For those of you on here that have 500+ hp under the hood what mods if any did you make to the rear suspension? I've been looking at the dragvette 6-link suspension kit. Is this something I really need to invest time and money in or can I just go with a stiffer composite monospring, etc...? I don't want to leave a trail of parts scattered across the road when I punch the throttle.

I'm not planning on dragging it but I'm sure I will make some passes and I'm sure I will get the itch to blow a few rice burner out of the water.

 

After doing the following, I haven't broken anything aft of the tranny since...

12-bolt IRS diff. w/3" shafts, solid spicer U's, Guldstrand modified HD stubs w/0.5" x 3" lugs, solid diff. cross-member locating kit, spherical camber struts, hi-nickel shock mounts...

My diff was built by Henry's back in the day, but Tom's is now the source to go to. http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/

Also, for drag racing it's a good idea to lower the camber strut rod mount to get the rods parallel to the 1/2 shafts. edit - For anything else, suggest lowering 1/2" below stock C3 height relative to the diff.

The DragVette setup adds safety with the loops and the upper struts will keep the rear tires pointed the right way should you break a 1/2 shaft.

If you're wanting improved geometry for better handling, and not putting slicks on it for the strip, you might want to look into Guldstrand's trick 5-Bar package.

Another thing that will reduce breakage is to stay away from heavy flywheels. I run a 15# piece.

Finally, here's a great article about beefing up the IRS for drag racing...

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/1...dup/index.html

edit - Forgot to mention that, at Guldstrand's advice, I still run a steel multi-leaf rear spring. It's an F41 stack with custom main leaf. I've got Daytona's up front, so I may be stiffer in the rear than necessary for the strip. Not sure, 'cause this baby's set up for the curves.

 

What shocks are you running?

 

I've run a couple of different sets of Bilsteins with great results, and can highly recommend them to anyone who just wants to bolt them on and go, but have stepped up to Koni double-adjustables to provide for precision tuning. With them, you can set front rebound soft to help weight transfer at the strip, and click them back to your "normal" setting for the drive home. I like them because you can really dial in handling...

 

TheSkunkWorks - What size wheel and tire are you running? Did you have any problems with clearances?

Do you have any pics of your setup? If I were to go with a set up similiar to yours can you give me a ballpark figure as to what all cost I am looking at.

 

Good info, thanks.

 

Not running any right now. The car is buried in storage waiting of me to finish up an engine build-up, tranny rebuild and the collection of other parts needed to get it road worthy again, so pics would be difficult. Other than the struts, spring bolts and locating plates, it doesn't look that much different than stock. Oh, it is lowered to Power Book recommended road race prep heights.

Bigger tires would fit, and have been on it, but the 245's on 8.5 x 15 Western Superlites (their 10 spoke version of the Mini-lite) has been the best handling combo it ever had on it, so far. After installing VanSteel's offset TA's, if the fitment math works out I'd prefer 255's on 9" up front and 285's on 10" in back (that's inside the fenders), but I've really got to watch tire diameter. CCW has a new modular prototype out that I really like, and I'd like to go with some g-Force T/A KDW's, but those BFG's don't come in a wide variety of sizes, so I could well end up on something else.

I've heard that the Koni's sometimes require clearancing at the front frame, but I've had no problems there myself.

It's been a while since I invested in the 12-bolt and the other stuff already done. To get where I'm going, it would easily take $5,000 plus in today's money. Inflation...

...btw, just ordered VB&P's rear camber strut bracket #52000B (fits '63-'79) for repositioning the rods for 0* rear camber change. Looks so much better than blocking or using some chopped up POS. $109.95 minus 10% CF member discount.