All;

I'm trying to figure out why my ride height is off on just one wheel.

My right rear is about 5/8" taller than the other side.

I just replaced the spring bolt and rubber kit thinking this would solve it but it is still the same.

From the bottom of the spring bolt to the floor it is exactly the same on both sides. However if I measure from the top rear edge of the trailing arm to the floor the right side is about a 1/2" + taller????

Could the spring itself be weak on one side causing the car to have the uneven stance???

BTW the front wheels are very close in height from side to side.

Please help me understand the relationships of the rear suspension.

Thanks

 

Just curious, have you inspected the body mount bushings?

 

Rookie suggestion: Are both trailing arm-to frame bushings in good shape ? If so....after checking the tire heights and tire pressures to make sure everything matches...try tightening the spring bolt nut on the left rear about 1/4".........and try backing off the right rear spring bolt nut 1/4" to see if "things" will even out from the fender lip to the top of each tire. Also try parking in different locations to see if unlevel parking spots are causing the car to sit unlevel. Like the other member said "Body bushings can affect things".......but something "is up" with the different trailing arm heights.

 

Lets remember, drivers side; steer column and gear, brakes, pedal assy, battery and oh ya the driver. Springs do settle with time. Yes the drive train is offset to the passenger side which helps compensate the weight [approx. 1"]. You could r&r spring, do a 180 with it. Seen that work on a 68 BBC. T

 

That's why I'm a rookie......

BUT....................

maybe we can make 'em look level on the driveway......

then, we won't see 'em lean when we're sitting in them........LOL!

 

Maybe the BBC's are designed that way, then they are level under under torque and acceleration. LOL T Nice project doorgunner when are you going to be done? Last picts I saw showed new type of astro ventilation[No doors]. Keep us up to date.

 

My 70 was the same and I wound up the nut on the low side on the hanger bolt which corrected it but when I replaced the sacked out front springs I no longer needed to have the nut on the hanger wound up go figure. FWIW the PO had the rear spring re set by a local firm who still make and repair leaf springs to try and correct the issue but it didn't make any difference (I don't know if he tried reversing the spring).

 

Also, check the front sway bar to may sure it's evenly tensioned side to side.

 

Try backing it into the garage and then measuring and see if it switches sides.

 

Thanks for the reply's. This give me some starting points to ID what might be out of whack!

I did make sure to park is on a flat and level surface. BAsically if I sat my fat butt on the rear fender the 200 lbs made the car level.

Also my car is a big block with AC but the compressor and stuff under the hood is not there so I am missing some amount of weight on the front pass side.

I can't verify what springs are in the car yet but I do know they have been out of the car and they might be new from a frame-off in 1989.

Will report back over the holiday weekend.

Hope eveyone has a chance to get out and drive some

 

Ok, I've been thinking about this some and came up with this idea:

Set the frame on jack stands, high enough so the suspension hangs. Then measure from the floor to the rear corners of the frame, and also from the floor to the tops of the wheel openings. This takes the suspension out of the equation and if it's still leaning then it's body bushings or possibly a tweaked frame.

If its not leaning then its in the suspension.

 

That would narrow down the possibilities. I'm still wondering why the top of one trailing arm is over 1/2" higher than the other?

 

Zoomin

Like your idea! You got stands and I got pizza

 

I have a new tape measure........and if you really want precision----digital 12" machinist Calipers!

 

C'mon up! Three day weekend, we might getter done.

 

Just a couple clues...............


"1. One of the biggest concerns of the evaluation was the body panel fit in the front. The gap on one side of the hood you can fit your entire finger in while its tight at the bottom. He said this would not adjust out and it has to do with the front fender fit. Also several other gaps were questionable.
3. Rear vert deck lid was misaligned so much it would not latch on driver’s side.
9. Misadjusted driver’s side door release (i.e. I had trouble getting out of the car using the inside handle.
13. None of the glass was original (but it looked OK)
14. On the neighborhood test drive the steering has a lot of play and felt a little "rocky".
15. Tires were old (guy said you can't buy them anymore)
16 Drivers rear rim was a replacement
17 Vacuum issue with the wiper, they did not work at all and the grate/vent section was popped up the entire time.
18 Head lights popped up great but when high beams are turned on all four lights did not.
20 AC equipment all missing except for what was in the above pics
22. For not running in a year engine seemed to run OK and did not overheat (although we only ran around the local streets)
23 Side grate on passenger fender was not fit right (no idea what that was all about)
24. Frame looked good and generally clean under the car with no major engine or drivetrain leaks
26. Owner said car was found in a field in the 80's in really bad shape and that they did replace some of the body parts. Said they had pictures but could not find yet.
27. Tranny looked to be correct type by originality could not be determined."
28. Previous owner/restorer was Bubba.

WB

 

WB, I've ;learned a lot about my car since I posted that. Many of the questions have been answered and the car has turned out to be a real Gem IMHO.

I was able to get the original repair records from 1987-1991. In there it shows exactly what was replaced regarding the damage to the left front fender. The poor fit on the hood is still there.

Rear deck lid is fine now. just needed a little lube on latch.

Side glass turned out to be correct date code original.

Etc etc.

 

OK, thanks to Zoomin for the recommendation to put the car in the air on the frame to check the body and frame to ground.

Very happy and relieved to report that the frame and body check out just fine. With the car on the stands I had less than 1/16" variance from side to side. I was very happy about that.

While up in the air it was a good time to put some new shoes on.

Installed the Year One 17" Rally rims with the Firestone tires. Same as Zoomin did on his 70 LS-5. Used the Tredware white letter package and am very happy for the look and they seem to drive great

Once back down I still have the issue of the car sitting cockeyed SO, clearly I have a suspension issue.

What is it most likely to be, a rear spring gone bad or an issue with a front coil spring???

First suggestion was to flip the rear spring and see if it is still high on the same side. If so then I know its coming from the front. In that case it's new coil spring time.

PS. When I had the front tires off I looked at the bottom of the spring in the pocket. The end of the spring was in the same position on both sides.

Thoughts??

 

It looks great with the new wheels!

Did you discover why one trailing arm sits 1/2"+ higher than the other....being a rookie--I don't see/understand how a spring could cause that to happen.

Keep up the good work........and PICS!

 

Don,

I too agree your purchase has become a true gem! It cleaned up nicely, and the vin. find was awesome! Yes, I have been following along with excitement and made several attempts to help along the way, even though they went by ignored.....That's OK.

My reason for quoting your early on (first look at the car) post was that the list was long and revealed lots of questionable clues. As Alan71 mentioned, even a small hole drilled into the side louver invites skepticism. That's it, no insult, every car has a past. It would be very helpful if you could post some really good chassis pictures, surely the problem can be seen somewhere? Both front and rear, you'd be surprised how much the rear affects the front and visa versa!

I hope in the future you can try to get to know someone better before casting judgement on them from a couple posts on line.

I can tell you love Corvettes and have the bug! Me too!

You'll figure it out, just takes at least three times putting things back together. Standard Corvette repair procedures!

WB