Any drag racers use Tall spindles with zero inch drop along with +0.9" ball joints?

19psi is a lot to run in slicks, so I'm surprised to hear that they're still wadding up like that for you. One guy I know of with Alf's set-up used drag radials and claimed to hook the car well with those. I make mention of that only because my guess is that if your slicks are wadding up that much from the downward hit on the tire, then maybe the hoosier drag radials would help since the sidewalls are stiffer than that of the slicks. Just a thought.

I wouldn't run the drag radials with any less air pressure than 17 PSI though since doing so might not be too safe at the big end of the track with a heavy car like yours.

As far as what you've described about the Alf version you have, I know about the huge coil springs that came with that. They're as heavy as front springs are!! Here are some pics of the copy cat version I bought and still have. Some of the pieces sound similar to what you're talking about....(the guy who designed and built this set-up doesn't care how many pics his customers post).....the designer of this copy cat set-up told me that the only way he was able get it to work right is to use very stout double adjustable shocks on the rear such as DA AFCO shocks with both the compression and the extension setting on full stiff in addition to using those truck springs, and having them clamped to the chassis as well as to the axle tubes....

 

My upper is quite a bit different than that one for sure. Mine has 2 bars that go to loop that goes to the upper rear end ears. I think it still does a similar thing.

I talked to Hoosier about the drag radials what steered me away from them is the fact they don't recover from spin like slicks do........so now if unload and spun 20 ft out I loose a few hundredths which I can make up by pulling extra rpms in each gear.........as compared to radials which would be an aborted run.

After several slow motion videos sent to Hoosier and several phone calls, it was their recommendation to not put radials on my car. They said if my car would make it through that area hooked up my car would be quicker on the radials, but if it didn't that's a round lost. Since we bracket race not heads up it wasn't worth that gamble.

I have a buddy with 95 sn Mustang running pro bracket radials on his car, now I'm sure he is 700 plus pounds lighter, running a 35xci sbf, and a glide, but is running like 4.88 gears, he loves them, but every once in a blue moon for what seems like no reason it just goes up in smoke.

 

hmmm, I wonder about radial slicks as far as how they would compare to the bias-ply

 

Here's another idea..... last time I looked, Hoosier like other manufactures makes a couple different bias-ply slicks that are "stiff wall" which are intended for heavy cars, (i.e. over 3,500 lbs). You might want to ask them about those. The sidewalls are still considerably thinner than street tires have, and they still wrinkle up during the launch, but probably not quite as much

 

Last I checked they didn't make a stiff wall in the sizes I can run. I can run their 30x9 or the 29x10.....the 30x9 seams to fit my 8" rim better, on the 29x10 I tend to wear the middles out first from not a full contact patch the entire time, especially with the air pressure. The section wall width is gets me, a mucky in the same size is wider and it rubs.

 

OK, back to the topic in my thread title: I took a chance and ordered those tall spindles from ChassisWorks for my 70 Chevelle. They will raise the upper ball joint insertion point by 1.5" and I'm going to try using the +0.9" tall upper ball joints. I want to do my best to attempt to determine if this uncommon combination of parts will cause any extreme angles of the ball joints which may cause binding. Obviously that would bring with it an unsafe condition. So the only thing I can think of is to mock up the front suspension by installing the upper and lower control arms, as well as the ball joints and the new spindles without the front coil springs, and manually take the front suspension pieces through their full range of motion by hand, (with the front end of the car on jack stands ofcourse) in order to see if I can detect any binding of the ball joints. I might also do this with the front shocks installed to also make sure that I have enough travel on the shocks, (the AFCO shocks I have provide four inches of travel at the shock shaft, but I don't know how many inches that it will trnslate to at the spindle tip).

What I might also do, is bring everything to full extension until the under side of the upper control arm makes contact with the bumper on the top of the frame, take a reading at the spindle with an angle finder, then remove the lower ball joint, and then return the spindle to the exact same position using the angle finder, and then seeing how much more I can move the spindle angle in both directions before any upper ball joint binding occurs. And then I can re-attach the lower ball joint and lower arm, to the spindle, and take the suspension to full compression until the lower arm bumper makes contact with the frame, check the spindle angle again with an angle finder, and then remove the upper arm and upper ball joint. At that point I can return the spindle to the previous angle, and make sure that the lower ball joint didn't bind up.

If there's any binding taking place, then I guess I'll have to use standard height upper ball joints

 

The set ups are a work of art.
I have seen them on friends stock eliminator cars.
For dedicated drag cars only.
I rhink i temember being 3 generations.
They all work well.
On the fromts, i do not remember hearing about that.
Would love to know what he does to the cross shafts.
I have an idea, but no knowledge if im right.

 

I run the tall B-body spindles on all of my cars. I did the first one about 20 years ago,and was very pleased. The car drives great,and at the track,it launches great and great stability to whole way. The first car has Hotchkis upper with stock lowers,with the machines lower ball joint. Global West also makes an upper for the same application,but the Hotchkis are lighter and plenty strong. Some of my cars have traditional coil springs and shocks,and some have coil-overs. The ones that don’t have stock lower arms have Global West lowers. They make a variety of lowers for coil springs or coilovers,and with/without sway mounts. I recently had a custom set of lowers made by Global West,for coilovers,without sway bar mounts,and for drag race application. They were about $800.00,but they were exactly what I wanted. They just might not be for everyone.
I’m not a slick-tire guy though, I run drag radials on everything. I like to drive everything I own. They range from 9:40’s to 10:90’s at the track,and their suspensions all work very well.
I know the front suspensions that I am running are supposed to be more desirable for a street/touring car,but I like them for the drag strip.