Dirt Cheap, Simple Upgrade For All Leaf Spring Cars And Trucks

In a performance car or truck with a leaf spring rear suspension, there are multiple forces at work attempting to distort the front segments. This simple fix is an effective, universal thing that may prevent you from having to add parts or scrap the entire suspension all together.

[@23Roadster1]

Hey Tony, good job on the selfie stick. If I could just make a constructive suggestion; when you "get down" to show hard to access areas (under-carriage, small details, ect.) it would be far clearer if the area/item was brightly lit from a separate source (flood light, spot light, whatever works). Keep up the good work!

[@danboutin8700]

Also your face doesn’t need to be in the video. No offense you can take the camera and zoom in closer on the object you are talking about ! 👍🏻as always

[@alan6832]

And you don't need your face in every frame. When you are under the car, It's okay to turn the camera around and just have the subject and your finger pointing at stuff.

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

Exactly what I was going to write. It was hard to see the areas under the cars.

[@robdailey]

I'm fairly certain that he's not doing what he's doing for the purpose of keeping his face in frame, but rather his face being in frame is incidental to continuously looking at the screen to see what is in frame. It looks as if he's trying to make sure that what he wants to show us is actually on the screen. He'll figure it out after he does a few videos with the new stick.

[@robertreid1499]

@@robdailey …

[@nicholasagnew2792]

I imagine there are plenty of people who can tell you what to do to a car to achieve certain goals, but there are few who can accurately and effectively explain why and the how behind doing these things, and even fewer who can give this type of advise every day exploring every aspect of a vehicle. You rock man!

[@carguy3028]

Not only that but he gives real solutions that is normal people can afford. Usually on a show it’s buy thousands of dollars of parts and here’s how you install them. He shows us things we can actually do on a real budget.

[@garyburdick1992]

I agree totally! I bet he’s forgotten more about vehicles than I’ll ever know!

[@alan6832]

What about braking? Wouldn't you want clamps behind the axle for braking just the way you would want them in front during acceleration?

[@danielocean2665]

And dude did it while working a new piece of technology. Dude is a legend.

[@frikyouall]

This man is every kid's Jewish dad in every sitcom in the 90's. It was very wholesome and entertaining. It also helped me understand the multi-leaf structure in a leaf spring setup. Thanks for that, fella, I appreciate it.

[@1HotRob]

You are one of the last few knowledgeable, experienced & wise special automotive industry people left on this planet.

[@1HotRob]

I do have a question for you, if I may… So you’ve seen the old classic cars sitting there with the lean to the driver’s side, apparently due to the years & years of the driver’s sitting weight on the left side. Is that something that can be corrected easily corrected??

[@williamstamper442]

When I made leaf spring clamps for my duramax, the first ones were nowhere near stout enough. Had to go to 1/2 steel and grade8 5/8 bolts! That did the trick, truck went 12.20@111 weighing in at 7450lbs.

[@georgewelker853]

Left alone without the clamps I bet you snapped a good amount of springs, I snapped a whole mess of springs on all of the stuff I’ve had with leaf springs. I used to load up the springs and actually squat the truck and smoke people off the line… but springs were consumables 😂😂😂

[@pri3stburgess168]

Modern vehicle owners will never know the struggle lol. This is the stuff that won races in the day

[@snoofayy6150]

hey Tony your video from a few days ago on assembling drum brakes really helped me get the hang of it! the next day at work i ended up having to replace the parking brake shoes and hardware on both a dodge ram and then a merc c class it was the first time it finally *just made sense* how to pry/screwdriver them all into place! and now this spring/summer im gonna be taking apart a pack of commercial (4 leaf steel instead of the regular 3 leafs) astro van leaves me and a buddy pulled from the junkyard, im gonna be putting new bushings and rubbers and repainting them to replace the sagged fibreglass monoleafs on my hand me down 94 safari, I'll definitely be on the hunt for some more clamps to add upon re-assembly 😎 biggest of thanks for helping this 23 year old make the best of wrenching for a living 👍

[@LiamsGotThis]

You did good with the camera! Just get some floor lights for anything you are trying to show so the viewers can see it better.

[@TD_YT066]

Yep, need some sort of camera light or lightbar when working under the cars.

[@autophyte]

@@TD_YT066 There's no need for extra light under the car if you take the camera off your face (which is quite handsome, just not needed in every shot) and move it in close to what you're trying to show. When it's completely surrounded by dark, the camera will adjust for the dark and lighten the picture up. There'll also be no shadows as you'd get from auxiliary lighting.

[@saxmusicmail]

Somewhere in all the old DC stuff, the manuals or whatever they called them (Stage 1, do this, Stage 2, add this to above, etc), they said to do exactly this. And DC had clamps you could buy. Being young, newly married, broke, I made my own from some pieces of 3/8" plate I pulled from the scrap bin at work. Cut them into appropriate size retangles, blew some holes in them, and used some bolts and lock nuts to secure in place. Worked like a charm. And nothing hanging down like traction bars. The car was a complete sleeper.

[@archivegarage7638]

Another tip to combat axle wrap is get the 2nd leaf down to extend nearly to the front hanger (see gap/stepping at 7:00 ). Pick up a 2nd set of OE springs, pull the main leaf, cut the eyes off it and swap that into your original leaf pack. Also make sure the clamps you add allow the leaves to slide against each other

[@jerrygreen2883]

I had horrible axle wrap on my 84 C10 after doing an axle flip and drop shackle, since I wasn't able to use my old traction bars. After watching your video I put one clamp on each spring and it made a huge difference. Totally eliminated the axle wrap and I'm back to doing line locks in front of the house.

[@wordfabstream8745]

Are you SURE she said "Go FILM yourself" Uncle Tony? ;)

[@garretvernon8176]

Back in the day on our dirt car(‘77 Camaro) we duct taped the entire spring pack on both sides to accomplish this. In effect it mimicked a Chrysler monoleaf setup.

[@lafrancois6323]

Thanks uncle Tony. I love listening to older wise men who been through it already. These type of men give us younger men essentially the cheat codes to this game of life. Listen up to the wise.

[@vertexjeff4318]

Hey Tony - you did a good job holding the camera. The only suggestion I have is to try to improve the lighting when you are showing details under, or inside the car. Thanks for what you do, dude!

[@johnspradlin46]

I watched your video and totally agree with spring clamps. I did this on my 1953 Mercury back in 1963. It picked up the height and extra stiffness.

[@morelanmn]

Tony, you did ok filming this. It just takes some time to get the hang of it. You did seen super clean in the Go-Pro. It would be nice for you to address the axle placement on the leaf spring. Thanks

[@paulpepi1047]

Pretty darn good for your first attempt Tony , that spring info was good , real good , I was going to put some old school tramp bars on my 65 valiant but now I don't 👍

[@jeromebreeding3302]

Had a 59 Ford, that like all 59-64, was a tail dragger. Most people added long shackles at that back. A batter remedy is to re-arch and add two or three leaves. That's what I did. It gave the car a mild rake, and solved traction problems with my 390 ,C-6 combo.

[@brucew13]

Tony Your Camera Work - The message is coming across 100% understandable with your camera work, its all about the info man! Camera work fine enough for me, people have got to used to the polished TV stations BS, I am nah I want to see the real stuff, stuff ups and good bits and all! Great work, this is my fav channel and camera work is all fine by me! Its all about the tips and tricks! And I just learnt something out of this video about springs!!!!

[@guyharrison909]

Cathy does a great job, another one of those things that men don't really notice or value. She is just in the background making the wheels turn figuratively while Tony makes the wheels turn literally.

[@mdcuddy3286]

One trick we used was on a Datsun 620 pickup the rear leaf springs had a 'helper bar' in the spring pack; using this bar and using several of the clamps stiffened the rear and took out the axle wrapping. Also look at tail shaft angle from the trans, the driveshaft angle, and the pinion angle with the car fully loaded on the ground, front end lifted, and have several camera shots of acceleration on the pinion. All these help to keep the axle wrap to a minimum.

[@gvxclassics]

I like the part with you flailing on the floor. Great ideas for the rear springs. Thanks Unc.

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

I've been planning the rear suspension setup for my 302 swapped Ford Ranger since before starting the project. Even though I'm not looking to make "stupid" power numbers with the build, the stock setup would wheel hop with just the original 2.3/5 speed. I've already installed new springs with an additional leaf and 3 extra clamps. On top of that, I also built a set of slapper bars that are long enough to reach the front spring eyes. Hopefully these parts will keep everything planted.

[@andrewparry6106]

Tempted to redo a raptor..any good?

[@mavicpro7494]

I'm putting a 77 hornet together with about 370 hp and have been wondering how to control the axle wrap . Looks like the answer is easier than I thought !

[@ericswilley357]

Tony is a national treasure… love the channel!

[@nickking1510]

Hi Tony . I have had great luck using the Superior over loader springs both the 2000lb coils I installed on my 1992 tracker. Also used coils for shocks added to my 1976 f41 corvette rear replacement HD shock s . I cut a Superior overloaded spring in half for a 1974 Buick park ave installed on my vette new shock a few years back for auto cross to my surprise it stiffened the already super stiff f41 suspension but made the c3 vette ride more bearable on the street with 0 body lean . Superior also has leaf spring booster helpers you can bolt on to existing leafs which I have used on a 1997 ford truck . The good news is that in Canada I buy the add on springs very cheap . The results on my 1992 tracker with 2 added 2000 lb coil kit added to rear axel along with the stock coils in place a 4-5 inch lift and very little body lean in turns no bottoming out and better handling and looks . Bonus paid $19.99 for the 2 spring and install kit ,install time was an hour using a jack . Old school solutions ,old guys rule lolol

[@panchosamurai]

You're a well of knowledge man. I always stop what I'm doing to to watch your videos and learn something

[@johncunningham4820]

That was Actively USEFUL information . Even Tech Savvy people like myself may not figure this out . But it is obvious , when you think about it . A third element Torque rod to the top of the Diff housing would do the same I believe .

[@kentmckean6795]

Tony: don't worry, you did a good job, especially explaining leaf springs.

[@dougcrosby6994]

I've done this before as well and it's very effective. What I'd really like to see is the effective changes it makes to the spring rate. I can say that after adding the clamps on the front of the springs that it required less shock settings. Cool old info! Keep it up!

[@siliconvalleyengineer5875]

Im a new viewer of your channel, and i found this leaf spring clamping idea's very informative, thank you Tony & crew !

[@JacksonEngineering]

UT, the camera work was actually not at all bad. Not only that, but the quick and easy tip for my favorite style of suspension was excellent! Keep it up dude!

[@MySparkle888]

Uncle Tony is now survivor man!

[@bennyboyy7]

I swear everyone of your videos has some funny moments that just don't compare to any other channel. The batman angle cracked me up, I heard old the theme sound playing in my head

[@arthurmoore1524]

Man Tony I've got a Nova, it's got a 375hp/425tq 327 with some head work and it's .30 It's not a power issue whatsoever it curves and performs well... freely I just can't get it to hook and tubbing isn't in it's near future, 235/70/15 is the limit on tire size. I'm gonna weld the diff this weekend until I finish the 12 bolt I'm building for it to hopefully take care of this issue with a 4:11 spool This video has given me some good teachings, thanks.

[@DDSpeedShop]

Haha change is good. I'm just amazed your brain doesn't overheat from 2 tasks at once.

[@foxisretrofitting4556]

This is good information. I feel like this would be good for trucks and vans as well to help spread the mileage on the springs as well. You're doing better than I would with a selfie stick. Most of my stuff is done camera in hand, on tripod, or done in bit by bit sections and then edited. I'd be lost if someone handed me a selfie stick.

[@patricklynch1962]

You guys are doing fine with the camera. Good info, too.

[@bruceadams3687]

Hey ,first time in your shop. I think you did a pretty good job with the camera on a stick! I learned about clamps on the front of the leaf spring today. Very valuable info. I did not know that! Thanks for sharing.

[@RK48frazergasser]

You did great uncle Tony its just like the first time with a young lady. The more time with it it will be easy

[@N1NJ4K1TT3NNCT]

I enjoy the solo uncle tony cam! I could tell you you were having a blast trying to figure it out.

[@ericfaley9019]

Your kinda makes us dizzy but your learning. I ran the Mopar performance spring clamps in the 80’s on my Road Runner along with a pinion snubber and battery in truck.

[@bw3506]

With my Dodge mud race truck I took some heavy strap like 3/8" thick 3" wide. I drilled and bolted through it with grade 8 1/2" bolts with nyloc nuts on the outside of the springs. I did that so it cold be left loose enough to let the springs slip just a little. It has lift blocks so the spring wrap is terrible. They are way stronger than that tin crap they put on from the factory. Of course my truck is abused severely and these fixed the issue. I run them on the front axle too even though it doesn't use blocks there.

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

Hey Tony, Go Film Yourself already! Good job! I used to do a clamp job on leaf springs. It works.

[@boilerroomed3682]

"LIGHTS", Camera, Action!!!

[@jeanlawson9133]

This could have been useful back in the 70's when I was in highschool.....I had these friends that were twins.... with a 77 bandit edition TA we called them 2 tons of Fun needless to say the leaf springs could have used a upgrade...😮 What about a motorized selfie stick where it can go in and out and rotate left and right 👍.... Awesome video...

[@ladonnaghareeb4609]

You get an A+ Uncle Tony.

[@johnnysechrist6313]

I just took 2x2 angle iron and made my own traction bars. Stopped wheel hop on my 65 Cyclone four speed. Good advice from a neighbor in Randolph county NC, Mr. Petty.

[@melvindavis2789]

Only suggestion is to add a couple of lights to the work area you want to show under the cars. The areas without direct light were a bit hard to see but leaf springs are super basic so visuals weren't super important. Other than that great information, as always.

[@CrazyWillie01]

Loved it Uncle Tony , Hotrod Jesus up in Manatoba goes on and on about . I went ahead and prescribed

[@michaelcarroll4934]

Great job Uncle Tony, a little lighting under the car would be helpful, but other than that, great video. 👍

[@johnmcdonald1293]

Great work TONY love the show from Australia.

[@ewconway]

UT did a great job using the selfie stick!

[@RabidTransitGarage]

I gotta say that was very entertaining with you filming yourself and it turned out great!

[@Hipsters_N_Hippies]

He did pretty well with the Camera.

[@frankholeton6133]

Howdy Tony...Honestly, Considering I worked in a Spring Shop. basicly since I could walk...I've heard about everything until this...Your about halfway there...but those rear clips are there for damn good reasons...Reconsider the nonsense...Sincerely and with respect

[@donteblack7294]

👍🏾👊🏽 great job Uncle Tony I like you with the camera

[@Geoduck.]

Yea, you did fine my friend it's about content not fancy camera work. The go-pro technique will come with experience as others have mentioned good lighting is important but we could see what you were talking about.

[@garywinkel1831]

Lol, you did great, Tony. Nice job on the selfie stick! You were almost as good as a teenage girl! Great content, great video!

[@k5ren]

"Old Dog with a New Trick" superbly explaining important Old Tricks. I enjoyed this Tony!

[@RealWorldGarage]

“Why don’t you go film yourself” somehow I think she may have used another 4 letter f word. 😂 love you Uncle Cathy!! ✌️

[@sxs4l245]

Ye Ole Boys crack me up with that darn "new fangled" techmonologies....UT, I watch for the old school mechanics wisdom. I'm a GM man, but I really like the videos pal. Be well.

[@mb-fs1yo]

We would take a long heavy leaf and cut it behind the axle mount and make the front length reach just past the eye mount on the front side, mounting one on each side under the spring pack and clamping them to the pack, worked excellent to control axle wrap and plant the rear tires. A poor man’s traction bar that wouldn’t catch anything due to hanging down.

[@mattjacomos2795]

I thought I saw a wisp of smoke early in the video, but I didn't see the butt until 5:40! Multi Tasking UT! I'm proud of you already! Love the Ricky Bobby reference too!

[@Sedan57Chevy]

Good info and a good job with the camera. A little fun is always good! You've got a great personality for this more vlog-style video- Even without editing you're still very good at getting your point across.

[@noisefuljoy]

Rockin' those Buddy Holly specs! Rave On!

[@enigmasvids9615]

Deep six the selfie stick Tony (it's primarily a accessory for self focused hedonist's recording the mundane aspects of their vacuous lives.) Your channel is both informative and enjoyable. The camera or whatever filming device was used previously records the visual details more accurately allowing you to focus on presentation and explanation, which I see as your forte. Multi-tasking by virtue of also self-recording your presentation just distracts from your focus. Just my opinion, but I see no technical or other advantage to using a selfie stick, just because others do. I'm sure there's a keen young film-maker/reality enthusiast out there who'd enjoy the practical experience of working with you and refinining those specific skills. To cite an example, "Bad Chad's" channel and Jolene's work generally in the background and in tandem with Chad.

[@ericdeven1296]

Lol. That was a laugh. You'll get there, that wasnt so bad. Try illuminating the underside of the car, it was a bit dark, or does the camera have lights on it? The angles were good, and the distances were spot on. It was funny because it was like looking in a mirror, unsure yet blundering on, and making it work out for the best. Thanks for all the glorious knowlege you pass on from experienced to novice.

[@davechampion4987]

You're actually filming pretty well tony

[@ThomasThornton-zh7cl]

Tony Your doing great! I always like your show, and ya, this leaf spring IS a help thanks

[@HarleyHawk1]

We got the idea. I love the science stuff like this. These are the best. Thanks Uncle Tony

[@lodwill5116]

It’s tourq !! Twist .!!! And tilt.and push. !! Get it straight. I added bags 💼 and coil springs. . I covered all my bases. And 2x4 under floor for bottoms out under floor. I call it a dampener😮

[@ralbro6223]

Great info and I'm no video expert but a light suggestion would be more lighting in areas your overhead lights cannot show well, head light, cell phone flashlight I'm not sure, just play with it and it's gonna be a winner

[@peterkovacs8654]

Funny to see how awkward that was for you. Ultra Kathy deserves a raise

[@dirtyburd71]

GoPro! I'm proud of you Tony! 😊

[@mschiffel1]

Clamps may be the cheapest way to go, but I prefer two traction bars bolted to the U bolts and adjustable snubbers with two turns of pre-load under the front spring eye. Always worked well for me.

[@captainjohnh9405]

WOW!!! Tony gave a down blouse shot!!!

[@Anarchy-Is-Liberty]

The main thing you needed this time was some extra lighting!! You get under the dark cars, and it's just dark, can't see anything. Need to rig up an LED light on the camera or something.

[@rustandmagic]

You are no uncle Kathy, but you are doing ok, and it does make it look like a low budget channel so it fits well ;)

[@middlecovemotors2474]

Tony IS old skool and effective.

[@briansorvik7316]

Thanks for the great tip on leaf springs. i will be using it on my 69 Road Runner rear suspension when I get to that point in my restoration. Thanks for the great video.

[@HotSneks]

I understood everything you explained, and now I'm subbed. :)

[@chetmarcotti4953]

Tony, I am not a videographer but I am an engineer (retired). You must have more light so anyone can see what you are trying to show. I think you will enjoy the results. I would suggest am inexpensive floor lamp with good amount of lighting power.

[@fuzzymoto896]

@Uncle Tony's Garage , get one of the camera light rings to add to you selfie stick set up. You camera needs back lighting, they have them on Amazon and eBay. As mention by others all you need is better lighting and you don't always need to be in front of the camera as you pan through your content. Other then that you're golden, practice makes perfect and keep up the great work.

[@James-xo4uv]

Uncle Tony , you mentioned Dodge Trucks , well they offered an additional shock setup that went on the top of the axle and the other end went to the frame rail , to help with axle wrap , for the 4x4 trucks , I'm not sure if would help on 4x2 trucks, I got off topic.

[@James-xo4uv]

@@real0072 ok thanks

[@DobermansRock]

What happened to traction bars?

[@syty747]

"that's how God sees us" Wholesome

[@chuckthebull]

You did fine Tony..still enjoyed the video.. You will do fine,, good tips.. My lemans has coil springs in the back and those long strut things.. Sunbeam though has new heavy leafs,,slightly thicker than stock main spring,, but I'll look into that clamp arrangement

[@anonymity002200]

You keep this up and we'll be calling you Uncle Undodgeable or Uncle Beast. On the next Uncle Tony's Garage we fill a barracuda with orbies and challenge our friends to drive it.

[@mromatic17]

you did a good job tony! It just goes to show how much hard work Cathy does behind the camera and editing.

[@deplorabledaniel6541]

"That's how God sees us" damn that was funny

[@robertcorrea8161]

that was some great information thank you Robert

[@NathansMoparGarage]

Don't worry we are all proud of you.

[@Zooooom01]

Selfie is great for these quickie videos. Just light it up better!!!!! Good job otherwise. Quick simple and helpful!!

[@philigan2339]

Great video as usual but please ad more light under the car and anyplace that is in a shadow.

[@johncholmes643]

You look good Tony. Great job!

[@bcbloc02]

Suspension gets the power to the ground. The power you make the trickier it gets!

[@JDH7900]

You did good Tony. I agree with other comments. Your camera work is great but a little extra light to see what your pointing at would be good. Keep up the great videos. I look forward to them every day.

[@jimmywilkinson9190]

My dad had a 1966 dodge truck! when the motor got tired instead of taking it to Mr. Fuller he got a motor out of a wrecked 67 TDPS polecat . It was wrapped under a oak tree . His neighbor where the car was said that the TDPS never wanted to see that car again . The patrolman died in it . this was in 91 and Bill and my dad took the engine and completely overhauled it . Bill did the painting and taped off the decals saying INTERCEPTOR on the Valve covers . So this is how this about your video . When you stomped it the wheel hop was so bad it would snap the flywheel cross " flex plate " so my dad said they were getting hard to come by so he quit punching it . That 440 screamed !!!!!

[@KurtTank392]

lights, camera , action, Uncle tony academy awards nominee

[@Thumper68]

Staggered shocks helps alot