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    Results 1 to 11 of 11
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Oct 2010
      Location
      Vancouver B.C Canada
      Posts
      175
      Country Flag: Canada

      1970 LeMans Wagon suspension upgrades

      Hello all!

      Just returned from a 3500 mile road trip with my family in this all original car. Purchased from the original owner, it had been parked for 20 years. Car ran great, but man, the 14” tires and 49 year old suspension technology made many parts of the drive very challenging. Also surprised at how easily the brakes were overheated.

      Im no stranger to performance suspensions, but with so many options available today, a little overwhelming choosing all the right components so looking for some suggestions.

      Primary use for the car will be daily Sumer drives and family road trips. No track days, no autocross, but I want to be able to easily manage to corners, and feel confident with braking. I also need to be able to maintain ride height in the rear when it’s all loaded up with people and stuff so perhaps air bags in the rear coils, or air shocks? I also want to maintain excellent rose quality, which doesn’t mean it needs to be soft, but will need to match shocks/springs carefully.
      I will stick with 15” or 17” wheels, which should allow for the tire to contribute to overall comfort by avoiding really low profile tires

      Im not a fan of poly bushings, so many of the entry level kits available loose me by using them and considering them an upgrade. I also don’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money getting this done.
      Who out there has mixed and matched a great streetable set up, or can offer some specific components for getting this job done?

      Thanks in advance!
      Attached Images Attached Images  
      72 firebird , SD performance 464" 455,KRE D ports, EZ EFI,Dougs 1 3/4,3.5" custom oval exhaust,TKO600,Kore 3 C5/C6,DSE subframes,Full cage by Radical Rides(Thanks Dave,Johnny,Campbell,Bill,Lee and Gabby!!)

    2. #2
      Join Date
      Oct 2018
      Location
      San Jose, CA
      Posts
      523
      That’s a great looking car! Love it. Congrats!

      I would look at either the DSE or ridetech entry level suspension setups and C6 corvette brakes
      1971 Camaro - 406 / T56
      2016 Camaro SS convertible
      2018 Colorado 4x4

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Oct 2015
      Posts
      63
      Country Flag: United States
      Talk to Mark Savitske at SC&C he is a wealth of information and experience.

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Oct 2006
      Posts
      634
      Country Flag: United States
      Replace all rubber bushings, if you have a welder, tack the rear bar bushings with a few spot welds to keep them in place. Then do the following and see if that does what you want.. If not, your only out the bushings..

      Change the box to a Lee 14.1 with 30 lb valve.

      Install a Hellwig 55703 front bar.

      Change the alignment to;
      Passenger side, Caster +2/ Camber -.5/ Toe in 1/32.....
      Drivers side, Caster +1.5/ Camber -.5/ Toe in 1/32...

      You can run the caster all the way up to 1 degree if you like, just add an even amount of shims on all four bolts, the toe will actually go negative which is what you want when adding more negative camber so your good there.. Add a 1/16 shim on each bolt, this is after you get the car aligned on a good rack like the hunter Hawk eye..

      I agree with the above statement, talk to Mark at SC&C.. I bought all my stuff from him, the 30 lb valved steering box was his idea. He is so polite and fun to talk too..

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Dec 2006
      Location
      Out of the Burbs of Detroit to SoCal, then onto my ancestral homeland, the woods of Cascadia
      Posts
      1,753
      Country Flag: United States
      -5 degree of camber? Sure you don't mean -0.5 degree camber?
      Greg Fast
      (yes, the last name is spelled correctly)

      1970 Camaro RS Clone
      1984 el Camino
      1973 MGB vintage E/Prod race car
      (Soon to be an SCCA H/Prod limited prep)

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Oct 2004
      Posts
      2,544
      Country Flag: United States
      Quote Originally Posted by Twentyover View Post
      -5 degree of camber? Sure you don't mean -0.5 degree camber?
      Has to be. And more caster if possible (like +2.5 to +3).
      Red Forman: "The Mustang's front end is problematic; get yourself a Firebird."

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Oct 2006
      Posts
      634
      Country Flag: United States
      Sorry, yes its a half degree of negative camber.

      If you try to add more caster then the factory specs on the negative side, the control arm will become too crooked. Look at the manual, they have a max spec for caster, all we are doing is switching this number from negative to positive. I've had stock GM A body upper control arms all over the place including switching from side to side to get 10 degrees positive caster, hey it worked, but it was too much caster..
      Just change the number from negative to positive and keep it under 3 and you should be good... The real issue is the short spindle and the way the upper control arm curves around the frame causing positive camber during compression.. Flat upper control arms with tall ball joints is one way to fix this..

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Oct 2011
      Location
      Philipsburg, Pa
      Posts
      528
      Country Flag: United States
      First of all, just drop that off at UMI and leave it. Hahahaha.

      A UMI Stage 1 with springs shocks and sway bars would do wonders. You can add a tall ball joint to the upper to get a little bit of spindle height.

      Like mentioned above, you can add a tall spindle and flat arm if you'd like.

      ramey
      Technical Support
      UMI Performance, Inc.
      [email protected]
      814.343.6315

      Join us on Facebook!

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Apr 2007
      Posts
      193
      More- and more to the point, higher mounted glass and sheetmetal at the back, means the same set up that's sportily neutral on a coupe may over steer enough to be a problem on a wagon. Don't want a tail happy cruiser- one startled freeway lane change, and the difference between what you build under that car, and how your subconscious expects the handling of what you drove all week to work.. can be a big problem.
      Build it, take it to an autocross or something, program your brain for when you need it. Have fun doing it, too.

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Oct 2010
      Location
      Vancouver B.C Canada
      Posts
      175
      Country Flag: Canada
      Update- I ended up cleaning out the garage and using some of the left over parts from my 65 GTO restoration. Cut 1/2 coil from the front, added some tall upper and lower ball joints from pro forged, front and rear sway bars, SPC upper arms and UMI 1" lowering springs. I chose the UMI springs partly because they were dirt cheap and because the had a variable 125/200 rate that I thought might be good for the wagon. Did this in stages with the items in the last pic installed first. Night and day difference in the way the car handles, but not out of the woods yet. Alignment next week, and I think I need about 1 1/2" or 3/4" insulator in the rear to bring the back end up a bit as it ended up about 1 5/8" lower.

      I also need a way to increase load carrying ability and as I see it the two options would be air bags with good shocks, or air shocks. I have no experience with either, but would like the car to maintain ride height and ride quality when loaded. Anyone with suggestions or feedback from previous experience please chime in.

      The other area that needs attention now is perhaps body mounts and soundproofing. With the slightly firmer ride, there are a few more rattles and squats coming from the rear cargo area, and I also feel the doors moving around slightly and we roll over bumps. Anyone tried the aftermarket body mounts? I had some Delrin mounts made for the GTO, but haven't quite got it back on the road yet and would like to know what others have tried.

      Thanks!
      Attached Images Attached Images      
      72 firebird , SD performance 464" 455,KRE D ports, EZ EFI,Dougs 1 3/4,3.5" custom oval exhaust,TKO600,Kore 3 C5/C6,DSE subframes,Full cage by Radical Rides(Thanks Dave,Johnny,Campbell,Bill,Lee and Gabby!!)

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Oct 2006
      Posts
      634
      Country Flag: United States
      That's a real nice wagon!! I'd put a nice low compression truck 454 in it with a turbo 400 and a 2:73 or 3:08 rear end..







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