Ok guys, I getting to work on my resto job, and the body is about to come off in the next few weeks which means the chassis work can begin. I’ve been planning out what I want to do for the chassis/suspension setup.
First off, I think it is important to let y’all know what I want to use the Chevelle for when it is finally ready for the streets. The car will be used primarily on the street, going to and from shows and for some fun cruising on the backroads in the mountains here in Oregon. There is also an Autocross club here too, I would defiantly like to bring the ‘velle out to play on the Autocross course as well. I do not plan to bring the car to the strip frequently and drag it, although I will run the ¼ at least once to see what she will do. So essentially, I am trying to set the car up for Pro-Touring duty.

Here is what I have got planned:

Front Suspension:
*GlobalWest Tubular Lower Control Arms w/ Del-A-Lum Bushings P/N: CNR-42H
*GlobalWest Tubular Upper Control Arms w/ Del-A-Lum Bushings P/N: CTA-82A
*QA-1 Pro Coil System – Coilovers
*Tall Spindles
*Hotchkis Front Sport Swaybar

Rear Suspension:
*Currie CurrecTrac Upper Control Arms P/N: CE-7011D
*Currie CurrecTrac Lower Control Arms P/N: CE-7011L
*Hotchkis Trailing Arm Mount Braces
*QA-1 Stocker Star Shocks
*Hotchkis 2” Drop Springs
*Hotchkis Rear Sport Swaybar

Brakes:
*Baer Track 13” Brake System w/ Eradispeed Rotors ~ Front
*Baer Touring 12” Brake System ~ Rear
*Hydratech Brake Boost System

Rear End:
*Moser Complete 12 bolt w/ Eaton Posi unit

Please, let me know what you guys think about this overall chassis setup. Will it provide a nice Protouring setup? Anything you might change on this setup?

I'll chime in, since my current setup is very similar to what you are proposing, and I plan on changing my setup again to address some shortcomings/drawbacks with the setup. My current setup does work pretty good and would be very acceptable to most, but you can do better with currently available parts for the same amount of money (actually, probably less.)

If I had to do it all over again, with *currently* available off the shelf parts,

Front:
*GW lowers with Del-a-Lums with QA1 coilovers. If you want to save a few bucks over the coilovers, you can use standard springs and Afco spring pocket screwjacks at the expense of more difficult ride height adjustment, but keep in mind you should only have to adjust the ride height once.
*Stock spindles
*Adjustable upper arms with Howe tall balljoints from SC&C (taller balljoint for better negative camber curve, stock spindle doesn't have negative bump steer and steering ratio effects of the tall B-spindle), and the adjustable upper arms allow for easier and a greater range of adjustment than the GW arms-- you never have to worry about running out of shims.
*Spring rate will be up to your taste, but I would go for something in the 700+ lb/in range. I'm running 625's now (albeit with standard springs, not coilovers) and still want to go stiffer.
Note: ATS is coming out with hopefully a very promising forged aluminum spindle sometime shortly that will be set up for C5 brakes. It will be taller (better camber curve like the B-spindles) but have a stock steering arm location, so no bumpsteer or steering ratio issues like the B-spindles have. Based on preliminary geometry number it looks like the ATS spindles will be even better with the Howe tall balljoints.
*Sway bar, depends on the spring rate you choose, but likely in the 1"-1.125" range.

Rear:
*Like the Currietracs. Can't argue with the JonnyJoints. Use either stock rubber bushings or the Wolfe Racecraft spherical joints in the upper rear end.
*Frame braces, either Hotchkis or Edelbrock. The Edelbrocks allow more exhaust clearance than the Hotchkis pieces.
*Springs: shoot for about 150-165 lb/in. The rear of these cars don't need much spring rate to work.
*Sway bar: start out with none. If the car understeers too much, try a SMALL bar to start with (i.e. go to the dealer and pay $70 or so for the .875" stock F41 piece.) If you go too big on the rear bar the car will be very prone to corner exit snap oversteer... so start small and work up.

One thing to note is that the rear of these cars with the converging 4-link is not a very optimal suspension. You can make it safe and predictable using the parts you picked (and I recommended) but it will never handle as well as a *good* stick axle suspension, i.e. a 3-link. However a 3-link won't bolt in and will require cutting, welding, and fabbing, and nobody makes a kit. There are truckarm kits out there that are better than the factory converging 4 link, but my thoughts are they only get you "half way" there. If you're going to go to the trouble of cutting/welding to fit the truckarms in there, might as well go all the way with a 3-link.

Brakes: can't fault the Baers (good kits, I run them) but definately not cheap, although you can get some VERY good prices on group purchases (keep your eyes peeled!) If you wait a while and ATS comes out with their spindles, you can buy off the shelf C5 rotors/calipers pretty inexpensively. You can also put C5 brakes on your stock spindles easily cheaper than the Baers, see some old posts. Their Touring rear setup works well and isn't badly priced, and will be a good match as far as piston area for both the C5 brakes and the front Touring brakes (C4 PBR calipers) you posted.

One thing on brakes... save your money and go with solid rotors, but spring for 2-piece rotors if you can for the unsprung weight savings. I know what you must be thinking, as this recommendation is coming from a guy with slotted/crossdrilled rotors on his car. I fell into the "bling" trap when I bought them, mostly because I got them for a very attractive price through a friend's contact at Baer. Slotting/crossdrilling isn't really needed, it takes away from rotor mass and surface area which are good for both additional pad bite and heat sinking/cooling capacity, and they serve as stress risers for cracks. Yes, they look neat, but aren't the best choice from a performance standpoint. When my rotors are toast I'll be buying solid rotors to replace them, even though they'll look like big boring platters behind my wheels. If you must have a little "bling" factor on your rotors, slotted only would be preferred to slotted and crossdrilled.

I also love the hydroboosts. Very happy hydroboost user here. A manual setup would be better still for simplicity and pedal feel, but to have a truly effective manual braking system you need lots of brake piston area to generate adequate clamping power given the lower line pressures in a manual master cylinder system. To get a large piston area you're looking at expensive multi piston calipers, a-la Alcon, Baer 6S, Stoptech, AP Racing, Wilwood 6-piston, etc. This signifacantly jacks the cost up. It's cheaper to go with the smaller piston C4/C5 PBR's and increase line pressure to generate the clamp load (hydroboost) and the pedal feel will still be pretty darn good.

Please note in my opening lines about the parts recommendation I said "currently available." I say that because a few vendors out there are promising "cutting edge" A-body suspension kits coming to market very shortly, namely ATS (American Touring Specialties) and MWPE (Metal Works Performance Engineering.) Both these companies have very good reputations, and I expect good products, probably better than what is out on the market right now. If you can wait a few months I highly recommend you do so to see all the options you have. Marcus at SC&C may also have some new tricks up his sleeve possibly using the new ATS spindle, I know he was talking to Tito Jones (owner of ATS.) I'm holding off on upgrading my upgraded suspension (hehe) until this latest round of products comes to market, then I can make a better decision on what to go with. Hopefully the new products won't kill the resale value of my current combo too badly.

You also neglected a steering box. The new 600 series boxes are being highly recommended by guys for steering feel and quality. I'll be trying one soon probably, as my fast ratio 800 box is starting to weep at the pitman shaft.

Troy

I completely agree with Troys response-enough said.

Ok Troy. Thanks for the wealth of information. I will let that absorb and look into the products you have suggested, then hopefully I can present more questions :-)

Dennis, by you agreeing w/ Troy I feel even more confident in taking Troys suggestions seriously, heheh.

Anybody else have some insight??

I suppose I should have posted links to help in your search...

ATS (http://www.t56kit.com/site.html)
SC&C (http://www.scandc.com/)
MWPE (http://www.metalworksperformance.com/)

That's odd, ATALAA.

(all the above links are acronyms.) :p

I completely agree with Troys response-enough said.

I thought for sure you'd mention those Fatman spindles that you got us all excited about, rather than letting him use stock spindles and tall ball joints.

Haven't actually seen them yet. I got excited about the UMI arms; even spoke with the owner of UMI. They never came to be so am more cautious about recommending stuff that isn't even built now.

I would recommend the Fatman spindles if they were available.

Sounds like you are going big time!!! Any thoughts on using a double adjustable rear lower control arm to be able to square the rear. Oh, Dennis approved of a lower arm with with poly in it?

Dennis68, the UMI double adjustable lower arms are now adavailable from UMI, and the uppers Check my ealirer post on May 30 with pictures.
Contact www.umiperformance.com
691 Woodland-Bigler Hwy. P.O. Box 495 Bigler, Pa. 16825 Ph. 814-857-5400

Haven't actually seen them yet. I got excited about the UMI arms; even spoke with the owner of UMI. They never came to be so am more cautious about recommending stuff that isn't even built now.

I would recommend the Fatman spindles if they were available.

I posted this in another post, but thought I'd put it here too. I called Fatman today, they said they will have the new spindles in at the end of this month. :thumbsup:

Tim.

Speaking of recent interesting developments in A-body front suspension... here's the latest from Marcus at SC&C.

http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=1142

As I said, should be a great summer for us A-body guys.

Troy

Looks like I am going to have to hold off and wait and see what comes out in the next couple months and then reasses my suspension plans.

lucky dog!!! you got a connection to get baer big brake kit!!! i am jealous!!! from what i read wilwood brakes only take willwood pads bummer i liked them till i learned that and not sure my pockets are that deep for baer brakes!!!


brandon

Brandon, we put together a front and rear kit with Wilwood 13" and 12", 6 piston and 4 piston set up that can be done for less then $2300. Wilwood pads are cheap and easy to get once every few years.

Just an FYI-
We have tall spindles and steering arms on the shelves here. We can ship the same day on A body kits.

Tyler