Hi Guys,
i'm new to the sight and I have a few ?'s. Not sure if it pertains so much to Pro Touring, but handling is handling and I'd like my car to handle as good as possible.....given the circumstances.
1st off...it's one of the other A- bodies....a '66 GTO that has been back-halved. (9" ford 4-link, tubbed/ 10 point cage, etc).
I currently have a '70 Monte Carlo booster, master cylinder and prop-valve along w/ a disc set up from a '69 Chevelle (including spindles).
this car will be used for drag racing and driven on the street as well.
i'd like to get rid of the booster and convert to manual brakes, along w/ upgrading the control arms to a tubular design and upgrade the brakes and steering box all at the same time. I'd given the Global West a-arms and b body spindle swap some thought....but after poking around on this sight ,it seems there may be better options out there and that swap is rather dated. I'm limited to small 15" radials on the front. I'm aware that cornering will be marginable given the wheels and tires on the front, but this sloppy, stock, 15 turn steering box has to go. I'd like some suggestions on upgrading my front susp/brakes/steering and figured there is a lot of knowledgeable GM A body fanatics right here. Let the ridiculing/suggestions begin....and thanks for your help in advance!

The stock '69 single-piston 11" discs are sufficient for most kinds of driving... those won't be a problem on the street or strip, as long as you have good pads and rotors. Bigger is only better if you push it to the point of experiencing fade. Normal street driving, or a quick blast down the 1/4-mile won't be a problem. There is also no problem with them fitting 15" wheels.

To eliminate the booster with those brakes, you will need a master-cylinder with a smaller bore... not sure what MC to use though, as this depends on your rear brakes also (disc or drum?)

If you're looking at a taller spindle setup, the SC&C "tall balljoint" setup with the stock spindles is a great value. This will help allow more weight transfer by allowing more droop, reduce bumpsteer by ~85% from stock (B-spindle doubles factory bumpsteer) and help with things like tire-wear (aside from the obvious handling improvements)

For lower A-arms, I'd recommend SC&C, but they might be back-ordered for a while. Theirs are the only ones that change geometry from stock... they move the lower balljoint forward slightly, helping provide more positive caster. Others like Global West keep stock geometry, and the only benefit is added strength.

For upper A-arms, SC&Cs adjustable units are a great value, but for drag racing they may not be ideal as they have no curve to them to allow maximum droop, and they also have no provision for a bumpstop. If you go with the tall balljoints, you will need to buy an upper arm that has the balljoint plate at an angle meant for a "tall" spindle. Arms meant for stock spindles will put the balljoints at an angle near its pivot limit, which could eventually lead to failure of either the balljoint or A-arm. Also, make sure you look for something designed for at least 5* positive caster. Stock arms limit you to about 1.5*, and many tubular arms on the market do not improve anything but strength.

For steering, I'd look into the Jeep Grand Cherokee swap... the search-function is your friend. :)

The rear brakes are currently 11" drums....wouldn't bother me to change them to the Explorer set-up w/ parking brake drum in the center.
Thanks for the advise.....anyone else have any suggestions for control arms?

WOW....100 views and no more input........:boring:
I thought I'd have a few more interesting suggestions....
Maybe not as enthusiastic as I first anticipated, OH Well ! :sad: :sad:

A lot of people read the posts and just agree. The suggestions that Derek posted are probably the best route to take, and I believe a lot of those 100 views would agree.

Yup- Listen to Derek. Not much more to add unless you want to re-do the whole chassis.

+1 For Derek he is my hero! haha In all seriousness though how fast do you plan on going in the quarter? That might affect what you wanna do brake wise. Certainly you don't need 6 piston calipers but if you are running an 11.0 at 125mph you might want some decent brakes to haul you down so that might help you decide what do as far as getting rid of the rear drums and or better brakes up front as well. I will second dereks suggestion on the grand cherokee power steering box upgrade as I plan to do that on my 67.

I agree with Derek too! :p You can actually get suprisingly good handling out of a ProStreeter if you tweak it right. Good front end geometry is still a huge help. Raising the roll center with tall ball joints or taller spindles will reduce body roll without having to add stiff front springs and reduce the need for a larger front swaybar. The SPC adj. arms actually work really well on drag cars,we have some clients running in the 8`s with em. There are two caveats though,you should run them with tall spindles or tall ball joints to add clearance and you have to run travel limiting straps or cables from the frame to the lower arms,which many drag cars have anyway.
In the rear the 4 link will work well IF you set up your axle locator properly (NOT like most drag cars). If you have a diagonal track bar you`ll want to get rid of it and go to a panhard bar. If you have a stubby,non level drag race type panhard bar get rid of that too. Fab up a new one as long as you possibly can and perfectly level at ride height. Somewhere between 13"-18" high seems to work well for A bodys. The nice thing about this is that the car will work just as well in a straight line too! Hoosier and MT both make ProStreet sized performance radial tires that will help handling a LOT. A set of adj. rate shocks would make a big difference too. Then you can set the car up differently for track and street just by turning a few knobs.
11" front brakes are fine for what you`re doing. Upgrade them with Perf. Friction or Hawk pads and they`ll work even better. Be careful with rear disc swaps,some of them (like the Explorer discs) are a lousy hydraulic match to most GM front brakes. You end up having rear wheel lockup problems (especially with tall rear tires),then you need an adj. prop valve to dial them back and by the time you do they don`t work any better (sometimes not as good!) as the old drums. Personally I`d keep the power brakes,they`re giving you a lot more PSI at the calipers than you can generate with your leg alone and they`re making the marginal brakes adequate. If you don`t have enough vacume to run em upgrade to a hydraboost and get another 40% of pressure at the calipers and make the small brakes work even better. Just my take on things... Mark SC&C

Thanks for the replys guys. this is the type of responce I was hoping for. Dereks replys, although obviously well though out....were kinda vague (left me hangin' on the UCAs) Not real sure where to find the aformentioned specs. Mark on the other hand was very specific on his reccomendations. That's what I'm needin'! Thank you EVERYONE for taking the time to look and to reply. It's greatly appreciated :yes:.

Any of you guys ever had any thoughts on the "Electric master cylinders"?
I just ran across them and they seemed like a viable alternative to the hydro boost. I've had a lot of experiences w/ the hydro boost systems as I was a school bus mechanic for 11 years. I'm not to partial to the extra hoses in the engine compartment though.

BTW...as for the speed at the track, I'm workin on a new CV-1 headed 468 traditional Pontiac V-8 that should push this bohemoth DEEP into the 10's.
Thanks again Guys

Glad to help Brad. :) I don`t have any experience with the electric boosters so I can`t help much there but the hydraboosts can be done neat and tiny with a little effort like this `71 SS454. The performance valved hydraboost units have much better pedal feel and modulation than the older GM units too. Mark SC&C

http://www.scandc.com/images/DirksChevelle2.JPG

Yeah...WAY to much goin' on on that inner fenderwell for my taste. I could however run the hoses inside the fender for a more uncluttered fenderwell.
Any thoughts on mating the TRZ uppers w/ the SC&C lowers?

I'll just parrot the Derek's info and say :thumbsup: to your Pro Street!! :)

I am going to use a e M/C from this place. My motor makes close to zero vacuum. It will deliver if I remember 21 hits @ 2500psi before the M/C motor needs to recharge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


http://www.abspowerbrake.com/electrichppage.html

Another simple route for master cylinder is a mid 60's corvette one. The one used for a 4 wheel manual disc. Can't remember the part number. That's what I'm running. I've got stock single piston front discs and wilwood drag discs on the back. No issues on the street or the track. As far as skinnies up front take a look at the Mickey Thompson SR's . They offer a 18" tire that's 6" wide. I'm running a 8" wide on the front of mine in 18" now. Then 31x18x18 in the back.

Another simple route for master cylinder is a mid 60's corvette one. The one used for a 4 wheel manual disc. Can't remember the part number. That's what I'm running. I've got stock single piston front discs and wilwood drag discs on the back.If he's running rear drums, that won't work... been there, done that, failed miserably. ;) I had a MC go bad on me about a month before I did my first 4-wheel disc swap, and decided to try the disc/disc master with adjustable prop valve on the car with disc/drum setup since I was going to swap later anyway... rear drums locked up way too easily, and the prop valve didn't have enough adjustment to reduce rear line pressure to drive it safely.

JBlack - The Corvette will work fine for 4 wheel discs but I'm running an 11" drum on the rear and, as Derek stated, it won't well w/ drums. It is, however another avenue that I could take to gain room for the new cylinder heads. I'm already running the S/R radials...33x21.5x15 rear and 26x8x15 on the front.

oops/...my bad...thought you were looking to go to a 4 wheel disc set up!