Gary hope the shoulder is healing. What would you suggest for a street strip car (lets say low 11 sec.)? That is the dream.
Thanks Dave..... That's good question,If I was trying for that I might over-build the engine then manage that with a "tight" converter. That way you don't have to sacrifice ride quality on the street or change anything when you go to the track. My buddy's 72 Skylark runs mid 11's with now suspension work on bias-ply DOT tires...That's with a pump gas,Drive anywhere combo.
Dave & 64 Hardtop, I'm running the stock A-arms/spindles in my car and have close to 6 degrees of positive caster. What I did to achieve this is to "slot" the upper control arm cross shaft. I used HD aftermarket shafts to ensure I had enough material strength after slotting. This is a fairly easy fix, as long as it's done way before assembly starts! Gary, hope you're doing ok? Steve
Sounds like you have your bases covered on the rear. Your car also looks good and square in your avatar! :TU: When I have had trouble on the big-end keeping my car straight, it has always been the rear of the car pushing it around at higher speeds. I have street/strip cars so compromises are a constant. In my case, rear suspension upgrades (like the ones you have done) have lead me to a better hit on the tires which leads me to getting by with more air in the tires which leads to a more stable car all around. I always want to use the smallest tire that will do the job with the most air pressure I can get by with. Your car is faster, so your problem may be one I have not had to deal with yet..?? I guess you should listen to these other guys who have been on your shoes. Randy
Wow MY head is spining a little just priced the afco double adjustables................$410.00 Each:moonu:
Yeah,Pricey but I have been very happy with the ones one the rear of my car. You could compromise with a QA1/Moroso combo and get the job done.
Denny, I have this "reply" fom Tom Rix concerning GM A-Body Suspensions that was posted along time ago in another thread. I keep a copy of it on my computer and in the top of my toolbox. HTH.... Jeff, I agree with the previous posts on ditching the no hops. I'll share what I have learned class racing the last 10 years where the rules are very restrictive and you look at the whole car for et improvements. I have seen cars with the same exact motor vary by .4-.5 just because the 'whole" package was correct. These suggestions are meant for a 95% strip car but individual parts can be used on all cars. As our times improve to the 9's and 10's these are critical to be fast AND consistent. I have seen many fast runs with 100% stock suspension but never any CONSISTENTLY fast cars! Been there and done that. Front end Front drag springs; match to weight of car and change every 60-75 runs, more if you tow long distances. The trailer bouncing wears the springs out, not the race track. If car "porpoises" this is first thing I'd look at along with front shocks. $100 Front end travel limiter; adjustable preferred but if you cant use adjustable ( I can't) make sure that your front end lifts up a minimum of 5 inches before the front tire comes off the ground. Cut the snubber if necessary. This is critical! No cost. Front shocks; Single adjustable shocks are a necessity, double adjustable are preferred. The driver side needs to be tighter than the passenger side on our torque monsters. I'm putting double adjustable coil overs on the Apollo front, hope to 1.25 60' on 9 inch tire. $300-$750 Rear end Good lower control arms(solid bushings) and adjustable uppers that can be adjusted on car. Anti roll bar. Pinion angle 1.5-2 degrees down with solid bushings. Any time you make a shock, spring, tire height, etc. change recheck it as it will have changed! Shocks I am a firm believer in double adjustable rear shocks when you want to be fast. I monitor track temp( conditions including clouds or sun) and shock setting on every run. When track has "bite" I set rebound stiff, bump soft and run 23-25# air in my 9" slicks. Best 60' is 1.26 with consistent 1.30-1.31 times. Weight is 57% on nose of GS. As track conditions changed I adjust suspension more than engine. $400-$600 Rear springs I use Hotchkis 1" lowering springs and change every 60-75 runs also again for same reasons as front. Misc. Keep all "sprung " suspension pieces as light as possible and cut as much driveline reciprocating weight as possible. Every 1# of reciprocating weight removed is equal to almost 3# of total weight as far as et is concerned. Remove all brake drag and make sure car "pushes" easy. When towing I pump up air bags (only time I use them) and replace race shocks with a set of heavy duty street shocks to take the beating while towing. 15 minutes to change. Take pics or video of the car at launch to pinpoint problems. Have you every noticed that Arlene takes a video of every run that WJ and Kurt make. I would quess that he has made more passes down a race track than any other 10 of us and yet he still does it. Food for thought. I am amazed that we all spend a lot of money for more HP but leave the rest of the car as if it was a street car. A good chassis setup is not only worth et and consistency, but is much easier on the car itself, especially 30+ year old street cars. Jeff, call me if you have any specific questions and I'll try to help. Again, these are just my thoughts, many other ways to skin the cat. Tom
Since we are on front suspension. Switching to a rack and pinion will only drop 20 to 23 lbs from a manual steering box. I was told 50 lbs by a lot of people which is not true. I can only get 2 degrees caster with my stock upper A Arms. Blair
Its a pinto rack. I did all of the fab myself. I took about 30 hrs worth of labor to make it work. I did have to cut back the spindles so it would turn decent. When I get back into town I can post a few pictures. Heck I could send you an autocad drawing of the build bar which would save you a lot of time. I did have to cut a gaping hole in my cross member for the steering shaft. Blair
I would like no a little more about Sloting the Uppers and what HD Cross shaft you used. Thanks in advance
Hi Jeff, I don't remember what brand cross shafts that I used. I could find that out given enough time. All I remember is that they were HD units of some type. As far as the slotting, all I did was to slot the bolt holes on the mill to allow them to move rearward on the car. You gain a lot of positive caster quickly in comparison to using "shims" only. Steve
We get 6 degrees by slotting our stock cross bars and shimming on our dirt cars.Havent had any problems with bending so far.We also swap the a frames from side to side on the tracks (dirt) that we cant modify suspension parts.
Well have not got to do anything with the front of my yet I thinking of going with afco doubles and moroso spring to replace the 6 year old sping and the 3-way shocks in the car. Anyone else make an changes?
Using trick springs up front would it be a good ideal to keep the car jacked up and weight off of them when not in use? Or is it just wasted time?
Probably could'nt hurt. The trick springs do have a limited life and keeping the weight off may help them live longer.
I just replaced all front rubber bushings and now the front feels stiff and sluggish; slow to rise, rear wheels slip first. Someone said the end bolts may be too tight (on another forum). How tight is NOT "too tight" ? I have also considered grinding the teeth off the bushings but I drive on the street. Swaybar went on with new poly bushings. That'll likely have to come off. Standard gas shocks. Need good street/strip compromises.... Comments?
I was told that the upper control arm should fall under its own weight when installed without the spindle attatched. If it doesn't then they are probably too tight for a strip car. I used a double nut on each side so I could set it loose enough and lock it down without worrying about it backing off by itself.
Thats a nice setup! I think bracing the chassis is one of those things that a lot of people overlook.......until stuff starts getting torn off from the power.
