C4 Tech/Performance L98 Corvette and LT1 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine

Left side body droop...

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Old Mar 8, 2005 | 03:15 PM
  #1  
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From: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
Default Left side body droop...

I think this has been discussed before, but I never heard a definitive reason for it....

So, I just called Gordon Killebrew to ask why this is. The conversation started out oddly enough;

(Gordon comes to the phone after I give Chris all my info including credit card...)
G: "Yeah?"
Me: "Hello Mr. Killebrew, it's an honor to speak with you."
G: "Whatever." ...then "What's the problem?"

He says up to 3/4" ride height variation is acceptable and normal and you can adjust it with the spring bolts.

Three-quarters of an inch variation is acceptable???
Not to me, it ain't.

Anyway, I was less than impressed with Mr. Killebrew's attitude. He may be an encyclopedia of C4 knowledge, but he won't get any more of my consultation dollars. Too bad. Really.

Larry
code5coupe

Last edited by rocco16; Mar 8, 2005 at 03:33 PM.
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Old Mar 8, 2005 | 04:21 PM
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I've never called him on the phone, but in person he's a nice man. Looked my car over without hesitation. When I was talking with him, I asked him the question you asked, he wouldn't even give me an answer, lol. Diverted the question to another topic.
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Old Mar 8, 2005 | 05:28 PM
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What a dic... Its funny, other people have asked him the same question and he'll either chuckle or change the subject(from what I've heard)..
Sounds like a serious production issue or bad tooling.. Who the hell knows.. oops

Oh ya its not an honor to speak with anyone when you are
paying them.. AND you got an attitude... lame..
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 06:10 AM
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There's obviously something going on here that he doesn't want to talk about. Seems a common problem with many of our C4s too, including mine.

I did the best I could by installing a longer bolt on the driver's side and letting the nut down until the rear looked ALMOST level.

Someone posted a while back about raising the front to correct the rear, but I can't find his post.

If I remember correctly, if the passenger side rear is too high, you raise the driver's side front which lowers the passenger side rear.

Wish I had a step by step on that.

Jake
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by JAKE
Someone posted a while back about raising the front to correct the rear, but I can't find his post.If I remember correctly, if the passenger side rear is too high, you raise the driver's side front which lowers the passenger side rear.
Yeah, that would do it alright, but it would also cross-weight the chassis, which means the handling characteristics would be quite different in a left-hand turn from the characteristics in a right-hand turn.
There HAS to be a better way...and I will find it!!! It is my quest!!

Larry
code5coupe
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 01:29 PM
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Sorry to hear about Gordon anyway he could not hold this guys jock strap. He was on another forums live chat this morning PM me if you want the forum name
Dick Guldstrand 101


Corvette Hall of Fame



Dick Guldstrand
(1999 Induction)

"When it comes to driving and developing high-performance vehicles, the international achievements, accolades, and reputation of Dick Guldstrand make it impossible to place him anywhere but at the very top. Well-known for his chassis expertise and success on road racing tracks since the 1960s, Guldstrand has come a long way from the young man who started out in pursuit of a career in law at the persuasion of his parents.

"My parents wanted me to be a lawyer, but somehow I ended up in electronics in college," Guldstrand said. Even though he was working in the financially rewarding aerospace industry, the native Californian knew his heart was "about 500 feet out in the parking lot pinned on a tattered '56 Corvette." Guldstrand, who had begun racing on the famous Southern California dirt tracks in the late 1950s, knew he had to listen to his heart. Racing was calling.

He soon landed a sponsorship from H.E. Baher, a Hermosa Beach, California Chevrolet dealer. His Corvette outfitted with fuel injection and a 4-speed was an immediate winner. Under the Baher banner, Guldstrand won most of the West Coast BP events in the early 1960s. His sponsor was so pleased, he bought Guldstrand one of the first Stingrays to race in the fall of 1962.

Beginning in 1963, the racing and development exploits of Dick Guldstrand became the stuff of legends. From 1963-1965, he won three consecutive SCCA Pacific Coast Championships, including the Southern Pacific A/P Championship in 1964, the same year he was named the California Sports Car Club Driver of the Year. In 1966, Guldstrand won the GT-class at the Daytona 24-hour race, and finished 9th overall. Later that year, he was named President of the Southern California Drivers Association. The following year, he raced at Le Mans and set a track record in the GT-class while leading the race for 13 hours. In both 1966 and 1967, Guldstrand drove the legendary Grand Sport Corvette at the 12 hours of Sebring for Roger Penske.

In 1968, Guldstrand opened his own business, Guldstrand Engineering Inc., in Culver City, California. Soon, he was designing and building high performance cars for competition throughout North America, South America, and Western Europe. The following year he built and campaigned a Z-28 Camaro in South America, winning the South American Championship. In the early 1970s, Guldstrand Engineering Inc. built 70% of all theGuldstrand Engineering Inc. built 70% of all the Chevrolet-powered road racing cars on the West Coast.

Dick Guldstrand played an enormous role in the development and testing of the 1985 Corvette. He set new track records at the Mid-Ohio 24 hours, finishing both 1st and 2nd overall. He also set new track records at the 12 hours at Willow Spring for enduro cars, once again finishing 1st and 2nd overall. His personal involvement, along with his GSS race team, set the stage for the future racing series, as well as Corvette's domination of Porsche cars for the first time in fifteen years. The following year, he built and set up the Guldstrand 1986 Corvette, which made a clean sweep of all events at the SCCA National Solo Championships. Later that year, Guldstrand developed his high performance dream car, the GS-80. Articles about the GS-80 have appeared in virtually every automotive magazine, and the car has received world acclaim. It was set against such high performance cars in Europe as the Testarrossa, Countach, and Porsche Turbo. Then in 1987, Guldstrand, driving a 1956 Corvette in the Vintage Race series, won the 75th Anniversary of Chevrolet at Monterey, California. The legend of Dick Guldstrand only grew more.

Dick Guldstrand continues to be one of the true innovators in the present decade. The 1990s began with the announcement that he was developing the Guldstrand Grand Sport 90. A world-class exotic supercar based on the Corvette ZR-1 chassis, the GS-90 sported an entirely new body along with major upgrades to its engine, suspension, wheels, tires, and rear end. The finished product debuted on the Chevrolet stand at the 1994 Los Angeles Auto Show, and is produced today on a build-to-order basis.

He epitomizes the 'All American Corvette Enthusiast', a devoted and loyal fan of the Corvette."

Ref.: Article by National Corvette Museum
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 02:07 PM
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Mr. Guldtrand is definately an exper, but Mr. Killebrew was the production line manager at bowling green. Slightly different backgrounds imho.
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 02:47 PM
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From: St. Peters MO Sometimes you have to prove yourself by doing alot of killing or alot of dying...
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Hmmmmm... I know who not to call if I need a problem solved. And besides... most of my problems are solved here anyway
This forum is so cooooooo.
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Old Mar 9, 2005 | 04:50 PM
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Originally Posted by rocco16
Yeah, that would do it alright, but it would also cross-weight the chassis, which means the handling characteristics would be quite different in a left-hand turn from the characteristics in a right-hand turn.
There HAS to be a better way...and I will find it!!! It is my quest!!

Larry
code5coupe
I agree! And I can feel the difference too. For now it's a trade off. I suspect much the same thing may happen by raising the opposite side front spring to counter act the rear.

If you find a solution PLEASE share. LOL

Jake
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