I know this topic has been done to death lately but...I currently have the tired old monoleafs on my 69. I am going to be redoing the front suspension this summer hopefully. My question is...what is the best way to go as far as handeling in the rear, monos or multileaf, and could someone suggest a great set of shocks also. Im not concerned with the ride being smooth, the stiffer the better. There wont be, many thanks to this forum, a rear sway bar going in. Thanx in advance.

I would be interested to know if anyone has tried the fiberglass mono-leafs and how they compare to the steel ones.


------------------
Rob Rice
robr@sprynet.com
http://members.xoom.com/robr54

I am going to redo the whole suspension on my '68 SS in the future. I plan on using Landrum www.landrumsprings.com (http://www.landrumsprings.com) rear springs and Caltrac traction bars www.calvertracing.com (http://www.calvertracing.com) I have not yet decided on how far to go on the whole front suspension. The front subframe has been completly stripped, re-painted and rebuilt with all new GM parts. This was already done before I bought the car. I'm going to talk to the right people so I end up with the right spring rates for what I'd like to eventually do with the car (about 140+mph. for 90 miles at the Nevada open road races).As for shocks : If I can find the same as my Yenko has, they will be Koni of course! They seem to work very well on it. Look & See http://magi.com/~gaube/corvair/yenko05.html
Rick
'68 Camaro SS 427
'66 Yenko Stinger #YS-100


[This message has been edited by YenkoYS100 (edited 01-07-2000).]

[This message has been edited by YenkoYS100 (edited 01-07-2000).]

YenkoYS100,

Call and talk to Guldtrand engineering. They raced Camaros in the late 60s and early 70s. They have their opinions as to how to set the cars up, but at least they developed these opinions from experience. I am glad I called.

As to spring rate, the guy I talked to said "spring rate" is a meaningless term. There are too many variables to be able to say that a "500 lb" spring will do x or y. It all depends on the individual car. Their front coil springs will give you a stock ride height. The springs come with instructions on how to cut them to get the ride height you want. Their "GT" springs are for street/road race applications and go for about $150. They also have a full "race" spring they don't recommend you use on the street.

Also said that the stock five-leaf rear springs were fine.

I want to build my 69 for similar purposes and have enjoyed the suspension discussions here.

gheatly,

Thanks for the tips. I sent for their manuals. I also really enjoy the suspension discussions. There is alot to be learned and I'm greatful to learn from those who have tried the modifications. Thanks to all and keep up the good work!! Rick p.s. Anyone can burn rubber in a straight line. I myself, like the feeling of a car handling like it's on "Rails". That terminology came from my Yenko Stinger Tech Manual dated March 1967.

Just got the new hotchkis application guide and they are coming out with 1.5" drop leaf springs, and a rear sway bar. They are also going to offer front springs for Big block cars, does'nt offer the rates though. I've seen on there web page there current front springs for a small block are rated at 600 lb. and offer a 2" drop. There front sway bar looks like a quaility piece also.

------------------
68 468 700R4

MarkM,

I have my Hotchkis front swaybar still in the box, and your right, it it a quality piece. I have been waiting for these discussions to play out to determine what front suspension mods I am going to do.

I'm surprised they are coming out with a rear sway bar. Everyone else I have talked to says this is a no-no on a first generation.

Food for thought: I bought a stock replacement set of HD front springs for my 69 with a 350 SB, manual trans, and no A/C. These springs increased my ride height 1 inch over the specs in the factory assembly manual (total increase from old springs of almost 3 inches). Why? It was the aluminum heads, aluminum intake, and headers. Total weight savings of at least 100 lbs compared to a stock car. Lesson: If you have made any changes that lighted your front end, you won't get the advertised drop in ride height (where's that damn hack saw when you need it!).

[This message has been edited by gheatly (edited 01-08-2000).]

I'm running the 'Vette Brakes rear fiberglass leaf springs on my '69. They work great and the car handles really good (also have stock front coils with one coil cut out, 1' front swaybar, polyurethane everywhere, subframe connectors, gas shocks, and 17' wheels & tires).

The only problem I have is that I'm using a 2" lowering block in the rear and it makes noise! I swear the block sounds like it moves a bit and creaks and groans and it makes me nervous. I've changed the rubber pads and u bolts and tightened the crap out of them but no change.

I also have a 9" rear in the car and had a bad experience with the combo. I got on it hard one day and the tires stuck real good - the stock spring perches on the rearend (Ford crap)leveraged against the lowering blocks and bent allowing the rear to roll upward. The blocks (aluminum) crumbled, the driveshaft twisted and fell out, and everything went south in a hurry.

I now have new blocks and bolts, new gusseted spring perches, and a new driveshaft (Honey, I swear it was all metal fatigue!) But the blocks still talk to me. So, after I get past explaining the need for a new motor (currently installing) then I'll spoil the wife for a while and try to slip in a new set of lowered steel springs - such as those mentioned above.

Other than the block problem and my desire for a low ride - I think the fiberglass springs are great. If you're interested and willing to wait a month or 2 shoot me an e-mail and I'll make you a deal when I pull these off - they have very low miles on them and are in great shape.

Scott
"Dennings4@aol.com"

I decided to take my Hotchkis bar out of the box and put it on the car today. Everything went smoothly. Makes a BIG difference on how the car handles. Also makes my car twitchy because of the 30 year old steering box. I've got a good 1.5 inches of play in the wheel, and when you "hit" the end of the play, the car swerves slightly. The smaller bar apparently could absorb the shock so I couldn't feel it like I can now. I'm going to try and adjust the box first, but will probably end up buying a new quick ratio box.

Also, instructions make it sound like it is optional to remove the passenger tire. My recommendation: remove the tire, it will make things go a lot smoother. I wasted 15 minutes trying to figure out how to twist the old bar out before I realized the tire would have to come off.

gheatly, I plan on installing the same sway bar, currently the car has no sway bar and did'nt come with one so I assume the holes in the frame are there, and the installation goes as smooth as yours.

All Camaros came with front swaybars, so the holes should be there.

I don't believe all camaro's came with front sway bars, but I may be wrong. My car was origanally a no options 68 with 6 cylinder and a three speed stick-shift. I know that all the suspension parts are original, (which is wy I will be redoing that soon) so I don't see why some one would have removed the sway bar.

------------------
68 468 700R4

gheatly -

Did your front bar go in without removing a lower control arm? It's been awhile since I put mine in but I swear I could not get it twisted in there without dropping one arm. Itried for a day or 2 and it absolutely would not go - it's an aftermarket 1" bar - maybe it has an extra bend in it? I gave up and dropped one arm, although I needed to do it anyway for something else so no big deal - but you never know when I might have to do it again???

RockyMtnRacer - I had to lower one of the lower A arms to get my sway bar in. I had really battled to get the coils in, finally had it done and then discovered there was no way that I could get the sway bar back in without dropping one of the lower a arms. In my dictionary, this was the definition of "a real pisser!"

My Hotchkins bar slipped in with the car on the ground and all 4 tires on!! Guess I got lucky.

KYB gas shocks would be good choice for your shocks. I changed out my rear springs with some new multileaf units from the manufacturer that originally did the originals for GM. I also replaced my front springs. Good source for these is firewheelclassics.com (http://firewheelclassics.com) .


[This message has been edited by sr71bb (edited 01-19-2000).]