As I posted the other day, I just bought this car a few days ago. I like the stance, but honestly it sits a little too low. Body roll is not good, either, IMHO... but I need to drive it a little more before scrapping stuff and spending more $$. LOL It actually rides well (not harsh), but roll and bump-steer is noticeable. I can't tell what springs are in there. It does have some relatively new-looking KYB shocks, sway bar end-links are new, as well as end link bushings. Granted, it has been 15 years since I've had an older C3 Vette... everything since is late-model sports car/sedan stuff... I don't expect it to handle like my ZR1.

However, the front fenders sit 26.5" off the ground. Tires are 245/45-18, so a little less than that under load. You can see in the attached pics, I can slide 1 finger in between the top of the tire and the outer fender lip.

Can those with the BB springs confirm your front ride height? I did a search and found 27 1/4, but I couldn't ascertain what tire size was being used in that application. Really don't want to pull it all apart and go with new BB-specific 550# springs, just to be back where I am as far as ride height goes, but I'd also like a little more gap between the tire and fender. This _looks_ good, but I'm more about function than form, when there is a choice between the two. Car will not be road-raced... its just going to be a fun, primarily in-town cruiser. So I'm not even going to consider coil-overs, etc. All that cool stuff would be lost on the purpose for this car.

Here's a couple of pics after her first bath:

 

Years ago installed the VB&P 550# front springs with the 1 1/8th sway. They dropped the front end one inch. So I called them up and they had these rubber spacer rings that were about 3/4 inch thick. That actually raised it nearly 1 1/2 inches because of the ratio of lifting in the middle of the a-arm. So then I was a little pissed and made my own spring spacers to get it where I wanted it. It was something like 3/8th rubber made from industrial conveyor belt material and just cut it on a band saw at work.

I went to the coil over for adjustability. I know that you are not interested in. But you could add a spacer. Even a thicker front sway bar. Your tires are narrow and only 26.7 tall. The 255/45/18 are 27 inches.

 

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate someone with your experience chiming in. A spacer crossed my mind, and something I could probably do... I don't have a band saw, but could rent one.

So, the 255/45-18 should fit on the front with no issues? I'm going to be changing wheels anyway... 18x8 with 4" BS. The ones on the front of the car now are 4.5" BS... which I think shoves the tire too far inward for my personal taste. If the wider/taller tire will work with no rubbing... yeah, I'd strongly consider that. That's a good idea.

 

Here's my tire and height on my 77 BB, iron heads, no ac.
I changed the springs after the swap to new BB springs. Honest truth...it actually sat lower. I put
the old SB springs back in.

Best of luck with the car, looks beautiful.

 

for what it's worth I just measured my front wheel well lip and it's at 27 inches both sides. For street driving I have 9 inch front wheels with 4.5 BS. I ran some taller 255 width which were 27 inch front tires once. On lock to lock they brushed the frame both directions and polished it. So when they wore out I went to 275 which are only 25.6 inches tall. They don't touch the frame.

Your 255/18's are 26 inches tall and they want you to use about a 9 inch rim.

 

So with your 25.6" tall tire now, you are still at 27" at the lip. That's good info. I don't have that kind of clearance between tire and lip. Under load, my front tires (listed at 26.6") are about 25.8" tall and my lip-to-ground is 26.5". My educated guess is these are original BB springs (car is NOM, but is an original BB car) with some aftermarket KYB shocks. It does have the original sway bar which measures ~3/4" from what I can ascertain using a measuring tape, not a dial indicator, and also appears to be original sway bar mount bushings. **I did order a new swaybar this afternoon... 1.25"... which, along with new mount bushings should be an improvement for body roll concerns. It is a cheap and easy place to start, and if end up doing new springs and shocks, I can still run this sway bar**

I'm thinking of trying a 255/45-18, which would be 27" before loaded... so probably 26.5" or so once installed and sitting under the weight of the front of a BB. I'll just be careful with lock-to-lock... not a big deal with the type of driving i will be doing with this car.

Sincerely appreciate the thoughts, advice, and help.

 

72 BB Iron heads, PS, alum rad, no A/C
27-3/4 on the PS, 27-7/8 on the DS



I'm going to drop it a little this winter. (17" rims would probably be almost perfect the way it is)
M

 

Thanks for the help so far.

I probably worded my ? poorly... since many of us run different size wheel/tire setups that will obviously affect overall height of the vehicle. Just looking at the pics posted, it appears I have less gap between the tire and fender than others. It leads me to believe my BB springs (is an original BB car) have either sagged over the life of the car, or the PO cut a spring, or a combination of both. My guess is if I installed some new Van Steel BB-specific springs, it would raise the front end a good .75+". Not sure I want/need to do that, but we'll see.

I'm going to be getting some new wheels/tires anyway, so won't make any decisions on spring choice until after that all arrives and is installed.

 

You can get coil spring spacers in 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 from summit. Some are full circles, some horseshoe shaped and with a bit of screwing around you could install without having to completely disconnect the suspension
M

 

The measurement on my stock 69 427 measured the same as Mooser's pic is 27 3/8ths on both fronts with BFG 255/70R 15's. That's for a 69 427 4 speed with power steering and brakes and there are measurements somewhere in either the factory ASM or Chassis Service Manual with proper height tolerances + or - front and rear.

 

Stock 71 BB w/original BB springs running 255/60R15's = 27.1" to the fender lip and just 26" to the top of the tires (loaded).
Can fit my entire hand in between at the top.
I'd think with the 18" tires/rims you'd get less sidewall deflection/squat when loaded so your tires, relative to stock 15" tires/rims, are "taller" when installed/loaded.

 

I worked on clients vettes, like A-Arm bushing replacement jobs. I actually hated stock long length spring removal compared to the shorter and stiffer 460 and 550 pound. The short ones fall out before the A-arm is all the way down. The long ones are still under pressure even prying down on the A-arms. So I learned to leave the shock bolted to the bottom as a safety idea and pry the spring sideways and pop it out.

 

From the responses gathered to this point, it looks like my springs have settled (or were modified) about 1/2" shorter than most others. I'm not sure if that is going to cause an issue when I run a little taller + wider wheel/tire combo or not. Will just have to wait and see.

Your point about the current 245/45-18s having less sidewall deflection is absolutely correct as it relates to a 15" wheel/tire combo with a taller sidewall. I only lose about 1/2" of rolling diameter when loaded.

 

My car had a set of spacers under the front springs (car must have had wider tires and weird offset rims at some point)
I pulled the shocks, went in with the internal spring compressor (lower jaws only) and could compress the spring enough to take the spacer out (it was a full ring so needed to be cut) without removing anything else. I would think you could install the thinner horseshoe style spacers the same way, while keeping fingers WAY far away

I'm going to pull the springs out this winter to shorten a little but I've been removing the arm from the frame rather than the ball-joint. rod down through the shock hole for added safety
M

 

Glad to hear it can be done this way... seems like a much easier way to do it, honestly.

I am going to install the beefier Van Steel front sway bar, sway bar mount bushings, end links and end link bushings... then will ditch the KYBs for some Bilsteins or non-adjustable QA1s, if front body roll isn't better/good enough before resorting to a new set of 550# BB springs. I don't know why mine sits lower (in relation to the tire) than most. Again, it looks good (to me at least), but if when I install the new wheels (Fikse 701) and tires they start rubbing b/c it sits too low, then I'm going to have to lift this thing up to a more normal ride height.

I saw some other types of spacers/stabilizers that fit in between individual coils... look very easy to install, basically just jacking up the car to let the coil decompress some. Not sure if those would work or not, as a short-term solution.

 

I have used those coil spacers on my Jeeps in the past but did not like them. Distorts the spring coil and made the ride stiffer. Did raise the vehicle about 1/2 inch. Take a look at the coils and see if the individual coils look evenly spaced. One of my car's previous owners had heated up my front springs and changed their shape to lower the car. Some of the coils were actually hitting each other.

Redvette2

 

Thanks for the input on the above-mentioned stabilizers/spacers. I have looked at the springs and they look normal, as far as spacing goes. Maybe this is just how mine sits (again, by everything I can gather about 1/2" lower than most in relation to the top of the tire.) It is a BB car with AC, PS, PB, large aftermarket radiator (but it is aluminum, should be lighter) and dual electric fans up front. It does have a good-sized overflow tank. The car sits evenly on both sides, which is good.

I'm going to install new wheels/tires and just see how it does. As long as it doesn't bottom out and have fender-to-tire clearance issues on cornering, it will be fine. That is honestly my biggest concern.

 

I recommend NEVER to use these as it effectively makes those two coils they are spacing worthless........the ONLY space to use is the horseshoe type under the whole spring.

Jebby

 

27 inch tire height. driver is 26.75" , pass 27". BB - aluminum heads, no AC. 550 springs

 

Makes sense, and I appreciate that input. If I go to the trouble of removing the springs to put a spacer in, I might as well get new springs.

I've never run spring spacers on any car I've owned, so I honestly don't like the idea at all.... just get the spring with the correct ride height. LOL