hello. inned help. does anyone know the best way to lower a 67 camaro front end. do i use 2" drop spindles or springs that are 2" less then factory size. if so. what is the best place to get them with the lowest price that fits the fatory disc brakes in the front. my last question is what is the best and/or cheapest way to lower the cars rearend 2". thanks so much.

HI you keep saying best and cheapest in the same breath... They are usually mutually exclusive. for the rear you can add lowering blocks for the front you can get the right springs and cut (see David) Here http://pozziracing.com/first_gen_suspension.htm

I am going with a G bar with adustable coil overs and a coil over Front suspension But that is going to run me about 3 K where as the blocks and springs you can do for a few Hundred or less

Do a search on this and be prepared to read your butt off .
type in hotchkis ,lowering,guldstrand ,etc....
p.s. No such thing as best and cheap

your right. im sorry. i dont want to spend thousands on it. what is the best way. drop spindles or springs to lower the car.

which ones are better 2 inch drop spindles or springs that are made to be two inches shorter. which one give the better ride and look.

hello. inned help. does anyone know the best way to lower a 67 camaro front end. do i use 2" drop spindles or springs that are 2" less then factory size. if so. what is the best place to get them with the lowest price that fits the fatory disc brakes in the front. my last question is what is the best and/or cheapest way to lower the cars rearend 2". thanks so much.

1. The cheapest way to lower your front would be to cut the springs.
2. The worst method to lower your front is to cut your springs.
3. The cheapest way to lower your rear is to add lowering blocks.
4. The worst method to lower your rear is to add lowering blocks.

I hope this helps :). And of course, this is my opinion, and I concluded these things after reading a lot and asking a lot of questions.

your right. im sorry. i dont want to spend thousands on it. what is the best way. drop spindles or springs to lower the car.

New drop springs.

which ones are better 2 inch drop spindles or springs that are made to be two inches shorter. which one give the better ride and look.

See reply above. Drop spindles introduce other issues to deal with once installed. Drop springs give you options to drop 1", 1.5", 2" as examples, and they also allow you to choose different "spring rates" to match your application. You need to account for BBC or SBC, A/C or no A/C etc., to end up with the right rigidity/stiffness and height for what you're trying to accomplish.

dropped front spindles is the only way to go.
cutting the springs wil change the geometry and travel.
youll have a pain trying to do a front end alignment too.

FYI if you are going to eventually go to big breaks drop spindles may hurt you. (not sure but I think I read that on this site)

Buddy put drop spindles on his Camaro... ended up being about $600 due to tires,wheels,and complete brake assembly. They don't use your stock Camaro brakes, and you may need skinnier tires, and different off set (backspace) wheels.... He did :sad:

I would get the Hochkis kit if I was gonna do it.

Buddy put drop spindles on his Camaro... ended up being about $600 due to tires,wheels,and complete brake assembly. They don't use your stock Camaro brakes, and you may need skinnier tires, and different off set (backspace) wheels.... He did :sad:

I would get the Hochkis kit if I was gonna do it.

x2 :thumbsup: And it also means he'd never be able to go bigger than 15" wheels.

Here's an article he can read that'll give him some pros and cons of each method: http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/89858_chevrolet_lowering/index.html

your right. im sorry. i dont want to spend thousands on it. what is the best way. drop spindles or springs to lower the car.
There are way too many available options. As a starting point what is your budget and what is the car going to be used for: weekend cruiser, daily driver, strip, etc. Given that info will narrow down the choices considerably.

Let the air out of the tires...:D

There now is a new type of dropped spindle on the market.It does NOT have the steering arms cast in place like the ones that have been available for years.These new ones use the stock bolt on steering arms and retain the stock brake components or any upgraded brakes that fit stock spindles.It might have been HEIDTS rod shop or I think MATTS bow tie classics sells them.They are very cool and am surprised no one has made them untill now.The old style requiered small S-10 disc brakes and a 4" max wheel backspace.I'm probably going to get a set myself..I think there going to be a hit..who wants 10" brakes to have a lowered car that still rides nice?...:noway:....

There now is a new type of dropped spindle on the market.It does NOT have the steering arms cast in place like the ones that have been available for years.These new ones use the stock bolt on steering arms and retain the stock brake components or any upgraded brakes that fit stock spindles.It might have been HEIDTS rod shop or I think MATTS bow tie classics sells them.They are very cool and am surprised no one has made them untill now.The old style requiered small S-10 disc brakes and a 4" max wheel backspace.I'm probably going to get a set myself..I think there going to be a hit..who wants 10" brakes to have a lowered car that still rides nice?...:noway:....


First I've heard of, but glad if it's true.

drop spindles are a bad idea..just spent the cash on a good set of spring front or rear or both..i went with hotckis front and rear liek many others have....i nailed the stance i wanted and also made a huge huge difference on the way my car handled..they have other companies who make springs for these cars...global west, dse eibach ect...hotchkis is the most reasonably priced..i just ended up woing with the tvs kit since i was doing a complete overhaul.. you may not want to spend the extra cash for the added goodies.....however..before i did this to mu car i had 1" lowering blocks on the rear..they also made the stance very nice...and were only about 30 bucks but like everyone said this isnt the best method..i just had them on there while i saved for the tvs kit...most people say you can get away with the blocks on a driver car but dont go over 1" any more than that is a bad idea in my mind..

I beg to differ that dropped spindles are a BAD idea.I have done it both ways through the years on many different kinds of vehicles.Both have certain advantages and disadvantages,with springs your able to control the spring rate through selective springs available to tailor your driving needs but sacrifice compression wheel travel.With spindles wheel travel and ride quaility remains unchanged from stock while gaining a lowered stance....both ways are GOOD and just depends on what your after:thumbsup:..........

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/64-72-Chevelle-67-69-Camaro-Firebird-Drop-Spindles_W0QQitemZ230192780712QQihZ013QQcategoryZ3 4199QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem here is the link to the new dropped spindles out now but not the only place there available...........

For the fronts, I wouldn't think to do anything other than new springs of the desired height. For the rear, I've seen a surprising amount of people have a good experience in de-arching the stock multi-leaf springs. I'll be trying this approach in the near future. If it doesn't end up working as I would like I'll then research other options.

I suggest you guys read this
http://www.pozziracing.com/first_gen_suspension_geome.htm#Drop%20Spindles

When you lower the car with drop spindles you keep the stock geometry, but on a camaro the stock geometry is not that good. Lowering the car with springs improves the geometry (so I have read, I cant check that kind of info)

Keeping the soft stock springs but moving the tire 2" closer to the fender, not a good idea in my book. You probably will hit the tire on the inner fender in normal driving over bumps
The increased spring rate of lowering springs will stop this from happening

And those spindles someone linked to say they are 1.5" taller than stock
The AFX spindle for American Touring Specialties (the tall version is said to be the best option for improving 1st gen f-body suspension geometry) The tall version is I believe about 1/2-3/4" of an inch taller
1.5" is too much and causes other problems with the geometry that I don't understand

I am not an expert at all, but this is the knowledge I have gathered from reading

here is the link to the AFX spindle (http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=ats&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=397396266&Count2=314536690)
edit: well the link does go right to the spindle, but click on suspension then the AFX spindle

I hope this helps, and that I have not given any false information
Jon

Hotchkis TVS with the bilstein shocks works great for me, love the stance and the ride. Had to replace the old worn out body mounts. I didn't research enough to realize that my driver's side Hooker comp header would end up about 3" on the ground. Make sure you consider your headers in the lowering process.

Remember....the more distance between the ball joints the better,it decreases the radial arc between full compression and jounce no matter what kind of car i.e.improves camber change while turning.Back in the mid 80's someone marketed a(2 " Ball joint spacer) for 1st gen Camaros,can't remember who,but I bought a set and it was like night and day on my 68' coupe.Thats why modern cars have insanely tall spindles..just look at the 4th gen. Camaros...maybe someone here remembers those spacers back in the day.

When you lower the car with drop spindles you keep the stock geometry, but on a camaro the stock geometry is not that good.

Keeping the soft stock springs but moving the tire 2" closer to the fender, not a good idea in my book.

Remember....the more distance between the ball joints the better,.............

And these are just a couple of reasons that folks need to rethink why they're dropping their car. A lot of us set out to drop it just for looks/stance (I know I did), but not only does dropping it change the geometry, it can be for the worse if other measures aren't taken. But of course, if the proper measures are taken you'll not only achieve the look you're after, but you'll also greatly improve the handling/steering of the car. So, pluses all around if done right.

Now, there are multiple options to help improve overall handling after lowering, and while you can do all of them, it probably isn't necessary for most of us. For instance; as mentioned above, a greater distance between ball joints is desirable. In my case, I was using 1" drop springs to lower the front. To help improve the geometry, I opted for tall upper ball joints, but stayed with stock lower ball joints. And now that I did this, I then opted for adjustable tubular control arms to be able to achieve the positive caster I wanted in the end. While it was possible to get somewhere close with stock UCAs, it wasn't likely that I hit it...and we'd be talking "shim city" under the stock UCAs.

Had I dropped the front 2" inches, I probably would have gone with longer lower ball joints, as well as uppers. But again, I wouldn't have had to do this. But if you're already altering your car in a way that just happens to have it in a better position for noticeable improvement, why not follow through?

The main point here is that lowering a car, like most other projects we undertake, calls for additional measures (or other projects, if you will) just to make the "primary" goal possible, safe, and an overall worthwhile upgrade.

All the methods of dropping the front have their place, but some come with more limitations in the end. And still, these limitations may not matter to some folks, depending on their goal. I said that imho, cutting the springs was the worst method. Well, yes and no. If done properly, a stiffer rate may be just whats needed...but then you get into linear and progressive spring rates....among other issues. Drop spindles have been used by many for years. If you already know what the limitations are for wheel size and back space etc., then go for it. And again, be prepared to deal with geometry changes. And drop springs (my personal recommendation) can cause big disappointments for folks who forgot they might not have been starting with stock ride height. Or even for those who knew. To hear stories from other members, drop springs can be a crap shoot. But there are adjustable canisters that can be used to allow changes for any unpleasant surprises. In my case, I was lucky and achieved exactly the 1" promised drop. And not to dwell on the negatives, I'd guess that the majority here got what they expected in the way of drop.

Anyway, read more, think about your goals, your budget, and go from there.