Making my 67 Belvedere handle

[macdiesel]

I have a 67 BelvedereII with a 440-a833. The guy that put it together was obviously making it a drag car since it has .820" torsion bars, 6 left/7 right spring packs and a plastic summit fuel cell. Other than that the suspension is stock. Since our track is closed for the foreseeable future I want to make it a cone killer (autocross). I need a bit of guidance to get there though.

Here's my plan so far:
Torsion Bars: FFI 1.12" (in the mail now:grin
Upper Arms: probably CAP since theirs have adjustable spherical rod ends for just $315. (the Hotchkis ones would awesome but not for $700)
Lower Arms: CAP tubulars w/ FFI greasable pivot pins
Strut Rods: CAP Dynamics; FFI and MRE both have really nice ones but the CAP and Hotchkis ones eliminate the need for bushings. CAP's are $100 cheaper...
Sway Bars: Need input here. There are so many different ways to go.
Shocks: Same with the sway bars... need input
Bushings: probably the rebuild kit from FFI unless anyone knows of a better kit
Leaf Springs: there is so much out there for drag racing, what about for handling?

There are a few things to fix in the process too. My back tires are 255s and rub the fenders when I turn. I need to move the engine forward to get clearance from the center link. To do that I need a thinner electric fan or a flex fan. (right now I have 1/4" between fan and water pump. The fan is 3.5" thick.)

Tell me what you think.

 

[macdiesel]

I wonder how Calvert mono leafs would do. Their site says they have a 200-225 lbs spring rate.

 

[CFster]

http://www.reillymotorsports.com/

Have on on my car and it transformed it.

 

[1badstroker]

Pick up the September 2009 Hot Rod. Hotchkis has put together a package for the B-Body. The car they use as a test mule is a 1967 Coronet. It can get a little expensive. The car has a nice stance and performed pretty well.

 

[696pack]

Actually, old B bodies handle pretty well from the factory when things are fresh and new. It is hard to beat H.D. torsion bars, rear leaf springs, and sway bars. Some good shocks with the things listed above will make a big difference.

It is hard to compare a 40 year old 3800-4200 lb. car to a new, 3000 lb. car with 4 wheel independant suspension that was designed by a computer.

You can throw a lot of money at it with after market componants, but for my way of thinking the dollars are not justified by the difference in what you end up with. But if you want to chase a dream and have lots of money to spend have at it.

 

[rolling_Thunder]

Torsion Bars:
Upper Arms: Magnumforce racing is pretty good
Lower Arms: I'm a fan of boxed stock arms
Strut Rods: CAPs are scary... I was not impressed with them
Sway Bars: Go with a 7/8" rear bar and a stock front - your torsion bars are huge and anything bigger than stock up front would be a waste
Shocks: Edelbrock IAS
Bushings: PST poly kit -
Leaf Springs: I like the stock XHD springs from Hemi cars 6/7 staggered

Why do you need to move the engine ? unless soemone put the centerlink on wrong it should clear just fine - are you using an aftermarket oil pan ? if so there's the problem - don't move the engine - fix the pan selection.

Also - subframe connectors should be first on your list. Also Torque Boxes help.

 

[scotts74birds]

There are also lo-buck options. A simple handling tuned alignment can produce amazing results. I dont know what all is adjustable in your car, but this is what I have done. Decrease caster, the less caster the less the car "wants" to go straight, think of shopping cart wheels, helps in cornering. Increase positive camber a degree or two. This is the tilt of the wheel in relation to the ground. You want the bottom of the wheel a tad out from the top of the wheel, 1-2deg to start. Toe, 1-2deg toe out. Now this is a real handling recipe, and will probably cause some extra wear, but you said cone killer! Try an autocross or solocross website for more tips. Good luck

 

[scotts74birds]

MY BAD!! Negative camber!! Sorry!

 

[PT64POLARA]

Sway Bars and shocks

I have Firm Feel bars on my car and they are great. Super nice hardware and brackets. Stay away from Addco. They are fine if you are on a budget, but if you can spend the extra go with Firm Feel.

For shocks, you can't go wrong with Bilsteins. KYB are fine for a budget build, but they are a little stiff. Edelbrocks are suopposed to be pretty good.

For steering, go with the Firm Feel stage 2 box and fast ratio pitman. I have installed about 5 of there boxes and with the new pitman it is amazing.

Hope I have been some help. I used to work at XV motorsports, so I know about getting these things to handle. And if you are looking for a package deal, XV's level 1 is great!

 

[macdiesel]

I finally got the new torsion bars installed. I stepped up from 0.67" /6 to 1.12" FFI bars. That's going from 72 lbs/inch to 270 lbs/inch if your keeping track. It's like driving a completely different car. On top of that, my back tires don't during cornering anymore. They used to rub the fenders if I took an on ramp at more than 20 mph. The other day I took one at around 50 mph and no rubbing. Yep you heard right, the light torsion bars were causing my BACK tires to rub. Crazy huh? I had it aligned and thought about having all the crazy adjustments put in there, but I do more cruising than anything so I went with more tire saving settings.

 

[696pack]

I finally got the new torsion bars installed. I stepped up from 0.67" /6 to 1.12" FFI bars. That's going from 72 lbs/inch to 270 lbs/inch if your keeping track. It's like driving a completely different car. On top of that, my back tires don't during cornering anymore. They used to rub the fenders if I took an on ramp at more than 20 mph. The other day I took one at around 50 mph and no rubbing. Yep you heard right, the light torsion bars were causing my BACK tires to rub. Crazy huh? I had it aligned and thought about having all the crazy adjustments put in there, but I do more cruising than anything so I went with more tire saving settings.

Yep, as I stated in my above post factory type FRESH H.D.componates make a big difference. Now if you add Hemi suspension rear springs and some GOOD shocks you will be happy.:grin::yes::santa::HappyNewYear:

 

[macdiesel]

That's the plan. Pretty much EVERY component in my suspension sans the non wear items needs to be replaced. I'm just going as budget allows and parts become available. Right now I have to replace some wheel studs because one fell out of the hole so I'll do fresh bearings while I'm at it. After that its DEFINATELY ball joints and bushings. These have had it. Then with any luck I'll get to pay some attention to the rear. I'm thinking about using those swoopy new sliders from Mancini instead of shackles. Anyone had experience with them?