All New ...But Too High?

[Sim]

Hey Guys,
I've read dozens of posts and articles on the how to's of C3 lowering/springs techniques and kits on the internet until my eyes were burning. So, a brief synopsis ...I just bought a '72 small block on Saturday and have yet to put it up on the hoist which is slated for tomorrow. It's a totally stock car that was refreshed last year with new leafs, bolts, bushings and various suspension parts that have somehow raised the car approx. 2 inches too high at the front and approx 3 inches too high at the rear. I understand that this topic is thoroughly covered in many forums and articles but I'd like to ask if anyone might have an opinion of why the car would have ended up much higher than it should be after the overhaul, and what might be the answer to my C3 coming back down to earth. Thanks!

 

[roger]

I had the crossover spring in the back of my '78 replace and heard a ticking noise...it was a universal joint caused by the extra height.

I removed 1 small leaf and all was good.

If the car hasn't been driven much ....give the springs time to settle..especially the rear where some quick starts will help.

 

[CCO]

No intention to tread on Roger's toes (great response btw) because his advice makes a lot of sense to me but I would give Manny (at Dasilva Motorsports) a call in Breslau for his view.

Check any of his posts such as this one for full contact info :

http://www.canadiancorvetteforums.com/threads/important-announcement.8387/

 

[XFIRE82]

not much you can do about the front springs , the back you have some options to play with, but you need to keep the car basically level. Car may settle down abit , but you don't know what the guy put in the front , might even have spacers under the springs ?? Old hotrodder trick was to heat the coil with a torch and it will sag down to what you want. Another thing is what size tires you got on there ? if you have 78's or 70's , a "60'" series will lower the car more. .

 

[Riley P]

I have seen a lot of C3's lately that have a lot of room between the tire and wheel well. Most appear to have been recently restored. I don't understand why they are so high after being redone? Maybe they're getting springs for a BBC instead of the SBC? However, in your case and as stated, it may take a little while for the springs to settle.
Also, when the springs were installed, were the A-arms and everything tightened up with the car on the lift and the suspension hanging? This can cause a lot of the lift and also cause binding in the joints. If the suspension was installed and tightened on the lift, you'll have to loosen everything again move the arms and stuff around to ensure they aren't binding, put the car on the ground (or 4 post lift) and tighten everything back up with the weight on the suspension.

 

[Brian Keery]

Totally agree with Riley on this one. First, make sure the front springs are: 1) the correct spring for the application, 2) PROPERLY seated in the pockets, and 3) the suspension has to be torqued to spec with the suspension fully weighted - usually on a 4 post lift at an alignment-type shop.

This is also the case for the rear spring. The mounting bolts at the differential CANNOT be torqued to spec unless the rear suspension is fully weighted. Rear ride height can be a pain to dial in with an aftermarket spring; but with an OEM spring, if installed properly, with proper rubbers and bolts, the ride height will settle after moving the car a few feet. At St. Louis or Bowling Green, the cars were rolled over some corrugated steel at the end of the assembly line to seat the rear suspension - it didn't take weeks of driving for things to 'settle'.

If you want to go lower after the fact, 8'' or even C4 10" rear bolts (although you might need to take an inch or so off these) can be used to drop the rear. Actually any place that can supply you with a 9/16" Grade 8 bolt will suffice. 550lb front springs are a good alternative for dropping the front end an inch or so, without resorting to 'Bubba' tactics of hacksawing or heating original springs. Either way, proper installation techniques must be used to ensure not only correct ride height, but to make sure parts are working as designed and safe.

Not a lot of mechanics will be familiar with the rear suspension dynamics, but the front is just pure Chevy. Good luck, and congrats on your new toy.

 

[XFIRE82]

Last winter I was working on a 70 454 original car. Took a couple of pics of it nose to nose with my 82. The 70 sat 2 - 3" higher , it had LR78 tires on it. The 82 has 255/60's . Both cars are stock.

 

[Riley P]

The thing I mostly wonder about with the high C3's isn't actually how tall they are but more how much gap they have between the tire and wheel well. I've seen some that look a good 4 to 6 inches.

 

[XFIRE82]

this 70 really was high in back I thought, could see top of the tire no problem.

 

[Sim]

Thanks for the responses guys. As you can see in these photos, the car is certainly "over-jacked" and I'm sure most would agree this is just wrong. I put the car right into storage and don't have the time right now to figure out what has been done with the rear suspension, but your posts are greatly appreciated because I'll at least have a basic grasp on what's going on with that rear-end in a couple of weeks ...Cheers

 

[nascar03]

Sim.. What a great looking car.
The shop manuals and/or the Assembly manuals should have the ride height specs for your car.
Graham

 

[Keith Tedford]

With the old Chevelles, GM had a whole series of springs depending on what options were on the car so as to keep the ride height the same regardless of total weight. The aftermarket isn't so generous. Every car that I have put new springs in, ended up sitting a couple of inches higher than what I would have liked. Might be the same problem with the Corvettes. Just a thought.

 

[Sim]

Thanks nascar. I've always loved the C3!

With the old Chevelles, GM had a whole series of springs depending on what options were on the car so as to keep the ride height the same regardless of total weight. The aftermarket isn't so generous. Every car that I have put new springs in, ended up sitting a couple of inches higher than what I would have liked. Might be the same problem with the Corvettes. Just a thought.

I recently had a conversation with one of my customers. He brought a '72 Super Bee in for wet-sanding and mentioned that he just had new springs installed and was really disappointed at how high the back end was after the install. He was having them changed. I may be doing the same thing. Cheers

 

[wildone909]

My 80 has 1/4 inch spacer washers under the ends of the rear spring with the rubbers (3 on each side) if your car has these you can go down to one washer and that will lower the ride height a half an inch.. If yours doesn't have the spare tire and carrier under the back anymore it will ride higher as well.... mine does. The front doesn't look too high to me though with the pix you posted.