Thread: Anyone used a Durant monoleaf??????

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I think it was Ken Thurm who said he has used a monoleaf several times, was it a Durant, Ken?? If anyone has experience with one of these on the front of an I beam axle car I would like your opinions. Dan is thinking of using one on his '29, but we have both seen threads about breakage.

Any comments you might have on that aspect as well as ride, etc would be appreciated and will help us make a decision.

Don

I had one on the '32 roadster in my gallery. Rode very nice and from a driveability standpoint no noticeable difference. Would have to admit I didn't have that many miles on it to test any durability concerns. I've seen some of those comments about breakage, if I recall it's usually at one of the ends. Is it a fault of the spring or installation? Would adjustable perches make a difference or not? I don't know.

I've seen that Speedway offers one now, and it's less expensive than from Durant. Is he reselling the Durant, or did he go into production of his own? Probably worth a call. If I were you I'd call Durant and ask them about the failure issues on the web, I'd bet they've got an answer, just that you'd need to evaluate whether it's a plausible answer or not. Same for Speedway tech dept. they may have an opinion on whether it's related to perch or something else.

Also, a buddy of mine had one on the rear of a '40 sedan and didn't like the ride, he felt it was too soft. I only had it on the front.

There is a lot of talk about this over on the HAMB. It seems that a lot of people have had them break.---Not at the ends, but across the bolt hole at the center.

Thanks Bob and Brian for that info. I think I remember that a rep from the company went on some forum (HAMB maybe) to answer some of the concerns people were posting about breakage. If I remember correctly, his response was that "all springs break sooner or later and that they have sold quite a few with a low failure rate."

I know Chevy tried a monoleaf in the 60's I think, and then abandoned the concept..........at least that is what I remember.

Supposedly the Durant is the top dog in that market, not cheap by any means. Whether that relates to better is what we are trying to figure out. Thanks again for your info guys.

Don

I run one on the front of my 32 roadster.

It replaced a Posies so I could gain a little more suspension travel.
Nothing wrong with the Posies, I liked it, but since I didn't notch the frame front, travel was limited.

The Durant Mono-Leaf added travel and the car didn't sit up any higher than before.

Over the years, about 11 or so, the Durant has sagged.
To be expected perhaps, but it could also be due to being heat soaked at 400 degrees F during the powder coating process.
The powder guy said there wouldn't be a problem, but I note that some tempering of metals - specifically differential gears - is done at 200 degrees F.

That leads me to believe that being exposed to 400 degrees isn't such a great idea where springs are concerned.

Paint next time.


And the Posies Super Slider is on my 31 roadster.

Waste not, want not . . . or something like that....

I've used the Durant spring and liked it. They can fail without some precautions though. The original space blocks that are supplied can cause problems either side of the center hole as there are significant stress risers by their design I didn't use their block as I had one made up that used a taper on each side to lower the concentration of energy in a small area. A multi leaf spring in effect does that by spreading out those forces. This is one of their original blocks, as resurrected from my odds and ends pile. Sorry about the photo quality - I keep saying I need to get my wife a better camera


The old Chebbie Nova's and most later 'vettes used/use a single leaf spring - the Nova's was steel, the 'Vette, fiberglass

I've had Durant monoleafs on the front of my last two cars. I like the height adjustability plus they ride good. I put quite a few miles on my cars and have never had a problem.
I do check the spring every time I crawl under the car though.

Mick

That's encouraging. He wants one for the same reasons, adjustability and clearance with the frame without notching. I wonder if the ones that have broken give you any warning over time or just snap?

Don