Yeah, long time no see, guys. After a long hiatus, much frustration, and just a LITTLE bit of time (about 1.5 months, lol), I have just HALF of the suspension rebuild done. The rear. This sunday will be the start of me working on the front, and I hope and pray it won't be as nightmarish as the rear was, because I just don't think I can handle anymore right now....



Anyway, for those that don't know, I ordered the VBP kit that has the smart struts, rear cross member mounted glass leaf spring with adjustable stiffness, cross member support disks, new bilstien shocks front and rear, bushings all around, alignment shims, idler arms, mig welded upper and lower control arms, with mounts for a leaf spring in the front, also with adjustable stiffness, and a few other goodies.

Long story short, this kit pretty much replaces everything...er, ever moving part, of the suspension. If some of you guys are thinking of buying it, just know that this is NOT a do it yourself kit, this is a do it YOURSELVES kit. Work on this alone, and brace yourself for massive quantities of frustration. Ask me how I know. After recruiting an extra set of hands, this went along very smoothly. Also, the instructions kinda suck. They give you a vid, but it only goes over the patented products, like the smarts struts, leaf spring mounts, etc. And even then, the instructions aren't all that great. And the written instructions are a joke. The vid and written instructions are more for seasoned mechanics, not juniors like myself, which is something that needs to be addressed, if it's being marketed towards do it yourselfers, like myself.


Anyway, that asside, heres some pictures and some questions.


Pretty sexy, huh? I'd do em...


Is this too close? It seems like the spring is too close to the wheels, and it also seems like the bolt is too close to the ground.....anyone else do this sorta kit, and notice this?


Another pic, same question.



Should the leaf spring warp like this between the 2 mounting points?



Seems like it needs some support in the middle there...

'


Anyway, thanks for the help from those of you that provided it, and once the front is done, more pics will come.

 

once you get the alignment and ride height set you can cut the extra off of the bolts . i think the spring does that in the middle but i'm not positive

 

Yes the spring will do that in the middle of the spring. Mine does.

 

Wow Kevin, we should compare notes. I am about the same stage as you in about the same time. It took me about a 1.5 months for me to do my rear (I've worked alone thus far). I had to drop the diff, replace the cover and seal. I have a few posts on that issue as well as the spring. I don't agree with what you said with the directions. I am by no means a mechanic, either. I've had my run-ins with the project, but most are the vette's design issues, not VBP. Like the d*** trailing arm pivot bolt. What a PITA! Enough of that.

My rear spring has has that same "bowing" as yours does. I was a little concerned with it as well. My bolts are also close to the ground and if I would get a flat, they would likely drag. I haven't ironed out the ride height yet, but I will most likely be cutting them once it is.

Something I got a lot of in my other post was check check CHECK the spring block bolts. What I mean is the 4 bolts that are on each mounting block that directly hold the spring. A lot of the guys have switched out the original ones for longer ones to put a nut on the other side of the aluminum block. I plan on seeing if loctite will suffice myself.

As far as the front goes, it was a cake walk compared to the rear. I had the suspension stripped within a day. I currently have everything new in, minus the sway bar and spring. I do have a problem with my bolts holes lining up for my carriage bolt on my spring block. I called up VBP yesterday about this and he said that working the carriage bolt around with a mallet should fix the problem. He also said don't worry about the carriage bolt because it's a grade 10 aircraft bolt and can take the abuse. It is close to working, so I feel this is viable. If you need any tips or tricks, feel free to drop me a pm.

 

Cool, greg. What I was talking about with the directions was, the video. If you got it and watched it, it was about as informative as those TV shows onb spike, that show you how to do these things. Which, they don't, lol. It STARTS the install, then cut scene, and voila, DONE!!!


Never mind the fact that the rear leaf doesn't just line right up, you have to realy work with it to get it to one, line up with the holder blocks, then two, pull or push it even harder to get the two bolts on the ends in. Ultimately, I had to to use a jack, which the lovely video assured me I wouldn't have to.


Anyway, I'm over all of that.



Only question I have now is....if I don't want side pipes....where the hecks does the exhaust go? It's gonna be 2.5 inch pipes...and I don't really see 5 inches of space anywhere in there, now.

 

same problem i had (have i should say, i havnt tested it out yet) what ive done is wrap the spring in high temp header wrap, have about a 1-2 inch air pocket between that and the muffler, and wrap the mufflers directly under it.

reason i say i havnt tested it yet is because i just have straight pipes that dump out behind the tranny Xmember right now (it sounds like a good idea at the time, but after a couple days of driving like that, it gets real old real fast)

 

Big or small block?



I had actually thought about something like that, with glass packs or something, curve them out the side, so they dump just in front of the rear wheels.....

I'd really love side pipes, but that simply isn't in the budget for me right now, and I had to cut the old exhaust out....and I don't want to be not driving it until I have the 1,200 or so it would cost for headers and side pipes...



Anyone else done this? Exhaust exit in front of the rear wheels?

I've seen it on race cars, and on some higher end stock sports cars....so I'm fairly certain it can be done...but is heat on the tires and issue with this, and will it get my wheels dirty on pretty much a constant basis?

 

Yeah, Kevin, I don't have the DVD. I only have the paper directions. I like your analysis of the DVD though. Haha, I watch those shows on spike (have since I was a little kid, back when it was The Nashville Network. Good memories I guess) but for the past 6 years or so it is just: "Hey! welcome to ____! Where going to do _____! Yeah! And it's done. Isn't that simple? Here's another commercial. You know, the one you just saw 5 times in the last 10 minute commercial break." But I diverge...
Not quite what I did. I wrapped my exhaust pipes because VBP recommended it. I believe my exhaust is 2.5" and I have decent clearance. Unless you have lowered the car courtesy of the bolts, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. If you did lower it, maybe try a stiffer setting on the spring to keep the exhaust from dragging. Or sidepipe the vette. That would work. Many guys have done it too.

 

Hey guys am I nuts or somthing? But where the heck is the spring center mounting bracket??? And don't they have a stack of spacers on top of the spring? I have been looking at this for a while and keep sayin NA its my eyes? I have VBP spring and about to install after parts come back from Zips (someday??). Just asking this maybe a sring set up I'm not aware of. Thoughts??? Thanks

sgm2004

 

its a different set up. this is my set up, and probably what your thinking of.




i wanted to do headers and sidepipes my self, but i didnt want to risk snapping the exhaust manifold bolts off in the heads.

 

Yeah the one in Kevin's post is of a dual mount rear spring. It's adjustable in spring rate by moving the blocks away or towards the center. Son no worries. You're aren't crazy today

 

Thanks for setting me straight oh by the way your PIC helped me to get a Idea where I'm going with mine. Thanks again

sgm2004

 

So, any thoughts or comments on having my exhaust dump out just in front of the rear wheels, with glass packs, or something?

 

you might run into ground clearance problems if you try to run the pipe under the frame to exit out the side. if you just want a temperary exhaust untill you get the side pipes heres what i did: right after the tranny xmember i bolted the mufflers on with a coupling and clamps. yes it scrapped all the time but the mufflers were garbage anyway and i just needed them till i got the sidepipes.(it was a temperary plan when i did it but i ended up driving like that for over a year. it's funny how those temperary fixes can end up staying on the car for that long)

 

Hmmmm......




Well, I'm still not sure what to do....


I have summit headers on now.....which, if I end up not using them, I guess it's not a HUGE waist, they only set me back 100 bucks, total.

I have been trying to avoid side pipes....I mean, I love them and all, but from what I have read, they are not an easy install, and, of course, they cost quite a bit. Plus, I SWEAR they kill ground clearance as well, as they hand lower than the frame, from what I have seen. I don't want to have a car that I can;t drive in most areas, without worries. i don't want to break out in sweats when crossing rail road tracks, or going in and out of driveways that have a bump when they connect to the road.


I want an exhaust that is 2.5 inches, and allows for the maximum amount of ground clearance. Going out the rear is ruled out, the VBP smart struts sit too low, really, and it can't go between the spring and the crossmember, the spring sits to high for it, due to it being much flatter than the old 9 leaf, and plus, the half shafts are pretty much in the way.


A thousand ideas run through my head, but most of them are custom, which equals $$$$.



Like, what if I dumped them out the side, in front of the rear tires, OVER the frame, meaning, cut away some of the fiber glass, have the pipe sit on the frame, and then have a custom exhaust tip that is taller and droops down, to cover over the visible frame, fitted the the hole cut out of the fiber glass? Works in theory, and on paper....I drew a little mock up.....but how to go about doing this?


And in the end, would it cost just as much as side pipes?


Thing is, I can't do my own exhaust. I have to take it to a shop to do it. I have no way of accurately bending the pipes without kinking them, etc. I have already had the exahust done once, but it did not work with the new suspension
So now, after the suspension is done, I have to get the exhaust done again, before I can even drive the thing, lol.

 

Or just flip the bolt in the opposite direction with the excess pointing upward- I don't think there's anything up there in the way... Daddybugs out.

 

Just replaced my multi rear spring with a single VBF and it arcs downward from the middle like a bow. That doesn't look right to me- but that's just my opinion. I totally rebuilt my 78 with these parts minus the strut arms. I will try to send some picts of mine...Daddybugs out.

 

Well, here we go again....



Car is on stilts, front tires are off, and everything is ready to go. I drowned everything in WD40.........time to start the front. I got today and tomorow, a fridge full of beer for the tough times, and you fine folks to guide me. I actually think I'm gonna be OK....I hope.


Actually, after taking a gander....the front doesn't look complicated at all...plus the directions for the front are FAR superior to what I had to go by for the rear.


Only thing that I am worried about are those idler arms things.....I have no idea what they are for, but once the upper and lower control arms are done, I guess it'll be time to LEARN!


See you guys in about.....9 hours.

 

The dual mount system is different than a standard composite spring. As the outer part of the spring is loaded upward it loads the center part of the spring in the downward diretion. This is due to the two mounts being pivot points and not a fixed mount (i.e. like stock). I love the sytem, but it does take some tuning to get it setup to your liking.

 

OK, well, it didn't take me very long to need help did it?



I have the shocks out, the calipers off, the sway bar off, and the nuts loosened on the lower control arm, as per the directions. I am supposed to now jack up the lower control arm on the end, near the ball joint, just enough to compress the spring about one inch, and then bang on the flat side of the wheel spendle with a hammer till it "pops off".


First question is.....what flat side? I see no flat side of the wheel spendle.

Second question is.....I went ahead and removed the bolts that I saw that were holding it on, including the bolt for the steering arm. At this point, the wheel spendle is now defying gravity. I have no honest idea what is holding it on. Not even rust...it's shockingly rust free....which, for me car...is pretty weird.


So, then, last question is....I borrowed a pickle fork from the neighbor, thinking that it must be ball joints holding the spindle on, though it doesn't look like it....


And I see no where, really, to get the fork in, and seperate them.




HELP?