Spring adjusters

[BluEyes]

Well, I've decided to upgrade to 600#/in on the front springs on my Camaro and rather than fuss with finding springs and cutting them, I decided to try some dirt track technology like here: (about 1/4 way down the page) http://www.geocities.com/casanoc/

I was looking at how he had cut the top of the spring adjuster and had a thought: why not install it "upside down" so the adjuster is at the bottom? With a notch cut like that it would seat properly in the LCA, and then the adjuster would be accessible (I hope) without having to do as much work. Any thoughts?

[SHANE 73Z]

Blueyes,

The biggest negative I can think of is unsprung weight. I have a pair of adjusters at home right now that I could get you a bathroom scale weight on them. I am willing to bet they are at least 5-7lbs a piece.

I have heard that the second gen is easier to deal with as they have a flat upper spring pocket. You could weld a couple of studs 180* apart and drill a couple of holes in the frame rail so they can be bolted in place.

As for the adjustment, you are still gonna have to pull tension of the springs to make your adjustment.

Take care,
Shane

[zuess4u]

Well, I've decided to upgrade to 600#/in on the front springs on my Camaro and rather than fuss with finding springs and cutting them, I decided to try some dirt track technology like here: (about 1/4 way down the page) http://www.geocities.com/casanoc/

I was looking at how he had cut the top of the spring adjuster and had a thought: why not install it "upside down" so the adjuster is at the bottom? With a notch cut like that it would seat properly in the LCA, and then the adjuster would be accessible (I hope) without having to do as much work. Any thoughts?

We have done the same thing on our 67. Have not tried adjusting them yet. But it will be much easier to get to.

[Norwoodx55]

I keep hearing about guys cutting a 1/4" helix in these adjusters. My car appears to have a 1/4" deep recess for a quarter turn only, not over the whole 360*. Meaning that without even touching the spring adjusters, they will contact 75% of the spring pocket. Based on this observation of my car, I decided to try the adjusters without doing any cutting first. After a couple thousand miles I haven't heard or felt a peep out of them. I don't plan on removing them to make any cuts on them. Might want to look at your spring pockets to see if they have a full turn of helix in them.(wrong terminology?)

[BluEyes]

True, I do believe the upper pocket on a 2G car is flat. I guess I was more concerned about the accessability for ride height adjustments, but the extra unsprung weight would be a concern just because I don't want to do the old "two steps forward, one step back" thing. Of course, the unsprug weight would only be 1/2 the weight of the adjuster per side but still...

zuess: let us know how easy it is to adjust them. I hope in full droop there would be little enough weight on the springs to allow them to be adjusted.

[Blue69Gen1]

I am old circle track racer and have run these for years. I have had a set on my '69 for 2 years now with no complaints. I cut a notch in the adjuster and tapered it 1/2 way around - fits great. I run 5"X11"X500# springs in the front.

I set the ride height so the center of the ball joint is even with with center of the LCA mounting bolts. Right now I have to separate 1 ball joint and swing the LCA out of the way to pull the spring and adjuster. I am unable to adjust ride height with the spring/adjuster in place.

To make re-assembly easier, I run two small bungie cords through the hole in frame to hold the adjuster in place and tight against the notch. Once the spring is in and the ball joint is together, I release the bungie cords and pull them out.

I can adjust the ride height in about 1 hour. Over the weekend, one turn on the adjuster made about 1/8" change in ride height.

[zuess4u]

I will let yall know how it goes.....we didnt cut a notch on the adjuster......we should have though.

Reason is, the adusters sit at an angle, just a tade though. The car doesnt have any weight on it yet either....we are crossing our fingers, in hopes they will level out when the rest of the car is in place.

The shock shaft looks like it will barley clear, so thier not installed yet either. The adjusters are welded in on the LCA's. We just have to wait and see what the car sits like.

Worst case, we buy new LCA's and adjusters and notch them this time...ahahhhhhahahhh.

The springs are 700lbs Hypercoils I think they are 9" ones. With the motor and trans installed and nothing what so ever else installed, the car loks to be sitting about an 1/12 shorter. We hope it drops a lot more. The adjusters all all the way down right now. Stay tunned for further developments.....lol