alnoe
05-29-2012, 06:10 PM
I spent a fair amount of time looking at options to upgradethe front end of my ’67 Camaro. I knew Iwanted to upgrade the upper and lower a-arms, and also install coil overshocks. I looked very hard at severaloptions, and eventually decided to buy the a-arms from Pro Forged. These pieces are nice because they haveadjustable camber slugs, and also allow me to run a Ridetech coil over withouthaving to cut and weld on the subframe. Anothernice feature is that the arms have Del rin bushings, which I used in thefactory A-arms for about 15 years with no issues.
600416004460043
The coil overs were a longdebate, but wanting to try the latest and greatest led me to Ridetech remotereservoir coil overs. These shocks arebeautifully constructed, and look great when combined with all the newsuspension pieces. An added benefit isthe a-arms, shocks, and sway bars all complement each other well and aredesigned to work together. I have usedRidetech products in the past and have always been impressed with their quality.
A link to the shocks is here: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ART-11163511/
60050
Once the subframe wasstripped of the shocks, springs,and a-arms, the most difficult part of theinstallation was opening up the hole in the subframe the shocks would passthrough. Each side required about ½ hourwith a die grinder, and the upper shock mounting hole also needed to be openedup (I used a step drill bit, which worked very nicely). Once all the grinding work is complete,assembly can begin.
Before:
60045
After (in this picture, Istill need to smooth out all the rough edges, etc. You can see that a fair amount of materialneeds to be removed):
60046
Once this is complete, Istarted by assembling the lower a-arm into the factory pocket using the factorystyle, grade 8 bolts. Then I looselyinstalled the upper a-arms, then slid the shock into place through the newlycreated pocket in the subframe. You wantto make sure the coil over can have enough room to move during the completemotion of the a-arms travel so that the shock body does not hit thesubframe. Next, I re-assembled the swaybar end links, torqued everything to factory specs, and lubed all the fittings. I then guestimated the alignment, so that thecar could be driven the ½ mile to my local alignment shop.
The front brakes were treatedto all new lines and Baer did an awesome job re-powder coating thecalipers. I also installed new ARP studsin both the front hubs and rear wheels.
60047
60048
60042
Once assembled, I then neededto take a trip to my local alignment shop, Herchicks tire in MacedoniaOhio. Herchicks has been doing alignmentsfor many, many years, and the owner Mike Herchick loves early musclecars. They took their time, making sure everythingwas done right, and the final specs were:
1.5 degrees negative camber
5.7 degrees caster
Zero toe
60049
They really did a nice jobmaking sure everything was in good shape. I then took the car for a nice, slow drive, and went home and re-tourqedall of the control arm mounts, etc. Thecar is unbelievably responsive and the ride quality is far better than thefactory style coil springs and Koni red shocks. The final step will be installing the rear ride tech sway bar to makethe car even better balanced! All inall, I am very happy with all of the components and the end result. I hope to hit a local autox soon, so I cansee how much better the car works!
600416004460043
The coil overs were a longdebate, but wanting to try the latest and greatest led me to Ridetech remotereservoir coil overs. These shocks arebeautifully constructed, and look great when combined with all the newsuspension pieces. An added benefit isthe a-arms, shocks, and sway bars all complement each other well and aredesigned to work together. I have usedRidetech products in the past and have always been impressed with their quality.
A link to the shocks is here: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ART-11163511/
60050
Once the subframe wasstripped of the shocks, springs,and a-arms, the most difficult part of theinstallation was opening up the hole in the subframe the shocks would passthrough. Each side required about ½ hourwith a die grinder, and the upper shock mounting hole also needed to be openedup (I used a step drill bit, which worked very nicely). Once all the grinding work is complete,assembly can begin.
Before:
60045
After (in this picture, Istill need to smooth out all the rough edges, etc. You can see that a fair amount of materialneeds to be removed):
60046
Once this is complete, Istarted by assembling the lower a-arm into the factory pocket using the factorystyle, grade 8 bolts. Then I looselyinstalled the upper a-arms, then slid the shock into place through the newlycreated pocket in the subframe. You wantto make sure the coil over can have enough room to move during the completemotion of the a-arms travel so that the shock body does not hit thesubframe. Next, I re-assembled the swaybar end links, torqued everything to factory specs, and lubed all the fittings. I then guestimated the alignment, so that thecar could be driven the ½ mile to my local alignment shop.
The front brakes were treatedto all new lines and Baer did an awesome job re-powder coating thecalipers. I also installed new ARP studsin both the front hubs and rear wheels.
60047
60048
60042
Once assembled, I then neededto take a trip to my local alignment shop, Herchicks tire in MacedoniaOhio. Herchicks has been doing alignmentsfor many, many years, and the owner Mike Herchick loves early musclecars. They took their time, making sure everythingwas done right, and the final specs were:
1.5 degrees negative camber
5.7 degrees caster
Zero toe
60049
They really did a nice jobmaking sure everything was in good shape. I then took the car for a nice, slow drive, and went home and re-tourqedall of the control arm mounts, etc. Thecar is unbelievably responsive and the ride quality is far better than thefactory style coil springs and Koni red shocks. The final step will be installing the rear ride tech sway bar to makethe car even better balanced! All inall, I am very happy with all of the components and the end result. I hope to hit a local autox soon, so I cansee how much better the car works!