Help!

[thejoker21]

Hello. I have a 1969 Camaro that I am building. The plan for the car is to turn it into a road race/street car that will still retain street manners. The car will have a 496ci big-block, T-56 6-speed tranny, Alston front subframe, DS&E mini-tubs, and a 12-bolt posi rearend. I was wondering what type of other suspension components to use to allow the most aggressive on-track handling without giving up a whole lot of ride quality (I just don't want to feel like I am driving a Red Flyer wagon). I was thinking about just adding Hotchkis drop leaves in the back, or maybe going with a Global West CAT-5 kit in the rear. Any suggestions?

[MrQuick]

If you are serious then the Cat-5 should work fine. If you are really serious maybe look into a link, coil over, & panhard bar suspension.

[TitoJones]

Not to knock anything here, but if you really plan on having a road race setup, you might want to re-think the front suspension as well.

If you plan on the GW cat 5 rear, the cat 5 front will be a great addition to match it.

The DSE coil over kit with most any tubular upper A arm, and a set of Delrin lower A arm bushes is also a great suspnsion. But the Alston clip screams street suspension to me. A very nice piece, but not designed for track use IMHO.

Tyler

[baz67]

I tend to agree with Tyler hear. Also, what is driving you to the aftermarket frame? The GW front stuff is great.

Brian

[thejoker21]

DUH!!! The aftermarket front frame is not only stronger, it is also much lighter than the original frame, plus I get all of the suspension components with it, AND IT COSTS LESS THAN TRYING TO PUT ALL THE PEICES TOGETHER TO MAKE A SYSTEM!!!! I don't care, I'm still using the Alson's clip. Did you not see the part that said it would be a street driven car with occasional road races?

[dennis68]

Yeah, except most of the clips on the market today were not designed for a road course chassis'. Alston is a straight line guy, nice stuff but most of it is Mustang II or equal.

The second line in your original post states road course/street car. To me that looks like a dedicated track car that can be driven to and from.

[Mean 69]

DUH!!! The aftermarket front frame is not only stronger, it is also much lighter than the original frame, plus I get all of the suspension components with it

Wow, I am hoping that you didn't mean this to be inflammatory, these guys are trying to help you out by offering their insight.

Respectfully, where did you come to the conclusion that the Alston stuff is stronger, lighter, etc? Did you actually measure the torsional rigidity, or are you going by word of mouth, based upon what someone told you? I recall Chicane posting the weight of a stock front setup, it would be outstanding to hear how much lighter the Alston stuff is if you have specific information.

Not to be a jerk, really, but if it were me that was building a track car, the Alston stuff would not be my first choice. Regardless, if you have it and are intent on using it, basically any decent set of leafs will equal the inherent performance you have in the front, i.e. balance from front to rear "performance."

You can go a long way to stiffen things up in the front by supplementing the frame rails with forward through-bars that attach to the roll cage.

Mark

[rockdogz]

Yikes Joker, take it easy - that's a pretty acidic response considering you posted looking for help and suggestions. I went with the Alston piece too, and it seems like nice stuff so far although I don't have it on the road yet. I would agree that since Alston is coming from a straight-line background, they seem to be more concerned about that than road-race. Definitely better than stock, but I'm not sure about comparing it to a C5 setup. The price (I paid anyway) wasn't necessarily better too. Let's all be friends

[thejoker21]

OK guys, I apologize for being hateful. It's just that the wife has really been pressuring me to get rid of my 1969 Camaro SS 396 with an L-89 and a Muncie M-22.......Let me see, they only made maybe a thousand L-89 Camaro's, plus there are about 3.5 billion women in the world......She's got to go, don't let the door hit ya.....well, you know the rest. Anyway, i really appreciate the help. The reason that I wanted an Alson's unit is because the company told me that it is laser cut and welded, they manufacture all of thier own suspension peices, and that it would weigh 80 pounds less than the original subframe. But if I am not going to lose this weight, I say screw the freakin' Alston's, I'm going to with either DS&E or Global West. What suspension components would you guys recommend to get the best on track handling? Maybe a full GW CAT-5? What about Hotchkis components? I really appreciate all of your help and again I am sorry for being hateful, it was uncalled for.

[Mean 69]

Even though it wasn't directed at me, apology accepted! There are a bunch of great guys here that have experience in exactly what you are trying to do.

I think the guys are correct in steering you towards the stock front frame, with better control arms, etc. Unless you have a really big budget, and have a passion for doing some of the work (alot of the work, as in designing/engineering), you'll be hard pressed to "really" improve the well documented modifications to a stock stub. Save the money for some aluminum heads!!! And block, for that matter, rat motors weigh a ton.

One thing I would suggest you don't skimp on, ESPECIALLY with a big block and taking the car to road courses, are really, really, really good brakes. Especially the front. With as much power as the rat motors make, your car is going to be fast, you'll need to slow it down, safely. I wouldn't personally go with any kit that didn't have 1.25" thick, or thicker, front rotors.

Use the search button, and by all means, visit the archive suspension posts listed in this forum. There is a TON of really terrific info in there.

Good luck,
Mark