To start off its a '72 Rally Sport 350. I am going to be putting a Year One crate 350 with 400 hp/tq in it when I get home from Iraq in April, I hope, only 15 months of this crap, lol. Going for that engine cause I just want a daily with a little bit of power, I dont want drag power or any thing, track times are not what Im building for.

But I want to drop the front end for a mean, low look. I will be getting a new header/exaust system put on that sits no lower then the frame rails cause I know that the exaust tubes some times hits the speed bumps now, esp with friends.

I was thinkin 3 inchs would be about as low as I wanted to go(up front). I would like to do a bolt in, maybe 1 inch with the springs and 2" drop spindle. Along with a 1 inch drop in the rear, and that is basicly just to put new shocks back there(freakin' leaf spring set up), althought I do want a slight drop in the rear. But I am going for the rake look.

I have searched Eiboch( cant spell that ), Suspension Techniques, and any other that had a year modle specific part for my car, in JEGS and Summit.

I want some thing some one else has put on thier own Camaro, that didnt give them negative camber in the front or any other problems. I was looking to keep it at about $1000 to $1200, again it will just be a daily, though we all know I will do more then just cruise in it, but if I ever take it to a track, it will be once just see what it does.

Thanks. Most my posts havnt been poppin up but I will keep track of this one and copy and save it so I can repost it.


RED

IMHO, do not do a dropped spindle.

Maybe Dave Pozzi will chime in, but it really messes up the suspension geometry on a first/second gen. Much better to go with a shorter engineered spring to drop her down a couple of inches.

I agee with BelaireBob...I would go to Pozzi's website and read read read....thats what I did before I ever touched my car or bought a thing,and hes a member here so he'll probably chime in,he answered a couple of question for me directly.I know the 2nd gens by design were a much better engineered handling car than the 1st from the factory...but Pozzi gives real insight at least on 1st gens and tell ya the truth I never even noticed if he had the 2nd gen cars in his handling write-up but I know he'll give you some insight.I paid about $1000.00 for my hotchkis TVS which is a total package for 1st gens and I've said this before but...besides the tremec and disk brakes I converted my car to...the hotchkis set-up was without a doubt the next best upgrade I did.Again,although I'd love to have a 2nd gen camaro ...but since I dont, I have never really noticed if they have an upgrade for that style or not,bottom line is do your homework about the spindle vs spring drop deal,coil bind problems I even saw a post about header clearance issues with a drop kit so look close before leaping....just my opinion

I would go with a hotchkis TVS system. You should check out these web pages.

http://www.pozziracing.com/first_gen_suspension.htm

http://www.lateral-g.net/

http://www.detroitspeed.com/

http://www.detroitspeed.com/productpages/front_suspension.htm

Well thanks, I joined Team Chevelle back in 04 I think, before I knew any thing about cars at all. I am still learning alot. I just recently learned why some people out there in NC where I live now have offered me up to $7000 on the spot for my Camaro, and i hadnt owned it but a couple weeks.

I just recently learned why some people out there in NC where I live now have offered me up to $7000 on the spot for my Camaro, and i hadnt owned it but a couple weeks.

Must not have an engine and tranny in it, and needs a lot of body work :D

Seriously. I've seen beat-up rollers going for over 10K.

What you'll find a lot of, is people asking, "How much do you want for it?". It's not really that they want to buy it, it's their way of asking how much a car like that is worth...because they think it's cool...and have no friggin' clue ;).

Must not have an engine and tranny in it, and needs a lot of body work :D

Seriously. I've seen beat-up rollers going for over 10K.

What you'll find a lot of, is people asking, "How much do you want for it?". It's not really that they want to buy it, it's their way of asking how much a car like that is worth...because they think it's cool...and have no friggin' clue ;).

Wow, for real? Dang. The car came from CA. I met the second owner and bought it from the third. The only rust I found was under the left tail lights, and it looks as if it never had a passenger, ever. The interior cleaned up better then any interior I've ever had.

But she is a keeper. Going to be my daily. I have a Caddy and Linc that I am going to modify( yea doin the bags, our younger generation style ) but my plans after the Army are Wyotech in which I will be taking the classes that key on frenching, channel and chop top, along with street motor builds. None of this new fangled computer stuff, although EFI is great, I love carbs. Then I will attemp to chop top and channel my Cadillac.

Im going to go read those links provided to me now. Thanks again for them yall!

From lookin a the Hochkis TVS, it looks like my best bet. Being I am a rookie and peicing some thing together would take alot of questions and time on here. I know I have the time but if the kit is there, its been used by some one on here, why not use it. Like I said, I just want to drop it for the looks, its a cruiser, not a racer. And I want to gain some thing from it, which if you go aftermarket, you pretty much get performance upgrades any ways.

Thanks

Big Red.
The previous owner lowered our 73 Camaro til the front crossmember was scraping. It was just done with shorter coils but they were stock coils and too soft, so the car scraped often. I'd recommend going with the Hotchkis TVS. Watch your header selection. We have Hooker Super Comps on a small block and it's not good at all.

Check out our Second Gen forum section, and also look over at http://www.nastyZ28.com
David

Thank you.

I am definetly going to be getting some different, tighter fitting headers. I'm sure the Camaro scraps now, how it does, because the suspencion is jus tired and sagging a little bit but then the headers are long tube and sit below the frame. I must have dinged it once in the city and went out for a cruise to Raleigh ( cannot spell ), well I floored it on the highway to pass a big rig and blew out the flange gasget on the driver side. I deployed 3 days later and never had a chance to fix it. Though its sitting pretty at a tow yard, a guy I know is holding it for me.

Thanks again Mr. Pozzi!

Thank you.

I am definetly going to be getting some different, tighter fitting headers. I'm sure the Camaro scraps now, how it does, because the suspencion is jus tired and sagging a little bit but then the headers are long tube and sit below the frame. I must have dinged it once in the city and went out for a cruise to Raleigh ( cannot spell ), well I floored it on the highway to pass a big rig and blew out the flange gasget on the driver side. I deployed 3 days later and never had a chance to fix it. Though its sitting pretty at a tow yard, a guy I know is holding it for me.

Thanks again Mr. Pozzi!

You can also do the Hotchkis with the exception of the front springs, and using Eibach 1" drop instead. This is what I did, and a few others have done this as well. Not only do I prefer the stance over a 2" drop, I also got to save my long comp. headers (savings of approx $600 from having to change them). I have approx 3.5" of clearance from the lowest point to ground, and never have to worry about speed bumps or driveways. And yes, the Eibach springs are a good match with an otherwise total Hotchkis package. Anyway, it gives you another option to consider, and the Eibach springs are about $20 less than the 2" Hotchkis.

Thanks again dude. This will sound like not a very good idea but I am looking to put it about as low as possible. Though I had an s10 once with 3 inches of ground clearance and that was pretty low.

Now, i think, that TVS will give the entire car a drop. I want the rake to it though.

I am tryin to think about how to either put my own kit together or some thing but I got back from a 15 hour mission, Im a little out of it. I cant think.

We found the Hotchkis kit to be good but we did have to use angle shims on the rear springs to housing to correct pinion angle. This lowered the rear a bit more than we wanted. The rear was lower than the front.
David

Yea... thank you.

Now that Ive rested and I am not staring at the screen trying to figure out what I was going to type next, lol, I can talk a little bit.


Since I was told not to use drop spindles, then I will nto go with that. If I can find a 3 inch drop for the front and a 2 for the rear, I will go with that. The ride right now is jus fine. I like how it feels, pretty smooth and after driving a Honda Accord 4 door for a year on the same roads every day. That Camaro is a blessing and could handle the corners at higher speeds, easier.

I know Hochkis has what I am looking for, plus I will not spend as compared to a kit like the TVS.

Red

Yea... thank you.

Now that Ive rested and I am not staring at the screen trying to figure out what I was going to type next, lol, I can talk a little bit.


Since I was told not to use drop spindles, then I will nto go with that. If I can find a 3 inch drop for the front and a 2 for the rear, I will go with that. The ride right now is jus fine. I like how it feels, pretty smooth and after driving a Honda Accord 4 door for a year on the same roads every day. That Camaro is a blessing and could handle the corners at higher speeds, easier.

I know Hochkis has what I am looking for, plus I will not spend as compared to a kit like the TVS.

Red

Sterling, you probably REALLY don't want to drop the front more than 2". If you do some reading you'll find that 2" is about the limit (safe limit) of dropping it. Even dropping it 2" has serious consequences concerning steering geometry and handling. Of course, with ADDED upgrades and the expense to go with it, a 2" drop can make your car handle like a modern day sports car. However, to go past 2" will pose serious problems. I understand that you want that really slammed look (not my cup of tea, but..), but you will be asking for trouble. Just dropping it 2" will call for changing to expensive tall upper ball joints, longer lower ball joints, and possibly tubular, adjustable UCA's to be able to dial-in the proper caster and camber you'll need for it to handle optimally. Dropping it 3" is a big no-no imho. Read, read, and then read more.

Our 2" drop kit turned out to leave the car the same height as it was before. BUT the previous owner lowered the front a lot and it was by heating the springs!!!

When lowering a car, you need to stiffen it to limit suspension travel. Otherwise the car will bottom out on the bumpstops, or on the pavement. The TVS kit is about double the spring rates of stock Camaros. The ride is going to be stiffer with almost no roll in the turns on street rubber. The tires absorb a lot of the bumps, tire type and profile is a big factor on how it will turn out. Also the type of roads you will drive on matters.

Wheel to fender clearance up front is a consideration when lowering too. Our 73 has the widest tire we can fit in front for autocross and track, a 275/40/17. It hits the inner fender at the top when we hit really hard bumps. I'm talking going about 85mph and hitting a pretty hard dip on the race track.
David

Oh yea, I dont really get the chance out here to read, with computer time limits and me wanting to get some sleep. I havnt had a chance to read every single thing yall have gave me, but I will be able to get to it some time here in the near future, before I buy any thing. I was still looking into what the lowest drop was I could go for. I dont really want the "slammed" look on it, but I love the lower look on a muscle car.

Wow, in reply to Mr. Pozzi's last reply. This Camaro shouldnt go to a 1/4 mile track but maybe 2 times after I finish it. It will be just for driving around town and cruisin on the weekends. Literaly a daily commuter for me. I was thinking about stock size rims and tires. Im thinkin they will fit with the drop, maybe dropping the tire size a little bit if I have clearence issues. Wheel Vintiques has a nice set of 15 inchers I want. The rear I will fatten a little bit but other then that stock sizes.


Well I can see now I am into alot more then I expected, though this will be fun being able to learn about it here, and not having the car outside and just jumping into some thing.

I have read over a few things given to me on here. Though most of it has a real race mentality, I think. I will not short change myself with this but most of this seems like its on a higher level then what I will be doing with my car, and I am sure most of it is over my head. What seems to me the simple and obvious things, like after dropping needing stiffer srpings to keep it off the bumpstops and off the cement and after some drops you will end up with negative chamber that needs to be corrected. I am slightly aware of tuning caster and chamber, but not so much the caster. Im thinking my car will need/have a some what "level" set up on it being it is never going to see an autocross track and put on the strip just to see what it has once or twice. Im honest about that, I love going fast but I dont give a crap about racing, especialy this Camaro, I want to keep this one for a very long time, its the first car I ever financed. Im young still.

Well I am hoping that will slightly help yall out and save you some typing while your helping me out with this. I fully understand that if I am going to drop it, I might as well and more so should, change out the entire suspension especialy since I will have the money to do it. Thanks agian!

After reading some of the things that were given to me, it seems like I should go for a better suspension. My opinion and from what I've been taught, if your going to do some thing you need to do it right the first time.

I was talking with some lesser educated people like myself out here in Iraq about the difficulty of doing a link system in the rear, for ride quality and control.

To the best of my knowledge any link system has to have brakets/mounts (either fabbed or bought pre-fabbed) welded onto the frame. Im sure I will be corrected here shorty.

The question Im possing is, is the leaf spring set up good enough for nice ride and handling or should I look into a link system, which I am guessing will be too much for what I am looking for because I do not intend on racing my Camaro. Although after reading a couple things it seems like it would be nice to have the handling capabilities mentioned with certain set ups. What it seems like some of you are doing here is having me read for myself and learn the differnces between the parts and get a slight feel for every thing myself. Then present a set up, either a kit or put together myself. Which I will do when I think about it and get the free time. I have a pretty irregualr schedual here.

I know you guys post alot on here, thank you.