C4 rear coilover question
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
C4 rear coilover question
Im swapping a normal rear end out of my 72 nova and putting in a c4 irs and im contemplating coilovers, but i wanted to know if the original shock mounts can carry the load of the car with the leaf removed...? Have many of you done this swap?
Any and all advice is welcomed!!
Thanks, Jimmy.
Any and all advice is welcomed!!
Thanks, Jimmy.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,768
Likes: 33
From: Van Steel Corvettes
St. Jude Donor '12-'13
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 2,816
Likes: 2
From: Austin, TX
I've been running coilovers for a couple years (van steel) and they hold up great. There are several others on the forum as well.
The only thing you'll want to check since it's a custom setup on your car is to make sure your bump stops bottom out before the shocks do. If you bottom out the shock on a huge bump, I could see that breaking the ear off.
The only thing you'll want to check since it's a custom setup on your car is to make sure your bump stops bottom out before the shocks do. If you bottom out the shock on a huge bump, I could see that breaking the ear off.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,768
Likes: 33
From: Van Steel Corvettes
St. Jude Donor '12-'13
The nova is also packing more weight, so the regular shock stud probably wouldn't hold up well at all. I've never heard of a knuckle failing with coilovers...but I've seen plenty of photos of bent lower shock mounts.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 25,393
Likes: 2,741
OP - What do you actually weigh? A '72 A/C, 350TH and pretty well optioned would be 3250+ maybe but you mention modified so the addition of the C4 IRS is maybe a little less but close and who knows what ever else you've removed. You've many options for your C4 IRS mounting and I've seen A-bodied cars with the C4 IRS so I don't see any reason NOT to consider it. I believe you shouldn't have to search to far to find a half-dozen or so examples of similar swaps on the Nova sites.
The lower mount when you deal with a modified chassis is pretty much wide open to change. It sounds like an interesting packages. I wouldn't be easily discouraged if it was what you really wanted.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski