Hiya all!

I see lots of discussions about lowering these little cars, but how does one go with raising the rear end a bit and stiffening it up so that you can have a couple of passengers in the back without the car bottoming out?

I've read in this topic http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... f=5&t=6527 that "landrover defender 90/110 front shocks are a direct fit". I imagine that would be good for standard springs but no good if you wanted to raise the rear end?

* Has anyone added another leaf to their rear springs?
* Has anyone used a set of leaf springs from another MAKE of vehicle - if so what was it and how did that work out?

All input is welcomed...even if you just want to say G'day!
Thanks in advance,
Anne.

p.s. Hubby was waffling-on the other day about "adjustable air-bags"...anyone had any experience with these?

The landrover things are dampers only so wont affect height (or if they do something is seriously wrong) We put double springs on Hugh's car (well... Andy put them on whilst we sat round taking the mick out of things...) it's certainly doable and worked well for what you want.

Can you get yours retempered?

by Chris_C » 15 Jan 2009 08:23 pm

The landrover things are dampers only so wont affect height (or if they do something is seriously wrong) We put double springs on Hugh's car (well... Andy put them on whilst we sat round taking the mick out of things...) it's certainly doable and worked well for what you want.

Can you get yours retempered?

Hey Chris, thanks for the clarification on the Landrover bits. The problem with putting double springs is that the Volvo bits aren't available at the stealerships over here anymore, but I'm sure we can get the re-tempered as we had a blacksmith mate of ours do some on a Ford ute years ago, wish that guy still lived here in town, he was a magician with a fire and a lump of metal! Hubby is goingto be calling "the spring joint" tomorrow to see what they can come up with and we'll go from there I suppose.

Pain in the bum is that I've got a toyota corolla seca sitting in the yard and nothing will fit the Volvo...doh!

G'day!

has it been lowered or are you talking about from standard?

someone, somewhere, has made a kit to change from leaf springs (naff) to 5-link - it must be possible, therefore, for someone at your end to come up with something similar..

Has anyone ever thought about basterdising the rear running gear of a sierra or something, to make it fit a 360? any other cars that might be a bit closer size wise?

this is one of the main reasons i got peed off with my 360 - its only good for 1/2 people, hence i wanted the two door (and to weld the seats down haha)

stuartB wrote:Has anyone ever thought about basterdising the rear running gear of a sierra or something, to make it fit a 360? any other cars that might be a bit closer size wise?

Wouldn't see much point in that, a 360 would surely outhandle a Sierra anyway I think you'll struggle to carry anything heavy in any lowered car, regardless of the rear end setup. Would be interested to see what benefits you'd get from a 5 link conversion setup.

stuartB wrote:G'day!

has it been lowered or are you talking about from standard?

someone, somewhere, has made a kit to change from leaf springs (naff) to 5-link - it must be possible, therefore, for someone at your end to come up with something similar..

Has anyone ever thought about basterdising the rear running gear of a sierra or something, to make it fit a 360? any other cars that might be a bit closer size wise?

this is one of the main reasons i got peed off with my 360 - its only good for 1/2 people, hence i wanted the two door (and to weld the seats down haha)

AFAIK it's standard.
I do have that corolla seca in the back yard...maybe bastardising that will work...needs more investigation.

Hubby just got off the phone with "the spring joint"...the guy has never heard of OR even seen a 360, so without the measurements it's no point even taking the car anywhere near him...useless turd!

Does anyone have the measurements for a stock standard 360 5 door hatch rear leaf springs? PLEASE??

Edited due to typos...I should learn not to post when cranky.

Figgys mind rambling...

Bloody corolla has coil springs under her bum, so that's no good, the only small rear wheel drive cars I can think of ATM that are in Oz are Datsun/Nissen 120Y and older things like that. There's still plenty of them on the road up here...more that lil Volvos, so I might investigate that a bit further? Still going to need the measurements for the Volvo to start with though, aren't I?

Cheers all!

I have some 340 leaves that I can measure for you if that helps. They're the same as 360 aren't they? Except for GLT I mean.

SteveP wrote:a 360 would surely outhandle a Sierra anyway

This is a huge truth. The 300s are also far more predictable when 'proceeding at an angle inconsistent with the direction of travel'.

They are exactly the same, but GLT is a little stiffer...

Figgy: Doesn't have to be volvo springs. Loads of busses, 4x4's, even corvette's use leafsprings. Only the width could be a problem...Get to a Junkyard!:+

pistonpen paultje wrote:They are exactly the same, but GLT is a little stiffer...

Figgy: Doesn't have to be volvo springs. Loads of busses, 4x4's, even corvette's use leafsprings. Only the width could be a problem...Get to a Junkyard!:+

Yep, we're going to be searching the wreckers yards etc...just thought I'd ask in here first as maybe someone had actually raised one of these lil volvos...as opposed to lowering them. Not sure anyone in here has?


by filthyjohn » 16 Jan 2009 11:01 am

I have some 340 leaves that I can measure for you if that helps. They're the same as 360 aren't they? Except for GLT I mean.

If you could do that it would help out a lot as we don't really have a decent measurement because her bum is so saggy.

Cheers!
Anne.

Ive seen a hightend 340 once, in Croatia . They had put the axle untherneath the sprnigs instead of above. But it looked kind of like a monstertruck

pistonpen paultje wrote:Ive seen a hightend 340 once, in Croatia . They had put the axle untherneath the sprnigs instead of above. But it looked kind of like a monstertruck

I reckon it would look a bit nasty and a bit like a 4WD.

Width(inch) Count Thickness(inch) Length(inch) Stiffness (LBS-In)
2.755897 1 0.2559056 49.2127 18.20

Width(mm) Count Thickness(mm) Length(mm) Stiffness (N/m)
70.00 1 6.50 1250.00 31942.34


Perhaps? Width is one I doubt a bit, but that is easy to measure from car too