<VV> Lowering of the car

[Sethracer@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/21/2004 2:50:48 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
Daves69vair@aol.com writes:

DOSE ANY  ONE KNOW IF LOWERING THE FRONT END WILL SCREW UP THE ALIENMENT ON 
THE CAR.  AND IS THERE A WAY TO LOWER IT WITH OUT CUTTING THE SPRINGS  OR  
SPENDING TONS OF MONEY,YET DOING IT   RIGHT.




Aside from the small drop associated with HD springs, there is no  
inexpensive way to significantly lower the front end of a Vair without Cutting  or 
replacing the springs. You could "Z" the front sub-frame (expensive), that's  about 
it.
 
Lowering the front end beyond Chevy's design range will have a range of  
impacts on the handling of the car. Some are good, some are not. 
 
First - Lowering the car leaving the upper and lower A-arms in  their same 
mounting/attachment points will decrease the available upward travel  before 
encountering the jounce bumpers. If the stock regular springs are  cut, they will 
settle at a lower installed height - that is why the car is also  lower. They 
will be a bit stiffer, but not stiff enough to compensate for the  reduced 
upward travel. You will likely experience bottoming out under  severe 
conditions. Changing to a stiffer shock absorber (speaking of compression  resistance 
here) will lesson that possibility. Changing to a stiffer short  spring, say 
from an HD option or another car (likely front-engined, so heavier  in carrying 
capacity) will also lesson the likelihood of impact, but does  so by 
significantly "roughening" the ride. 
 
Second, the installed angles for the front spindle will change, that is why  
camber and caster need to be re-set. Another item that is possible to re-set,  
but significantly harder ($$$) is toe-change. The actual toe-in on the  
suspension can be re-set at the same time as the camber/caster. The problem is  the 
outer location for the tie-rod end remains at the same height after lowering  
the car, given that you will use the same tires, and are lowering via a 
spring  change. The inner steering pivot point, the relay rod tie-rod end, moves  
downward with the car. This can make a major change in the  Bump-steer reaction 
of the wheels, causing a darty feel when the car hits a  bump or a chuck-hole 
on the road. This is due to the wheel wanting to toe-inward  when it travels 
upward.  Most race-prepared Corvairs have the steering arm  to relay rod 
alignment changed to minimize bump steer. With the factory forged  arms, this can 
be done by heating and bending the arms down at the front. The  taper can also 
be removed from the tips of the arms, and bolted/shimmed  spherical rod ends 
used to replace the original tie-rod ends. - Seth  Emerson