I'm looking at the complete system for my 68. I currently have ALL stock components with mono leafs. I'm concerned with the drop though because my long tube Hookers are around 3 1/2 inches off the ground as it is and was wondering how much it will stiffin it up? My measurements are as follows....

Front
-bottom of lip of fender is 25 1/2 inches from the ground.
-14" from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the fender lip.
-tire size is 235/60/14 ( 25" round )

Rear
-Bottom of lip of fender is 26 inches from the ground. ( note. I have air shocks and this is with all air out of them....it's around 27 with air. Oh I didn't put them in.
-14 1/2" from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the fender lip.
-tire size is 235/60/14 ( 25" round )

Can you measure yours and tell me where yours stands. My only concern is my hedders being 3 1/2 inches off the ground. Thanks

Anyone?

Front (measured from center of fender to ground, I am running 235/45/17s):
Drivers side - 24.5"
Passenger side - 24.75"

Rear (measured from center of fender to ground, I am running 275/40/17s):
Drivers side - 25"
Passenger side - 24.5"

Header flange is 3.5" off the ground. I haven't had any ground clearance issues yet, but I do take it easy over speed bumps or pulling into driveways.

I am running the Hotchkis setup minus the rear sway bar, with Bilstien shocks and it really firms up the ride and I have no tire rubbing issues.

What kind of hedders do you have? My flange lowest part is 3 1/2 inches off the ground. I would be 2 1/2 inches with your measurements! Our front tires are the same height right?

I have the Hotchkis on the '69 with Hooker Comp headers and they were way to close to the ground on the drivers side. I think you'll need to change them or modify them.

I have the Hotchkis on the '69 with Hooker Comp headers and they were way to close to the ground on the drivers side. I think you'll need to change them or modify them.


That sucks...Theres no way to modify them and I don't want to change them!!!

What kind of hedders do you have? My flange lowest part is 3 1/2 inches off the ground. I would be 2 1/2 inches with your measurements! Our front tires are the same height right?
My header flange is 3.5" off the ground also also remember if you still have stock components they have sagged over the years so you are not going to see another 2" drop in the fronts. Plus installing 2" drop coils in the front by themselves will not lower the header flange. Remember the tire size, diameter, is not changing so the distancve from the center of the rim to the ground is the same.

As for the header flange you can have the flange reclocked its not as close to the ground if you have the room.

I have a '69 with the Hotchkis springs front & rear and Hooker Comp Headers. Exact same tire size as you (235/60 R14). The collectors are low on the car & speedbumps can be trouble. I would say without measuring that the bottom of the collector is about 3 - 3 1/2" or so from the ground. Never hits rolling along the road but steep driveways are a no-no. The springs & sway bar (I only did the front bar) are awesome and firm the ride up a lot.

I think most long tube headers would be a problem when lowering the car. There is not a lot of room to tuck the collectors up into the frame rails without hitting the firewall or floor. I think this issue is why some guys prefer to run exhaust manifolds or shorty headers.

That sucks...Theres no way to modify them and I don't want to change them!!!

I did modify mine but they are painted, not coated, so that allowed me to so.

I put the car up on stands then unhooked the collector from the header. Put a floor jack under the header collector flange and applied a little pressure. Then I heated the tubes where they turn up towards the engine and continued to apply a little more pressure with the floor jack. This bent the header very nicely and if I didn't tell you I'd bet you'd never notice. BTW you'd need a torch more than a handheld propane. Then I measured where the flanges needed to be rotated to achieve the best clearance as Rod mentioned. I then removed both headers to work with the flanges and repaint the headers. The last problem was now the drivers side collector was out of position with the header so it was off to the muffler shop to have that fixed.

Now I tried to buy a new set of headers that I could just bolt on and go but I have factory A/C and that is a problem. I tried a set of Hedmans but they would not clear my steering box. If you have a non A/C auto trans car you have several choices if you do decide to change them.

I called Hotchkis and explained to them what my problem was. By giving him my tire size and car model he said from the fender lip to the ground would be 24 1/2" - 24 3/4" in the front. Thats 3/4 lower than it is now. That may work. The rear he said 26" thats what it is now.

I also asked him about the rear sway bar. I know there is a debate on not to use it around here. He said if it's a mono leaf setup (there 3 leaf) I should use it. I would not need it with the multi. What do you think? I could save $300 if I get it seperate but I want the best performance too.

One question and a FYI
I have installed the TVS into a 68 that is bascially a shell. No gas tank, interior, windows, motor or front sheet metal and currently has 15" rallys on the the rear. A car like this measures 29.5 to the middle lip of the quarter with Bilstein shocks. Hoping that it settles with the additional weight.

With the car like this should I install the rear sway bar now? Will it matter with the weight being so low and the alignment?

Rick

68 convertible, hotchkiss front springs, Hooker (2451 I think) comp long tube headers. 225-50-16 front tires (23.5" tall)

Fender lip to ground: 24 1/4"
Center of hub to fender lip: 12 3/4"
Drivers side collector to ground: 2 1/2"

Notes:
These springs, and a host of other suspension changes done last year, dropped my car 1 additional inch from where it was, which was pretty low to begin with.

My headers, which have been on the car for 6 years plus, show some sign of scraping on the bottom of the collector flanges, particularly on the drivers side, which is 1/2" lower than the pass side. They are NOT ground up into the bottom bolts, not even close.

These Hotchkiss springs are STIFF. To protect my paintwork, I have big black mudflaps on it. The front ones are 1 1/8" off the ground. With the old springs, even tho the car and the mudflaps were an inch higher, they scraped constantly with more than me in the car, any bump or turn would put one into the ground.

With the hotchkiss springs, they hardly ever scrape, even with a full load. 15 miles last night, with FIVE souls on board, the right mudflap scraped just once, going over a very large bump.

I don't think you'll have a problem.

I put the Hotchkis setup on my car car, minus the rear swaybar. I had Hooker Supercomp 2131's on the car. I could slide my hand under the driver's side collector flange and not much more after the spring change. I now have Doug's D368 headers on the car - much better. I wasn't so much concerned with the headers hitting on normal road undulations, but more about speed bumps and just getting out of my driveway. I still might go to roundy round springs and adjustable shims - I'm not a fan of a car that's so low it's a a pain to drive on normal streets.