rebound straps

[Clifford W.]

I am installing rebound straps on a 1960 corvette and the straps are 3 inches to short. Do I need to copress the spring? Does the strap keep tension on the rear end?
Thanks
Cliff

[John H.]

Re: rebound straps

Cliff -

The rear axle has to be at design ride height in order to install the rebound straps correctly; in that position, there will be about 2" of air between the bottom of the axle tube and the strap. The only time the axle tube will touch the strap on a finished car is if you "get air".

[Roy B.]

Re: rebound straps

The reason for the straps is to keep the trans yoke from pulling out and cutting the seal.That's why the yoke is so long.

[Stewart A.]

Re: rebound straps

Clifford, the rebound strap in reality, the rear axle rarely (if ever) hits the rebound strap, the strap strength was not really that important. I'm not sure what year your car is but a 55 - 58 strap length should be 27.24 inches the 59 strap length should be 28.36 inches and the 1960 is 29.90 inches. The 1960 strap length is longer because the rear sway bar sits the car a lot higher at the rear than the 58-59. The strap was shortend to 29.50 inches in 1961.