My 7-year restoration is finally finished and will be bringing her home from the body shop next week.
However, the front end is sitting higher than normal and I am concerned that something is wrong.

From a side view, the fender cutout appears to be about 7-8" higher than the top of the tires. Everything is new under the front end, including the springs.

Can this difference be remedied by simply adjusting the final riding height, or is there potentially bigger issues that may be going on?

Thanks, Charles

I would say that the new spring's just need to settle in a bit , they will alway's sit down some once the car is driven a while ,,,

7-8" inches. .that's High, but if all the front end is NEW and you have Big Block or Heavy Duty springs, it will sit HIGH. It will mellow out with age and use.. that HIGH front Was the look guys sought to achive..when you 67 was NEW So it's a RETRO look ... smile.gif

Unfortunately, aftermarket springs aren't as selective as OE springs. Each car was designed to be at a specific ride height at time of assembly and not meant to be above that height in hopes they'd settle down. That meant a great variety of spring rates depending on the options for the car to make it meet the designed heights. The 67 SS had six spring sets possible. The correct set for one SS might not be the correct set for another. I'm sure not every Chevelle met the ride height specs exactly, I'm also sure they were pretty close before leaving the factory.

Exterior Dimensions - includes ride heights (http://www.chevellestuff.com/67stuff/67velle/exterior_dimensions.htm)

Front springs for 67 SS (http://www.chevellestuff.com/67stuff/67velle/front_springs.htm)

I assume the engine is in the car. Dumb question, but you never know.

One thought just to toss out there, if it is a show only car (ride comfort not a factor) or very occasional driver, you could use lighter springs to drop the front to GM specified height or have custom springs made. Just to hazard a guess here, but since GM doesn't make the springs anylonger I'd suspect that most restorations use TRW, Moog, or some other aftermarket supplier for springs as well as aftermarket suppliers for the ID tags. If the springs aren't the exact length, compressed size, etc., who'd know? Personally, I'd consider the height to be within specs more important than getting 'correct' springs. A judge (or just an admirer) might measure the height, they aren't going to be able to measure the spring itself.

Another thought is maybe the front end was tightened up with it sitting in the air when everything was replaced, this places a preload on the bushings thus holding the front end in the air. a very common mistake.

You might try to loosen up the bolts on the lower control arms and bounce the car several times, I would bet this will take a lot of the height out of it. Than tighten everything back up with the weight of the car on the ground and not in the air.

7-8 inches would be the height your talking about when a car is jacked up with the front suspension hanging.


Rocky