Installation of Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs on a 77 Caprice

I recently bought a lowering kit for my 77 Caprice 4 door (that I got a month ago), and thought I'd share my experience with you.
Before acquiring the kit, I searched several forums for answers to what would fit and how much it would lower the car.
The answers I got were....unclear. Except that 90-96 springs would fit, and that 94-96 Impala SS springs would lower the car about 1".

So I jumped in and bought a 1" lowering kit for the 94-96 Impala SS for $280 on eBay.
The complete name of the kit is:
Eibach Pro-Kit -  1" Lowering Springs for 94-96 Chevrolet Impala SS
Part #3837.140

The springs in the kit:
Front #3832.001
Rear #3837.002

Lowering specs:
Front 1.2"
Rear 1.0"
I will write the actual lowering specs on my 77 at the bottom.


Here is a picture of the car right after I got it home



And here is a picture with some test wheels from my Camaro. That's 235/60 in 15x8 with app. 4" BS in front and 295/50 on 15x10 with 5" BS in the back.
The rears actually fit great.



Now, here are the wheels I was using when the kit was installed. Same font wheels, same size tires in the rear but with less BS (too little for 295)




To get the front springs out, you have to do the following:
I like to loosen the top nut on the shocks with air tools first, and if the shock spins around you can go to plan B.
Plan B is jacking the car up in the lower control arm, securing it and removing the wheel.
Now you have nice access to the top nut on the shock between the upper control arm and the frame.

When the top nuts on the shocks are off (can be tricky sometimes), you can continue.
- Place the jack in the crossmember and raise the front end of the car. Secure it with jack stands.
- Remove the caliper and tie it to the top of the upper control arm
- Remove the sway bar end link
- Remove the two lower bolts on the shock, and remove the shock.
- Place another jack underneath the lower control arm. This is to catch the control arm when you loosen the upper ball joint.
- Loosen nut for the upper ball joint by 1/2", but DO NOT remove it. Clean away all dirt and grease around the area.
- Give the steering knuckle a couple of hard punches with a BFH right next to the ball joint, and if you're lucky it will break loose.
- If not, you will have to heat the area. I like to heat the bolt itself. This gives me plenty of clearance to the rubber grease-cup on the ball joint. You don't want to torch that..
- Give it another try with the hammer, but be careful not to hurt the bolt. Hit the knuckle only, and hit it sideways. No luck? Repeat the heating process. It will come.
- When the ball joint has come loose, jack the lower control arm up so the nut spins freely. Remove the nut, and let the jack down slooowly until you are clear of the upper arm.


Now it should look something like this




Next step is to remove the springs.

I used two spring compressors of this kind. Remember to lube the threads!




I like to jack the control arm up to compress the spring as much as possible before I put on the compressors.
It wasn't a lot of space there, so I put the compressors inside the springs instead of outside.
Then I could use a deep socket to tighten them through the shock hole in the control arm.



When the compressors are tight, you can lower the jack and hopefully the spring is compressed enough to just slip the spring out.
It might need a punch or two to unseat it from the control arm.
You might have to raise the front even more to get the control arm low enough.

When the spring is out, CAREFULLY loosen the compressors evenly on both sides until they pop off.
Keep a foot on the spring, and point it away from anything expensive.
I like to use air tools for the job, as it goes faster.

This is the old spring compared to the new one



Clean the area, and make notice of the rotation of the old spring. Mine ended just between the two holes in the control arm.
Now, compress the new spring slightly. Just enough to get it in place.
Make sure it's seated, especially in the top. The less you compressed it, the harder it will be..
Place it exactly the same way as the original spring, and jack up the control arm.
Make sure it's still in place as you raise the arm, and on your way up you connect the upper ball joint and tighten the nut.

If you're lucky, one or both of the spring compressors are now loose, and can be removed by hand.

Assemble everything, and remember to grease both ball joints before mounting the wheel. You have moved them around a lot.



The rear is simpler

Jack the car up by the rear axle and put the frame on jacks.
I like to use 4 jacks on the car, as the rear is so long. At least put one under the trailer hitch if you have one.
Let the axle down as far as it goes.

Two ways:
1: Loosen both shocks and maybe the brake line to just take the springs out. (Have not tried that one)
2: Compress the springs slightly and take the springs out. Because of the exhaust, the right might have to go through the fender. I had to remove the wheel and brake drum to get it out.

The new springs slipped in place with hand force. No need to compress, but a tight fit.


Here are the measurements (ground to fender):

Before:
Front: 71cm
Rear: 72cm

After:
Front: 68cm
Rear: 68.5cm

Lowering specs for the kit on this car:
Front: 3cm (about 1.2")
Rear: 3.5cm (about 1.4")

After:



Another set of wheels, this time 215/70 on 15x8 with 4" BS and 255/60 on 15x10 with 4" BS.
I have now rolled the fender lips to prevent cutting the tires.
The car looks a little lower in the back, but I'm going to adjust that with my air shocks.



Right now I'm waiting on my final set of wheels from Summit.
It will be the American Racing Torq Thrust D in 15x8.5 (3.77" BS) with 245/60 up front, and 15x10 (3.77" BS) with 255/60 in the rear.
I really wanted 295's in the rear, but it will never fit with those wheels. 5" BS would have cleared the 295's.


I reused the shocks with no issues.
The ride is not much different from before, and the car is still comfy like it should.
This kit was perfect for me, and I love it


Hope this thread will help others choose the right lowering kit and wheels for their car.




Update:
New wheels from Summit.

Even with rolled lips, the rear wheels had fender contact in bumps and when the car was loaded.
So I installed a set of new Monroe MA751 adjustable air shocks from Rock Auto, and they did the trick!


American Racing Torq Thrust D in 15x8.5 (3.77" BS) with 245/60 up front, and 15x10 (3.77" BS) with 255/60 in the rear.
Perfect fit!

Great How To! By the way, welcome to the forum! The stance looks great and that's a sweet ride! The one thing we can be grateful for is the 94-96 Impala SS. Anything suspension wise and a few other goodies marketed towards those cars will go right in all 77-96 b-body cars. I'll be doing a complete bolt-on air ride kit for my '79 as well as some other cool upgrades in the future all thanks to the "popular" Impala SS.

That looks great, gives me ideas for mine, thanks for posting!

solo79 wrote:Great How To!  By the way, welcome to the forum!  The stance looks great and that's a sweet ride!  The one thing we can be grateful for is the 94-96 Impala SS.  Anything suspension wise and a few other goodies marketed towards those cars will go right in all 77-96 b-body cars.  I'll be doing a complete bolt-on air ride kit for my '79 as well as some other cool upgrades in the future all thanks to the "popular" Impala SS.  

Thanks, and thanks!
I love finding how to's when I need it, so The least I can do is make some myself. First one on a foreign forum though..

GM B-Body Forum wrote:That looks great, gives me ideas for mine, thanks for posting!

Thanks

That ride looks awesome! And great how-to post!

Do you guys know if I could use these springs on a wagon? Does it matter whether its a sedan or wagon? Very curious! Thanks!

-Michael J

as far as fitment, yes no problem but wagons are heavier in the rear end and might sit a little lower in the rear, depending on the spring type used (progressive, or constant rate)

Hmmm... Good things to think about. Thanks!

I used the Eibach springs on My Olds Custom Cruiser wagon with no problems.

Beautiful Caprice man, i have a `77 4 door also amd was looking too buy some lowering springs for it and in your one post you answered basiclly every question and concern i had. Thank you for that.
I love stance and wheels in that final picture.

So i went and bought the same springs with some KYB shocks, i am installing today i will post some pics when im done!

`77Box wrote:Beautiful Caprice man, i have a `77 4 door also amd was looking too buy some lowering springs for it and in your one post you answered basiclly every question and concern i had. Thank you for that.
I love stance and wheels in that final picture.

Thanks!

I never got a notification on email, so I haven't seen this until now.

Even with rolled lips, the rear wheels had fender contact in bumps and when the car was loaded.
So I installed a set of Monroe MA751 adjustable air shocks from Rock Auto, and they did the trick!

I got the wheels from Summit, and here are a couple of pics.

American Racing Torq Thrust D in 15x8.5 (3.77" BS) with 245/60 up front, and 15x10 (3.77" BS) with 255/60 in the rear.

Oh yea I like those wheels man. I bought that same lowering kit for mine, tried too install it and the spring compressor I borrowed failed on the first spring and almost took my buddy out at the knees so I was only able to do the shocks. But i bought my own compressors and just haven't had time or proper weather too install them yet. Iv been torn between getting the torque thrust wheels or the black ones in your first pic but I think I like those black wheels a little more where did you get those ones at??

`77Box wrote:Oh yea I like those wheels man. I bought that same lowering kit for mine, tried too install it and the spring compressor I borrowed failed on the first spring and almost took my buddy out at the knees so I was only able to do the shocks. But i bought my own compressors and just haven't had time or proper weather too install them yet. Iv been torn between getting the torque thrust wheels or the black ones in your first pic but I think I like those black wheels a little more where did you get those ones at??

It's tight around the front springs, but with a little work and two jacks you'll finally get there
Safety first. So if you think it won't hold, it probably won't..

I really liked the look with the black wheels as well.
Only thing is that I'd like the front wheels to stick more out in line with the fender.
They would probably stick out more with 245's instead of 215's though..

I got them "used" from a guy who had realised that the 10" with 4"BS didn't fit his Firebird.
Brand new wheels at a bargain. Earned $150 when I sold them

They're Cragar Soft 8, and the dimensions are mentioned above.
Summit sells them.

Here's a link to them on Summit.
http://www.summitracing.com/int/search/product-line/cragar-soft-8-black-wheels?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending&tw=Cragar%20Soft%208&sw=Cragar%20Soft%208%20Black%20Wheels

I gotta warn you though.
Balancing them wasn't easy, and required a lot of weights.
Probably why they're so cheap..
But once balanced, they didn't cause vibrations even in 70mph+

Hi brother, I was reading your post and it's good. I have a coupe caprice 1984. Do you think I can install the similar kit to lower my ride?

Mansoor wrote:Hi brother, I was reading your post and it's good. I have a coupe caprice 1984. Do you think I can install the similar kit to lower my ride?

Sorry the late answer.
I don't see why not. It would surprise me if they were different in suspension/brakes etc. Probably identical.
Please update the thread if you decide to go that route, so we know for sure if there were any problems.

Great job nice post great pics. Best I.can tell new spring is 1.5 coils shorter. I cut 1.5 coil on my car and drop was perfect. Closed wheel well gap no rubbing with 255/60r15 up front.

Nice! Do you know of anywhere that has a wheel and tire fitment chart for these cars? I'm wanting to put a set of wide wheels on the rear of a 77 coupe I just got