front suspension/thoughts,suggestions

[bigblockcapri]

ok starting from a blank page
using a arms
front tires 245/40/17 on 17 x 9 5.5 backspace
hubface max 54.25
with brake hats on 54.75
i work in a fab shop we have laser & punch capability
we use autocad & solidworks
230 ton press brake and a full welding shop
vett, must II, custom
thanks bigblockcapri

[andrewb70]

Is there a question, comment or a sentence in that post?

Andrew

[zbugger]

Lost me too. Care to clarify?

[Supercharged 86]

I don't even know what car this is for, but I will say I think a 265 or 275 would be better suited for a 9" wheel. I run 255/40/17s on an 8" rim and I think that looks perfect. 245 is deffinatly more of an 8" wheel size in my mind and it might be a stretch with the low profile too.

[bigblockcapri]

a question,
before i cut the struts off the car i need
to replace it with something
it has a 2x3 tube chassis & cage
and i will be starting a front half
the motor is too wide to work with struts

[bigblockcapri]

245/40/17 8-9.5 rim

the car will be street/road course.
to be driven to the track and raced, or
to be driven on a 1200/1500 mile trip.

the struts that are on the car now limit me to 195/70/15.
the only way to put a larger wheel/tire is to change to a arms.
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so my question is {what are my options for a arm suspension} ?
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o yes and why is it a good or a bad choice.

thank you for your time & patience

[dustinls1]

I'd go with a C4 or C5 Vette front suspension, GM engineers do a lot of work and turn out exceptionally high quality parts, all of which is available to you at wrecking yard prices.

[FoxGranadaChuck]

I would try Maximum Motorsports. They might have a front coil-over conversion kit that would allow use of a big-block Ford.

[Norm Peterson]

It sounds like the origin of this beast is an early-70's Capri, in which case the Mustang II based pieces that were also intended for cars with 55-ish front track dimensions will likely fit and work better with less modification than will C4/C5 components modified to suit the narrower track. The V8/automatic MII's weren't exactly light, but pay attention to weight ratings (be conservative here, given your intended usage), and don't be afraid to reinforce things a bit.

Availability through the street rod industry should be pretty good. But expect to spend some quality time with a suspension program anyway, as what you're after differs considerably from the goals of the typical street rodder.

I'm mostly in agreement with respect to your wheel/tire combo. IMO, a 9" wheel is none too wide for a 245-section tire if you're auto-x'ing or running at speed on a road course. Even 8.5" gives away enough crispness of response to notice. And there will be less lateral tire distortion (read: unexpected lower arm or sta-bar clearance issues) with 9's vs narrower.

Norm

[Q ship]

I don't even know what car this is for,

BBC, I hope you don't mind me putting this picture up, but a lot of people don't get into the VBgarage. Here's a picture of the beast he is building. I don't think fabrication fears are an issue.

[Norm Peterson]

I don't think fabrication fears are an issue.

Didn't think so. But I do see a headache or two coming along with either the shorter rack or the shorter control arms that you'd need if using C4/C5-derived parts in a car that's that much narrower.

Norm

[Mean 69]

It sounds like the origin of this beast is an early-70's Capri, in which case the Mustang II based pieces that were also intended for cars with 55-ish front track dimensions will likely fit and work better with less modification than will C4/C5 components modified to suit the narrower track.

I couldn't agree more, and no offense at all to the chap who suggested it, but there is a WHOLE bunch more to an acceptable front suspension design than throwing on a set of parts that work on a totally different platform. I can tell you from direct experience.

I haven't played around with it, but there is a MII front setup plotted out in the Performance Trends Suspension Analyzer program, you can try a copy out for free for ten days and move things around a bit to see how the important factors change. If you are new to suspension design, I'd seek significant advise from a pro. As Norm states, if you are not going to re-engineer a setup, the street rod guys will probably have something that can be adapted pretty easily, and "may" offer less risk of getting some funky geometry woes.

And by the way, that is one SICK hot rod, good for you, I am sure it will be a real gem when complete. Drive the wee-wee out it!

Mark

[zbugger]

No wonder I couldn't understand your question...... It's because you have more going on in your head than Mark does. Welcome to the site. You'll fit in just fine with all the nut jobs here.

[bigblockcapri]

i have been thinking that my best choice is to look for a
suspension design engineer, any suggestions who to try?
any fab or chassis work i can do, my chassis guy can do
street & drag race, but road race is not his forte