C5 Suspension cradle gound clearance

[maro67]

Hey guys,

Trust me I have searched and searched and haven't found the info that I need. I am working on my 67 camaro and am using C5 suspension both front and rear. I am in the process of mocking up the front now. Can anyone tell me, for a stock c5 with no mods, what is the distance from the ground to the bottom of the suspension sub frame? For reference / measuring points let's use the stiffening ribs on the bottom of the sub frame as shown in the below picture.

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Also, I am using the following drawing / picture as a reference for some critical dimensions. Can anyone clarify for me what the "DATUM LINE" is meant to be? Is it the ground / tire contact patch or some other reference point? If it is meant to be the ground then it places the bottom of the stock frame with 4in of ground clearance. Also, when I setup the front sub frame using the dimensions for datums D and G, it winds up with about 3.7in ground clearance to the bottom of the sub frame. That seems a bit low to me.

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Any info / clarification that can be provided will be greatly appreciated.

[ICrombie]

I've found that this guy's site has a load of useful information regarding C5/C6 suspension:
https://rick486.wixsite.com/dobbertinperformance/copy-of-13-installation-instruction

He mentions nearly 5 inches of clearance for a stock corvette, but that schematic shows 4" (based on measurements 182 & 102).

I'm looking at doing the same thing with a 69' Camaro for the IRS, but am going to go with a narrowed C5 rear end. Shoot me a PM and we can compare notes and findings, I've done a bunch of research on this and would like to hear from someone else doing something similar.

[76-Vetteman]

Interesting topic here.. What a great project for a 60’s era Camaro.


I’ve been thinking about this thread for a couple of days now, and trying to get my head back into the 60’s. I forgot how small, well at least narrow the tires were back then.


I’m replacing the suspension on my 76’ Corvette with C6 assemblies and I’m going through the same process as you guys with the Camaros’. How can it be made to fit? It is doable and has been done many times over.


The height of the 67’Camaro tires and the height of the C6 Corvette tires are close. The wheel wells/inner finders will need work, though. But, a good set of coil over shocks will give you all the height you need for the Camaro.


The C5 frame drawing didn’t work for me. There was not enough information there to build a frame design from. So I abandoned the thought of finding information on the internet. Instead, I purchased C6 cradle assemblies and upper frame sections to help me gather the necessary dimensions.


The photos on Ricks page below show how the cradles mate to the upper frames. You can see the frame and cradle offsets. You can see the cradles and the upper and lower control arms are pitched. Then you realize there is nothing about this geometry that is dead level or simple. But this geometry is necessary to build in the factory Caster and Camber for further alignment. There is more to learn.


https://rick486.wixsite.com/dobbertinperformance/why-isnt-everyone-uses-the-c5-or-c6


Another method is to graft a sectioned cradle/frame assembly from a C5/C6 into an existing frame. This removes much of the guesswork. Just apply your best metal smith practices. Examples of a 67 Camaro and a couple of C3 Corvettes are here.

https://www.autoxandtrack.com/true-z06-corvette-swapped-67-camaro/


https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/120468-HEB-Hungary-C3-Corvette-pro-touring-build


http://hebonline.hu/heb.php?page=C3C5Corvette

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM

[76-Vetteman]

Forgot to mention this last time…

Datum Line/C5 drawing

Since that drawing was created by Mitchell for the frame alignment community, I don’t think the datum line carries any engineering relationship to the corvette chassis. That drawing is probably a great tool to bring a Corvette frame back to specification. But beyond that I see no value.

The Corvette ride height and therefore the cradle height is established by Trim Height. The Trim Height is a measurement, or a dimensional relationship between the lower ball joint and the center of the forward adjustment bolt of the lower control arm pivot. Changing this dimension simply raises/lowers the car. A procedure to do so can be found here.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c7-z06-discussion/4007542-c7-z06-lowering-trim-height-question.html#&gid=1&pid=1

[Bfit]

Last post here is a while back ,
I’m wondering how fare have you progressed.
Did you get ground clearance info.
I probably could help with info
Bfit