Needs some help

[cbodybob]

Folks I am very active over on the C body fourm. Dont post as much over here, but I am a big B body fan too. I have a 69 Satellite drag car that I really want to get back to the track soon. So I need some help. I installed super stock springs & all the related & I also went from a 26 in. slick to a 29 inch slick. Now the cars sit 3 inches higher. My shocks are the long ones & are fully extended with car sitting static. So my question? Can I use lowering blocks? I'm thinking 2 inch drop. Or is this a no no. Looks like I need about a 4 degree shim to get the pinion angle right too.

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

Put up a picture so I can see what it looks like. might not be as bad as you think. Many run that slick with SS Springs.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Well, I don't see how lowering blocks would remedy a shock situation. The distance between the shock mount and body mount would not change. I have seen extenders to go on the shocks. That may help. Pictures would help like ssr said

 

[383man]

Are they the longer MP shocks ? And you can use lowering blocks if you have to but I would not use the aluminum ones as they wont hold up good. They make billet ones I believe that hold up good if you do go that way. A friend of mine put the good lowering blocks on his Duster and it worked out fine for him. But its a street car he dont race alot. Ron

 

[silversedan]

just can't see why the shocks would be fully extended, what angle are your rear shackles at , maybe you don't have the springs mounted correctly?

 

[Budnicks]

what front spring mounts are you using ??,
are they adjustable type with 2 locations ??,
you could also go to a sorter shackle
or possibly go with roller sliders on the rear of the S/S springs too, that lowers the car about an inch, helps springs a little
I believe you could raise your lower shock mounts too, buy a bracket or make you own & weld them up higher on the rear housing, instead of on the plate below the rear springs
& also just possibly some longer shocks from different sources {who's brand/type of shocks are you using now??}
Calvert Racing have 1" & Mancini Racing make 3/4"- 1"- 1-1/2" & upto 3" in solid or extruded lowering blocks
where did you get the front mounts ?? what type/style/brand ??
try talking to Mancini Racing, they have an array or Mopar Performance & their own in house MRE brands too
photos would be nice too

 

[cbodybob]

Are they the longer MP shocks ? And you can use lowering blocks if you have to but I would not use the aluminum ones as they wont hold up good. They make billet ones I believe that hold up good if you do go that way. A friend of mine put the good lowering blocks on his Duster and it worked out fine for him. But its a street car he dont race alot. Ron

Yes they are the longer Comp eng. pieces. Yea I know. Wish I had not bought them, but thay are on the car & paid for. I would deffinately use the billit blocks cause I think you are right about the cast ones.

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what front spring mounts are you using ??,
are they adjustable type with 2 locations ??,
you could also go to a sorter shackle
or possibly go with roller sliders on the rear of the S/S springs too, that lowers the car about an inch, helps springs a little
I believe you could raise your lower shock mounts too, buy a bracket or make you own & weld them up higher on the rear housing, instead of on the plate below the rear springs
& also just possibly some longer shocks from different sources {who's brand/type of shocks are you using now??}
Calvert Racing have 1" & Mancini Racing make 3/4"- 1"- 1-1/2" & upto 3" in solid or extruded lowering blocks
where did you get the front mounts ?? what type/style/brand ??
try talking to Mancini Racing, they have an array or Mopar Performance & their own in house MRE brands too
photos would be nice too

I got the MP front hangers. I originaly installed in the upper hold & car looked good. Ony went up a bit over an inch, but my pinion angle was 7 up. So I put them in the lower hole. Measured & went up a bit over two inches. Pinion angle now is at 1 up. Longer shocks (Comp eng. adj. )where within 1 inch from extended. Installed 29 inch slick from a 26 & car went up another inch. Now at 3 Measures same spot both sides & wrote measurment on car with yellow crayon. Gonna post all kinds of pic's here in just a minute. If I can get these last few little things worked out I will be ready to go racin...lol

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This was taken aout 6 years ago. Stock springs & 26X10 slicks as you can see car sat good with a nice rake. This is the way it was untill I installed the Mopar SS springs.

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This was taken aout 6 years ago. Stock springs & 26X10 slicks as you can see car sat good with a nice rake. This is the way it was untill I installed the Mopar SS springs.

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Taken last month Ss springs installed & MP hanger in lower hole. Comp eng adjustable shocks 1 inch longer still the 26X10 slicks. You can see car went way up in the rear. 2 inches. Also nothe the difference in the slick heght. 26 on left 29 on right

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Pics taken about a week ago. Everything the same jst the 29 inch slicks installed. Also have a pic of the shock drivers side & the hanger drivers side. This is the way the car is today.

 

[Cranky]

How heavy is your car and what spring rate did you put on it? I found a long time ago that a 3800 pound spring is way too heavy for a 3800 lb car and puts it way too high in the air and I'm betting it rides like a 1 ton truck now.....

 

[cbodybob]

Car with driver & full fuel is 3175 & I bought 3400 springs. I think thats the lightest they offer for a 69 B. body

 

[Budnicks]

I like the stance, after the changes, with the taller 29" tires/slicks...
I don't think it's a noses bleeder/too high or looks out of place...
I'm not the one that needs to be happy thou...

Do you have a rear/trunk mount battery ?? how big of a cell/how much fuel is in it ?? there's 10#'s a gallon in fuel, 50#'s for the batt., will you run any added ballast in the rear ??, all these will lower the rear slightly...
You could use a shorter shackle, but probably have to fabricate them yourself...

I'd go back to the upper front eye mounts & shim it accordingly too...

I would shim the pinion angle, to what you need soon as you get the ride height you want... or maybe cut off the spring perches & re-weld some back on at the correct angles, so it doesn't need as much shim or none at all... you could add some height to the spring perches too, make them taller to effective lower the ride height, so you don't have lowering blocks...

you could also add shock extensions to get the shocks back to where they should be, if you don't lower it or if you still need them...

 

[sleepar]

Well, I don't see how lowering blocks would remedy a shock situation. The distance between the shock mount and body mount would not change. I have seen extenders to go on the shocks. That may help. Pictures would help like ssr said

Sometimes a shock for a truck will work... ranchero 5000 for a 4x4 application with the right ends maybe worth a try...

 

[Cranky]

Well....does the car still get traction or have you tried it yet? I like my cars sitting level like yours did before the change because of several reasons, one being that any time the back end goes up, it puts more weight on the front and that's exactly opposite of what's needed for a drag car....or any car for that matter. It also changes your caster settings. The upper ball joint has now been move more forward in relation to the lower and more caster is what you want for high speed and not less. It's a lot of work but if you lower the rear and scale it then raise it back up to where it's at now, you will see a big difference in front to rear weight bias. A good example is when a car is picked up by a wrecker by the tail.......the front end gets squatted. That's an extreme but it's the same principal at work. Do what you can to lower it and it will perform better. That's not my opinion....it's a fact.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Car with driver & full fuel is 3175 & I bought 3400 springs. I think thats the lightest they offer for a 69 B. body

All the ss springs have a 20" front segment. You could use lighter a body springs

 

[Budnicks]

you can get S/S springs in 2800# & 3000# & 3300#'s also but require different shackle length/locations IIRC
http://chucker54.stores.yahoo.net/superstock.html

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Well....does the car still get traction or have you tried it yet? I like my cars sitting level like yours did before the change because of several reasons, one being that any time the back end goes up, it puts more weight on the front and that's exactly opposite of what's needed for a drag car....or any car for that matter. It also changes your caster settings. The upper ball joint has now been move more forward in relation to the lower and more caster is what you want for high speed and not less. It's a lot of work but if you lower the rear and scale it then raise it back up to where it's at now, you will see a big difference in front to rear weight bias. A good example is when a car is picked up by a wrecker by the tail.......the front end gets squatted. That's an extreme but it's the same principal at work. Do what you can to lower it and it will perform better. That's not my opinion....it's a fact.

Good point Cranky, I wonder what kind of front end lift the current set up has ??,
some movement will depend on how much power/torque,
what front diameter torsion bars ??,
& what front shock ?? {what frontend parts/suspension are on it},
or if it will transfer enough weight ??,
more than how it actually looks, functionality, how it actually works with his specific combo/set-up....
How much weight has been taken off the nose ??
He could need to raise the front some anyway, that would/could change allot of the look & weight bias too...
all these type things can change with ride heights or different shocks, bars, springs, lift, weight, power etc.

 

[sleepar]

A spring shop can re-arch the springs and pull some temper out of them making them any way you want... it's becoming a lost art... if you're building the car around the tires.... everything Will need to be tweaked like mentioned above....

Turning a leaf upside down...... there maybe no body else on here that has hammerd and made there own springs and sway bars in an actual spring shop with a forge and anvil etc.... there is more out there than off the shelf springs if you get them made custom....

 

[Cranky]

A spring shop can re-arch the springs and pull some temper out of them making them any way you want... it's becoming a lost art... if you're building the car around the tires.... everything Will need to be tweaked like mentioned above....

Turning a leaf upside down...... there maybe no body else on here that has hammerd and made there own springs and sway bars in an actual spring shop with a forge and anvil etc.... there is more out there than off the shelf springs if you get them made custom....

I've used a press to get what I wanted in ride height and have stacked my own springs before. Yup, it's a lost art. It takes time and experiment to get what you want but it usually pays off in the long run. If you have the money, buying off the 'rack' can work but what fun is that lol

 

[cbodybob]

Well....does the car still get traction or have you tried it yet? I like my cars sitting level like yours did before the change because of several reasons, one being that any time the back end goes up, it puts more weight on the front and that's exactly opposite of what's needed for a drag car....or any car for that matter. It also changes your caster settings. The upper ball joint has now been move more forward in relation to the lower and more caster is what you want for high speed and not less. It's a lot of work but if you lower the rear and scale it then raise it back up to where it's at now, you will see a big difference in front to rear weight bias. A good example is when a car is picked up by a wrecker by the tail.......the front end gets squatted. That's an extreme but it's the same principal at work. Do what you can to lower it and it will perform better. That's not my opinion....it's a fact.

Have not taken it out yet. With the rear shock fully extended like it is I dont see any point. Got to get that right or its just a wast of gas & time. Suspension cant work with the shock all the way out at static ride height.

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All the ss springs have a 20" front segment. You could use lighter a body springs

They are not all the same to the rear. The 3300 springs are for E bodies & they offer a 3200 for early B's. Talked with tech guys at Mancini & jegs to see if I could use the E body springs. You have to relocate the rear hanger. Decided to just use the 3400 B body springs. I knew it was going to jack the rear up. Just looking for the best ---> effective<--- way to lower it so my expensive shocks will work.

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Quote "Do you have a rear/trunk mount battery ?? how big of a cell/how much fuel is in it ?? there's 10#'s a gallon in fuel, 50#'s for the batt., will you run any added ballast in the rear ??, all these will lower the rear slightly...
You could use a shorter shackle, but probably have to fabricate them yourself..."

Yep I built this car to be light. I have been using the small group 26 battery for years mounted in the trunk.
10 gallong fuel cell in trunk
No ballast...so far have not needed it as the car is pretty light even in tghe front.

 

[383man]

Wow 3175 is really light for your car ! It does not sit to bad with the taller slicks. Can you use the shock ext and try it like that ? On my 63 which weighs 3700 lbs I bought the 3400 lb SS springs from Mancini as they may be their brand as I never really asked. But this is how my car sits with them as it came out just right for me. I just use the SS springs with no pinion snubber and it seems to hook good on my 30 x 9 Hoosier radial slicks. Your car is a nice looking Roadrunner ! Ron

 

[cbodybob]

Wow 3175 is really light for your car ! It does not sit to bad with the taller slicks. Can you use the shock ext and try it like that ? On my 63 which weighs 3700 lbs I bought the 3400 lb SS springs from Mancini as they may be their brand as I never really asked. But this is how my car sits with them as it came out just right for me. I just use the SS springs with no pinion snubber and it seems to hook good on my 30 x 9 Hoosier radial slicks. Your car is a nice looking Roadrunner ! Ron

Thanks Ron. It looks better in pic's than in the steel. Time for a new paint job. Your car looks killer. I cant find the shock ext. Jegs, Summit, Mancin all say they have been discontinued. So I'm looking at either lowering blocks or fab my own extensions. Since my car is Drag only I was able to get a lot of weight out of it. I'm 235 myself so the car is quite lite. Are those stock type steel wheels on your car?

 

[actionange1]

Try this for the shock extensions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/201099672099?lpid=82