'60 LeSabre Suspension Questions

**OZ40** · 06-01-2010, 05:12 AM

As you all know by now I'm new to old Buicks so here's a couple more questions I hope someone can assit me with. I hope this is the right place for Suspension questions. Looking at the underside of my LeSabre I notice not a heck of a lot of ground clearance, maybe 6 or 7 inches at most. My exhaust seems to bottom out on dips or rougher roads and it doesn't seem to take much to do it. I know the stock muffler was replaced with twin glass-packs in the rear mounted alongside each other. The place where the bottoming out seems to happen is up near the pan area of the trans. I know this because the exhause pipe is semi flattened on the bottom there. BUT, it doesn't seem to hang down much lower than the pan itself. Was this section of pipe routed a different way that brought it up closer to the underside of the car?

I am thinking of having the suspension checked out and maybe replacing the springs and shocks. Any suggestions as to what type of shock (stiffer, gas, air, etc) would help the most? Any thoughts on spring replacements?

Has anyone else had bottoming out issues with LeSabre?

I also thought maybe different tires with a slightly higher sidewall may also help a bit.

**OOPSETTER1** · 06-01-2010, 09:08 AM

I have a '63 LeSabre, and I don't recall that it has ever "bottomed out" while driving. I'm still running stock configuration exhaust on it, though. It has 225/75/15 tires on it, which are pretty much equivalent to the H78-15 tires of days gone by. It is possible that whoever installed the dual exhaust on your car bent the pipes in a way that allow them to hang lower than they should, and as you mentioned, a lower profile tire would also cause this.

**OZ40** · 06-01-2010, 09:44 AM

Thanks "OOPSETTER1" I appreciate the information. I will check my tire size tonight. I know the huge wheelbase in conjunction with the low profile of the car may play a part in the bottoming out but even mildly sloped driveways and business entrances cause that uneasy feeling scrape!

**Maikl** · 06-01-2010, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by OZ40

[...]Was this section of pipe routed a different way that brought it up closer to the underside of the car?

I am thinking of having the suspension checked out and maybe replacing the springs and shocks. Any suggestions as to what type of shock (stiffer, gas, air, etc) would help the most? Any thoughts on spring replacements?

[...]

Plan B: Try to find somebody with a 60 LeSabre as stock as possible near you and compare routing of the exhaust pipes...

Stiffer shocks: My 56 came equipped with shocks that have an additional spring installed, probably because 56' are rather weakly sprung in the rear. Going through a trench that cost me one upper mounting bracket of a shock - just broke apart. These brackets seem rather underdimensioned and I guess the shock-spring was just more than it could take...

**OZ40** · 06-01-2010, 03:03 PM

Checked my tires, they are size P215/75 R15, does that mean your tires have a higher sidewall?

**OOPSETTER1** · 06-01-2010, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by OZ40

Checked my tires, they are size P215/75 R15, does that mean your tires have a higher sidewall?

Check the reference section on this site, there is a wealth of tire information there regarding wheels and tires. According to the diameter calculator on that page, the 225/75/15's I have on my '63 LeSabre are 28.3 inches in diameter, and the 215/75/15's you're currently using are 27.7 inches in diameter.

I'm also running old-fashioned "bias ply" tires on my '63, and not radials...but I don't think this would make any big difference in ride height.

Tires can be so confusing for us "old car buffs". My '49 Super, from what I can learn, was supposed to be equipped with 7.50/15 tires, which in the 70's were most closely matched to H-78-15 tires. These days, the most closely matching tire size is 225/75/15.

Anyhow, read that page in the reference section, and it will help to clear things up for you.

**OZ40** · 06-02-2010, 04:45 AM

Thanks so much for the info!

**buick 64 65 68** · 06-12-2010, 12:48 AM

i got a 68 and it dose that same thing it seem for what i can tell is that it just the flex in the existed that make it do that becose my systems stock

**WildKitty** · 06-12-2010, 09:50 AM

hmmmm, stock and dragging mufflers?

methinks the coils have compressed over the years.

I put 235/75R15s on my 64 Wildcat and air shocks.

the glasspacks are mounted in the valleys of the X frame and the exhaust tips come out in front of the rear wheels.

I've not had anything bottom out, even with a full trunk and full tank of gas.

to change a 235, I do need a bumper jack so the tire will clear the fender well on the rear.
64 LeSabre
64 Wildcat

**64 Wildcat Conv** · 07-05-2010, 06:55 AM

Wildkitty, can you give me some info on your air shock set up? I've found that when hauling 4 adults in my 64 Wildcat that I am dragging on some driveways, especially those that up/down hill right off of the road. There are a lot of them here in the mountains of NC. I am looking for something that will maintain stock ride height regardless of load with a leveling switch.