Someone's reply post said you can drop the front end by cutting a coil or two off the springs, but I can't find the post again. I had been leary of doing that because I had read that simply cutting the coil springs throws off the "bumpsteer" of the front suspension, making the bottom of the wheel stick outward further than the top of the wheel, which makes it look funny.
However, the cost of experimenting with hacking up a couple of old springs is a little more attractive than that of 2" drop spindles.
Has anyone had any experience with this and on what cars could I find the previously mentioned 550# springs to try?

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englemac
Yellow/Black 1969 Z-28 Camaro clone
Gray Primer C-130E Hercules :)

a word to the wise- don't cut your coil springs. when springs are manufacured the go through a series of steps such as shot peening for stress relief once they're wound and they are also set to block (compressed til all coils touch). once you cut a coil you affect the integrity of the spring and the rates actually change with age and continue to "settle" or "sag" until the suspension hits the bump stops. you're better off buying new lowering springs which offer better performance and cost less than spindles. keep in mind also that spindles don't raise the handling performance like increased rate springs do.

Used to be that cutting the spring was the only way to lower a car. Now, you can order all sorts of 1" and 2" lower, high rate springs. If I were looking, I would check with Summit before cutting my springs.

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Mark
1992 Firebird 355/Six Speed
1991 RS 350 / 700-R4
1987 Toyota Pickup 383 / 500 + HP 10.963 @ 119.95
**How fast is just a matter of how much $$$ **
"They only thing worse than drinking out of the toilet is driving a FORD."
"FORD, the other F-word"

Englemac,

Mark is right, look in the suspension peoples catelogs. They have a lot of different springs.
I bought "CarQuest" Part Number 5536, a 488# spring that fits a '69 to '71 A-body-heavy duty for my '67.
I've got to cut it to get my correct height after I install my big block. I figure that I coulda come closer for the money by buying a "custom" spring set. Spend a 35 cents, and call them up and ask. pdq67

I say, go ahead and play with your springs and if you dont like how it turns out after a while, buy some new shorter springs.

I cut mine over 9 months ago and they have not sagged any from the heat. I have had no problems.

After doing anything with suspension you have to get a new alignment. (your wheels wont poke out like you said after an alignment)

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69 Camaro 1977 350
Shift kit, Pertronix ignitor, holley 600
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/rallyrd/murfys_law

I have 2 cents here also. I don't enjoy swapping springs, so rather than cut the originals I'd go ahead and install lowered springs from a reputable suspension dealer. If you do decide to cut springs, please don't use a torch. Use a cutoff saw with a good blade on it (but still not recommended). What everyone is driving at in the previous posts is this - if you heat up the spring, it will change it's spring properties, i.e. spring rate. Chances are both springs won't be the same.

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Matt
http://camarotech1.com
Camaro Tech 1st Generation

I don't really like cutting springs, but I've done it and it's worked.
The springs I've cut have been a lot higher than stock rate.
If your time is worth nothing, and you don't mind paying for an alignment or two, you can experiment with cutting but the stock rates are no good anyway. Cutting the stock spring won't raise the rate enough to help with handling.

I respectfully disagree with the no torch cutting of springs idea. I've cut coil springs and yes the last half inch of spring does get hot and may soften that little bit of the coil a little, but so what?
I can show you the end of a pair of springs that I cut over 20 years ago and they are still fine. There just isn't enough leverage on the end of the last half inch of spring to make a change in ride height or rate. Is it the very best way to do it? No,

The best thing about lowering with stiffer springs is that the car will not bottom out or scrape as easily.
Your money is best spent on quality springs. I've bought cheap race car springs that sagged and had to replace them with the "right" springs in the end.
The peace of mind is really worth it too.

Watch out for damage to the ball joint rubber boots when you change springs.
David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
David's Homepage (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/)
67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Can Am Vintage Racer

I'll agree with David on the cutting torch issue but throw in one condtion. It must be a CUTTING torch and not a welding tip. It also must be of sufficient size to do the job.

A properly operating cutting torch, and an experienced hand, can make this cut in very short order.



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Click here to see see my car and hear 5-speeds. http://www.geocities.com/casanoc

englemac,
On the subject of bumpsteer.
Most firstgen Camaros have some bumpsteer allready.
This bumpsteer might get a little worse when the car is lowered. This is because it is not linear when graphed out on paper. The lower the car the worse the bumpsteer gets.
Doing the Guldstrand mod of lowering the upper A frame mount seems to make this curve even worse.
There are different length outer steering arms, pitman arms, and idler arms used on first gen Camaros. These different parts have not been tested by me so I don't know what differences in bumpsteer may occour between them.
I believe that generally there is toe out on bump for most Camaros and most common mods make things worse.
The bump steer shows up in a vaugeness in steering and inability to easily point the car into a turn precisely and have the car continue to track where it's been pointed. If you are initally steering into a turn and then having to make several steering corrections, usually adding more steering lock before reaching the apex, I'd suspect a bumpsteer problem.

There is no use even thinking about fixing a bump steer problem unless you have all the suspension mods finished, the front end rebuilt and properly aligned, etc.

I've driven a couple of Camaros that did not exhibit as severe a symptoms of bumpsteer as my 67 did.
This info is mainly for extreme handling and cornering performance. If you are just cruzing around, you don't need to worry about it so much.

For drag racers the top end speed will be reduced when the car has bump steer and the front end lifts at high speeds. Just jack up the front end a couple of inches and measure your toe in. You may find that you have a half inch of toe IN at high speeds.

I told a friend to check his Chevy Nova drag racer, and he picked up a lot of top speed by fixing his bumpsteer problem.
Frequently, guys trim the upper A frame bump rubber to get more off theline lift at the drags. If the front end lifts extra at top end, you can get into a severe toe in amount.
David
David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
David's Homepage (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/)
67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Can Am Vintage Racer

I think that the concern over putting a cutting torch to coil springs to shorten them came from the early days quick lowering job done by heating the installed coil springs and letting the weight of the car settle the hot springs.
This much heat took the temper out of too much of the springs and they kept settling or lowering with time.
A guy I knew had a '58 Impala hardtop that he did this to and it sat on it's nose just about like the one in "American Graffiti". The springs were shot. Period. pdq67

Pdq67,
Actually I've done that one too! I heated the coil very near the bottom where it would collapse a known amount and contact the coil below it, they are wound closer near the ends and that is where I heated it, it sagged about 3/4" I was very careful about it and it worked. That was on a big block 68 Camaro.

The main thing is, while you might successfully lower the car using these methods, the spring heating way is the least accurate and the now softened spring could break and cause a problem. There IS more leverage on the heat lowered spring.

I HAVE seen photos and warnings of springs breaking when weld spatter landed on them causing a flaw in the surface.
Also, what you really need when you lower the car is increased stiffness to keep off the bump stops and keep from scraping the headers on the ground. For this you need a stiffer spring.
For the little extra you pay for a special spring set from Hotchkis or other, I think it's worth it.
The only problem is, we all have different tastes on how high the car should sit,
And we all may have different weight on the front springs depending on options like heavy duty radiators, PS, PB, engine, trans, hood, etc. This all affects the weight on the front springs, and consequently ride height.
At least with a stiffer spring in there, the weight difference makes less difference in the ride height.

Some way or another I'm going to figure out a way to make mine adjustable...
Either the Carera setup or the Speedway "hidden" adjuster. Right now, I'm leaning toward the Speedway adjuster and looking for a way to get at it without having to remove it from the car.
David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
David's Homepage (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/)
67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Can Am Vintage Racer

[This message has been edited by davidpozzi (edited 09-10-2000).]

i have cut my springs on my 73 twice now. a dangerous 3 inches. 1 whole coil= 2 inch drop. cut em again another half coil. it sits fine and looks ok, handles 30% better, closer to bottoming out and my control arms are all tweaked. plan on rebuilding and using dropped spindles soon though. i just used a 25$ angle grinder with a cutting wheel.made sure to smooth the ends. dont heat the springs at all.

i was looking at a jc whitney magazine the other day and noticed you can buy some things that compress your stock coil springs up to 3 inches and stay on there for a lowered look for about $30 for all 4 springs

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92 camaro 25th anniversary polo green with 2 gold stripes

89 camaro rs