subframe connector question

I looked at this guys site and he said because of the subframe connector, he does not have clearance issues with his leaf springs. Do the subframe connectors relocate the front of the leaf springs???

http://www.iola.com/71nova/nova-pics2002.html

thanks as always.

no they do not move the springs.they bolt or weld to the spring eye mounting hanger in the stock location and at the rear of the front frame part.

Usually when you connect the front to back, you move the frame rail in and you end up with more clearance. The subframes in 62-65 are not in line with one another. Dave

http://www.iola.com/71nova/images/connector.jpg

He used a weld-in subframe connector that has the spring eyes on the connector. It will move the spring to wherever you weld it. He also used some Landrum sliders on the rear.

http://www.iola.com/71nova/images/connector.jpg

He used a weld-in subframe connector that has the spring eyes on the connector. It will move the spring to wherever you weld it. He also used some Landrum sliders on the rear.

Some manufacturers sell subframe connectors that have the front mount for the leaf spring welded in. Then you can use offset shackles or sliders as Mike did to mount the rear. You will obviously also need to relocate the spring mount on the rear housing. This is an easy set-up to accomplish, with minimal welding required. If you have gone through the effort of mini tubbing - as you did - (last pics you posted looked good :D ) then moving the springs inboard is a must in my book. Here is a link to one shop that sells this type of connector that may work for you:http://www.stitzstreetrods.com/

Thank you, I couldn't tell from the pic if that was a mount for the leaf spring or not. I am new to moddifed rear suspensions. Now my question is, do all the subframe connectors that have the mounts have to weld in or are there some bolt in? (I checked out the website, but gives very little info of anything!)

And do sliders allow you to move the rear of the leaf spring in, or is that only with the offsett shackles?

Just wondering, as I have 14" of where I can fit a tire in and lower the car over it if the leaf spring is not a concern, but with it being where it is, I only have 11.5 inches in the back of were the tire would hit and 12.25 inches in the front of where the tire would hit the spring :(

Thanks again! :D

Thank you, I couldn't tell from the pic if that was a mount for the leaf spring or not. I am new to moddifed rear suspensions. Now my question is, do all the subframe connectors that have the mounts have to weld in or are there some bolt in? (I checked out the website, but gives very little info of anything!)

And do sliders allow you to move the rear of the leaf spring in, or is that only with the offsett shackles?

Just wondering, as I have 14" of where I can fit a tire in and lower the car over it if the leaf spring is not a concern, but with it being where it is, I only have 7.25 inches in the back of the tire and 8 inches in the front :(

Thanks again! :D


Hey Bill; Now I could be wrong but from what I have seen sliders attach to the bottom of your frame, could be wrong though, so that will not offset your spring for you unless you are also planning on relocating your frame rails. I am not sure about the sub frame connectors though. I would think, just my opinion, that you would want to weld this in so that you get the maximun benifit from them. IE. the stiffest chassis you can get. Now depending on the type of connector you get you will need to modify your floor so that they will fit. On my car they didnt have to modify the flooring because the connectors are 2"x2" square tubing not the usual 2"x3" or larger tubing.

Thank you, I couldn't tell from the pic if that was a mount for the leaf spring or not.

Look at the pic. The battery cable turns outboard just forward of the front spring eyes. There are 2 holes to allow you to adjust the height.

You can buy frame connectors that don't have spring eyes on them, and that bolt/weld up to some existing chassis part. CE makes some like these:

http://store1.yimg.com/I/hm-performance_1825_73821963

S&W makes a rear framerail kit that is for a leaf spring application and has both mounting positions front and rear on the one rail. Then you have to connect it to the front. Dave

Thank you, I couldn't tell from the pic if that was a mount for the leaf spring or not. I am new to moddifed rear suspensions. Now my question is, do all the subframe connectors that have the mounts have to weld in or are there some bolt in? (I checked out the website, but gives very little info of anything!)

And do sliders allow you to move the rear of the leaf spring in, or is that only with the offsett shackles?.....


Thanks again! :D
Even if any manufacturers are advertising a bolt on subframe connector with a spring mount I think you would still want to weld them in place. As was mentioned earlier - stiffness is much better with a welded assembly. Also, sliders themselves, do not allow you to move the spring mounts inboard while offset or relocated shackles do.

I was affraid of that. The DSE offset shackles are, gulp.....$340! :eek: I guess I would not mind welding them in, but what happens if you want to change the front subframe bushings?

I was affraid of that. The DSE offset shackles are, gulp.....$340! :eek: I guess I would not mind welding them in, but what happens if you want to change the front subframe bushings?

DSE sure does make some high quality products. Their offset spring hangers are way beefier than the ones from competition engineering. However the price is also much beefier with DSE too :eek: I have been thinking that same thing myself lately about subframe connectors. How would you, as you mentioned, change the subframe bushings after you have welded the connectors to it, the floor, and the front spring mount. I suspect it would be one of those things that if you are going to put in the connectors maybe you might want to think about changing your bushings before hand. Possibly even installing solid ones so they will never need to be changed again. IF they were installed and the bushings were not changed, as I suspect is the case with my car, some time spent with a grinder should allow you to cut the welds so the subframe can be dropped. (Not looking forward to that task :mad: ) This is one of the areas of a project where it REALLY pays to plan ahead. Even if you were not planning on changing the bushings I think NOW would be a good time to do it before you weld in the connectors. Just my 2 cents :)

That is part of the problem. I still have to sandblast and paint the subframe and just do not like the idea of not being able to change subframe if I HAVE to. I notice only there weld in has the mounts, and then they say you need to use there formed frame rails also, which would require me cutting up my trunk floor.

I am going to take a look tomorrow, but might use the mopar leaf spring relocation kit and weld that into the front of the rear subframe and mount my spring just like I would if I did the mini-tub on a dart. But I need to find out how wide the mount is, and how wide the busing must be.

Man, mini-tubbing sure seems to be a real PIA to get a decent tire under the car :mad: with trying to keep a somewhat stock look.

It all depends on what look you want and how much you want to spend. I know the look I want, and I'm getting ready to pay the piper. Dave

...........
Man, mini-tubbing sure seems to be a real PIA to get a decent tire under the car :mad: with trying to keep a somewhat stock look.
Yes PIA can be an accurate term, but what modification is really easy and inexpensive. In the end, with the proper choice of components, the tub job will be worth it. I bit the bullet and decided to go with a 4-bar coil-over rear while mini-tubbing. It is not cheap, but does eliminate the leaf srpings and all associated relocation issues. I think with some proper measurements and machine shop access, one could make the offset shackles rather inexpensively. They are not that complicated.

Just for reference, that's my car in the picture at the start of this thread. Those subframe connectors are Moroso / Competition Engineering Weld In models which come with the spring hanger. The bolt in models do not have the spring hangers.

It's somewhat hard to see in the picture, but the spring hanger actually fits into a notch that I made at the front of the rear frame, then welded everything up. This isn't the way CE intended them to be used but it has worked fine for me with the stock rear frame rails.

Just for reference, that's my car in the picture at the start of this thread. Those subframe connectors are Moroso / Competition Engineering Weld In models which come with the spring hanger. The bolt in models do not have the spring hangers.

It's somewhat hard to see in the picture, but the spring hanger actually fits into a notch that I made at the front of the rear frame, then welded everything up. This isn't the way CE intended them to be used but it has worked fine for me with the stock rear frame rails.

If you have any close-up pics of the frame/notch job, I'd like to see your design.

Oh, oh, oh! I have been emailing you, I didn't know you were a member! Good, good! So you notched an "L" shape into the rear subframe to weld the mount in? Please say yes, just don't want to get my hopes up, but then will buy the mopar kit and weld that box in the subframe just like it is ment to on darts, you notch the subframe, box it in again with the mount and wala! I am desepert to keep it sock looking otherwise I would go more extreme, but the max I want is a 13.5 tire. (that is what I say now :rolleyes: )

Here's the picture I emailed you so the other guys can see what we're talking about also

http://www.iola.com/71nova/images/CEweldinconnectors.jpg

The only issue I've ran into is that when I run the springs in the upper hole, the bolt on my cal-trac bars is very close to the frame. It has not been a problem but I thought I would bring it up. The car works better with the spring in the lower hole anyway..which is approximately 1/4" lower than the stock OEM mount point for the leaf spring.

What size wheel and tire can you run with this mod?

you can probably build your own out of 2x2 tubing waaaaay cheaper. I built a set for a 67 mustang - saved the guy lots of money - price a stick of 2x2 and you'll see what i mean, just a suggestion

Do you have to relocated the front of the leaf spring with the DSE offset shackles? I have heard that with the shackles it just angles the leafs and that is all you need to do to modify the suspension. With a minitub you can fit 315s

no they do not move the springs.they bolt or weld to the spring eye mounting hanger in the stock location and at the rear of the front frame part.

What do shops want for a minitub job in Florida?