Lowering 1st Gens

[BOGIE]

This may be a candidate for a "sticky" for others to peruse???
Many people have asked, so I thought a separate thread of what I did, and then maybe others can jump in and add what they did!! My 66 2dr post... I bought front lowering coil springs (Bob..rhduarte's idea) from Classic Performance http://www.classicperform.com/product-pages/nova/Front-coil-springs.htm It actually lowered the front closer to 2 inches. I am running 195x70r14 BFG's on 14 x 6 inch rims with 3&3/4in BS (79 Chevelle I think) I had the rear stock mono leafs de-arched 1&1/2 in and have 245x60R14 BFG's on 14x7 inch rims with 4&3/4 in BS (66 Chevelle wagon) I had the bodyshop shave off app 1/4 inch from the wheelwells, to where the inner fenders attatch! Lotsa room. I have 21 inches from the ground to the top of the wheelwell. Fly-Boy....... the Slide-a-Links do not lower the car any further?? Were you just confused?? I have to say one thing though, and I hope it is clear enough...... you know for guys like Poopy & the Newbies!! :D
If you lay a rear leaf on the floor and measure from the center of the front to rear eyes..... you will get X inches !!..... now, de-arch the spring and remeasure....... you will get X-Plus inches. So, where do the rear shackles go........ ?? rearward, right? So if you de-arch too much, the rear spring will be bangin like hell on the rear subframe, to the point of ... you'll think your car is falling apart!! How do I know this, you ask.. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: .. Lets just say I had to do a little touch-up on the underside paint job!! ;)
That's all I did... not rocket science, but John..(aka the Fly) it sounds to me that if you really want to go that low...... air bags are the only avenue for you....... unless someone else has another idea?? Isn't that what makes this such a great site?? Hope I didn't miss anything!

Good Luck.. Bogie

[the FLYER]

Thanks for the thread Bogie, from what i understood, by removing the rear shackles and going with the slide-a-links, i'd gain the drop of the differences in height/length of the 2. i'm looking for a very stiff ride... not like it's solid... but VERY firm. the bags ??? out of the question. i don't want to even think of bagging the Flyer. i just came home from the shop, and i'll have my baby home on the 1st. the first step i want to accomplish when i get it home is the rear end work... so as the weeks go by... i'll really find out what i'm going to have to do to achieve the ride height i require... i really appreciate the time you took to address this for me, i'll keep you posted as to the results of my endeavor.


thanks Bogie.... :D


FLY-BOY :D

[BOGIE]

John....... I sent you an e-mail with a pic of the slide-a-links!! I don't know how you think you can eliminate the rear shackles as they are required to anchor the mono leaf springs???
Ric

[the FLYER]

lemme look....

[the FLYER]

Bogie !!! give me a few minutes... i'm thinking my terminology is off. lemme get the shot of what i'm referring to and get it for you. the shot you sent me is of a set of Cal-Tracs or a similar brand of traction devices. i'm talking about the slider units that mount the rear of the leaf eye... gimme a few and i'll either post here or i'll shoot ya a shot to your E-Mail, OK ??


Thanks again Ric !!

[Mike Goble]

http://www.competitionengineering.com/catalog/images/c2100_part.jpg

I thought this was a slide-a-link, a traction bar by Competition Engineering.

[the FLYER]

Mike, i'm looking for the shot of the rear sliders that the rear leaf eye goes into. the unit replaces the rear shackles and allows the spring to slide instead of arc during differential movement. i thought by utilizing the "sliders" i'd gain approximately 2" of drop. i need to find the thread which addressed this issue.

in fact, i'm thinking you contributed to the thread, which stated something about using dodge (?) springs.... they're made by Landrum ? and another company...

i'm looking.

[DANNO]

http://www.competitionengineering.com/catalog/images/c2100_part.jpg

I thought this was a slide-a-link, a traction bar by Competition Engineering.
Yep, at least that's what what I put on my car. I think it's getting confused with "sliders" which do fit on the back. (if that's what they're called).


Dan (sliding right along) ;)

[the FLYER]

here's the thread...

http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12388&highlight=sliders

and Mike's link...

http://www.rpmnet.com/techart/leaf.shtml

it's the sliders... not slide-a-links

OOOOPS !!!

[Mike Goble]

http://www.secureperformanceorder.com/cat_images/20236s.jpg

AFCO makes leaf spring sliders. They are made for Mopar springs with the small rear eye. I used Mopar SS springs from Mancini Racing.

[the FLYER]

THERE YA GO !!!

THANKS Mike !!!



Johnny's (research starts) up again !!! :D :D

[new2novas]

Whats wrong with baggin it?

*about to put bags on the nova and am up for any constructive criticism*

[the FLYER]

heheheh no offense towards baggin' it... my Flyer is gonna be a racer so to speak, the bags just don't fit with the way i plan on using the car...


9000000000000000000000000000000000 MPH !!!

[65 Post]

I don't see where sliders will lower the car. The spring will still have the same rate as with the shackles. How about a couple lowering blocks between the axel tube and spring? you can go as low as you want and the shocks, springs and things will still do what they're supposed to do with no mods. Dave

[Fast65]

I don't see where sliders will lower the car. The spring will still have the same rate as with the shackles. How about a couple lowering blocks between the axel tube and spring? you can go as low as you want and the shocks, springs and things will still do what they're supposed to do with no mods. Dave
I've seen these lowering blocks on tri-fives and I'd lean that way myself. I don't see where the spring/shock mount relationship would be any different than the original design. With machine shop access, you could make these in no time at all. If not, Classic Industries or TCI must sell them.

[NovatoriusRex]

I don't see where sliders will lower the car. The spring will still have the same rate as with the shackles.

The sliders are MUCH shorter than the shackles they replace. From the pics, it looks like the rear spring eye is about 1" from the frame rail with sliders. When using shackles it's more like 3-4" inches.

Without the shackle acting as a spacer between the spring and the frame rail, the car is going to sit lower.

[sixtyII]

I have the same thought process as Fast65. Just using lowering blocks. Anything wrong with this? I figure with the blocks you still have the same amount of sping tension, so you are not banging around, nor a overly stiff ride.
As for the front, Im leaning toward lowering springs. But have not ruled out just whacking a coil off. 1 coil equals 2 inches right.


Bogus Thanks for this thread. Its been something Ive been thinking about alot.

[Fast65]

I have the same thought process as Fast65. Just using lowering blocks. Anything wrong with this? I figure with the blocks you still have the same amount of sping tension, so you are not banging around, nor a overly stiff ride.
As for the front, Im leaning toward lowering springs. But have not ruled out just whacking a coil off. 1 coil equals 2 inches right.


Bogus Thanks for this thread. Its been something Ive been thinking about alot.

From my experience, 1 coil cut does not always equal 2 inch drop. We recently cut 1/2 coil on a 2000 S-10 and it dropped 2 inches. The safest way - not necessarily the easiest is to cut 1/2 coil - reassemble everything, then check ride height. Cut 1/2 again if need be. But remember, do to spring rates, if the first 1/2 cut drops the front 1 inch, that does not mean the second 1/2 coil cut will drop the front the same amount. That is why I think it is safer to cut a little at a time verses 1 big cut.

[new2novas]

I would stray from the lowering blocks. I don't know how they perform in a car, but everyone i know who has put them on a truck has had problems.....

[Shane65]

Some show and tells on air bagging a 62-67.

FRONT
http://www.webrodder.com/article.php?AID=10&SID=1

REAR
http://www.webrodder.com/article.php?AID=215&SID=1

[the FLYER]

Ive got a set of 2 inch blocks id sell if anybody wants them.I took them off my 64.

would you PM me ??? do they come with the U bolts too ???

i may be interested... my springs are due in a couple days. i may need the blocks also ;)

i appreciate the PM ;)

[RANDY911]

C.P.P. does make them (lowering springs). The're not cheap but they do the job right. Firms up the ride quite a bit.

R

[sixtyII]

Ive got a set of 2 inch blocks id sell if anybody wants them.I took them off my 64.

Still have these?

Who makes lowering blocks for a Nova? I read some where that the pin is different for novas (upsidedown) or something

[BluEyes]

Just remember that lowering blocks will usually increase wheel hop by giving the axle more leverage on the spring. If you have some sort of traction device, it shouldn't be a problem, but it is something to keep in mind.

[the FLYER]

Hey Guys, i have a related question if ya can help me... i'm gonna get the Flyer rollin' again till i'm able to get a 12 bolt. so i'm gonna put the 10 bolt back in... temporarily

i have the Espo multi's with a 2" drop... i'm going to get 1" and 2" blocks to experiment with ride height... here's the question... with my 64 being dropped 4 or so inches in the rear... do you guys feel i'd need shorter than stock length shocks ???


Thanks for the help ;)

[Seattle_Mike]

I believe your (Flyer) thinking is incorrect regarding air bags not for performance driving. If you read the car rags, one of them did a test with a Chevelle I believe it was on a slalom type course and tried it with and without the airbag setup...they found that the one with the air setup actually could be adjusted to perform better than a non-air setup.

The test was in one of the rags maybe three months or so ago from what I can remember. Anyway, it was a good write up and the results surprised me to be honest.

[the FLYER]

yes, i know what you're talking about Mike, i saw a couple of articles recently that opened my eyes...

i appreciate the heads-up...




oh by the way... Happy Birthday early... in case you're out of town on your day

[SleeperNova]

hey this is not so much lowering as to.....hmm, the rear end of the car sits lower than the front end....i just want it to sit even or maybe get the front end a bit lower than the rear. its a 64 nova, stock suspension..... any ideas or info? also will i have to change the springs in the front if im dropping a 350 inplace of the l6 motor/..//. thanks

[jer66nova]

hey guys try chassis works or any of the other suspension manufacturers, art morrison, competition enginering, etc... if you want to stay with the leaf springs get a housing floater kit and adjustable shock mounts relocate the shocks and you can get up to six inches of ride hight adjustment. only problem then for early novas is wheel tub size ya can't fit too much rubber inside unless you tubb it! I plan on almost 40 inches under mine 33x17.5 x15
Mickey "T"'s thats almost 20"inches of tire each side tubbs are mandatory! Can anybody say Hot Wrench? :chev: :beer:

[formica]

I was thinking of lowering my car too... either 1-1/2" or 2" (which seems more readily available) but i was worried a little about tire size. Would 205/60R15 still fit in front and 225/60R15 fit in the rear on some 15x7 rims with 4.5BS? otherwise, my car is 100% stock.

The thing that got me worried was a quote on http://www.2quicknovas.com/6267.html about Jeffrey Gomez's ride that says he couldn't squeeze more than 195/50-15 up front and 225/50-15 out back given it's lower 2" all around. My tires would be about 1-1/2" taller than his... :awkward:

I'd like to know if 1-1/2" is better than 2"... or if I'll need replace everything in either case.
Thanks...
Rob

PS: I'd probably use lowering springs up front, and blocks out back

[Dan_Lebherz]

For you guys that actually drive your cars, don't forget what happens when you hit a bump at 65 mph or have to enter or exit a driveway or cross a speed bump when you have taken the travel out of the suspension and the free space between important stuff and the road surface.

I've lowered the front of mine about 1" and never had a problem until backing into my driveway a couple of weeks ago. My rear sump pan caught on the transition. Fortunately just a little scuff, but I know others that have ripped the bottom out of their pans.

Not fun.

I'd be inclined to sneak up on the right height rather than have the wrong height sneak up on you.

[Jarrett]

I would stray from the lowering blocks. I don't know how they perform in a car, but everyone i know who has put them on a truck has had problems.....


I have 4" lowering blocks (yes, 4") on my 52 chevy. They work great. The only reason I'm taking them out is because I'm transforming the car from a Kustom cruiser to a Gasser style rod. So back up it goes!

[Chopped63]

I've been running 4" blocks on the back of mine for years with no problems. They aren't aluminum cast pieces, though. I made mine outta 1/4" wall 2x4 steel. The pin that locates the rear is through the bottom of the leaf so..if that's in the right place, it holds the rear in proper alignment. I've put a whole heck of a lot of miles on this with no problems.

One little issue however is in regards to the lower shock mount. That ended up being under 2" from the ground. It won't catch on anything, but I've had a tire failure at about 80 in traffic and lets just say it was exciting. It didn't stop the car, but it dragged. All the sparks must've scared the people next to me cause I had no problem getting to the shoulder! This is the main reason the fuzz says nothing within the profile of the tire. Consider yourselves warned. Oh. I offed the pinion bump stop, cut the rear stops in half and raised the driveshaft tunnel 1.5" ( so it's done when it comes time to do the 2.5" C-notch that will put the rockers on the ground ;) ). It rides better than my 2 leaf, 3" blocked S-10.