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I've purchased a lot of components from Vansteel(a Forum Vendor) for years. They have continued to do R&D on the C2/C3 chassis over the years and offer updates and upgrades to many of the original components. They have a variety of strut applications available here... all are well made and most have years of experience/use behind them. I've also found the folks at Vansteel to be a great resource for technical advice on any suspension upgrades you may be considering.
I installed a Smart-Strut system on my '73 convertible I purchased from Guildstrand back in the 90's when I was autocrossing it regularly and was very pleased with the results. I chose the Vansteel Smart Struts for my '63 when doing a body-off restoration. It is well engineered and very similar to the system I have on my '73.
Smart Struts
The advantage of Smart Struts over adjustable strut rods is that the Smart Struts lower the center point of the strut rod under the differential. By lowering this point, you are putting less side load on your bearing assemblies and you will get a more even tire wear. This kit includes 2 adjustable strut rods, new strut rod bracket and camber bolt kit. You will have to use your old hardware to mount it. A must have for autocrossing.
I still have the stock strut rods on my 65. I was also thinking about the adjustable ones. I did a little research and decided on Global West like Factoid.
I have not purchased them yet so this thread is very timely.
I had poly bushings installed the last time I had them out and the bushings fell part.
also, why doesn’t anyone make these with rubber bushings? I have adjustable struts on my car now and the strut bracket looks like the ones I’m seeing for all the advertised smart struts. Can I risk just buying a set of adjustable struts and figure they will fit my bracket or am I better off buying the complete smart strut kit?
thanks again all, I’m ready to pull the trigger, just haven’t decided on which ones.
Keith, the Smart Strut bracket is different than the C2 or C3 bracket. It places the inboard pickup point about 1" lower, which puts the strut rod very nearly parallel to the half shaft. This is what results in about 1 degree of camber change throughout the suspension travel. The lower pickup point also requires a different length strut rod, so they need to work together.
Both the Van Steel and the Ecklers struts use poly bushings? That seems like a really bad idea.
Since the struts experience twisting forces, I'd think that, at a minimum, the jam nuts which hold the camber setting would be constantly working loose.
But beyond that, haven't we seen enough examples of poly bushings crumbling to dismiss their usage... forever?
If you must have high-zoot rear camber rods, buy some which use Teflon-lined Heim joints.
Jim
Last edited by jim lockwood; 06-07-2019 at 08:48 PM.
Both the Van Steel and the Ecklers struts use poly bushings? That seems like a really bad idea.
Since the struts experience twisting forces, I'd think that, at a minimum, the jam nuts which hold the camber setting would be constantly working loose.
But beyond that, haven't we seen enough examples of poly bushings crumbling to dismiss their usage... forever?
If you must have high-zoot rear camber rods, buy some which use Teflon-lined Heim joints.
I installed these http://www.globalwest.net/corvette-r...71-1972-1.html
This is an absolute winner: the attachment points wheel/rear-end are not parallel so any bushing system is permanently under varying twist load causing premature wear and sloppy suspension geometrics. With the heim ends that problem is gone. Somewhere I read that the lack of rubber/poly bushings on the Heim ends causes some extra noise/harshness. I have probably one of the quietest C2s on earth and I did not notice anything of that kind, while behaviour in turning feels so much more solid and considerably improved.
Last edited by alexandervdr; 06-08-2019 at 09:53 AM.
Definitely the way to go. I am also running HD adjustable strut rods with Heim joints in my 67 BB. I bought them back in 2009 from Year One. I also went with the mono-leaf fiberglass rear leaf spring. The strut rods work great. C.J.
Went with the Global West strut rods and Van Steel lower shock mounts. Went on trouble free, look great, very happy with all the advice and the products.
Not a very good endorsement to claim you continue to do all of this product development, and other Companies sell a better operating system, and I did this post without mention of names!
Has anyone tried using the RideTech R-Joints on the strut ride ends instead of heim joints. Thinking of trying them, only drawback is the cost.
Below pulled from RideTech web site;
R-Joints are a revolutionary rod end design that provides low friction, full range articulation, long service life, lateral stability and quiet operation.
-- Articulates in 3 planes 360 degree axial rotation and 30 degrees of total lateral rotation.
-- 17-4 investment cast stainless steel housing with rolled threads.
-- Polished stainless ball and RTX10 composite cage provides consistent low friction movement.
-- Special RTX10 composite cage needs NO lubrication.
-- Self cleaning design…movement not affected by ANY water, grit, dirt, or debris.
-- Spring loaded closure keeps mechanism tight and rattle free for LIFE!
Has anyone tried using the RideTech R-Joints on the strut ride ends instead of heim joints. Thinking of trying them, only drawback is the cost.
Below pulled from RideTech web site;
R-Joints are a revolutionary rod end design that provides low friction, full range articulation, long service life, lateral stability and quiet operation.
-- Articulates in 3 planes 360 degree axial rotation and 30 degrees of total lateral rotation.
-- 17-4 investment cast stainless steel housing with rolled threads.
-- Polished stainless ball and RTX10 composite cage provides consistent low friction movement.
-- Special RTX10 composite cage needs NO lubrication.
-- Self cleaning design…movement not affected by ANY water, grit, dirt, or debris.
-- Spring loaded closure keeps mechanism tight and rattle free for LIFE!
Think about it this way..... what problem do they solve that you are currently having? If none, then there is likely to be no advantage to using them.
If you need rod ends, teflon-lined rod ends work just fine.... low friction, self cleaning, large range of motion, a proven design.
The C3 bracket effectively does the same thing as this block from Global West that lowers the C2 bracket mounting points. The thing is, with under car exhaust, the Global West block doesn't fit, while replacing the factory C2 bracket with the factory C3 bracket does fit.
Think about it this way..... what problem do they solve that you are currently having? If none, then there is likely to be no advantage to using them.
If you need rod ends, teflon-lined rod ends work just fine.... low friction, self cleaning, large range of motion, a proven design.
Jim
I'm with Jim....Im sure the Ride Tech pieces are nice, but I dont know that they're fixing any real issue....especially in street applications. The Global West rods as delivered have been around forever and I've never heard of anyone having issues with them.
06-06-2019, 10:20 AM
adjustable strut rod recommendations
