount looks the same as the Isuzu JR, including the Lotus version.
I once ordered a set of eight custom springs from McMaster-Carr (I presume they outsource this sort of thing). They weren't for an automotive project, but the price seemed pretty reasonable and it appears you could order springs from them that would work for a car. However, I did order it by dimensions and did not give the spring rate - I had already calculated all that out.
Not quite, the Gemini is a RWD platform whereas the I-mark is FWD, nothing is the same
81-84 I-mark = rwd = Gemini
Huh I guess I haven't seen a first generation I-mark/Gemini since I've been here
http://www.isuzuperformance.com/isupage/feature/rrimagm.html That is the kind of I-mark I was talking about. Just from looking at the 2 of them in pick and pull, they have the same suspension as the chevette. I used to want one, until I decided that I wasnt interested in dealing with 80s carbed 4 cylinders. One with an EFI engine from an Impluse swapped in would be nice though.
I just checked and they have the same part number for the front shocks, but not the rears. Im not exactly sure how the rears are different, but in their pictures they look pretty much the same.
Travis_K wrote:I just checked and they have the same part number for the front shocks, but not the rears. Im not exactly sure how the rears are different, but in their pictures they look pretty much the same.
Where did you look? Me and a friend how works at the parts store looked both up and they mounted different and the I-mark shocks were longer.
Well PartsAmerica says they are the same part#. Does anyone Know where I can get Adjustable ones??? I may be doing a V6 swap soon will I need different shocks for the extra weight? I'm going to use S10 springs up front and move my front springs to the rear.
Muscle Motorsports should have something you can use. Circle track racers also have a threaded spring spacer that they use when tracks don't allow weight jackers. http://www.musclemotorsports.com/suspension-springs.html http://www.cmwraceparts.com/Springs/springs37.html
