The spring does not run parallel to the shock. In the picture you can see where the spring is about 1" from the shock on one side and almost touching the shock on the other. Is this normal wear of the spring or is there an underlying problem with the suspension? I am ordering new springs and top retaining plates but I am curious as to why this happened. I believe the spring bowed away from the engine. In other words the side of the spring that is close to the shock faced the engine. Any ideas?

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1964 Herald 1200 Convertible
1966 Chevy Bel Air
Got it covered. A Land Yacht and a Dingy!

I've seen this a number of times, but I've never known it to cause any problems. Was this the LH or RH side? and did you have the spacer atop the LH assembly?

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http://www.fairpoint.net/~herald948/database/

Right side Andy. The left side was not as bad. There was something about 1/4" thick and looked to be aluminum between the top of the spring and below the top retaining plate. Is that the spacer you are referring to? If so, then yes. Will I need to install the spacer with new shocks and springs?

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1964 Herald 1200 Convertible
1966 Chevy Bel Air
Got it covered. A Land Yacht and a Dingy!

You probably do want to put the spacer back. It was put on the LH side spring of LH steering cars to compensate for the fact that both driver and (possibly full) fuel tank would be on that side!

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http://www.fairpoint.net/~herald948/database/