tomvanparis

I've had my 69 coupe for 6 months. When I first got it, I noticed the lean on the car...the drivers side front sits about 1 1/2 inches lower than the passengers side.....in the rear, the passenger rear sits maybe 1/2 inches higher than drivers side. All these measurements are taken from the clearance differences with the tires and the wheel wells. I thought this would sort itself out after replacing all the springs, shocks, trailing arms, etc...Some of it went away, especially in the back.

Any ideas where to look for the problem? Thanks

patto

Does the car have factory shims which might have been needed originally but now causedthe car to lean?

terry82

how do the body mounts look ?

tomvanparis

Terry

What should I be looking for when I look at the body mounts? In terms of overall condition of the frame, there are no signs of rust in the frame, birdcage, etc.

tomvanparis

Patto

Hadn't thought of that....where are the shims located if they were put on when built?

427SIXPACK

Has it ever been hit ?

tomvanparis

Don't know if it has been hit. It has been repainted....frame is straight

terry82

if the frame mounts look rust free and look good how do the bushings look between the frame and body ?if they look good the car could have been body off for several reasons.check if you have more shims on one side .

Easy Mike

Passenger's side rear sounds like spring bolt adjustment. 1 1/2" at the front is a lot. Check #1 body mount on the driver's side.

69Vett

my 69 mounts were crumbling piles of Aluminum,
Bet yours are too ! and yes the OEM is a solid aluminum.

terry82

i am sure that you have already but,,,,,,,did you check the tire sizes?

tomvanparis

Good thought. I checked and they are all the same size

patto

Shims - body to chassis mount bolted through 2 bushes just behind the rear wheel. My 80 vet had 2 shims which seem to be contributing to the lean, we removed these and inserted in the other side. Unfortunately I can't say the 12mm (1/2 inch) correction was all down to the shims as we replaced the bushes and shocks etc while we were at it but I suspect it was part of the issue.

JRS81354

For your 69 Coupe, do you have a 7 Leaf or a 9 Leap rear spring? The 7 Leaf is Heavy Duty, The 9 Leaf is standard duty. You said you had them off. I assume you replaced the rubber spacer straps between each leaf and made sure the leafs themselves sit in the saddle under the diff correctly? If so, there is an adjustment that you can make. At the end of each leaf, you will see a bolt about 7"-9" long that is threaded at one end (bottom) and has a castle nut with a cotter pin through it. Adjusting that nut up or down will change the hieght on each side and vary the gap you see between the rear tire and the wheel well edge on each side. If you've replaced the leaf springs, it may take some time for the new springs to relax. You may even have to rig up a pull down on one side to help them do this.

JRS81354

I could send you detailed pictures of this if I knew how to insert a picture in the replies.

JRS81354

Actually if you go to "My Corvette Photos" you can see it.

tomvanparis

I replaced the rear leaf with the standard duty 9 leaf. Note that the lean issue I now have is the same as it was before I changed out all front and rear suspension. The info you gave me regarding the adjustability of the rear end with the castle nut is valuable as I think the car sits a bit hi in the back....I was going to wait and let it settle a bit before I make any adjustments.

I looked closer at the car yesterday and took additional measurements. The lean issue primarily is upfront with the drivers side lower than the passenger side. I measured the distance from the floor to the "apex" of all four wheel wells. In three of those measurements, it is exactly the same. The measurement in the passenger side front is about 1 1/4" more than the other three. I also measured from four frame locations.....right behind the front wheels left and right...and right in front of the rear wheels left and right and all four measurements are the same. I also measured the frontmost part of the frame (left and right side) and the measurements to the ground are the same. I'm thinking this is not a frame issue but rather a body mount issue???

tomvanparis

I looked at your photos....is it under the rear leaf spring rebuild? If so, is it the two bolts that are near the center of the spring that you mentioned?

JRS81354

No the adjustable bolts are at the ends of the rear leaf. There is another picture but not as clear. I just uploaded a better detail of the right rear wheel that shows the leaf and the bolt but I'm not sure how long it will take Corvette Forum to approve it.

You mentioned spacers. There are 8 body mounts on the 69. One in front of the door, behind the door, in the wheel well and behind the wheel on each side. Depending on how the body sits on the car, the number of spacers is dictated. The spacers themselves are round and made of aluminum and sit in the frame 'hole" and in addition there can be a number of square spacer/washers with the corners bent down. For a true resto where the body was off, you may find 1" wide masking tape that was used to hold the washers in place until the body was bolted down. Accessing the bolts is a process.

JRS81354

Look at the picture titled "New Trailing Arms".