I'm stumped. I'm installing a set of Vansteel offset trailing arms and have hit a few snags.

First, I'm having problems attaching the e-brake cable. The position/angle of the cable bracket seems incorrect; the angle at which the cable housing attaches to the trailing arm does not align with the direction of the cable as it exits to connect to the e-brake. Additionally, routing the cable housing inside the TA appears as if it will interfere with the flexible brake hose and I can't see that routing the cable outside the TA will work either. Does anyone have experience with installing, routing, and attaching the e-brake with these arms?

Lastly, the TAs are interfering with the frame on the inboard side where the TAs exit the frame. I have not yet installed the shims or tightened the pivot bolts, but everything else is attached (shocks, half shafts, leaf spring, etc.). It looks like it will interfere with the frame even more if I were to put the car back on the ground.

Any suggestions or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Dave B
Carpinteria, CA
'65 coupe

 

Dave, sorry I cannot help, but I would suggest you also post this to the C-3 tech forum. They have a lot more users of the offset TAs than we do on C-2. And the chassis is pretty much the same in the rear corners.

Harry

 

Give Dan a call at VanSteel. He's always been very helpful to me.

800-418-5397

 

I would try a search on "Van Steel offset TA's" in the C2 section. It was only a short while ago that a member here from California who was setting his car up for the track had some comments about the fit of them on his car

Sorry I do not remember his username but I believe it had "race" in it.

Doug

 

I have offset TA's on my 64 roadster. I think mine are made by VBP, installed 12 years ago. I'm not sure if they are similar to what you have, but they have to be close.

Anyway, my frame was slightly modified in order to fit the TA. It appears, just like you are seeing, there was an "inside" fit issue. Therefore, they modified the frame. Here are some pics.

Driver's side:



Passenger side

 

Pretty serious mods

This is the next project I have hopes for but I will need a better fit than having to go to that extreme

I do believe there are quite a few midyears with offset TA's that have more or less been a bolt on minus the parking brake issue.

Doug

 

Call VanSteel. Good bunch!
I have a set of their offset TA on the 65 and they fit in the frame fine. I had a minor brake hose problem and they sorted it out. No issues now.

 

Thanks for the responses. I'll check on the C3 forum tonight; I did a search in this forum but couldn't find anything which addresses the issues I'm having.

I did contact Dan at VanSteel. He has been quite helpful. Here's what I've learned so far:

The e-brake requires a significant bend to the cable jacket. It is best to attach the jacket to the TA first then bend it in a tight "S" shape to align with the bracket on the frame. My concern about the angle of the bracket has been noted. He did not comment much on that but acknowledged that the cable does exit from the jacket at a significant angle as it routes to the e-brake. He assures me that it works. I'm an engineer and, as such, continue to be skeptical. I'll hook it up as he suggests and see what happens. Experience is much better than knowledge. He also indicates that even with the cable jacket and flexible hose routed behind the TA, he's never known of abrasion of the hose by the cable jacket.

As for the TA to frame interference, Dan assures me that with the shims in place, there should be adequate clearance. We shall see... He did send me an instruction sheet as well.

I have not yet had time to implement what he's suggested but, over the weekend, I hope to have resolved these issues and be back on the road soon.

That's all for now,
Dave B
Carpinteria, CA
'65 coupe

 

It took many beers and more time than I anticipated, but she's back on the ground and ready for the alignment shop.

I got the e-brake cables attached and working. The right side was a bit of a challenge but went together OK. The left side was even more challenging; the cable jacket still slightly inteferes with the brake hose. I ended up tweaking the brackets on the frame and on the TAs a bit to improve the alignment of the cable and its routing, also to help keep it away from the hoses. I plan to shake it down for a few miles and check it again. If the interference continues, I'll give it another try... or add a protective sleeve over the hoses or maybe switch to braided hoses.

The TAs went together OK once I followed the instructions supplied by Dan at VanSteel. I installed the shims to roughly set the caster and for now it seems to track OK, at least well enough to get to the alignment shop.

So with all said and done on this latest project, I installed a VBP composite spring and KYB shocks, an Eaton posi using my original 3.36 r&p, VanSteel offset trailing arms, adjustable strut rods, new metal brake lines, brake hoses, a set of grease-able u-joints, as well as some worn out items I had not planned on: an e-brake cable, new rear rotors, new spindles, a new transmission slip yoke, and a few other bits and pieces not listed.

The most important thing I discovered was during the installation of the composite spring. The mounting bolts supplied by the spring manufacturer were too long!!! They bottomed out in the threaded holes when I screwed them in. There was up to 1/4" of thread remaining before the bolts fully seated and engaged the lockwashers. Had I tightened them completely or used a power driver, the screws could have pushed right through the pumpkin.

All the hard stuff is now done! And the car's ride is awesome! Alignment is scheduled for Wednesday, then the fun begins!
WOO-HOO!

Thanks again for all the feedback and information

Cheers,
Dave B
Carpinteria, CA
'65 coupe

 

I had problems with my e-brake and brake lines as well, but finally muscled them in. What size wheels and tires are you running?

 

What size rim/tire is that on yours?? looks really good

 

Hi Dave,

This pix is a wheel size of 17X9.5 with a 5.5 backspace. The size is 275/40/17. I used this wheel and tire off my son's chevelle for fitment purposes, and it's slightly too large for my vette.

I'm planning to go with a 17X9 wheel with a 5.5 backspace and a 255/45/17 tire. I want some meat on my tires.

 

What wheel/tire combo are you planing for the front?

 

Probably close to the same, maybe 17X8 or 8.5, I'm not a big fan staggered wheels on a lowered car.

 

I'm going 17X8 4" backspacing front and 17X9 5" backspacing rear. I'm hoping that will give an even look front to rear from the side but allow bigger tires on the rear. I'm still pondering tire size. 225/55 front and 255/50 rear or 255/50 front and 275/50 rear. The wheels should be here in a couple weeks.

 

Hi Tom,

What wheel style are you going with? Your sizes sound about right.

My plan right now is to go with the cobra style wheels like the one you see in my pix. I'll probably order my wheels and then go to a local tire shop and have them fit the tires.

 

The first wheels I considered were the Halibrand replicas like in your pic. They look great! I ended up ordering some Minilite replicas. Minlites were fairly popular on American iron on the roadrace circuit years ago. I like the look and the are different from what everyone else is doing. This is a pic of what I ordered on a 69 Camaro. I have to tell you though. When I saw the pic of yours with the Halibrand I was wondering if I made the right choice. After 2 years of pondering I hope I am satisfied with my decision!

 

I like those too.

I've also been going back and forth for a couple of years. Most of what you see on mid-years are TT's and I want something different.

I'm 99% on these wheels, and hope to order within the next couple weeks.

 

vettegozzzz.
I sent you a pm.

 

Still running stock steel rims... my plan is to do something similar to your setup. Not sure which wheels I'm going with but probably similar to the wheel/tire size you're using... a little more time and $$, I'll be good to go. In the meantime, I'm blasting around and life is good!

Dave B