1937-1957 Buick Oldsmobile Pontiac suspension upgrade
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(→Front suspension) |
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[[image:49_olds_upper_mount_1.jpg|frame|none|Caption goes here.]] | [[image:49_olds_upper_mount_1.jpg|frame|none|Caption goes here.]] | ||
| − | Note in the pictures how the front mount is higher than the rear mount. This sets up the anti dive angle. Up to 10 degrees is fine, as long as the upper ball joint is not in a bind. Be sure the frame is level side-to-side, and has the correct front-to-rear angle that you want. ( | + | Note in the pictures how the front mount is higher than the rear mount. This sets up the anti dive angle. Up to 10 degrees is fine, as long as the upper ball joint is not in a bind. Be sure the frame is level side-to-side, and has the correct front-to-rear angle that you want. (With 15 inch wheels, the spindle center was 12.5 inches off the ground. The frame was blocked, so that when the lower A was level, the spindle was 12.5 inches up.) |
| − | Even a small error here will be costly. It takes ½ inch of shims to adjust 1 degree of camber. If you need to put additional shims on the rear of the bracket, to increase caster, and can't take enough out of the front to keep the camber static, you will have to cut it loose and start over. Unfortunately, you | + | Even a small error here will be costly. It takes ½ inch of shims to adjust 1 degree of camber. If you need to put additional shims on the rear of the bracket, to increase caster, and can't take enough out of the front to keep the camber static, you will have to cut it loose and start over. Unfortunately, you can't do a full alignment until it is totally finished, and basically driveable. So, get this part right. If you have any doubts, shade towards the positive camber side, as you can add more shims later to move it towards negative. Likewise, move the upper mount to a position about 3/4 inch behind the plumb line for the spindle, to set up at least 5 degrees of caster in the neutral position (neutral being the static position as mocked up, before final alignment). |
| − | If you intend to add power steering, shoot for 6 degrees in the neutral position, but don't get the uppers so far behind the lowers that you put the ball joints in a bind. In this situation, holes were drilled in the bottom plate of the angle iron, and, when it was mocked up, | + | If you intend to add power steering, shoot for 6 degrees in the neutral position, but don't get the uppers so far behind the lowers that you put the ball joints in a bind. In this situation, holes were drilled in the bottom plate of the angle iron, and, when it was mocked up, the frame was drilled and bolted up with 3/8 inch bolts. This was strong enough to allow for assembly of the entire front end, with springs, putting the wheels and tires on it, and setting it on the ground. Everything was double-checked, then torn down and welded in place. |
| − | [[image:Upper_mount_mocked_up_side_view.jpg]] | + | [[image:Upper_mount_mocked_up_side_view.jpg|frame|none|Caption goes here.]] |
| − | [[image:Uper_mount_mocked_2.jpg]] | + | [[image:Uper_mount_mocked_2.jpg|frame|none|Caption goes here.]] |
| − | For spindles, | + | For spindles, the '63 Pontiac spindles advised in the article were used. Unfortunately, when it was set it on the ground, it was too high. This led to a search for dropped spindles. For BOP, dropped spindles couldn't be found. Chevy drop spindles are readily available, but they come with a problem. Note the side by side comparisons in the picture. The '63 Pontiac spindle has a deep 90 degree bend at the bottom, to clear the wide corners on the lower control arm. The 60's stock Chevy spindle has a 45 degree angle there, and won’t work. |
| − | Chevy drop spindles are readily available, but they come with a problem. Note the side by side comparisons in the picture. | + | |
| − | [[image:63_pontiac_65_chevy_spindle_2.jpg]] | + | [[image:63_pontiac_65_chevy_spindle_2.jpg|frame|none|Caption goes here.]] |
| − | [[image:Cpp_-_Pont_-_chevy_spindles.jpg]] | + | [[image:Cpp_-_Pont_-_chevy_spindles.jpg|frame|none|Caption goes here.]] |
| − | The third spindle is the 65-70 Chevy drop spindle from | + | The third spindle is the '65-'70 Chevy drop spindle from Classic Performance Products. It's their own in-house design and is very close to the design of a Pontiac spindle. The ears had to be trimmed off the front side of the lower A frame, but that was a minor modification. |
[[image:IMGP0005.JPG]] | [[image:IMGP0005.JPG]] | ||
| − | Here is where | + | Here is where the bolt-in mock up was really appreciated. The dropped spindle from Classic Performance Products (CPP) was almost 2 inches longer than the stock spindle. Not a problem, and, in fact, they say that the longer spindle gives more stability. However, the longer spindle changed the geometry, and the location of the upper control arm mounts had to be replaced. Fortunately, it wasn't welded in at this point. |
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| − | + | CPP's drop spindle is available alone, or in a disc brake kit. Be sure you get the CP30101 spindle. It has no steering arms built in. | |
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| + | Stock spindles are front steer, and won’t work. With the CP30101, you can just add a pair of '65-'70 stock arms. Flipped over, they fit your rear steer perfectly -- even the taper is the right direction. Unlike the 63 Pontiac arm in the article, the Chevy arms are pretty straight. | ||
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| + | For this project, the tie rods only needed to be shortened less than an inch, rather than the 3 inches in the article. This was done by trimming a little off both the inner and outer tie rod threads and the sleeve. No cutting and welding. | ||
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| + | Incidently, It looks like the tie rod ends in this project are closer to the Ackerman line than the '55 conversion in the article. The taper in the Chevy arms was a bit small for the Pontiac tie rods, so I had to ream them a touch. | ||
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| + | The CPP drop spindle/disc brake kit uses Chevelle 11 inch rotors and Chevy S10 calipers. In this case, it was cheaper to order the entire kit, then getting the individual pieces. And with the kit, you get a matched set: spindles, rotors/hubs, bearings, brackets, calipers, pads, flex hoses, nuts, washers, and even cotter pins, all for about $500. | ||
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| + | That's the most straightforward approach -- '58 Pontiac upper and lower control arms, and either '63 Pontiac spindles and Scarebird brackets for disc brakes and stock height, or Classic Performance Products dropped spindles and their setup. | ||
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| + | ''(Note: later, a power rack and pinion was added, and the steering arms were changed out. However, the Pontiac arms will work fine on a 605 power box upgrade.)'' | ||
==Springs== | ==Springs== | ||
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