1969 Camaro Suspension Help...

[Grant Eldridge]

Just to clarify, if anyone thought I was copying John Calvert's excellent bars with my Slide-a-Link modifications, that was not the case. In fact, I first bought the Slide-a-Link system locally before I knew how to get the Cal Trac bars and was having problems hooking the car. First I made up aluminum bushings to replace the poly bushing, and that helped but was still inconsistent. I then tried spacing down the back of the bar, thinking to change the instant center which also seemed to help but it was hit and miss and touchy on the adjustment. Finally another racer suggested eliminating the flex by making the bar one piece and rigid. During all this, I tried various shocks and later bought and tried a set of split monoleaf springs from John Calvert, which I still have and plan to use in my next car. Ironically, I had not realised that a good deal of my problem was too low tire pressure. Thanks to another suggestion by a fellow racer, I raised the tire pressure on the radials to 21-22 lbs and with the other changes the car has never failed to hook since. I know what I went through, time and money and effort to finally get a decent 60 foot. If I was starting fresh, without a shed full of bits and pieces, I would definitely call John and buy his bars and use his springs. On the other hand, I also have seen the Alf Weibe bars work very well on a lot of cars in my area.
Thank you so much to all you guys that are willing to share knowledge on this forum! If I had been following these posts then I probably could have avoided a lot of mistakes.

[ericsz]

8 inch rim 28x10.5 Mickey M5 compound, went back to the regular slick instead of the stiffs, as you remember I hated the stiffs. I may be able to fit a 30 but it would be tight.

[Dave Goob Cook]

I got my car better when I gave up on the 10" and 10.5" tires on the 8" rims.
More tread section is always tempting, but not always the best thing.

I have a few old 9 x 30's laying out back if you want to trial fit some.

[ericsz]

Thanks Goob I'll let you know, I am still tossing around trying a Glide but I dont want to be on my back every week changing it and I dont want to have to spend 2 Grand to have one that wont break. My car is about 3400lbs isnt that to heavy???

[Mike Pearson]

Eric

As i remember from another thread you posted several months ago you mostly bracket race your car. The set up you have in your car is more of a street type chassis setup. You will not get the kind of performance or consistancy you are looking for with the chassis setup that you are using. I would suggest for you to install a rear frame section with a 4 link or ladder bar suspension using a coil over shock. I have HAL single adjustables on my car. I think this will be money well spent. You can go to a wider tire which will help on the marginal tracks. The powerglide will give you the consistancy that you are kooking for. If you have a decent trans with race quality parts you will not have to touch it for a whole season. The point I am trying to make is if you want to have a race car you have to set it up like a racecar and use race quality parts. The stocker guys use some of the similar parts that you are trying to use. They spend countless hours perfecting and testing their combinations. They do not run their cars weekly and they replace the tires on their cars very regularly.

Mike

[ericsz]

I see to many 10 inch tire cars with lots more horse power than me dragging the bumper, I dont want to drag the bumper I just want to hook. I would really like to not have to do any major chassis changes to the car, its a "z" car.

[bob gonier]

Originally Posted by ericsz

Thanks Goob I'll let you know, I am still tossing around trying a Glide but I dont want to be on my back every week changing it and I dont want to have to spend 2 Grand to have one that wont break. My car is about 3400lbs isnt that to heavy???

WELL........ Thats a whole nother thread. I run a stock 1.76 gearset glide with a turbo input and aftermarket drum. It doesnt get any easier or cheaper than that. Car weighs 3450lbs and runs low 10's @ 133-135mph with a 28" tire and 4.10 gears. So far I believe this trans has about 750 runs and I have no plans to rebuild it anytime soon. Thats what direction I went and my car hooks 99.9 % of the time.............maybe more.



JMO .....




bob

[Bill Harris]

A glide would probably be a good change for an 1/8 mile bracket car. With a three speed you are probably barely getting into high gear before the finish line, pretty much a waste of gear. A 1.76 glide is going to help your hook just by reducing the overall ratio in first gear, from a 2.48*4.56=11.31 to a 1.76*4.56=8.03, which is a LOT of difference. Your 60's might not be better, but they will likely be a lot more consistant, and that seems to be the name of the game. A glide is also lighter than a TH400 and you don't need a $3000 trans either. A properly built basic box with a stock 1.76 gearset, steel hub, hardened input shaft, good soft parts and a good transbrake will easily hold up against that 406. Put a deep pan on it and keep it cool.

I ran the Koni SP1 shocks on the front of my stocker for years set as loose as they would go. My 60's have always been all over the place. Last spring I put on a set of Calvert's new front shocks and it made a HUGE difference in my 60's. Much more consistant and at least 2 hundreths better than before. Best $100 I ever spent.

Good luck!

[67camaroracer]

I run the fiberglass mono's with cal tracs seems to work for me. I have abit more travel up front though. No trans brake. How does your car work off the converter only, no brake
In my experience hitting the tire harder helped my car but then you need stiffer rebound i think,