MTFCA Forum

Looking to hopefully purchase a reverse eye rear main leaf spring(1909-1925). Have not presently located ANY vendor that has any left if they ever sold them at all. I have access to four rear main leaves, but the eyes have not been reversed and I don't have any equipment to reverse them myself and currently hope I can just buy one, plus not have to pay some spring shop a ridiculous amount to attempt to reverse one. I will want to know if it is new or the basically 100 year old used one that someone at some point reversed the eye. It MUST be in good condition, needing NO repair, otherwise I am not interested. I will need pics of it, plus your asking price, and since I doubt I will find one close by, you must be willing to ship. PLEASE respond to my email here: waltwise(here is where you put in the @ sign)yahoo.com

PLEASE don't respond in this post as I have had previous "bad luck" with others buying "items" as they say "from right up under me". Much Thanks for your reading time and hopefully your assistance with obtaining something I want!!! Walt Wise

Back to the top to be seen!!!

Wow...looks like I am striking out on finding a reverse eye rear main leaf spring!!!

Walt Wise wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 04, 2025 12:21 pm

Wow...looks like I am striking out on finding a reverse eye rear main leaf spring!!!

I looked at Speedway Motors they have the correct width, 2", but way to long.

Mr. Brandi, much thanks for trying to help me, but I had hoped to buy just the main leaf either made reversed new, but preferably an original main leaf that someone straightened first, then bent the other way to reverse the eye - which I am guessing at this point, I am going to have to do myself. Unless I am real lucky, which usually never happens, even if I find one someone has reversed, the arch may need tweaking to fit with my seven tapered leaves.

Have you contacted Sid? You mentioned doing yourself so we assume that's the route you'll go if one doesn't appear.

Who/what is "Sid"? I have no idea what you are saying...

walt I've done it myself with a decent size torch ,un rolled the eyes and re rolled them on both a's and t's ,fronts and backs .Its work but it bends like putty when its really red hot
I think your better off doing the eyes instead of inverting the whole spring

walt by the way a very old spring guy told me not to quench it when done ,just let it cool down slowly

Mr. Frank, much thanks for the tips. You are the first I have heard from that said unrolling/rerolling the eyes was the "way to go"? I have gotten access to a hydraulic press that I was going to attempt to reverse the arch, but heating those eyes for your method to reverse them, is far beyond my skill level even if I had access to that needed equipment. Seems like nothing is ever simple when I try to tackle new projects...

Walt sent you an email, I have both front and rear brand new never used

Walt, you recognise that matching another leaf to the existing stack of tapered leaves you have will be problematical. Mixing leaves from any rear spring and having them nest closely rarely works because of the three bends in all but the top two or three leaves.
The best answer may be to find a complete spring and have the eyes reversed on its main leaf.

I have a really nice tapered leaf spring available, complete with new bronze shackle bushes. When building my 1917 shooting brake I rebuilt a second one, without remembering I had already done one some time before!!!!!

Allan from down under.

Don't the taper leaf rear springs and the cut leaf rear springs have a different arch shape so that none of the leaves interchange?

Detroit Spring can make a new spring with reversed eyes or make you a new main leaf with reversed eyes or rebuild an old spring and reverse the eyes.

I'm not sure what your end goal is for a reverse eye spring, but I'' assume its for some sort of speedster project. Be aware that simply reversing only the eyes on a spring may not give you the amount of lowering you want. Most springs for a lowered car also involve some amount of dearching as well.
It might be best to locate a spring company to help you get the spring you want on the 1st try, even if it involves driving a fair distance. Best of luck.

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 05, 2025 1:58 pm

Detroit Spring can make a new spring with reversed eyes or make you a new main leaf with reversed eyes or rebuild an old spring and reverse the eyes.

Several years ago I stupidly paid Eaton Detroit Spring $100 to make one leaf for a Model N spring. It had tapered and radiused ends. They did a complete hack job. When I got home, I immediately threw the spring in the trash. I ended up making my own by reworking a leaf from another spring.

If the guy I dealt with had seemed like a reasonable person I would have asked him to "try again". However, he was so rude right from the start that I didn't want to have another word with him.

As Dan stated, we don't know what your goal is. If it's for a speedster, I tried the reverse eye spring and also de-arched it. I ended up with too little travel and a spring so "spongy" that it nearly led to an accident. My speedster now has a stock spring that's mounted behind the rear axle in order to lower the car. But again, maybe this has nothing to do with what you're planning for.

Another common option is to put another bend in the spring, quite easy. However, that lowers much more than reversing the eye. Possibly too much?

There are a good number of tricks to lower that aren't noticeable like cutting the frame dropped axle ect. Things like reversing eyes, playing with spring rate, Chevy spindles, ect. I'm guessing you want to keep fenders so a subtle lowering.

babychadwick wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 07, 2025 9:28 am

Another common option is to put another bend in the spring, quite easy. However, that lowers much more than reversing the eye. Possibly too much?

Excellent point!

It doesn't necessarily lower things too much. Just depends on how much bend you use. I have a spring with bent ends that lowers just about the same as a reversed eye. As you state, very easy to do... much more so than reversing an eye.