Suspension decisions?

wickd

Active member
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
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I guess first off I will say hi. Mike here from southeast Idaho. Been a lurker on here for a while, reading and learning. Ok about my car, 72 coupe, started out life as a small block and a 4 speed. Current config is 468 big block twin turbo with a 4l80e trans. HP is around 800. I need to upgrade everything behind the trans now and here is where the questions start. I always hated the way the car steered with the stock power steering setup so 6 years ago I picked up an 86 front and rear suspension (dana44) that I thought I would transplant in some day. I also picked up a 78 frame to build the new suspension on so I wouldnt have the car parked for x amount of years. I realize the 78 frame will need some modification to go under the 72 body and thats not a problem. I also picked up a set of 335/30/18 pilots for the rear and a set of 275/35/18 pilots for the front. I want the tires to fit under the stock fenders front and rear. I planned on narrowing the rear suspension and cutting the body to make room for them. I also was thinking about reshaping the wheel openings so they will look ok with the slightly smaller diameter tires. This was my plan 6 years ago, but there has been lots of new products introduced lately that has me rethinking my plan. For instance, I like the jeep box steering setup and I think that would solve the steering situation, also the rack conversion setups look good too. I liked the aluminum front suspension pieces of the C-4 but now there are nice pieces for the C-3 too. I am not sure what to do with the rear, I want it strong to handle the torque but there are now C-3 parts to accomplish that too. I kinda like the looks of the Vette Brakes suspension with the monoleaf springs front and rear that you can adjust the spring rates as well as the ride height. I visited some with Mike in Florida (69427), a few years ago, as he was building his suspension and I really like the way his car turned out. I am thinking about starting on something this winter but with all the different options now I am confused. I am building the car to be a cruiser mostly as my primary use for it is to enjoy summer drives with friends and the occasional week long road trip. With that much power on tap, I want the car to be reliable and SAFE. There arent any tracks near me to go play on, they are 4 hours in any direction and if I want to go fast I have unlimited wide open spaces just a few miles from my house. I live out in the sticks and the nearest town is 40 miles away down the freeway so I am liking the 3.08 gears and the overdrive trans. The reason for the twin turbos is to have a little extra power on hand for those special occasions, I loved the look on the guy's face in his 07 ZO6 when I drove off and left him. I figured as a power adder, turbos were the way to go for me as I want driveability and an 8.5 compression big block starts good when its hot, shuts off when you turn the key off, ect. Also I should be able to knock down an easy 20 mpg with the high gears, overdrive and lock up converter. Ok I am ending this novel, looking forward to some opinions now.

Thanks,
Mike
 
You are going WAY beyond anything I have ever done, but from reports I hear it seems the Jeep box from Borgeson is the way to go, I did a rack conversion in early 02, before any on the market, it's been very good....

my suspension is just VBP stuff, nowhere near as radical as you are doing...

I wonder that you didn't address any brake issues...I assume you are upgrading them also....

:nuts:
 
Sounds like a heck of a combination!

I'm subscribing to this build. Please keep us posted on the progress.
 
If you are going to use the C4 suspension, use all of it. Dont try to mix C3 steering components and C4 suspension or visa versa. For simplicity, I would just get some nice aftermarket upper and lower control arms with a jeep box or rack kit.
Also, there is a killer deal on a 12 bolt IRS that Gary (GTR1999) is selling in the for sale section that you may want to look into with that kind of power. Post up some pics of your car... It sure sounds like a "wickd" ride
 
Mike,

Welcome to VM! It's good to hear from you, again. I enjoyed reading your post. An updated suspension (and those tires), combined with your engine would make a darn sweet ride. There's lots of technical experience and help available here in case you want to discuss any specifics.

Regardless of what direction you end up going, keep us updated.
 
Frame out

Spent the afternoon pulling the donor frame. The last pic is my pile of c-4 stuff. I ordered wheels from Boyd Coddington wheels and they were supposed to be here by now and I called to see what was going on and found out the fax number on their order form was an old one and they didn't even have my order so now it will be the end of the month before they get here. To be continued. Mike, in case you don't know what all the white stuff on the ground is... that would be snow.
 

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wickd -- That's one hell of a way to pull the body! LOL Awesome assistant -- didn't even complain about it being cold I bet!
Welcome aboard and keep posting pics. I'd really like to see some of the twin turbo set up too (separate thread maybe as you have time) - even the prices look unbelievable! Around $4200 - as a twin set up -- sounds like a great idea. I'll be at about 10:1 compression so a bit high maybe for turbo - but maybe the next engine....hehehe - She won't even notice! (I hope). ;)

Cheers - Jim
 
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My assistant is a big help around the farm. We built it about five years ago, its a 1945 diamond t 5 ton 6x6 military truck chassis powered by a 440 dodge and a torqueflite trans. The cab and hood is off an old massy ferguson articulated tractor. It weighs in at 18,000 lbs. Has the transfer case still in place so you can have it in low range for field work then shift it into high for going down the road. You actually drive it backward down the road, gets the funniest looks from people following you down the road going 45 miles an hour backwards. Here is a video of it at work in the summer. The bales are 4'x4'x8' long and weigh around 2000 lbs each. You can load a semi in under ten minutes with it. Here is a link to a video of it stacking hay. There is some stuff about my turbo vette on my photobucket page too.

http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i205/my72vette454/?action=view&current=tiresandtrans029.mp4
 
And here I complain about having to work in my driveway on my project. That has to be brutal removing a body in the snow and cold.
 
THAT video makes FLORIDA look hilly......

toss a bowling ball clean to St. Louis....

:crap::smash:
 
THAT video makes FLORIDA look hilly......

toss a bowling ball clean to St. Louis....

:crap::smash:

yeah but I bet snow drifts there look like mountains compared to anything in florida hahaha

OH GOD!!! talk about triggering memories....Dad had moved out to the country, they cut the road through a hillside, so very steep terraces on either side.....

wooden we know, a 3 day blizzard came through....blew all the snow of the flatter land into the road way 'ditch'.....

naturally ME, mr.dummy....walked out too far....under some 15' of snow, I had to climb up the terrace I just slid down.....

I take the sunshine, fuck that:crap::surrender:..
 
wickd - -
Thanks for that link to the pics! Awesome on the Turbo install and a sweet airbox for the Radiator too.
Very well done.

Cheers - Jim
 
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