Ridetech's New 67-69 F Body Subframe

[Josh@Ridetech]

Hey everyone,

After a long time of being asked for a subframe, the time finally arrived. We've spent quite a bit of time designing, refining/testing, and are now ready to get them on the market. We're looking at shipping in early!

The main features and benefits below but if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask them on here or send me an email (josh@ridetech.com).

Link to subframe: https://ridetech.com/product/subfram...maro-firebird/











I've been in several test cars and couldn't be more excited to see this released. The engineering team did a great job putting it together and the cars drive/handle extremely well.




**** Adding information on what headers to look at below ****

We've validated fitment on these headers. I'll keep this updated as we find more that fit well.

LS engine:
Ultimate Headers (longtube) 102121
Speed Engineering (longtube) 25-1027

Small Block Chevy:
Flowtech (mid length) 31108FLT
Flowtech (longtube) 11100FLT
Hedman (longtube) 68270
Hooker (longtube) 2451HKR

[JuStBlAzIN]

Hey Josh any pictures of the finish product?

[streetk14]

I actually sent you an email about this earlier this week. I’m interested and have a bunch of questions that you might not have answers to yet. I like what I’m seeing so far.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Hey Josh any pictures of the finish product?

Yes sir! This one just got back from Sema. We've got some videos coming out in the near future to give a better look as well.

I actually sent you an email about this earlier this week. I’m interested and have a bunch of questions that you might not have answers to yet. I like what I’m seeing so far.

I'll dig it up! I was out and then got buried in emails. I'll get with you

[streetk14]

Josh,
We can discuss here if you want. I’m sure others have similar questions and would be interested.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Josh,
We can discuss here if you want. I’m sure others have similar questions and would be interested.

Absolutely. Go ahead and post what you want to know!

[streetk14]

There’s probably more I’m not thinking of right now, but here’s a few for you:

1) what kind of caster is this designed to run?

2) would the ride height range be similar to a stock subframe car running your coil over setup?

3) Are those C7 aluminum upper arms?

4) Can an LS engine and T56 Magnum be installed without cutting the trans tunnel? Mine is installed with the stock tunnel on the original subframe using Holley mounts.

5) Are those heim joints instead of tie rods?

[Josh@Ridetech]

1) what kind of caster is this designed to run? One of our test cars is set up as more of a cruiser, running 5* caster. The '67 we just installed the kit on hit 8* easily.

2) would the ride height range be similar to a stock subframe car running your coil over setup? 2" to 2.5" lower than factory is where everything is happy geometry wise. There is a little more room to go with this setup with the added tire clearance than a factory subframe. If the wheel and tire fitment is spot on, I'd say 3" lower is doable while keeping everything in proper geometry.

3) Are those C7 aluminum upper arms? No. We machine our own billet arms for this.

4) Can an LS engine and T56 Magnum be installed without cutting the trans tunnel? Mine is installed with the stock tunnel on the original subframe using Holley mounts. If you made it fit in the tunnel with a stock subframe, there's no reason it wouldn't work in ours, as the engine is in the stock location. I'm sure your tunnel clearance is tight now but as long as you have the proper engine/transmission angle and it works, I'd let it rip.

5) Are those heim joints instead of tie rods? The outer tie rods use a heim and tie rod stud in the spindle. The inner tie rods are standard Fox Body ones.

[streetk14]

1) what kind of caster is this designed to run? One of our test cars is set up as more of a cruiser, running 5* caster. The '67 we just installed the kit on hit 8* easily.

2) would the ride height range be similar to a stock subframe car running your coil over setup? 2" to 2.5" lower than factory is where everything is happy geometry wise. There is a little more room to go with this setup with the added tire clearance than a factory subframe. If the wheel and tire fitment is spot on, I'd say 3" lower is doable while keeping everything in proper geometry.

3) Are those C7 aluminum upper arms? No. We machine our own billet arms for this.

4) Can an LS engine and T56 Magnum be installed without cutting the trans tunnel? Mine is installed with the stock tunnel on the original subframe using Holley mounts. If you made it fit in the tunnel with a stock subframe, there's no reason it wouldn't work in ours, as the engine is in the stock location. I'm sure your tunnel clearance is tight now but as long as you have the proper engine/transmission angle and it works, I'd let it rip.

5) Are those heim joints instead of tie rods? The outer tie rods use a heim and tie rod stud in the spindle. The inner tie rods are standard Fox Body ones.

The reason I asked about the trans tunnel is that DSE requires cutting the tunnel if you use their subframe. The Holley clamshell mounts most of us use on stock subframe cars allow it to fit without cutting. It’s tight like you said, but with all your front suspension and 4-link on it my driveline angles are good. It’s the guys that go really low that seem to have issues.

A couple more questions I thought of:

1) Any weight differences vs a stock subframe setup?

2) Have any headers been test fitted on it with an LS engine? I have a set of Ultimate Headers I bought to work with the TruTurn.

[Josh@Ridetech]

The reason I asked about the trans tunnel is that DSE requires cutting the tunnel if you use their subframe. The Holley clamshell mounts most of us use on stock subframe cars allow it to fit without cutting. It’s tight like you said, but with all your front suspension and 4-link on it my driveline angles are good. It’s the guys that go really low that seem to have issues.

A couple more questions I thought of:

1) Any weight differences vs a stock subframe setup? Even with the thicker tubing we use, they're almost identical in weight.

2) Have any headers been test fitted on it with an LS engine? I have a set of Ultimate Headers I bought to work with the TruTurn. There is way more header clearance with this subframe. The Ultimate's will clear by a mile (they were one of the mock up headers when we designed it).

[Rod]

it looks great in person and I have sold a couple and they will ship in DEC, here I a simple video I did at sema, I think Suzy did one also

[AUTODYNAMICS]

Josh sent you a message on messenger, haven’t been able to reach you
Pete

[streetk14]

Thanks Josh. I’m assuming the subframe was designed to work with the ridetech subframe connectors?

[Josh@Ridetech]

Thanks Josh. I’m assuming the subframe was designed to work with the ridetech subframe connectors?

Yep, it'll work just fine with them. And you're welcome!

[BonzoHansen]

How wide of a wheel/tire does it accommodate?

[Josh@Ridetech]

10” with a 275 fits with absolutely no modifications to outer or inner fenders. Modified or aftermarket inner fenders will allow up to a 315 depending on wheel fitment.

[streetk14]

I’m really liking what I see. Do you know which LS oil pans were used for test fitment? The Holley mounts that allow me to fit my 6 speed without tunnel surgery mount the engine lower than stock I believe. It would be nice to know if the typical 3.5-4 degrees of engine angle can be done without cutting. I figure an LS and 6 speed will be a popular choice for guys wanting this subframe.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Any of the Holley pans will fit easily. I have the 302-3 on my car and it’s nowhere close to the crossmember. You can set your engine/trans angle at that, however, -2 to -3 is a more desirable target for any setup. From what I’ve seen over the years, it’s more common to see the tunnel modifications than it is to see a steep engine/trans angles. I hate having any chance of vibrations.

[streetk14]

Any of the Holley pans will fit easily. I have the 302-3 on my car and it’s nowhere close to the crossmember. You can set your engine/trans angle at that, however, -2 to -3 is a more desirable target for any setup. From what I’ve seen over the years, it’s more common to see the tunnel modifications than it is to see a steep engine/trans angles. I hate having any chance of vibrations.

I have one of the Mast swap pans, so a lot like the low profile Holley. I just looked at my notes from when I put the 4 link in, and I ended up with about 2 degrees of u-joint operating angle front and rear. Engine angle is at 3.1 degrees, and the car is nice and smooth at triple digit speeds. I know I could reduce the angles by cutting the tunnel, but I’d like to avoid it since my car has almost all its original sheet metal. I guess I’m just trying to figure out if it’ll be doable if I swap out the subframe.

[ajs1luv]

Will holley black heart headers (full length)
Work with ridetech subframe? I'm currently running on my stock frame/ls3? Very nice subframe!