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Post by jerry63 on Dec 21, 2020 20:42:52 GMT -5
Hello, I'm sure most of you have seen other 442's where the owner has raised the car up and inch or two all the way around. Jut looking for some ideas, I know air shocks would cure the rear but what could you do to the front, thanks, Jerry.
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Post by island65cruiser on Dec 21, 2020 21:36:17 GMT -5
Back in 1965 when our cars were new, there was a trend started by Baldwin Motion Chevy in Long Island, to raise GM muscle cars a couple of inches to aid in weight transfer on the drag strip. Some people put a spacer under the upper ball joint when doing that to correct the geometry of the front end. You can still buy those spacers on line. By going with longer springs you won't change the ride quality. If you use spacer blocks in the front coils and air shocks in the rear, you get the lift, but destroy the ride. Detroit Spring offers replacement coils for our cars in stock, 1" and 2" lift. They are no more expensive than stock springs. Hope this helps.
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Post by joepadavano on Dec 22, 2020 8:45:39 GMT -5
Some people put a spacer under the upper ball joint when doing that to correct the geometry of the front end. You can still buy those spacers on line.
Putting a spacer under the upper ball joint changes exactly nothing in either suspension geometry or ride height, despite what vendors may tell you. To fix the geometry you need to increase the distance between the upper and lower ball joint pivot centers. The only ways to do that are either with a tall ball joint (where the stud is longer, but the ball pivot remains in the same place in the UCA) or with a tall spindle. Neither of those options will raise the front of the car, since that's a function of the spring and LCA. Personally, unless you are going for the gasser look, raising the front of the car is a bad thing for a lot of reasons. Handling gets worse, since now at normal ride height you have the front suspension on a different part of the camber curve. You won't be able to properly align the front end. Increased aero drag will slow the car down, and increased lift under the front end will cause spooky handling at speed. And the whole weight transfer thing was a stop gap to bandaid crappy 1950s drag tire technology. You'll note that competitive drag cars today do not have a nose-high attitude.
Sorry, but the whole gasser look is right up there with Pro Fairgrounds, er, Pro Street - good for idling around the cruise night parking lot to impress the uninformed.
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Post by island65cruiser on Dec 22, 2020 19:33:49 GMT -5
Joe. I know you're an engineer, but I have to question one of your points. If you put a taller spring in the car, you hold the center of the hub lower down in relation to the frame, and the control arm pivot points on the frame causing an acute angle on the upper arm. Experience has shown me that this causes the ball joint to be at the outer limits of its travel. If you do put a spacer block or a longer ball joint(preferred method) on that upper control arm, you level out the arm, and reduce the acute angle on the ball joint. I agree that it does not correct the camber issue, but it does give you the correct movement in the joint. A good frame shop can still align the car. On our cars, I believe you could also use a later model disk brake spindle, which is taller, and accomplish the same thing. I doubt that one inch of lift in the spring will actually have any measurable impact upon handling because it is within the normal range of travel for the stock suspension.
If jerr63 likes the look, and wants to enjoy his car in that style, who are you to make a derogatory comment on the "pro-fairgrounds" look, as you call it. Personalizing your ride is a right of ownership.
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Post by jerry63 on Dec 22, 2020 20:27:56 GMT -5
Hello, thanks for every ones posts, I'm not interested in making my car look like a gasser, just would like to have the body raised up, all around maybe an inch. It appears that it has a settled look to it. I have no idea what condition the springs are in, if even replacing the springs would do any good. Of course I don't want to trade off raising for safety. Its just an idea that I have had, thanks all.
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Post by stan65cutlass on Dec 23, 2020 10:13:21 GMT -5
BRO has a picture of one of his cars with that same look your after, maybe he can find it ?
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Post by jerry63 on Dec 23, 2020 11:26:38 GMT -5
Sounds good, I'll check it out, thanks for the help, Jerry.
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