Need some rear suspension advice
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Columbus Ohio
Need some rear suspension advice
Ok so I am beginning my restoration adventure of a '76 4-speed. When I got her home I realized she had a camber issue with the back and a fuel leak. So off to the corvette shop she went. Well after a few hours I got a phone call that I was not wanting. Apparently the entire rear and most of the front suspension is totally original and pretty well cooked. Anything that had been "fixed" was done so by bubba so I am looking at having to replace my entire rear suspension. I have been going over my options with my mechanic and so far I have been leaning towards the shark bite kit, and steerioids for the front. This is going to be a street only car, however I am a twisty roads kind of driver so am looking for something to match. I have been very disappointed to see that I am looking at spending close to 5,500 on putting the suspension back together. Does this sound right or am I missing out on some ways to save a few bucks??? Any help is greatly appreciated as this is way more than I had hoped to spend.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,943
Likes: 61
From: Southern NH
you'd be surprised what a brand new stock suspension feels like for a weekend, twisty road car. No need to spend that much money on it.
your rear camber issue is probably bent strut rods or worn strut rod bushings or both, which can be fixed for $100 in parts.
your rear camber issue is probably bent strut rods or worn strut rod bushings or both, which can be fixed for $100 in parts.
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Columbus Ohio
So far it looks like someone added adjustable strut bars and never tightened the lower bolt which cooked the threads on the adjustment arms. Also my driver side trailing arm is visibly bent. All the bearings in the back need freshened and my leaf springs are extremely worn as well. qwank I did see that I could take it back to stock for a fraction of the cost however I thought upgrading now would be the more cost effective than re replacing things down the road. I guess this leads to a whole additional topic. I have never driven (aggressively) on the stock setup. Does is leave a lot to be desired on the way of handling?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,503
Likes: 33
From: McGrady NC
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
I literally just went through the whole "everything under the back end is junk" process. Granted, I did 99% of the work myself, but I doubt that i spent over $1500 on the whole thing. I did have the trailing arms rebuilt and new seals installed in the differential (since I wanted someone other than me to check the gears and posi unit) by a local Corvette specialist, but that was less than $600 including all parts and the stainless steel parking brake parts and dust shields. I replaced all the u-joints, all four shocks (Bilstein HD), parking brake cables and brackets, fresh brakes and lines (soft and hard), adjustable struts, etc. I even cleaned it all nice and neat (including the underbody) and painted everything. It took a long weekend to get it all apart and another to get it back together but now I don't have to worry about it.
I'd hate to think what the hourly labor rate would be at that price...
I'd hate to think what the hourly labor rate would be at that price...
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 15,892
Likes: 42
No. Save your money.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 45
From: Cameron Park CA
I am a twisty roads kind of driver so am looking for something to match. I have been very disappointed to see that I am looking at spending close to 5,500 on putting the suspension back together. Does this sound right or am I missing out on some ways to save a few bucks??? Any help is greatly appreciated as this is way more than I had hoped to spend.
Ditto the Steeroids. Big bucks for negligible, if any, improvement.
Refresh all the rubber bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc.
Zora, Corvette's first Chief Engineer, was forced to economize on the design of the C2/C3 chassis and suspension, but the resultant car handles pretty darn well for a street car.
Once you bring the suspension and steering back to original, unless you're an extremely talented driver, your car will probably be better than you are.
Pete
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,802
Likes: 241
From: Niles, MI
No need for all the bells and whistles. These guys seem to be doing alright with basically stock suspensions.
What handles better - Corvette or Camaro?
By the way, none of these guys are running rack and pinion. They are all running Borgeson boxes.
What handles better - Corvette or Camaro?
By the way, none of these guys are running rack and pinion. They are all running Borgeson boxes.
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Columbus Ohio
I appreciate the advice. Just sat down with my mechanic and we're just going to replace with stock parts. If it wasn't for your input I would have just dropped some major cash on what sounds like a lack luster result