sorry if I don't own a complete Corvette.
but doesn't owning a portion of one count for something?

I've searched and searched some more found everything I need to set up my racer.
except-

how much travel do you have with the fender at the front wheel? I'm down to the final steps. getting my fender flares. I want to get a close as i can with out having them rub

How much fender clearance do you have?

I hope to be under 3000 pounds with 50/50 front to rear weight ratio
84 front susp with stiff spring I think maybe from a Z51.
86 rear susp

thanks for any help

 

I'd love to help, but i don't know the answers....

Here's a bump!

 

I'll probably wish I had'nt asked, but, which part of a vette do you have?

 

The answer to your question can not be answered with the info given. What race track at what lap time would be the first two things missing what anti-roll bars what driving style.. etc.. it just depends is the only thing that can be said.

 

I don't know what you have or are building.

Sorry,

But from your avitar picture..........Is it an early Chevy LUV pickup you have or a Ford Ranger transplanted with a SBC ?

Can't tell for sure myself.

C4 is a mix of drag race, road race, professional engine builders, home mechanics, professional mechanics, men that race on the bonnevillesaltflats, Aviation & Military Mechanics, street performance, restoration, show & shine, and the list goes on.

The talent & expertise here is incredible unlike most forums.

Brian

 

Help us understand.....what are you building and what measurement do you want. Front tire to opening about 2". How stiff is your suspension. Maybe Z51, maybe not and it can only be lowered so much. Are you building a road racing car? There's just not enough information in your post for much help.

If you ask a good question I'm sure you'll get a good answer.

 

Dropping a mini truck body on a C4 chassis?

Looking for suspension travel info?

Are we close?

This ain't 50 questions you know.

 

not to point out the obvious, but, this is a "vette" site, and there are a bunch of truck, mini truck, etc sites that would probably be more help, specially when it comes to transplanting parts.

 

I have a 1972 Datsun truck. in 1976 I blowed up the 4 cylinder. It has been through many changes. My friend owed me, so I got the 318 from his 68 Charger. On and off the road many times through the years. With 383, 440 police interceptor and back to the Mopar small block 360, mild cam 9.5 compression.
It took about a year and a half to blow the datsun rear end. Went with a ford 9”
When my steering box went out in the late 80's. I bought the 1984 vette front suspension
the spring that came with the unit is stamped 4/19/84 and BMB. on the rubber pad is 14044585 and other pad is 14060135 the sway bar 25 MM. the spring I’m using is stamp BMB004417 maybe a Z51 It’s a stiff one.

I like to go around corners. Left and right turns don’t care much for drag strip or circle tracks. I live in the foothills and drive a lot of mountain roads so I bought a D-44 rear suspension Rear Spring NYU 024630, sway bar measures 22 MM (seams to be a lot softer than the front)

My new setup is the 360. set the engine back 8” lowered the engine 5” lowered the frame. (lower CG and more weight in the rear I was 47% in the rear, hope to be 50/50) sence the engine was just about in the center of the cab I moved the cab back and cut a foot off the front of the bed, I pulled the torqueflite 727 3 speed auto for a Tremec TKO 600 5 speed, and the vette rear end. and to many others to list

100” wheel base, 68 3/4” front track 71 3/4” rear track (measure from outer most part of tire)
Front 275 40 17
Rear 315 35 17

Only other future mod may be an aluminum block

With the set up I have now I’m hoping for
High 11’s low 12’s for 1/4 mile
160 MPH at the Bonneville Salt Flats. in the early 80’s I hit 130 on the freeway with the 318 engine.
Not sure what to expect at the Mojave mile.
and to be very completive with autocross I think road racing would have too high of a top speed for this setup.

you may think this is a joke but I am very serious. I do all the work myself. I’ve been welding on and off for 40 years. Worked in a few machine shops over the years.

my question is how much does your front suspension (at the fender) drop when you hit something hard. Weather it be a bump, dip, hard corner maybe with a bump? of what is the measurement from the top of the tire to the fender well. before the new mods I had so much tire clearance in never thought about it

I would say with a stiff or soft spring big or little sway bar unless you have other suspension mods the drop would be about the same although a stiffer spring would take a bigger bump

Almost forgot- what would be the longest bolt for the rear spring and still be safe. I’ve heard about them braking so I thought I would go with a 5/8 bolt.

Let me know if I left something out. I have learned a lot from this forum over the years
Its getting late I better go to bed
Thanks for any help.
John

 

this is not a c4 chassis i have a c4 front and rear suspension.

***see new avitar***

 

i thought this site could tell me more about the c4 suspension than any other site sorry if i was wrong.

 

I'm pretty sure it can, and i'm positive someone will chime in with an answer. Just be patient

 

What does this thing weigh is the first question. there is a racing and autocross forum here so might be a better place to ask as they are endlesly changing springs and shocks and have cars in various states of preparation. So you are in the right place but possibly the wrong section of it.

 

The amount of travel on a Corvette will be DIFFERENT than the travel on your project.

A suggestion is to find out all about suspension setup and you will need to experiment to come up with the right set up for your car.

Also recently I recall a post where someone had a tape measure at the wheel arch on the front of a Corvette.

 

if it was in a vette they could, blindfolded, you're asking questions without giving any real information, corner weight , unsprung weight, shocks, etc.etc.etc.actuall deflection on my 87 is bout 2" or less, I only have 2" of clearance on my rear tires to fendes and when I hit a bump, they dont make contact, thats with a nyr spring and monroe sensa trac shocks which are keeping bumps from beating me up....nicely.

 

I think, just my opinion, that you should convert the Vette suspension to Coilovers,,,,

then you can dial it in to what you want, ride height etc.

 

There should be no reason to change the rear spring bolts unless you need to change the length for ride height. The holes in the components for the bolt are not really going to allow for a lot of change in diameter. You must stay with the proper bolt strength to insure it won't break. The factory bolt is a metric grade 10.9 (SAE Grade 8). So don't run off to Home Depot and simply buy wider/longer bolts.

The springs are designed (both load carrying capacity and the rate) for the C4's front and rear vehicle weights and may be too stiff or too soft for your project. Spring rates varied widely between 1984 and 1996. Within the various model years, some cars had different spring rates for coupe and convertibles, suspension options and even with certain shock options. What you need to find is what the 3-letter code means in terms of stiffness.

Shocks will play a big part in suspension travel with the car on the road. Shock stiffness, the weight of the car, road conditions, driving style, and such will all play a part in how the suspension works. The type of sway bars and bushings you have also must be considered.

Tires and wheels will also play roles in determining suspension travel; too wide of a tire and it may hit the top of the wheelwell under heavy spring compression. Turning radius will also be affected by wide tires and wheels with too much offset and/or backspacing.

Now there are people who have integrated C4 suspension under steel cars, trucks, hot rods and race cars. How they like the ride or how they like the way the suspension performs for them would be very subjective and a personal feel.

As suggested, try asking in the Autocross and Road Racing section. Maybe check out some hot rod forums or truck forums too.

 

I don't know the answer to the OP's orginal question, however the answer to the question in quotes is this.

Out of two different 84's that measurement was 4 inches on one and 3 inches on the other. (Mine and my wife's car)

 

I hope to be under 3000 lb after i install roll cage. with 50/50 front to rear
i set the engine a little to the right to compensate for driver weight. battery in the back temperately mounted and A/C not in until i get my corner weights. should be close to even side to side. aprox 740 lb at each corner. just a guess

my different setups on this project have always handled quite well except when i had the 440. that when my steering box started to go out.

my current setup is complete except for my fenders some body work and paint. I've had it up to 60-70 MPH (speedometer not working) on a couple test drives. it runs smooth and holds the road like there supper glue on the tires

it looks like I should go with 2 1/2" clearance to be on the safe side
thanks for all the input i may try the coil overs in the future if i cant catch the car in first place

 

Like I said, mine is 2" and I've never had rubbing issues so I would imagine the suspension travel is not that great. 2 1/2 should be fine. Are your tires going to be inside the fender wells? I'm thinking of going coilovers and SOFTER springs to allow the suspension to work better. Currently if I go around a corner that is even a little rough, I just about skitter off the road. I would rather the suspension soak up a few of these bumps instead of my backbone.

Stiffer is only better on a glass smooth skidpad and I don't drive on many of those. I believe GM was looking for ultimate numbers for bragging rights rather than realistic numbers for driver comfort and sporty handling. You can have both