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I would confirm with Paul the load rating of his springs as in most circumstances the old army load ratings are not needed and softer springs make for a much nicer ride.

My Landrover 101 FC has parabolic springs as standard from the factory and even though they are only 2 leaf given its 1.5 tonne load capacity you can imagine that in light civilian use, the standard parabolic springs do not provide much flex until it is loaded up.

Hystee used to carry stock for the 101 and these had a reduced load rating, more appropriate to civilian use and performed great with a nice ride and great flex while still having a good load rating for everyday use. Unfortunately Hystee has decided not to carry these springs any longer on the shelf and like the springs you guys are looking at, have to be made to order - the 101 fraternity has never got the numbers for a new production run.

I hope you can get enough numbers because they are a good product but if you are going to carry heavy weights near your load capacity, double check that the hystee springs will still meet your requirements.

Cheers

Garry

Hystee Springs on a 101

On a side note when I originally contacted Paul at Heystee in February this year he said that because he no longer had stock of Volvo springs that as an alternative I should keep an eye out for some 101FC springs because these would also fit and be suitable for the Volvo's. BUT although he knew of people that have done this he had never personally done it.

Garrycol you don't happen to have an old set/pair lying around do you? Mines a 6x6 so I would only require fronts.

Would they be the same size?? Certainly in 4 wheel vehicles the 101 has a load capacity of nearly double that of the Volvo, so ride and articulation with the Landie springs would not be good. But things might be different with the 6x6.

Sorry I don't have any spares - the only place you are likely to find them in Aust is Anthony Johnson at http://101spares.com/

But be prepared to sell you last born.

They often come up on ebay UK though.

Garry

My enquiry with Paul/Heystee back then was for a 6x6 which only requires fronts ( rears are already parabolic as standard) so it would be fair to assume this is all he was referring to when he told me that they will work in a Volvo

I agree that trying to fit 101FC rears to the rear of a Volvo wouldn't give satisfactory results given the difference in load capacity. I've never seen the 101FC springs, how many leaves in the rear pack? Would it be possible to remove 1 or even 2 of the leaves?

The Volvo isn't exactly a lightweight rig compared to anything else in that wheelbase/weight class.

Volvo 4x4 GVW: 3450kg 7605lbs
101 GVW: 3651kg 8049lbs (That's the max weight I have seen, although some plates say 3142kg as the original build GVW)

Rear axle max Volvo: 1800kg-3968lbs
Rear axle max 101: 1910kg-4210lbs

Not a massive difference in GVW or rear axle max. I bet that difference is negligible when making springs, especially if you consider the build plates stating even less weight for some the 101 plates out there. Maybe Dave can shed light on the boosted weight specs for the 101. Either way, its not much.

It seems likely that Paul wouldn't worry too much about max load ratings since most or all buyers aren't commercial/military and are likely using these as personal 4x4's so max weight rating isn't likely reached or a priority when designing them, plus ride quality and flex needs may need some compromise. That's my guess anyway.

All 101 parabolics are 2 leaf with a military wrap on the eyes of both leaves. I have seen them where one leaf has been removed but there is a safety concern if the one remaining springs breaks, meaning possible axle location issues.

I googled the load capacity of a C303 4x4 and came up with 900kgs where the 101 is 1500kgs - if the GVW is similar this must mean that the Volvo is one tubby overweight little sucker

However given a much heavier unloaded weight of the Volvo this makes my comments on spring rates less relevant. However lower rated springs if you dont need the load capacity means a much nicer ride.

Good luck

Cheers

Garry

This morning I received an email that I was copied into, it was sent to Paul at Heystee.
It read...
"I would like a set (maybe 2), here in California USA.

I am not really into the idea of buying the design and going to find somewhere to get them done" that's the entire message.

About an hour later I was copied in to Paul's reply.
This one read...
The set will cost Eur 6.400,- + shipping costs.
(I have to order 40 springs, remember and no order orders are placed so I will be stuck with 36 springs)
I simply don't have the funds to run a production, I am very sorry.

This is a typical crowd funding project, however, it somehow does not take off.

Rgds
Paul

I don't really know exactly why he copied me in on these emails but I can only guess that Paul isn't really very interested in Volvo springs, which is fair enough if there isn't much interest from a business point view.
I can't help but wonder if the €6400 euro figure he mentioned is the actual cost of a 40 spring production run... If so that doesn't leave a lot of profit margin for him if going by prices on his website is any indication....a set of 4 springs for a series Land Rover sells for €750 on the Heystee web site. As I am only speculating its a bit pointless to give it any more thought.

If the guy from california wanted 2 sets then we wouldn't be far off 40 springs, only trouble is we still don't have an actual price and I'm not sure how interested Paul is in going ahead with it. I wonder if Hoss got a response from him.

Hypothetically let's say a set of 4 is 750 euro and half that for a pair for those with 6x6's, then if we were to reach the 40 spring target with COMMITTED buyers who were all prepared to send their money to Paul upfront then I would be prepared to contact Paul again to make an offer of 7500 euro upfront for him to go ahead with a production run. Hopefully this figure gives him some profit margin for his trouble and he wouldn't be left stuck with any Volvo stock that would to take him years to flog off. Oh and obviously we each would have to pay our own respective shipping costs.

Even though we may very well meet our target of 40 springs its looking less like this will actually happen, but I'd welcome any thoughts or suggestions.

I knew I had spoken to someone who had put rear landrover 101 parabolic springs on a c303

As it happens this is the truck we were discussing.

The owner has tried to sell it a few year earlier

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-TGB-111 ... SwcL5XONEO

Am sure this has 101 springs on it

Steve

There are a few companies here in the states that can make the springs. If he would share the specs we can look at smaller runs.

I got the same reply. "Not interested in making a run, and theres someone in the US interested in buying my design"
My doodle only comes up with 4 1/2 sets. Doesnt seem enough yet.
Unless someone is rich enough to take the stock of the other 5 1/2 sets and go out an sell them... I'm actually pretty sure they would sell on the various forums, but again requires an investor.

I know this is an old thread but has an order been placed for the springs, I need to replace my springs as they have sagged and it is cheaper to get parabolic springs than original spec ones.
I am ready to place an order straight away.

We didn't get enough interested people to reach the 20 sets minimum order that was required for a production run.

Hi guys,

we are currently planning a larger run of parabolics, so stay tuned. Shipping to the States and Australia might be pretty expensive, but we'll see. Will let you know.

.martin

I'm evaluating my springs now and may be interested.


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I am still interested.


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