1964.5 Project with Heidt's Suspension

[jswelborn]

View attachment 59078 Here are some pictures. View attachment 59067

 

[wicked93gs]

you welded the patch panels in as well I see...question...how is the ride height? I dont have fenders yet so i cant tell on mine whether I need to chop the springs...however my LCA angle is more than yours...according to the instructions they are supposed to be parallel to the ground(with engine in car)

p.s. a tip, pull that stuff off and paint it now...it just becomes more of a PITA later(I just pulled mine off today and painted it...those stupid heidts stickers on the control arms leave a residue thats a pain to get off if you leave them on

 

[jswelborn]

View attachment 59077 I ended up cutting a coil and a half off of each spring. It might be a little low, but it was so stiff I could not get it to move at all. I am putting in a alumininum headed 302 with a 5spd, not to heavy.

 

[jswelborn]

Here is a better pic of the suspension. I just pulled mine apart today and painted it. I know what you mean about the stickers... View attachment 59069 View attachment 59075

 

[jswelborn]

View attachment 59076 here is a side shot of the stance. I just ordered some 2" lowering blocks for the rear.

 

[jswelborn]

Here is a bigger pic. Click for a larger view. View attachment 59072

 

[jswelborn]

I put a level across the frame rails and measured to the concrete with 14" wheels on. It measured 16". View attachment 59073

 

[jswelborn]

How do I post pictures without running out of space? I just lost my previous pictures posting this last one.

 

[wicked93gs]

I host all mine on photobucket and use the image code to link them

you say it measured 14" with wheels? what size wheel and tire?(total height)

I have a 26.5" tire....top of my framerail is 16.5" off the ground...and right now the lower ball joint is roughly 3/4" lower than the crossmember with a 460lb modular engine...no coils cut on my springs yet....not till I can get a visual anyway

 

[jswelborn]

It measured 16" off the of the ground to the top of the frame rails. Thats with 14" rims 24 1/2 top of tire. Your sitting about 2" higher then me, but there is no engine in mine.

 

[wicked93gs]

actually I am only sitting 1/2" higher than you...but with a tire 2" taller thats to be expected...you may have issues being too low after the vehicle settles w/ engine weight...but probably not, I woulf also consider using a set of lowering leafs rather than blocks(new leafs never hurt anyway)

 

[jswelborn]

I have new leafs in the rear that are supposed to be an inch lower than the stock ones... Have you tackled your steering yet? I want to use the stock column, I already removed the steering box. I need to figure out a way to support the stock shaft in the end of the column.

 

[jswelborn]

I put a 302 and 5spd trans in to check ride height. Now it sets 2" lower and the LCA are almost level.
View attachment 59091

 

[jswelborn]

Under hood shot still have to adjust and weld up the mounts.
View attachment 59092

 

[wicked93gs]

look at all that space...my engine fills the bay with maybe 3" to spare on each side between the valve covers and fender aprons, as for steering I am using the stock column...I have come up with several different ways to support the shaft...the first is simple and will work fure sure...the stock column has a rubber grommet on the end of it, I'll call it a rubber "cap" this cap has a recess that holds a ball bearing, this bearing centers the shaft in the tube....support for this bearing should be a simple matter...simply make an additional cap...this time out of metal of some sort(exhaust tubing in the correct inside diameter should work(weld a circular cap on the end) slip this over the end of the column and the stock rubber cap...drill three small 1/8" pilot holes through the metal cap(which should extend up the column say 3") into the column and secure the new metal cap with 3 body screws(the pointy bolts) of some type...its a simple solution and "should" work well enough

now for a more elegant(and expensive) solution, this is what I have come up with...
McMaster-Carr this is a flanged ball bearing...you would need to bolt this to a flange that would be welded to the column tube(a couple small L brackets with holes correctly located 180* apart on the column will work as well....pretty simple so far if all you are looking to do is center the shaft in the column....now if you want to support the shaft from the bottom(rather than depend on the steering wheel to do it...you can do this....weld a washer onto the steering shaft above the flanged bearing...that washer would ride on this...this thrust bearing would go below the washer above the flanged bearing...this will support the shaft from the bottom as long as the flange bearing is bolted to some type of flange or bracket welded to the column tube..make sense?

my steering system is the next on my list...I plan on using this dual lower bearing system...now as for the u-joints and intermediate shafts...I plan on buying just one u-joint to connect the rack to a 3/4" intermediate shaft...I will probably have to use 2 additional U-joints to connect to the column shaft...since they are pricey at $60 each, I plan to dive into the junkyard this weekend to see if I can save a few bucks...I know a lot of modern cars come with U-joints on the column as opposed to rag joints, I'll see what i come up with that will fit a 3/4" shaft

 

[jswelborn]

Thanks for the reply. I found that flange bearing you were talking about on Ebay today for 15 bucks shipped. I also found a cool store on ebay that sells old race car steering components. I bought a 24" shaft with 2 universal shafts welded on it for 52 bucks shipped. I just need to buy a 9/16 26 spline adapter from summit racing for 20 bucks then I think I am good to go. I will document the build as soon as the parts start coming in. Here are some links to the items I mentioned.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/STEE...f19QQitemZ220451540761QQptZRaceQ5fCarQ5fParts

Summit SUM-770651 - Summit® Steering Couplers – SummitRacing.com

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-...25aQQitemZ190321783386QQptZRaceQ5fCarQ5fParts

 

[jswelborn]

Thanks for the info on the steering. I ordered up a bunch of stuff today to complete the steering setup. I tried to put links in a message but it said it had to go to a moderator for approval, that was about an hour ago! I will document the build. On to mounting the engine and trans, I am going to have to cut the shifter hole on the passenger side to get the motor to center up. Also the stock driveshaft I bought on ebay is too long, it goes in but it is tight to the trans.

 

[jswelborn]

Here are the shifter hole and driveshaft pics.
[/ATTACH]

 

[wicked93gs]

I didn't feel like spending the $250 for the kit heidts wants...since I'm a cheapskate...so I am thinking other ways to do the same thing for much less...mine should come out to $100 or so by the time I'm done if I use a couple of junkyard sourced u-joints $10, one flaming river u-joint(the rack connection)$60, and the lower bearing setup I have planned $30....I'll still be missing an intermediate shaft, but I can get that locally for $5 or so...add in the shipping...I may be up to $130

 

[wicked93gs]

I have to ask...why did your shifter have to move? mine is perfectly centered...though the tri-ax shifter angles toward the driver for better shifting I guess, did you pull your reference point for centering the engine fro the frame rails?(mine nds up being 10 3/8" from each frame rail to the edge of the crank pulley...yours of course has a different pulley so you will have a different measurement)