'84 Corvette suspension/brakes...would you?

[70camaro406]

A friend of my Dad has an '84 Corvette that was slightly damaged in the rear (cosmetic) a good while back, and it has been sitting is a barn/garage for a long time. My Dad offered to buy it from him the other day (to make a tube chassis drag car out of). When he told me this, I told him that if he got it, I would be interested in the entire suspension/brakes, etc. for my '70 Camaro.

Question is, how much of this stuff from an '84 Corvette can be made to fit a 2nd Camaro? Is it worth the trouble? I know the brakes can be made to fit. But can anything from the suspension like the control arms or anything be used? I know that it has monoleafs on front and back, and I know I won't try to use those. I've been planning to get the Hotchkis TVS for the 2nd gen Camaros, but if I can use anything from this Vette for upgrades to the front suspension, then I'll do that too. I might be able to swipe any conveniences from the interior also. I'll get what I can to make the Camaro "modern" inside. I got spoiled after seeing Randy's (ProBell) '67 Camaro and Dan's (68SixSpeed) '68 Camaro at GM Carlisle this year.

If anyone has any recommendations or experience from a conversion like this, please chime it...I'm all ears. Thanks.

[ProBell]

Hi Wayne. I believe their are a few kits out for sale that use the Vett parts. I do not know how they work or what the cost are. Are cars were based more on stock car parts and set up. I think ATS might be the one to talk to on that type of set up. As far as the breaks go I do not know the difference between the years. My breaks were off a 86 Vett. Give me a call if I can help. Randy P.S. Thanks for the kind words.

[jaybee]

70Camaro, I'm sorry to say I have nothing to contribute technically, but you live in a beautiful part of the country. I spent a couple of days in Martinsburg once on a work project. We flew in and out of the airport where the Air Guard is located, which might have been at Charles Town? Can't remember for sure on that point but being in transportation I learned there's a big difference between Charles Town and Charleston.

[70camaro406]

jaybee,

Thanks for the kind words. You used Martinsburg/Eastern WV Regional Airport, it's still considered Martinsburg, but the area that it is in is actually called Pikeside. Charles Town is about 20 minutes away down Rt. 9. Did you stay in Martinsburg or were you able to venture out and do any sightseeing. If you get back here, come to Charles Town/Harper's Ferry (they are about 5 miles apart)...there is a lot of history is this area, and Harper's Ferry is a beautiful, picturesque historic town.

[jaybee]

Didn't get out much because I was mostly confined to the Vinyl Siding plant. Doesn't sound like fun but I love my work. You're right about history, I'd love to spend more time out there at some point. My Brother also lived in Fredericksburg, MD for several years. We stayed in Martinsburg at the Holiday Inn along the Interstate but walked the downtown and stopped at a cigar store there. Also had dinner at a resteraunt 1-2 blocks off the downtown that was in a very old house. Fantastic meal and I'm glad the boss paid! :)

[70camaro406]

I used to work at that Holiday Inn, in the fitness center/pool, back
in 1995-1996 when I was in college. They just renovated the the whole hotel recently. Small world, huh?

[MonzaRacer]

Well quite a few people have used 84-up Vette parts for handling, Lil John Buttera used those in his sons Chevy II.
If you can get the whole frame you can measure plot points and figure out the mounting points and if they will sell you the pan and such you can do a lot with them and anything that fits one will fit your car too.
Good Luck and it will make your car handle very nicely.

[MrQuick]

I agree, the IRS unit fits the 2nd gens really well, you would have to hook up with a fabricator to get it going.

[68sixspeed]

Wayne- I'm not sure how how much of an 84 would carry over- A lot of the brake conversions, etc all use the later C4 brakes (84-88 and 89-96 use different parts) But, if you were to try to swap the entire rear in you may have more luck. That opens a new can of worms though, power capacity on an 84 corvette rear. (I think your motor could snap it!) C4 Vettes use two different rears - and I'm not sure when the heavier duty rear became available, but I would think it tied in to the manual tranny. (and then the whole, do you really want/need an independant rear which has a few topics of it's own on this site.)

I guess it all comes down to your plans- if you want an IRS, it might be worth grabbing. Re-using the front suspension items on a 2nd gen could be more difficult. One good thing on 2nd gen's- a lot more aftermarket attention is on them lately- DSE, Hotchkis, Global West, and others have some pretty good off the shelf bolt ons that I think would satisfy your handling needs. But it all depends on where you want to go with the car. -Dan

[70camaro406]

Thanks for the replies. It was mainly an availability thing. I mean, My original plans are Hotchkis TVS, C5 brakes, etc., but money wise, that's about $2k for everything, which I'm okay with. But on the other hand, If my dad gets this Vette and then strips it and installs a back-half or even a complete tube-chassis, then he would have all these Corvette components lying around. And, of course, I could have anything that he's not using, so the "free" factor for "Corvette" stuff got me excited. But, just as my luck would be, it's the "black sheep" year of car.

BTW, Dan, you're definately right on the rear end strength, as of last weekend, my car went 11.05 at 120.91 mph, and had a "front tires off the ground" 1.509 60' time. And, the cars getting stripped and into "complete" primer this month.

[ProBell]

Sounds like finish paint to me. Primer is the look of the future.(HA HA)
Congrats on the good times and hanging the front tires. Randy

[68sixspeed]

BTW, Dan, you're definately right on the rear end strength, as of last weekend, my car went 11.05 at 120.91 mph, and had a "front tires off the ground" 1.509 60' time. And, the cars getting stripped and into "complete" primer this month.

Damn good time! and "complete" primer- now we are talking... I'm thinking of dark suede for my '69 - Porsche's will get out of your way on the track when they see primer- just ask Randy!