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Looking to get some feedback / ideas on what I'm thinking for my '63 Wagon. (You suspension geometry guys please advise!!)
Here's my dilema; Had my Wagon 13+ years and as I've evolved so has the car (you know, "Never really done...") I've had several wheel / tire combos, brakes, suspension, you name it we've probably redone it at least twice! The front end has always been a source of "compromise" between getting the car low enough and having room for everything to fit (read: big diameter wheel/tire). At this point some aftermarket "clip" would make perfect sense, but when my Dad and I started the project in 95-96 there wasn't as many options as there is now. By the time we bent the stainless brakelines, everything painted nice & pretty, drop spindles with Baer brakes, etc. etc. I'm kinda stuck with the factory setup unless I want to unbolt the front clip and part it out! (Not planning on doing that.) I currently have Air Ride on the car (thought that would get me what I wanted with the stance) and don't get me wrong. The car looks Bad ***** sitting on the ground at car shows.... Doesn't look so good cruising down the freeway all jacked up in the air. So after throughly contemplating all my options, I've decided to ditch the Air Ride, narrow the front track width, be able to steer the car w/o worrying about the tire to fender lip clearence and lower it as much as possible (after the skid plate is done for the trans pan of course!
)
QUESTION: I know it's not the "Right" way to do it, but I want to take the stock suspension pick-up points on the chassis, and I'm going to fabricate new upper and lower control arms that are approx. 1 5/8 narrower per side (from center of mounting point on frame side to center line of ball joint.) I know this is going to adversely effect roll center, scrub, etc. but as long as the car tracks straight & can drive down the freeway SAFELY I'm OK with it. I don't think I'll ever head to Button-Willow to cut some lap times!:no:
What should I try to take into consideration to keep things safe considering I'm shortening the pivot points of the suspension?
I've already got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to go about doing all this, and trust me... I've looked into all the software (like Mitchell Software / WinGeo3 4.00 Suspension Geometry) and I could totally GEEK OUT on trying to figure it all out... But I make wheels for cars. I know how to draw things and program in CAD/CAM, I can make just about any part, I AM NOT a suspension engineer. If anyone has any ideas or input, I'm all for it. I can reverse engineer the stock setup and shorten it all, but what SHOULD I be thinking about? Any questions/comments are greatly appreciated!! I'll try & keep this updated as I get time to tear into the Wagon yet AGAIN ! ! !
Thanks!
-Steve
Here's my dilema; Had my Wagon 13+ years and as I've evolved so has the car (you know, "Never really done...") I've had several wheel / tire combos, brakes, suspension, you name it we've probably redone it at least twice! The front end has always been a source of "compromise" between getting the car low enough and having room for everything to fit (read: big diameter wheel/tire). At this point some aftermarket "clip" would make perfect sense, but when my Dad and I started the project in 95-96 there wasn't as many options as there is now. By the time we bent the stainless brakelines, everything painted nice & pretty, drop spindles with Baer brakes, etc. etc. I'm kinda stuck with the factory setup unless I want to unbolt the front clip and part it out! (Not planning on doing that.) I currently have Air Ride on the car (thought that would get me what I wanted with the stance) and don't get me wrong. The car looks Bad ***** sitting on the ground at car shows.... Doesn't look so good cruising down the freeway all jacked up in the air. So after throughly contemplating all my options, I've decided to ditch the Air Ride, narrow the front track width, be able to steer the car w/o worrying about the tire to fender lip clearence and lower it as much as possible (after the skid plate is done for the trans pan of course!
QUESTION: I know it's not the "Right" way to do it, but I want to take the stock suspension pick-up points on the chassis, and I'm going to fabricate new upper and lower control arms that are approx. 1 5/8 narrower per side (from center of mounting point on frame side to center line of ball joint.) I know this is going to adversely effect roll center, scrub, etc. but as long as the car tracks straight & can drive down the freeway SAFELY I'm OK with it. I don't think I'll ever head to Button-Willow to cut some lap times!:no:
What should I try to take into consideration to keep things safe considering I'm shortening the pivot points of the suspension?
-Steve