Suspension & Solid body mount questions

[DaveO]

I have a ’69 Camaro, 350 sbc, TH350, w/ factory AC that I’m building mostly for performance street use (eg, ~95%). My current plan is to install the Hotchkis TVS kit (sbc) along w/ GW upper offset shafts and del-alum u&l control arm bushings. I’m thinking I’ll probably also replace the rear leaf front eyelets with rubber bushings and keep the polys in back. I searched the forum and it looks like the consensus recommendation is to use solid body mounts no matter what, but I have some other questions that I couldn’t find clear answers to so hoping you guys can help:

Will the ride be too harsh with the solid body mounts and this setup? I'm pretty new to this so is there anything I should consider changing with my suspension plan?

Will the solid bushings put too much stress on the subframe/body if it’s driven mostly on the street?

Should I stick with stock ht bushings or go with ½ ht? My concern with the ½ ht bushings is engine bay and tire clearance. I’ve also heard the hotchkis springs already lower the car too much so will ½ ht bushings cause more problems than it’s worth?

PS - I'll be keeping my stock subframe and ca's for now.


Thx for any insights.

[David Pozzi]

The Hotchkis leaf springs have rubber bushings in front, polly bushings for the shackles but they are pretty good rear bushings for a polly type.

I'd go with solid body mounts, the subframe and body will lend each other strength if tied together, making the whole car more sound. The early mustangs were full unibody, no removeable sub. The stock sub mounts were tuned to the old bias ply tires and wont work that well with the new tires and aftermarket springs anyway.

I'd use stock height mounts because the trans crossmember will be VERY difficult to remove with shorter mounts, also the steering shaft will not line up as easily, there will be less room over the trans if you want to use a 5 or 6 speed, less floor pan room over the headers so they will have to hang down lower. If you use a lakewood bellhousing the throttle arm will be closer to it. Makes removing the engine with bellhousing much tougher. Some lakewoods now have the flange cut shorter than the old ones.

[DaveO]

thx David, and excellent info on your web page! I wouldn't have had to waste space posting the first time had I seen your "Problem/Cure" chart to begin with!