Has anyone our there used this upgrade kit on a C3 ..if so good..bad or what did you use and like it or not !!??

 

I can't speak to that specific kit, but from the looks of the pix it SEEMS to be a single glass rear spring.....good move, mine is 360 lbs rated.....the shocks appear to be Billy Stein sports.....as are mine.....the front springs are probably along the lines of 460 lbs.....as are mine.....

but I got all mine from a defunct outfit Vette brakes & products......so I dunno about today's prices, but my entire conversion ram maybe a grand....

 

That seems very expensive for what you're looking at there if the picture is inclusive of everything in the kit. I'd keep looking, but I think you will be happy with a set-up similar to what mrvette outlined, it's very similar to my current set-up and I like it. Only thing I would prefer is a set of adjustable shocks so I could tame the rebound of the rear spring a bit better. It will be a marked improvement if your set-up is still stock.

 

That pic looks like the one from the Vette Brakes and Products website though the company is now closed. It will make a BIG difference over stock. I do think it’s close to a thousand more than Vette Brakes was asking, but they are out of business after all. Don’t forget to add a spreader bar too.

 

That's basically a good balanced kit and will really change your handling. Bigger bars, stiffer springs, Bilstein shocks, plastic rear spring, HD rear strut rods, all the major "suggested" upgrades.
Since VB&P is closed, see Van Steel for a similar setup. You can choose between spring rates.
This is their grand touring offering: https://www.vansteel.com/index.cfm?f...t&subgroup=604
They also have an easy-ride (softer) and a autocross one (stiffer)
Their autocross one includes the plastic spring, front coil overs and adjustable shocks. For the same price as what you listed.
They have a "street & slalom" pkg for less than that.

 

Cole, if you added some information on the car you're wanting to upgrade and what you want it to accomplish, along with a link to the ad you've posted, folks here could give you a better answer. The ad really leaves a lot to the imagination and could be anything from a vast improvement to little or no improvement compared to what you currently have. Things like spring rates and model of shock reveal a lot.

You might want to check out the Vansteel website. They're a Forum sponsor and offer a wide variety of kits to accomplish just about anything you want suspension wise. They've been around a long time, have excellent customer service and can provide a lot of technical advice based on your current configuration and how you plan to use your Corvette.

Good luck and welcome to the Corvette Forum. You've come to the right place to get answers to just about any Corvette question you might have.

GUSTO

 

http://www.corvetteamerica.com/catal...%2C1529%2C5685

http://www.corvetteamerica.com/catal...%2C1529%2C5685

these are two options from Corvette America

 

I have the 550# front I believe 360# rear with QA1 non adjustable shocks and a spreader bar and that made a significant difference. These mods can be done in stages. It allows you to get only what you need

 

thank you for your input !!!

 

thank you to all that gave me their responses ...I'm new to this site and will get it eventually ..my car is a 1973 auto coupe 95000 mez that is worn out and I'm looking to do a whole lot this winter ...interior...motor ..tranny...suspension !!!
.

 

ya sorry man I forgot to mention what I have and what I want to do with it...73 auto coupe 95000 miles that is worn out ...I'm doing motor ..tranny...interior...and suspension over the winter !!!...I won't be doing any autocross events but I want to restore the interior to stock ..up grade the suspension not super hard ride but not a truck either ...up grating to a 700r4...and 400 horse 350 !!!

 

SHould be a sweet combo when done. 73s have a great one year only look.

 

Yes, they do...



GUSTO

 

On the Bill Stein shocks , sports are the stiffer shock compared to their Heavy Duty , depending on what you want you might like the HD's better than the Sport or vice versa

 

Give Van Steel a call.
Paul and Dan are great guys and will get you the kit best suited for your driving style and use of your car.

 

I resisted the push to the TRW glass spring back in the the early '80s ........ RIDE HEIGHT ....... was destroyed by those damned glass leaf springs . That subtle line that runs from your rear quarter thru the door into your fender should be parallel to the ground ..........the car isn't a monster truck !

 

Below is how I have transformed my car, one change at a time over 35 years, into the 78 L-82 355 today that rides so well (firm but not harsh) and handles like a modern sports sedan (not quite like my 10C6Z06) with excellent steering response and suspension control......

Front:

550 lbs front coil springs/1 inch lower than stock-
1 1/8 inch front sway bar (OEM Bar size)-
poly upper and lower control arm bushings-
Bilstein HD shocks-
Front Spreader Bar-
Custom blueprinted/rebuilt OEM steering box- GTR 1999-Gary Ramadei-
This modification will make your OEM box about as good as it gets with the OEM steering and very close to a borgeson.....not quite but close
255/45/17 ZR ultra high Performance tires

Rear:

360 monospring-
Bilstein Sport shocks-
OEM Style Rear Sway bar (not the aftermarket type bars. I highly discourage NON OEM/GM style rear sway bars)-7/16 or 9/16 or 3/4 inch (I have this one replacing the stock 7/16 inch bar)-
Competition adjustable strut rods with heim joint ends-
255/45/17 ZR ultra high Performance tires

 

Its fun thinking back at all the suspension upgrades installed over the years on my high mileage 81. I haven't driven it in half a decade now which makes me a bit sad. The car still has inherently sloppy steering due to the pitman/idler arm design but the car drove like it was on rails with complete confidence. That package includes a lot of the items needed and I agree with others, it looks a bit overpriced.

I started with poly bushings all the way around. Everything including all suspension arms, bars, shocks, and steering parts. Anything I could find basically.
Rebuilt the rear wheel bearings at least 3 times and replaced the HD grease able u-joints with zerks a time or two as well.
Once, I believe it was the left diff yolk wore out and negatively affected everything. I can't remember exactly, just that it was an expensive time consuming repair.
Replaced the steel rear alignment shims with SS. This was probably unnecessary but did make it easier for the alignment guys.
Replaced the rear lower strut rod with something adjustable. This was also unnecessary but it did eliminate a problem I had often with the rear alignment cam's slipping after hitting things like unexpected pot holes.
Installed Bilstein Sports. What an incredible difference. I've tried everything from KYB's to adjustable Koni yellows and found them all unsuitable for me.
Added 7/16" rear sway bar (front is still stock). The 81 apparently came with no rear bar at all and I found this out quickly.
Replaced the front sway bar end links with quality bolts. I snapped the stock bolts clean off more than once which was scary.
Replaced front springs with Gymkahana 550#. The rear is the stock composite that came with the 81. This made a huge difference, those old stock springs were too soft and sagging badly.
Replaced lower ball joints. This was not exactly needed at the time but with everything disassembled it made sense.
Replaced the front spindles. This was not expected and the bearings had worn a ring around the axle shafts.
Replaced the steering idler arm with quality HD replacement. I replaced this often, that steering design is awful.
Replaced the tie rod ends, they were oddly worn out at one point and were actually clunking.
Replaced the steering ram with new, not rebuilt. The stock one had severe wear on the shaft near center and tended to stick there. 2 or 3 rebuilt units I returned for the same reason.
Replaced the power steering control valve and hoses. The hoses were old and the control valve leaked a bit (or maybe it just didn't work, I forget why exactly)
Installed SS brake lines and slotted aftermarket iron rotors and decent street pads (I don't remember the manufacturers, it's been a while).
Rebuilt the brake calipers more times than I can remember. Always kept them stock and I still have to pump the brakes weekly or they pee brake fluid all over. I considered the aftermarket o-ring design a time or two.

 

I notice you did HD front and Sport rear Bilsteins on your car ...did that come from trial and error or was there some sort of method to your madness !!??

 

Yes trial and error.

I originally had Bilstein HD's all around but found with the 360 monospring in the rear, the ride was too bouncy and not damped sufficiently in the rear only. Since the Bilstein Sports are 30% stiffer than the HD's, I decided to switch out the HD's in the rear only and kept the front HD's since with 550 front coils, I did not want any more stiffness up in the front. The result is a perfect combo for the rear 360 composite spring with the sports and 550 front coils with the Bilstein HD's....