Front suspension conversions? A body for example

[mikes2nd]

Is there any "near" bolt on front suspension for GM a bodies?

Even minor welding... say being able to slap corvette control arms on a 68-72 a body? with spindle/hubs?

I'm sure someone has done something like this.

Just looking for some info. :candle:

Maybe Cadillac cts control arms/spindles? Well okay maybe not cts... or maybe if you welded a large bracket on the frame... or corvette c5?

[mikes2nd]

hmm think i found a good thread.

C6 front suspension is looking nice... thats a whooper of a job though.

It nets me a steering rack though also... doesn't seem impossible :)

https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?71740-C4-corvette-susension-in-a-el-camino-gto&highlight=conversion

[dhutton]

AFX spindles and steering arms along with a good Lee box with R&P feel might get you there with a lot less work. I went that route.

[CFster]

AFX spindles, SPC UCAs and LCAs is what I went with. It corrects the backwards geometry. Seems line anything more would be overkill.

[killer69]

You coud use AFX spindes with tehSpeedtech control arms also. full bolt in front suspension kit. also full rear suspension.

http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/Category_ID=247/home_id=-1/mode=cat/cat247.htm

[chuckd71]

AFX spindles, SPC upper arms, whatever lower you want as they apparently don't make much difference. Given the plethora of easy aftermarket options, trying to stuff things from other cars in an A-body seems like a case of effort input being much much greater than enjoyment/ performance output. But it's always cool to see people build stuff, give it a shot.

[mikes2nd]

seeing how its nearly free, I bought some to see if I could mock it up.

C6 stuff... WOW its cheap. lets just say I got the whole front end for under 450$(spindles, arms, hubs)...

I will mock up the geometry, if it doesnt work, ill just put it up back up for sale.

I am worried about the extra length on these arms, some of that can be handled with wheel offset so who knows.

[mikes2nd]

I expanded my "project"... :)

now I have half of my arms too sell.

Wts: 2 C6 corvette lower control arms!

Its nice when spindles cost 35$... alot cheaper than afx...

[claytonisbob]

But if they don't work, it doesn't matter if something is $35 or free for that matter. It's cool to experiment, it can just get expensive if you end up not using stuff.

Plus, I agree with Mark (in your linked thread)... that stuff is all setup for a car that has great weight distribution, low cg and is lighter than an A-Body. Even if you get it working, it may not be all that good... or even worse it may not be strong enough. I hate being negative Nancy though, the engineering aspect of getting that stuff to work would be pretty sweet.

There are a lot of the low-rider truck guys (see 67-72 truck forums) that put corvette suspension in their trucks and I do admire the craftsmanship. I just don't think the trucks handle all that well (some do), nor is that really a focus like it is for us.

[csouth]

But if they don't work, it doesn't matter if something is $35 or free for that matter. It's cool to experiment, it can just get expensive if you end up not using stuff.

Plus, I agree with Mark (in your linked thread)... that stuff is all setup for a car that has great weight distribution, low cg and is lighter than an A-Body. Even if you get it working, it may not be all that good... or even worse it may not be strong enough. I hate being negative Nancy though, the engineering aspect of getting that stuff to work would be pretty sweet.

There are a lot of the low-rider truck guys (see 67-72 truck forums) that put corvette suspension in their trucks and I do admire the craftsmanship. I just don't think the trucks handle all that well (some do), nor is that really a focus like it is for us.

X2....I hope this works out for you, seems like a lot of work reinventing the wheel. My only hope is that is doesn't cost you more money in the end. I went with L&H because I like the seperate hub\bearing design. I just couldn't see throwing out $100 for a single hub\bearing assembly when I could get both side bearings for $30 providing both AFX\L&H will give me similar results.

[mikes2nd]

X2....I hope this works out for you, seems like a lot of work reinventing the wheel. My only hope is that is doesn't cost you more money in the end. I went with L&H because I like the seperate hub\bearing design. I just couldn't see throwing out $100 for a single hub\bearing assembly when I could get both side bearings for $30 providing both AFX\L&H will give me similar results.

no where near the money, not even in the same universe. And you guys are WAY overrating the stock setup on these cars... they handle like crap

Have you seen the prices? afx is what 1300$(vs 70$)... your looking at what? another 900 for control arms... then add coil overs... another 1500$, bushings, hardware, stabilizer bar...

this stuff isnt weak either. Corvette parts are cheap(yes those guys give away their stuff when they mod also).

[Chevelle598bb]

Just throwing on a set of c6 control arms and spindles will not give you c6 handling. There is a lot more to chassis design then just throwing on a set of control arms from another vehicle that handles well. Hence the reinventing the wheel remark from the earlier post. I am all about designing and fabricating set ups that are different than what others are running but the does come a time when you have to budget the performace/cost ratio and then add on the time it will take to fab and tune/fix any issues.

Everyone is mentioning the afx spindle because it is a proven addition to the abody suspension geometry along with the proper upper control arm. It fixes the geometry issues that the horrible stock suspension has. Suspension geometry for a street car is always going to be a compromise and you will never have the perfect set up. Suspension geometry is too dynamic. You can get close and the afx will get you as close as anything you can build without tons of money, being an engineer, having a crew and years of fab and design. Yes something's you can reuse from gm and get for a good price but even if you got the c6 stuff free it's going to cost more in the long run trying to tie them onto a stock frame.

Now that I am done being diplomatic, the most of the fastest a, f and x body gm cars out there are running afx spindles. Since you have asked questions but seem to know the answers to them before you ask now its time to put up or shut up. Throw the c6 arms and spindles on your car and we will see how it works at the track.

Also good luck with connecting the outer tie rod end to the c6 spindle. The tie rod and the frame won't play nice together.

[makoshark]

Some good advise is to use this site as well as a few others for research of other setups. The muscle car market has grown and evolved tremendously in the past 10 years. Chances of you bringing something new to the table are slim to none. With what you are trying to do, you are only jeopardizing your life. It would be best you step back from your current route and reevaluate everything because you are heading down a dangerous road right now.

Something no one else has mentioned is to look at Ridetech. They have phenomenal customer service as well as top notch, proven, products. I suggest you look into their coilover kit and the Truturn system. Add a DSE or Lee steering box and you will have a rival setup at any event as well as about a plush of a ride as a Cadillac

[SLO_Z28]

A bodys dont handle bad stock. With the right springs and sway bar and a tall upper ball joint they are rather good actually. Its all about setup, getting enough tire under the car, getting the right tire, getting enough negative camber, correcting the camber curve, and getting enough caster.

What have I done in a-body builds in the past? Tall upper ball joint on a geometry corrected arm with a delrin bushing (UMI is a great choice for this), the right springs and sway bars front AND back. I would run a square tire size with the same large tires all around. I would relocate the rear lower control arms, get better rear control arms with delrin bushings, and get the rear rate to match the front. Give me $1700 and a day with your cars and I can get you handling better than 95% of C6 equipped cars on here.

[UMI Tech]

Thanks for the mention James. We do indeed have the geometry corrected uppers and tall ball joint combo. With a moderate spring lowering we can get the upper a-arm level at ride height so the camber curve is improved for a nicely moderate cost.

Also, at this very moment, we're working on a tall spindle conversion and a flat upper a-arm...

ramey

[csouth]

no where near the money, not even in the same universe. And you guys are WAY overrating the stock setup on these cars... they handle like crap

Have you seen the prices? afx is what 1300$(vs 70$)... your looking at what? another 900 for control arms... then add coil overs... another 1500$, bushings, hardware, stabilizer bar...

this stuff isnt weak either. Corvette parts are cheap(yes those guys give away their stuff when they mod also).

No one is overrating the stock setup on these cars, hence the reason for changing the suspension. The aftermarket spindles like AFX\L&H have the geometry correction built in. As for the L&H, although they look similar to stock are not. Don't know where you're looking but all control arms are not $900 and all coilovers are not $1500. Adjustable control arms like the SPC uppers i'm running allow very specific camber settings to be dialed in and they are only $350. If you look at some of the performance built A bodies here not all are running coilovers, in fact there are one or two running coilovers that said they would do it differently in the future.
I think what you're missing is some are advising you to use a proven setup that has had some R&D done under load. I don't think people are knocking your idea just to do so, there is a safety issue here.

[dug]

A bodys dont handle bad stock. With the right springs and sway bar and a tall upper ball joint they are rather good actually. Its all about setup, getting enough tire under the car, getting the right tire, getting enough negative camber, correcting the camber curve, and getting enough caster.

What have I done in a-body builds in the past? Tall upper ball joint on a geometry corrected arm with a delrin bushing (UMI is a great choice for this), the right springs and sway bars front AND back. I would run a square tire size with the same large tires all around. I would relocate the rear lower control arms, get better rear control arms with delrin bushings, and get the rear rate to match the front. Give me $1700 and a day with your cars and I can get you handling better than 95% of C6 equipped cars on here.

I have a 70 chevelle and $1700 :)

[bret]

Don't overthink the A body chassis. We've likely logged more street and track miles on A body stuff than anyone, with the competitive success to prove it. This chassis responds nicely to simple bolt on components...taller spindles, swaybars, some frame stiffening in the form of frame boxing or a cage, and a good set of control arms and coilovers [or ShockWaves]. Here is some info:

http://www.ridetech.com/tv/2010/11/ridetech-3-hour-suspension-install/

http://www.ridetech.com/tv/2012/06/shocks/

http://www.ridetech.com/store/1968-1972-gm-a-body-complete-coilover-system.html

Ask anyone who has seen our blue 66 Chevelle run...or has ridden in it.

[mikes2nd]

Keep dreaming Doug :) your 1700$ quote will turn into 3-5k in about a minute.

Art Morrison does it, I will too. He copies the C6 suspension geometry, I will give that a shot also :) GM did the work, provides the parts, I just need to map those in.

you guys say oh you wasting 35$!! wow yeah it might not work, big deal. These parts are easy to resell...

you can spend 30k on those setups. I understand there are guys who make livings off these parts, so of course they are going to defend them. Its understandable to say "buy my stuff, its better than experimenting!". But I will give it a shot.

Its going to take a while though, heck I am working on welding the body right now. Just picked up a new plasma cutter.

I do have a Camaro LS3 and 6 speed though as my power plant. 1970 GTO. I will prob get a ford nine inch floater for the rear, worry about the back later.

Whoops started typing this around 10:30 before Bret :)... didnt post till later. I am not saying this is an experiment everyone should try either. But seriously the a body is horrible :) I enjoy a stock ride occasionally but I wouldnt want to live there...

[bret]

I'll race your chassied car with my stock chassied car :)
Seriously...I applaud your endevour to integrate the Corvette parts into this chassis. It is NOT a futile effort...that is how you learn and succeed. That is how I learn and succeed. You should see my dumpster full of "attempts" :)

The Corvette has some beautiful suspension components that are worthy of any performance vehicle. BUT...as you have indicated, their mere presence on your car will not make it fast or comfortable to drive. They must be attached in the correct locations. There are MANY documents available that will educate you about where and how to place these components. Good luck with the project...and keep us informed!

[acegto]

Anything else ever happen here? I've wondered about this too on my 72 Lemans.