I do have some springs from other cars in my garage, I'll check to see the diameters and lengths, if they're the same, I will go and cut those.

 

Ya might check not only the diameter and length, check the diameter of the coils themselves and the length. Ya might get lucky and find you won't have to do any cutting if the coil diameters are the same, but a little shorter.
Good luck on your venture.
Originally, I wasn't going to bring up the heating or cutting, but as things progressed, I saw those as your only options, other than replacing the entire sysem.

 

Whether you go with cutting or heating, you will get a much stiffer ride. You'll also need to trim your bump stops or you'll be bottoming out a lot.

 

Actually 73shark, the cutting takes away from the spring responce (less coil, so lessresistance)and the heating loses some of the temper. When using either of these techniques, I put in stiffer shocks to regain some of the stiffness. Personal experience, don't cha know.

 

True, if ya cut or heat too much, you will bottom out. You are sitting lower, but less resistance too.
Tried and true methods I used on the roundy-round track.

 

I'll defer to your experience. My only experience was way back in high school when a friend cut the front coils on his 49 Ford for that raked look. Really in back then.
Anyway it rode like a gravel truck after that and bottomed out on expansion strips in the road. []

 

My thought, is that it was bottoming out due to the shorter travel andreduced properties of the coils.
Don't get me wrong, I don't claim to be an expert at all.
I would really like to know the "actual" effects. The toe in, caster, and camber canhave an effectby "raking" a car. (angle of atack if ya will ) Maybe this is what caused the "gravel truck" ride. Hmmmmm......interesting topic for research, eh? Got me real curious on this one.

 

Another point that was just pointed out to me. If ya cut the coils, you no longer have a complete circle of coil at the end. this could possibly cause the coild to "pop" out of it's seat.

 

In "custom rodder" magazine there's a place that makes coil springs (some kind of a computer system) for ie; a 2" drop. I called there about springs for my Caddy. I'll check my magazines and find it, if someone doesn't beat me to it.

 

Looked at my old magazines just after posting last night and the company's name is "Jamco Products." They actually make coils for older american cars, but I'm sure that the spring diameter can be matched since the front end on the older 'Vettes is a simple passenger car set up.
*Isn't there an after-market company that has coils specifically to modify the older 'Vettes? And does lowering the 'Vette screw up the steering geometry? I do know that alignments become a problem when the car is very low. Two companies that I know of sell tools for alignments that can be taken care of very easily at home. Also, w/ my '81 'Vette, I catch heck with the rubber piece in the front when it comes to keeping it from catching the ground. I couldn't imagine the front of it being lower. That's not to say that I'm "down" on lowering the 'Vette. I love lower rides. I installed "Pro-Hoppers hydraulics in my Caddy. I'd never have done it prior to the "accumulator" being introduced,as with it, the car rides even better than stock, which means one heck of a super smooth ride and I can adjust the ride height according to the road conditions. However, I keep the car as low as I can most of the time as I love the low look of most any ride. One thing that concerns me about cutting or heating coil springs to drop your car is that there's less travel of the suspension and depending on how much of a drop you put on it, the springs/shocks bottom-out easily which makes for that "slam"that jolts the heck out of the car. I've lowered afew rides in my life and prefermaking a mod that keeps the suspension's full travel. ( I went through this with my '62 p/u and had reversed eye main leafs made among other mods and kept all the travel of the original suspension.)I ofcourse hope for the best with your lowering of your 'Vette and will watch for the out-come of the modification.Much luck to you.
By the way, my move was uneventful and all went well. Just still getting things unpacked and situated. I trailered my 'Vette for the move and I'm rubbing a coat of wax on it this morning. It's good to be back here in Texas. Even the cat purrs louder. LOL.