Before you read anything, please click HERE to visit the original ad of my Fury on Cars-On-Line. Notice the part where it says, "Tinted, lowered." The day I got it home, the tint came off. However, I didn't know how/what to do with the suspension to get the car back up to factory specs. My dad is a cabinetmaker by trade and knows absolutely nothing about cars. Add to that the fact that I was terrified to ruin anything on my car due to lack of knowledge. After a year of researching and stuff, I am now unafraid to do work on my car. Follow along with me as I show you how to work on the rear suspension of your 1968 Chrysler product fitted with an 8.75" rear.

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but they will be up soon, very soon. Skip step one if you already know how to safely jack a car up.

Step 1: SAFETY FIRST!!! Get yourself a good quality floor jack. This will run you about $200 for an entry level one. Also, a good pair of wide base jack stands. Get the car on a flat concrete surface and chock the front wheel with a wooden block or real chocks if you have them. Also, having a "co-pilot" or someone nearby is a big plus for safety, even if they know nothing about cars. For the rear suspension, position the lifter part of the jack under the pumpkin and jack 'er up. Bear in mind that the car is making a (circular) arc at the end, with the front wheels acting as the center of the arc. The car is going up and forward, so remember this. Position the jack stands just past the axle housing and under the frame rails. When you lower the car onto the jacks, remember the arc thing.

Step 2: Now that the car is safely and firmly supported, lower the jack so that the suspension bottoms out, i.e., the leaf springs sag down as far as they can go. At this point, jack the pumpkin up just enough so that you can fit a jackstand underneath one of the leaf springs. Get the jackstand as close as you can to the place where it bolts to the axle housing. Now, lower the pumkin slightly, so that almost all of the load is still on the jack.

Step 3: Unbolt the 4 nuts of the u-bolts. This may take some real brute strength / impact wrench / propane torch.
WARNING! Do not use the propane torch near the full gas tank unless you're really insane (like I am). Drain the tank, since you are really close to it under there, and all it takes is a small amount of vapor to ignite and blow you up. Anyway, remember the jack stand under the leaf spring? If this was not there, the leaf spring would have shot straight down and could have smacked you in the head REALLY HARD. This almost happened to me, so be careful.

Step 4. Now, raise the pumpkin as far as it can go (without lifting the car). If your car has been lowered, you will see an iron block as tall as the owner wanted the car dropped. This will make all kinds of sense when you actually get down there and look. Pull it out and throw it in the garbage or at a Honda (the block weighs about 10 lbs).

Step 5. With the block out, you'd just think to drop the leaf spring back on and bolt it back down right? WRONG!! The axle housing will actually shift forward, thereby misaligning the 1/2" nub that aligns the spring to the housing. Get an assistant. Get out your lug wrench, attach it to a bolt, and pull the whole wheel in the desired direction. Have your assistant lower the axle down while you guide the housing back onto the spring. Make sure your assistant is competent enough to lower it slowly, and also make sure your assistant knows how to stop lowering, just in case. Keep your hands / fingers OUT OF THE AREA BETWEEN THE AXLE AND THE SPRING.

Step 6. Next you will need 4 new U-bolts, unless the old threads are long enough. Mine were not. Go to NAPA and get them for about $6 each. Make sure that they aren't TOO long (mine were, and cutting them took about an hour and a half AND ate about 6 high quality steel SAWZALL blades). Sandwich the shock plate, leaf spring, and axle back together, throw the bolts back in, and torque the nuts to 45 ft.lbs of torque.

This all sounds really easy, and it is. It took me a long time to do it because things just kept not working out. "If it's not one thing, it's another!" This phrase will stick with you for as long as you are a car guy.

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