GC99TA

iTrader: (30)

I don't have any real great advice for you Tony (not a real suspension expert here) but I will offer my thoughts for what they're worth. Since you've already got the drop spindles, and the only concern with them is proper alignment.....why not just install them and see if the car can be properly aligned. Sure, it'll cost you an alignment to find out....but that's not too much cash. My other thought would be to just go ahead and cut the springs. I do know that cutting the springs will increase the spring rate (ie. make them a bit stiffer) but that shouldn't be a huge deal. That and you may still run into alignment issues at this reduced ride height, but since you're getting there with shorter springs instead of drop spindles I'm not actually sure which is the lesser of the two evils.

Final thought......I think I remember Bandit (Clint) doing some sort of trick stuff to the suspension geometry on his Nova. So I'll bet he has an excellent understanding of how this all works. You may wanna hit him up if he doesn't chime in here.

Jimbo1367

IIRC....... Clint did the Hilstrand mod. whatever the name is. Clint made a jig and modified his subframe. I agree with Gary, Clint would know.

tsnow678

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Gary and Jimbo! I talked to Clint and he gave me some useful information pertaining to the front suspension. I was all but ready to either order some springs or cut the existing ones until I went to Classic Muscle today. Talked to a friend of mine there and he suggested using the drop spindles. He has sold a ton of them without any complaints. They sell the same brand I have and have had great success with them. I was browsing around their showroom and was checking out the Detroit Speed display. I was especially interested in the adjustable coil spring kit and the sway bar setup they had on display. Thats when I noticed Detroit had a set of drop spindles on their display! Damn I figure if they use them then they cannot be too bad. I think I am going to do what Gary suggested. Use the drop spindles since I already own them and see whats what. If it goes together good and it lines up fine its a win win. If not, I am out $45 and some labor. I will report back any good or bad as I find it. This way I can keep my full suspension travel, keep the ride qualities, and reuse my existing brake setup. Thanks for the suggestions guys!

97camaroguy

iTrader: (5)

I have gone through all 82 pages and here I am, a wiser man. Great work! Can't wait to see some driving videos!

frojoe

iTrader: (10)

It's the Gulstrand Mod.. it lowers the UCA's cross-shaft mounting point, to modify the geometry to increase camber gain. It can be done two ways: 1) by re-drilling the cross-shaft mounting stud holes lower on the subframe, or 2) by cutting and lowering the cross-shaft mounting tower. Clint did #2.. it is more laborsome but is a more seamless-looking way of doing it.

tsnow678

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the compliment! Sorry you had to read all 82 pages, hehe! I do have a couple of videos on YouTube as well as a link on here. You can do a search on YouTube for 69 Camaro LS 408 stroker. My username on there is anthonylawrencesnow.

bmf5150

Looks great tony

DC True

Great build.

JZUPS

Tony, read the whole thread, great stuff. Your car is really nice. About to start my swap. Have a salvaged title/wrecked/running driving 01 Pontiac TA, 5.7 t56, im swapping into my 71 nova. Again, great info, and super job.

game-over

i think most of us have been thru all 82 pages... lol and we are all wiser now ...

again thanks for all your support boss

tsnow678

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Stan, DC True, JZUPS, and Gameover for the kind words! Hope everyone survived the New Years. Hopefully 2013 will hold bigger better things than the previous years! Best of luck to everyone on their swaps and upgrades. I am not the brightest bulb but if I can help in any way just send me a PM or such.

tsnow678

iTrader: (3)

It turns out RocketRod had the best advice of all! Sorry Rocket for not taking your advice sooner. I had to try what Gary suggested since I had the components here so it was a "why not" sort of deal. I pulled the left side front suspension down and cleaned everything up. I sand blasted the backing plate, caliper bracket, spindle and steering arm. A fresh coat of paint on everything and it was time to try and use the drop spindles. Using drop spindles like the ones I have (The Right Stuff) you have to bore a 1" hole in the backing plate to gain access to the new steering arm bolt. The steering arm is relocated down 2" from the bolt holes for the backing plate and caliper bracket. This will or should position the steering arm to a somewhat original position to prevent any negative bumpsteer issues. Well I purchased Grade 8 hardware for both the caliper/backing plate and bolts for the steering arms. You have to grind the caliper bracket a little to clear the new drop spindles. After reassembly I was ready to reinstall the rotors. Damn rotor was hitting the backing plate right on top of the steering arm bolt. I guess after all the modifications to this point I was finally fed up and decided to yank the drop spindles off. I wasn't going to grind off any of the bolt head since it is what holds the steering arms to the spindles. I feared it would only weaken the bolt and that surely is not what I want running 100+ mph down the road. This left me to do one thing, use the stock spindles and cut my existing springs. I tried cutting one round out but this only dropped me about 1/2". I figured this would happen since the first coil was pretty much a dead coil as they say. I didn't want to cut too much off though and since pulling the springs is rather a simple task and can be done in just a few steps I took my time. Another 1/2 coil dropped me just about perfect. I am sitting right at 24" to the top of the fender opening. This will hide the top 1" of my tire exactly where I wanted to be. I repeated this process to the right side and have them both within 1/4"-3/8" of eachother. I clocked the springs the same on both sides but there might be some other varience I am not seeing. Previous measurements were within 1/8"-1/4" prior to any modifications. For now I am going to leave as is until the rear is finished. Once everything is bolted back together and I can take it down the road at that point I will remeasure the ride heights and adjust accordingly. I pulled the leaf springs out today and will take them to the spring shop for a 1" dearch. With the 1" steel blocks I am making this should drop the rear to 24" fender height. Clark at AutoSpring is making me some 1/2" diameter u-bolts which should make for a more secure rear assembly. I will have to open the holes up on the perches and the bottom plates. I plan on welding the 1" blocks to the perches and remove all rubber from the spring perch. I had already removed the bottom rubbers as suggested by Clark a year or so ago. I don't see the need for the rubber anyways. The fear with the rubber is that the rear may shift when more than stock power is applied. Well I have about 225% more power to the ground than the crank had from the factory! Here are a few pics:


Here is the drop spindle in place. Notice the hole in my backing plate for the steering arm bolt.

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Paint drying after some sand blasting:

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Leaf springs removed:

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These springs are the best made. They are Stanley Springs and have all the correct characterisitcs you look for in a set of leafs. Tapered leafs, square assembly, pads between all springs, etc etc. far superior to the JRSprings I purchased a few years ago. The Stanleys may have dropped a 1/4" from the day I installed them but the JRSsprings dropped 4" and were still settling. Anyone need a piece of **** set of springs?

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Final pics will soon be posted. I will hopefully get the springs back on Thursday, have my blocks ready to go by then, reassembly, have it realigned after ride heights are back in order, install the new wheels and drive this sucker for a little while. That is until the low hanging Dynatechs wear a hole in them and then its out with the Dynatechs and in with the Kooks!!!

gMAG

iTrader: (1)

Nice job on the step-by-step build, Tony.
And GREAT deal on the intake/fuel/injectors!
Where are all of these deals when I look for parts?

bmf5150

Looking good tony!!!

tsnow678

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Glenn and Stan! It means alot coming from two guys with some sweet *** cars!

Not to kill you with too many details, but here goes. I milled some 1"x3" steel I had lying around to fit into the stock multi-leaf perches. Notice the bevel, that was intentionally milled to allow me to run a wider block and avoid the inside radius in the perch. I replaced the alignment dowels on the leaf springs with a one piece bolt and discarded the original one with a spacer. The hole was a tight fit but nothing more than a little pressure from my hands to seat it.

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I used my new 1/2" u-bolts, sandwhiched everything together, welded the bolcks to the perches, shortened the u-bolts, added nylock nuts, and painted everything.

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Ok now for the big question, which wheels look the best on my car? Opinions are welcomed good or bad! The rallye wheels were my favorite but now they look tired. What do you think?

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Jimbo1367

Looks good. While I like the new wheel, I think the Rally wheel look better. Maybe some Wheel Vitques (SP) billet rally? I personally love the Fiske' wheels that DSE has on their 71 Camaro "test car" But polished. (not painted)

armour

What size wheels are the front and rear? Also, what brand and model are the mesh wheels?

DirtyDirk

The new wheels look good. What brand are they?

SS69LS1

iTrader: (108)

Rallys look good, new wheels totally make the car. Who makes them & what sizes are they? Scott

tsnow678

iTrader: (3)

I priced a set of 17" rallyes from Wheel Vintiques and it was almost $1400 for the wheels alone. Not much into the aluminum rallyes. I would have to agree with you on the Fiske wheels! Better have deeeeeeeeep pockets to own a set of them. I am thinking in the neighborhood of $5000+ for wheels.