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I went with the Helix set up. It has the cup for the coil and shock just above the uca on top of the frame. It allows you to eliminate the shock towers, which gave me room for the 351W long tube w/headers. The coils and shocks are short but it rides and handels nice.
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Daze,
Man I wish I had your skills. You do good work. Very impressed.
Larry
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Daze, I didn't see where you posted the source and part numbers for the coilover setup. I have been considering something exactly like you are doing.
1973-1977 GM A-Body - Chevelle, Monte Carlo, etc.
1978-1987 GM G-Body - Regal, Malibu, Monte Carlo, etc.
1982-2003 GM S-10 & S-15 Truck & Blazer (2WD Only)GS401-10350C $449.95
OR
Fits
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I got mine from Summit racing $439.99 BUT they are currently on sale for $395.97 AND they are offering free shipping on orders over $99.99
Brand:QA1 Precision Products
Manufacturer's Part Number:GS401-10350C Part
Type:Coil-Over Kits
Product Line:QA1 Pro Coil-Over Systems
Summit Racing Part Number:HAL-GS401-10350C
UPC:806990062147
Coil-Over Kit Position:Front
Recommended Front-End Weight:1,701-1,900 lbs.
Shocks Included:Yes
Adjustable Valving:Yes
Gas Charged:No
Number of Valving Selections:12
Upper Mount:Stud
Lower Mount:Bar pin
Shock Body Material:Aluminum
Shock Body Finish:Clear anodized
Bushing Material:Rubber
Bushing Color:Black
Coil-Over Springs Included:Yes
Spring Rate (lbs/in):350 lbs./in.
Crossmember Included:No
Adjustable Mounting Bracket Included:No
Hardware Included:Yes
Welding Required:No
Quantity:Sold as a kit.
These QA1 Pro coil-over systems are engineered from the ground up to offer unmatched performance over stock suspension setups. Pro coil-over systems utilize adjustable and non-adjustable coil-over shocks and springs, designed specifically for replacing the factory shocks and springs. This combination offers ride height adjustment and variable position valving adjustment (where applicable) for performance not found in other kits. Choose these QA1 Pro coil-over systems for your next suspension upgrade.
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Taz wrote:
I went with the Helix set up. It has the cup for the coil and shock just above the uca on top of the frame. It allows you to eliminate the shock towers, which gave me room for the 351W long tube w/headers. The coils and shocks are short but it rides and handels nice.
Oh OK so you went Mustang II
Daze,
Man I wish I had your skills. You do good work. Very impressed.
Larry
No skill to speek of. I am self taught and have been at this for about 15 years. If I can teach my self to do this any one can do this kind of work with a little time, research and trial and error.
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larrysback2001, Thanks for asking for the part #!!!!! When I went to summit racing to look for the part # I saw it was on sale for $45.00 less than what I paied for it. I called Summit and they are hooking me up with a $50.00 gift card to cover the difference. The probably would have done a refund had I pushed for it but for me a $50.00 gift card with them is as good as cash AND I get $5.00 more so its a win win.
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Daze,
I wondered about the fit of that part # kit (HAL-GS401-10350C) - since you're doing your '62 with it, I imagine that I can do my '61 as well? Looks to be the same LCA. Did you buy individual LCA pivot bushings, or get a whole front end kit? I got Moog bushings for the front side of the LCAs, but there are none available for the back side (I think I've got that right, may be vise-versa, I'm away from the project right now).
I agree with jrdufresne, you've got great fab skills.
Thanks for the pics of the project!
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Daze, Reading your thread and seeing your pictures, I have been thinking about this alot. I came real close to ordering something last night. Though your adjusted height of the shock and spring is pretty close the amount of travel is important. The two control arms are designed to hit the bumpstops in either direction. The shock internal bumpstops should not be the limiting factor if at all possible. If you have the opposite side still on the car, I am interested in mocking up the shock without the spring and running it through it's travel and see what happens. I believe that that will tell you, (us) alot. Now would be the time to check it. Before you get to far into the fabrication. I was looking at the QA1 shock lengths and I don't see why a longer shock body couldn't be substituted to get the proper amount of travel. (For those of us who haven't sprung for parts yet.) However this turns out, kudos to you for 'giving it a shot' and seeing what happens. Thanks
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Daze,
I wondered about the fit of that part # kit (HAL-GS401-10350C) - since you're doing your '62 with it, I imagine that I can do my '61 as well? Looks to be the same LCA. Did you buy individual LCA pivot bushings, or get a whole front end kit?
I parted out a 61 so I can say for sure that the 61 and 62 use the same suspension. I am 90% sure that this would be the same fit or a 63/4 Galaxie as well because I believe the only suspension difference is the offset shafts in the LCA.
I bought a full kit from PST I got it for about $200. It came with UCA and LCA bushings, 4 ball joints, two outer tie rods and sway bar end links. The parts were great quality and cheeper than buying just the ball joints.
Though your adjusted height of the shock and spring is pretty close the amount of travel is important. The two control arms are designed to hit the bumpstops in either direction. The shock internal bumpstops should not be the limiting factor if at all possible. If you have the opposite side still on the car, I am interested in mocking up the shock without the spring and running it through it's travel and see what happens. I believe that that will tell you, (us) a lot. Now would be the time to check it. Before you get to far into the fabrication. I was looking at the QA1 shock lengths and I don't see why a longer shock body couldn't be substituted to get the proper amount of travel. (For those of us who haven't sprung for parts yet.) However this turns out, kudos to you for 'giving it a shot' and seeing what happens. Thanks
This shouldn't be an issue at all. First off the OEM shocks I removed only had 5" of travel AND had to be compressed 1" to install them SO they in effect only had 4" of travel when installed just like the QA1 shocks. Second the shocks on a Galaxie are almost perfectly vertical so 4" of travel is 4" of travel unlike systems where the shock is angled and the shock travel has to be greater than actual suspension travel to compensate. Lastly the shock is mounted 9" from the center of the pivot on a control arm that is 16.5" from the center of the pivots to the center of the ball joint. I did some "loose" calculations using approximate angles and such and the result was that 4" of travel at the shock mount will result in a little over 7" of travel at the ball joint which is more than the total Galaxie suspension travel at the spindle.
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Made some more progress this afternoon. First things first I mocked things up so I could go through the full range of motion like larrysback2001 suggested.
Turns out that with mounting the shock on top and having the reinforcing bracket between the shock and LCA, it is raised enough that the shock had to be compressed about 1/2" to install it in the "fully expanded" position. This left 3.5" of shock travel. At this point as a second reference I measured the distance from the roof of the spring cup to the base of the shock and got 13". Then I raised the LCA until the rubber bumper came in contact with the frame.
I took a second measurement from the roof of the spring cup to the base of the shock and got 10". I then unbolted the shock and let the LCA down. What I saw confirmed my measurements. The shock still had 1/2" of travel before the bumper came in contact with the top of the shock. I never would have guessed that a Galaxie shock only needs 3" of travel but both my measurements and the compressed length of the shock still having 1/2" of travel confirm the 3"
The other thing I got done today was I fabricated up the half circle pieces for the other side and drilled out all 4 pieces. I used the OEM shock mount holes for the 3/8" holes that will mount the shock to the LCA through the reinforcing plate and then I drilled a second set of 5/16" holes, that mirror the OEM holes to mount the reinforcing plate to the LCA for added strength.
I will probably fab up an 1/8" thick plate that fits on the underside of the LCA to tie all 4 bolts together and reinforce the LCA from the bottom.
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