C3 dropped spindle options?

[1Michel]

I know it didnt drop the car, but not sure about the reason, I know he tried to explain it.

I fixed it for you...

I once asked norval how he knew something he was doing would work...his response "because it looked strong"...my opinion for the 2 cents it may or may not be worth...the guy was a hack, every weld got ground down, his dash wiring job looked like a colored bowl of spaghetti, everything got covered (hidden) under that thick black paint and he had more excuses than carters got little pills. my favorite was the 'bolt in" cage, he said he might have to remove it to pass a Canadian auto inspection...but the big blower sticking out of the hood blocking his vision passed inspection? ..........hack.

Thanks for the fix Redvetracr my english need some help sometimes lol

hahaha in a lot of ways, youre right.

I didnt understand everything he came up with, some things were a bit out of my league so I didnt argue but the mods he made sure provoked some good argumentations.

Thats a good way to get people talk about their experiences and make some good conversation about mods, good or bad.

 

[Belgian1979vette]

I think Norval did it to lower the instantanous center, to reduce corner roll and still being able to use soft springs. It made sense. However, i'm not completly confident welding those spindles since they are cast as far as i know.

 

[crisjcg]

I have been working on a fabricated spindle for C3 that will do two things.. 1 inch drop & the use of a C6 Corvette bearing pack.. Thoughts please.. Anything else I should be looking to incorporate into t he design..

 

[Twin_Turbo]

C5/6 brake mounts

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[BBShark]

I have been working on a fabricated spindle for C3 that will do two things.. 1 inch drop & the use of a C6 Corvette bearing pack.. Thoughts please.. Anything else I should be looking to incorporate into t he design..

Use a early C4 non-ABS hub.

There is a spindle in the download section:

 

[crisjcg]

Twin- yes for C5/6 brakes.. In my world we use 18 inch tires & bigger.. Plus everybody makes a good brake kit for those cars..

BB- I like using the SKF ZR-1 hub because of all the road racing we do.. Nice to see you model of the C3 spindle.. I can use it to compare measurements..

Here is on spindle I currently make for my Camaro sub-frames.. I have lots of time in this design plus expense in fixtures..










Here is what I got started so far on the C3 spindle... We can make it work .. Just gonna take some time to figure it our!

C5/6 brake mounts

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I have been working on a fabricated spindle for C3 that will do two things.. 1 inch drop & the use of a C6 Corvette bearing pack.. Thoughts please.. Anything else I should be looking to incorporate into t he design..

Use a early C4 non-ABS hub.

There is a spindle in the download section:

 

[7t2vette]

I have been working on a fabricated spindle for C3 that will do two things.. 1 inch drop & the use of a C6 Corvette bearing pack.. Thoughts please.. Anything else I should be looking to incorporate into t he design..

Looking forward to seeing these made, I would love to have drop spindles on my car.

Any idea of when or how much?

:thumbs:

 

[MYBAD79]

I know this a very old thread but I have to ask: with somewhat standard wheels (17" or 18") the overall diameter of the wheel is about 26" - given a 275-40-17 tire or a 245-40-18.... Ballpark....... How low do you want to go?
With all stock stuff, ams etc, and only 550lbs coils from VBP the front fender sits low enough to almost rub the tire.....
So if I understand this correctly (and there's a good chance I am missing something) you pretty much have to use stock coil springs with drop spindles..... Which seems to result in a low but very soft ride.....

I understand all about the unchanged susp geometry but the C3 is so low to start with that it's a completely different animal than i.e. a Chevelle or a Nova ....

I am using 2" drop spindles on my aircooled VW but that's not a performance suspension at all......

 

[mrvette]

Reading this old thread again, and it got me to thinking again (I know, that's highly dangerous) BUT, why not flip the lower Ball joint upside down, weld and retaper the lower spindle hole to accept the joint stem, thereby raising the spindle a fair amount, dropping the car about 2" or so....put in a taller spring if necessary.....that would raise the upper B/J--arm for the desired measure on that angle....... seems like a simple enough thing to do, NO??

maybe even put in another type of lower ball joint....

:smash::twitch:

 

[BBShark]

You could co that Gene but you would lower it at least 3 inches. Thats has it's own problems

 

[mrvette]

You could co that Gene but you would lower it at least 3 inches. Thats has it's own problems

So maybe cut/weld a new end on the lower control arm??? just seems simpler than going hog wild with money or modifying cast spindles, etc....rather weld a hunk of stamped steel and get it right the easy way....NO??

:thumbs:

 

[phantomjock]

Rehash - Reopen/Revive old thread...

Wondering if anyone has the details on the C4 front hub/spindles? if that would get to a drop - although some geometry to work out too.



BBShark has some nice CAD work for the C3 spindle -

but I can't find a C4 front hub/spindle CAD or dimensioned drawing to save me.

Also wondering if anyone has seen these over at Jegs and if they might fill the bill?

 

[phantomjock]

OK - I may have found a workable approach to this . Seems that a number of Chevys use the same Ball Joints, so the issue becomes which one you'd want to use, then see if you can source a dropped spindle for that model Chevy.

You could also retaper the spindle mount, but that is more work and machine shop time.

Here is a table I found that might be of use to others:



The 58-70 Caprice, Impala, Bell Air, and Biscane all share the same upper and lower Ball Joints as the 63-82 Corvette! Note the unit available a Jegs I posted earlier "looks" like you could remove the spindle and re mount it lower to get less than 2 inches drop.

"Case Closed!" YMMV.

Cheers - Jim

 

[vette427sbc]

Looks like it will work, but will it actually work

The *potential* KPI and ackerman differences could negate the benefit of the IC correction

 

[phantomjock]

The KPI looks to be about 3 degrees different between the JEGS spindle and the C3 (using jpeg measurement from the model of the C3 that BBShark did) Jegs version is 3 degrees "steeper."

RideTech has one they sell for the C3 that also raises the upper Ball Joint. They claim a huge improvement in Ackerman. But, you'd need to invest 400 bucks on that bet.

I've got a PM to Mike (69427) regarding his C4 front end mod. We'll see what he's found out.

Cheers - Jim

 

[rtj]

The KPI looks to be about 3 degrees different between the JEGS spindle and the C3 (using jpeg measurement from the model of the C3 that BBShark did) Jegs version is 3 degrees "steeper."

RideTech has one they sell for the C3 that also raises the upper Ball Joint. They claim a huge improvement in Ackerman. But, you'd need to invest 400 bucks on that bet.

I've got a PM to Mike (69427) regarding his C4 front end mod. We'll see what he's found out.

Cheers - Jim

The tall ball joints are available. Howe’s racing.

Can you find an Impala dropped spindle? Edit: looks like you can, 1969 is the year I think.

 

[phantomjock]

Right - I have the Howe's. Think the "screw-in" versions I got from Colemans. The Moog K5108 is the part as best as I recall.

I think the "mix" is between the several interfaces. First the UCA/LCA to the screw-in Ball Joints (that must be picked to match the spindle). Then the spindle that is picked for KPA, drop, and Ackerman! Then, the Wheel/Tire combo - to house the gear, and then all that stirred in a witches brew to get favorable handling.

The Jegs (and others similar available) might be close enough to do a quick trial if can keep in the lower cost range (trial a less than 150).

I've looked at C5 and C6 hubs and there is not much change in spindle height - if any. C4 - still TBD. The whole thing I'm "worrying here" is the 2" raise I did to the differential. :blush: OOPS - now need to work the front end! The big difference using C5/6 on front end seems in the CA angles, lengths, etc, not in this aspect.

So what next... I'm waiting to get some words with 69427 who has done a few C3s to C4 front end mods. And, get up the "nerve" to drop some cash on Suspension Pro! It's just nearly time to do that.

Cheers - JIm