Is there anyone out there that makes a new front spindle for the c3?
Lots of Modern castings avilable for camaros and tri 5, chevelles the usual suspects.No c3 that I can find.
I am told that some late 60's impala is suppose to be the same, and several suspension co's make standard and drop spindles for those that are very nice.

Anybody look into this? or are we all using 50 year old remanufactured parts on our babies?

 

Compared with say a Tri 5 or Camaro, our spindles are pretty tall and fairly stiff. Big bearings too, which help. I think our main weakness is bumpsteer,

That said, Ride Tech has a new spindle for our cars, and Van Steel is working on one right now.

 

Due to the way the lower control arm ball joints attach...the other are NOT the same and would not work.

DUB

 

In another recent post, Ridetech says they wont sell theirs stand alone. Its all part of their complete designed system. Glad they are making new options for the early corvette, Hats off to them but it does not help us guys that already have spent money on other solutions already, or the guy that wants to keep the stock Suspension but update that very important part. It would be great if Van Steel would manufacture new forged standard and dropped spindles for the C3, as I have their coil over system on my car. So everything is new in the font except the darn Spindle

 

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ndle-poll.html

 

there are lots of very fast Corvettes out there on 50yr old parts, here is just one

 

As per another post the ride tech spindles are the same as there Camaro ones. They will work on a C3 when using there A Arms, but not with the stock A Arms.

 

thank you BadBird, I did not see that posting. This is great. Exactly what I am looking for front and back....now just Patience for van steel

redvetracr: I know I know...But I want preeetty too!!

 

as soon as the spindles are done, im gunna ****** up a set along with there steering arms to go with it to fix the bumpsteer.

 

Always happy to (try to) help.

I'll pass along some more information. If bump steer is what you want to try and fix, there is another option than the standard Howe tie rod ends, Heim joints with spacers or bump steer blocks. I have been talking with Proforged, who state that their tall tie rod ends for a first-gen Camaro will fit our cars (same thread, same taper). Therefore we have the option of dropping the outer tie rod 0.5" just with a simple tie rod replacement.

 

It depends greatly on what one is trying to accomplish as to whether any particular spindle is "better" than the original design. Yes, drops might be well suited to certain applications, but I strongly urge that anyone contemplating aftermarket ones take the time to learn some suspension geometry basics. FWIW, I know why I don't need them. YMMV



TSW

 

Is your main reason that if you were to use a drop spindle the car would be just way too low at the Chevy Power Book Z and D heights?

 

what gives you the idea that .500 is the magic number?

 

you might want to find out where those new spindles are being cast and machined (not that anyone is going to tell the truth)....if it`s China I wish you all good luck.

 

Who said anything about magic numbers? 0.5" won't solve the problem completely for any particular C3, but certainly pushes you back in the right direction for any mildly lowered car.

You do own an extremely well sorted C3, so, could you help us little guys?

How close to the Power Book Z and D heights do you run? At your ride height, how far did you have the drop the outer tie rod to achieve good bumpsteer numbers?

 

There is a company who makes 1.5" drop spindles for C-3 corvettes ..

Not sure if I can mention there name

 

Hmm. I guess if they are making them in that fashion, as opposed to forging them, they might make standard height units as well..for a price?

can you private PM me the co name?

 

It's not that we "won't" sell them separately...they are available...BUT, we have designed our system as a complete unit. Our RideTech spindles will not fit the oem control arms, and even if they did would not provide the suspension improvement that you would be expecting. We build tubular control arms to create the specific suspension geometry that we are trying to acheive. Another part of the system is the Tru Turn steering linkage...again, part of a complete system that is designed to work together with the spindles and control arms.
Having said all that, our spindle uses a GM "A" or "F" body brake kit that is available from any aftermarket brake manufacturer. We typically use Baer but Wilwood works nicely as well. Baer and Wilwood can supply the changeover components if you already have a "Y" body [Corvette] brake system.

The philosophy behind all this was that we wanted to create the best possible front suspension for these cars with no compromise for "legacy" components with unknown age or history of abuse. We felt that anyone who was looking for a serious upgrade to their existing suspension deserved that level of performance and safety. Our goal was not to just lower the ride height...it was to optimize camber gain, Ackermann angles, caster alignment, and bumpsteer. At this point we have done enough testing that WE know how well it works...and are eager to expose the performance improvements this summer to everyone else when we start running the 48 Hour Corvette in the Goodguys and Optima series events.

For the guys who have already invested in other components...hang on to your money until you witness the performance of this package first hand. We are certainly willing to demonstrate the merits of this system!

 

I'm just hoping that a solution can be obtained whereby the rod ends used as the outer tie rods could be replaced with actual tie rod ends.

In Australia rod ends are completely illegal for use as tie rod ends.

 

I feel your pain with the your laws...I will look into that. The issues I anticipate will be:

1. a tie rod instead of the heim joint may move the virtual pivot point of the steering arm to a position that induces too much bumpsteer.
2. a tie rod might hang low enough to interfere with the wheel.

I'll look into both issues...might be a couple days.