When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I saw this pic in another thread and after looking at many original pics of the late 70's model Vette's......they all seem to be like 2" too high in the front......
This photo has to be period.....given the young ladies attire and the GT Radial Goodyears......look at the wheelwell to ground on the front compared to the back.
I always wonder why this was.....the early ones were not like this nor were the 80-82 models......
A real head scratcher.....
Anyone have any idea why this was? Was it a parts supply issue? All I know is it kills the look of the car in my opinion....and the front end would have to lift after 100MPH like a wind sail.....
My '76 looked like that before I cut the coils. A friend surmised that it may have been a bumper height thing, though I have no idea if the springs were original.
One was upside down, I know someone was in there before.
I think it was a thing in the mid 70's....if I remember correctly. There were muscle cars in Western PA that would raise the fronts......why, I don't know, I was not in to cars then, but I do remember it.
Either an optical illusion, or she's lifting the front of the car.
Other possibilities:
Rear is lowered (easy with bolts)
Front has upgraded springs, that weren't cut
Here are the dimensions of a 79, straight from the source material at https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive/...formation-kits
As you can see from the diagram, the nose looks much higher, because the original file was scanned at an angle. By the measurements, the front may be a half inch higher?
I agree, i noted that picture as well.
I got mine at 28000 miles and front was high, new front springs front is high as before.
Original 9 leaf and used 6 leaf..rear same front high. New 7 leaf rear, front still higher..
i think they were nose high, maybe more air and spoiler for cooling..
I agree, i noted that picture as well.
I got mine at 28000 miles and front was high, new front springs front is high as before.
Original 9 leaf and used 6 leaf..rear same front high. New 7 leaf rear, front still higher..
i think they were nose high, maybe more air and spoiler for cooling..
Was thinking the same thing. Whether intended or not it would definitely get more flow to radiator.
It would cause some of it......but I see these late 70's Vette's all the time with no spare and still nose high.....the rear isn't "squat" as much as the front is nose high....
Either an optical illusion, or she's lifting the front of the car.
Other possibilities:
Rear is lowered (easy with bolts)
Front has upgraded springs, that weren't cut
Here are the dimensions of a 79, straight from the source material at https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive/...formation-kits
As you can see from the diagram, the nose looks much higher, because the original file was scanned at an angle. By the measurements, the front may be a half inch higher?
The difference would be even more wheelwell to wheelwell.......but it appears they were made that way according to this.......
The thing that gets me is that this is "America's Sports Car" in the 70's and how GM though this was ok is beyond me......kind of an epic fail IMHO.....but they did also put $50 heads on a $2000 short block with the L-82 too so it just goes with the flow.....
See a lot of Chrome bumper restorations that the whole cars sits 2" too high.....C2 as well......just wonder what the people who are building these see when they are finished.......maybe just too wore out to change it......to me it is also an epic fail to spend 50k restoring a Vette and have the stance be all jacked up......I mean, it isn't an unnoticeable thing......stance is as important as the wheels and paint...maybe more so!
The difference would be even more wheelwell to wheelwell.......but it appears they were made that way according to this.......
The thing that gets me is that this is "America's Sports Car" in the 70's and how GM though this was ok is beyond me......kind of an epic fail IMHO.....but they did also put $50 heads on a $2000 short block with the L-82 too so it just goes with the flow.....
See a lot of Chrome bumper restorations that the whole cars sits 2" too high.....C2 as well......just wonder what the people who are building these see when they are finished.......maybe just too wore out to change it......to me it is also an epic fail to spend 50k restoring a Vette and have the stance be all jacked up......I mean, it isn't an unnoticeable thing......stance is as important as the wheels and paint...maybe more so!
Jebby
I was surprised too, but the measurements I posted shows that this was cooked in at the factory, though very slight.
Another easy thing to fix, and cheaper than new heads. GM puts automatic transmissions in "America's Sports Car", too. All Corvettes need mods, some more than others.
Perhaps GM learned the lesson. Many later GM cars have a rake built in. Why do Cavaliers and other similar cars look like wedges? To reduce oversteer at high speeds.
The only cars that should be higher in the front than the rear are Gassers and Gasser tribute cars! That’s for weight transfer though…
The factory screws with stance all the time for various reasons as mentioned above. I had to put a 2” leveling kit in the front of my new GMC to get it to sit level, because GM needed the nose down to get that last .001 mpg out of it. And they were planning that most people don’t compensate when towing a heavy tongue weight and the back sinks down.
Hey maybe the Vette guy was expecting a ton of downforce to push the nose down level? No? 🤪
The only cars that should be higher in the front than the rear are Gassers and Gasser tribute cars! That’s for weight transfer though…
The factory screws with stance all the time for various reasons as mentioned above. I had to put a 2” leveling kit in the front of my new GMC to get it to sit level, because GM needed the nose down to get that last .001 mpg out of it. And they were planning that most people don’t compensate when towing a heavy tongue weight and the back sinks down.
Hey maybe the Vette guy was expecting a ton of downforce to push the nose down level? No? 🤪
All full size or larger trucks that I know of have this rake to help compensate for bed use as a pickup truck and ymmv but after leveling mine I lost a lot more than .001mpg. Even after installing heavier springs in the rear I found any typical load more than a few hundred lbs would give me a bro lean. I had to install lift bags.
My nose on the c3 is high right now, mainly from switching to aluminum heads, intake,wp, rad and ditching the ac compressor.
Hopefully next week ill get my coil overs and tubular a arms installed finally to remedy this.
Last edited by augiedoggy; Aug 4, 2023 at 02:09 PM.
I saw this pic in another thread and after looking at many original pics of the late 70's model Vette's......they all seem to be like 2" too high in the front......
This photo has to be period.....given the young ladies attire and the GT Radial Goodyears......look at the wheelwell to ground on the front compared to the back.
I always wonder why this was.....the early ones were not like this nor were the 80-82 models......
A real head scratcher.....
Anyone have any idea why this was? Was it a parts supply issue? All I know is it kills the look of the car in my opinion....and the front end would have to lift after 100MPH like a wind sail.....
Jebby
I have 74k on my 79 and orig coils I beleive the rear appears to have a new set of leafs. I have shortened the rear leaf bolts to max and even drilled new holes for cotter pins. Still nose is hi. Just received coil compress from eBay so I’m going to cut fronts to try to drop it down. Really don’t like the high nose
Owning a 1978 and purchasing the car NEW in 1978 I can confirm the car was “nose-high”.
I was active in Corvette Events - Conventions, Auto-X etc. in the Pacific NW & Western Canada.
Thus was exposed to several hundred of these cars when these model years were NEW.
1977 models seemed to NOT be nose-high, 1978 & 1979 models all seemed to high.
The 1980-82 seemed to be back to a more normal correct height.
The “non-confirmed reason” for the 1978-1979 height was that the headlight centers were too low,
thus the tall springs? ( Too effectively auto-x the front springs were replaced or “cut” for better handling)
The redesigned 1980-82 front bumper-facia was extensively redesigned & tested in a wind-tunnel.
Someone in the Corvette Division had to pressure regulations to get the nose back to a lower height -
Internal-GM or the Feds?
I have a 77 Gymkhana car. Back when fairly new I believe it sat fairly level.
nowadays not much is original in the suspension front or rear. But I do still have those factory gymkhana front springs, just that I cut a coil off of them.
the 77 was fairly level, yet still a bit high all around.
The nose high years.....
