Why does my Vette look like a 4X4?

[Ryan536]

Here is my other problem with my Vette..... It looks like a 4X4!!!! Is it just me? Or is it an optical illusion?
The rear tires are 295 50 R15. The fronts are 245 60 R15. When I bought the car the rear leaf spring had been replaced with a fiberglass mono spring. It also had "knuckles" or chalks stuck in the front coils which I removed but the overall ride height never changed. I can't tell if it has those rubber grommets on top of the coils to increase height. I feel the front is sitting 1 to 2 inches too high. It also looks like the front sits higher than the rear by an inch. The front suspension looks stock but is there a difference in Big Block coils and regular coils? Maybe swapped out at some point?
Any help would be appreicated
Thanks

 

[MikeMc71]

I really do believe it has to do woth the monospring. My wife has a '71 coupe (stock spring), and I have a '70 roadster (monospring). The '70 does seem to have more ground clearance, and looks higher. It is also more "bouncy" on the road. Hers sits a little lower in the back. The only thing I can figure is the weight of the stock spring, itself. We have had problems with large speed bumps and steep driveways with the '71, but not so with the '70.

The other thing I have noticed, when you get on the '71, it tends to drop the rear end, and bring up the front, the front of the '70 comes up slightly, but the rear does not drop. I suppose there are pros and cons to both springs, it is just a matter of personal preferance.

 

[red70vette]

Your car certainly does sit too high. Do you have an AIM? According to the 1970 AIM the ride heights are as follows:
Front Cpe with A/C 28.28 inches w/o A/C 28.49 inches, This is measured from the top of the wheel well to the ground. It may be different for different years but not much.
I think you need to check out your whole suspension to find out what the previous owners did. It is either that or get a front transfer case and convert it to 4X4.

 

[Ryan536]

I do have access to a transfer case.... I could then do 4 wheel peels!!!! I 'll go measure the height. Its the one thing on the car that bugs me. Especially when people think that it has no motor in it.

 

[Ryan536]

I measured up the ride height. My car came with A/C but the compressor is long gone. Anyway If I measure from the ground to the bottom lip of the wheel well its almost exactly 29 inches. If I measure from the ground to the very top of the wheel well inside its 34 inches.

 

[Ryan536]

I measured the rear wheel well for laughs. It comes in at 28 3/4 inches from ground to the bottom lip.

 

[Wayne robson]

height

Hi Ryan536, this is what i would do if it were my vette, car looks great but approx i inch to high at front, leave the rear for the time , but try and find a solution at the front, firstly jack up one side, jack at chassis so the coil spring will hang down, take a good look at the coils, the correct coils should be closer coiled at the top, slightly wider coiled to bottom, if you notice your coil springs look the same size coil from top to bottom, this is what can happen nearly all of the replacement coils are not like the originals closer coils to top, and alot of these replacements are junk, to stiff and not the correct rating, thats not to say they all are, so if fitted the car ends up higher than is sopposed to, if you go to ebay and take a look these cheap replacements are for sale all the time from $35.00 to $85.00, you have to find a good reliable source for the correct coil spring, im not an expert on corvette but buick and cadillac club have had this problem for years and most use Eaton detroit spring co detroit MI, now days, may help you regards.

 

[KANE]

Here is my other problem with my Vette..... It looks like a 4X4!!!! Is it just me? Or is it an optical illusion?
The rear tires are 295 50 R15. The fronts are 245 60 R15. When I bought the car the rear leaf spring had been replaced with a fiberglass mono spring. It also had "knuckles" or chalks stuck in the front coils which I removed but the overall ride height never changed. I can't tell if it has those rubber grommets on top of the coils to increase height. I feel the front is sitting 1 to 2 inches too high. It also looks like the front sits higher than the rear by an inch. The front suspension looks stock but is there a difference in Big Block coils and regular coils? Maybe swapped out at some point?
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

You have a couple options....

For the rear- get a set of longer spring bolts. They will cost about $40 from Eckler's, Mid America, Zip, etc. The ride height is typical for a car with an after market mono spring. Mono springs typically raise the height of the car. You need the longer bolts to lower the car.

For the front... you have the wrong spring / shock combo. Your height is consistent with cheap after market versions of OEM springs. You could get a lighter duty shock and place more weight on the springs (which would lower the car a bit) but it could become bouncy too. I'd replace the springs.

If I understand correctly, the BB 70-72 cars had stiffer springs than the SB cars. Maybe that would help you retain the performance level you want.

What size are your tires? I assume you have 15" wheels. If you aren't running a 255 size tire it won't fit the wheel well and your stance will be off.

Just my .$02

 

[bmotojoe]

It sounds to me like after the rear spring was replaced with the fiberglass mono the previous owner tried to level out the car by installing the inserts into the front springs and when that didn’t work they ordered replacement springs.
At least for front replacement springs offered by Chevrolet for the 1973 model there were 4 choices of spring weights depending what options your car originally came with. It looks like there were only two replacement spring weights for the rear available through Chevrolet but this doesn’t apply to your car now because of the mono rear.
If it comes to the point where you’re going to reorder front springs you will have to calculate the weight of all options your car came with to select the correct spring. Remember the A/C compressor alone only makes up for part of the total weight as there are several other components installed on A/C equipped cars.
Now to the rear mono, at least through VBP there are 4 different spring weights offered so I would look for some kind of markings or a part number you can cross it to so you know for sure.
The rubber spring spacer on the front coil if installed will raise the car about 1”.
You can purchase grade 8 bolts to make rear ride height adjustments from any fastener company and your selection will be much better and cheaper too. I would measure the ones currently installed for total length, they could be from 8” long up to 10” long. Remember depending on what spring weight that is installed longer bolts may push the spring closer to the ground causing more problems.
If you need the chart used to calculate what spring rate was used depending on the options PM me with e-address and I will send it.
Brian

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

You could get a lighter duty shock and place more weight on the springs (which would lower the car a bit) but it could become bouncy too.

Just for accuracy, shocks do not control the ride height of a car. They control the compression/rebound action of the suspension only.

The gas pressure inside a shock is not designed to raise the car, nor does it to any measurable degree.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Just for accuracy, shocks do not control the ride height of a car. They control the compression/rebound action of the suspension only.

The gas pressure inside a shock is not designed to raise the car, nor does it to any measurable degree.

I'm sorry but that is not correct.
Gas pressure shocks, especially high-pressure gas shocks (Bilstein, etc) will change ride height and the change will be measurable, however, this is really only an issue on a car not originally equipped with them.

That said, they won't change it as much as shown in the pics at the start of the thread.

My guess is the 73 shown, has the wrong front springs and the wrong-length, rear spring bolts.

 

[74bigblock]

Your front end is to high.

Check to see if the springs are seated correctly (no chucks between the top A arm and the spring).

If everything seems OK, then the springs you have in front are not right for your current set up. The weight of your missing AC compressor could have a lot to do with it. Also, if you have swapped from a cast iron intake to an aluminum intake... this removes even more weight from the front!

I would recommend buying new springs rated for your current set up...

Small block/big block AC/No AC.


As for the rear... if you think it's too high, then get the extension bolts others have mentioned. It's important you understand those bolts will only help your rear end... not the front.

 

[bmotojoe]

So if one removes there shock absorbers from all 4 will the ride height change? No
I have to agree with Vettehead here and here are my reasons as I understand them:
Most gas shocks do not add any significant spring force to the suspension, that's not what the gas is there for. The gas is added to maintain pressure on the hydraulic fluid (oil) in the shock. This reduces foaming, the big enemy of a hydraulic shock absorber. During foaming, air bubbles spread out through the oil, get into the working chamber, and pass through the orifice. When this happens the shock absorbers effectiveness is greatly reduced and bouncing/heat generation increases. It then takes a while for all the air bubble to dissipate. Most manufacturers simply charge up the shock with Nitrogen gas that remains above the oil. Others use a durable bag or "cell" to contain the gas. Oil foaming has been a problem since hydraulic shocks were invented. Various approaches have been tried to eliminate it. Remember GM's spiral tube shocks from the 60s - 70s? Oil running down the ramps inside the shock body was supposed to help dissipate any bubbles.
Brian

 

[Ryan536]

I jacked up the car as suggested by Wayne robson. With the tire off the ground the and the coils fully hanging down they are evenly spaced all the way from the top to the bottom. The gaps are about 1 1/2 inches apart every single one. I did not see any rubber inserts top or bottom. I looked in my Ecklers catalog and in the picture there is a difference in the gaps from top to bottom.
I also just realized today that I can't really drop the rear of the car because my rear tires stick out about 2 inches outside the wheel well. I have had zero problems with the rear tires rubbing or hitting the fenders so I should just leave things alone out back.
My front tires are 245 60 R15 which could also be making things look weird. I'm looking to replace all the tires next spring but I'm going to keep the rear tires the same size. Mainly because I don't want to shell out more for rims, and the current ones are true Centerlines and I like the aggressive look out back.
If I go and get the proper coils and go to a 255 on the front as suggested by DarkShark will I have steering issues? As it is right now I can't get my finger in between the fender and the tire when the steering wheel is fully cranked. Maybe if the front is a little lower that would open up the wheel well a little more. Or is that normal on Vettes? I have nothing to compare by and this is my first Vette.
Thanks for all your great input. It has helped me greatly (believe me on that) and I'm glad I found this site.

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

I'm sorry but that is not correct.
Gas pressure shocks, especially high-pressure gas shocks (Bilstein, etc) will change ride height and the change will be measurable, however, this is really only an issue on a car not originally equipped with them.

And '73 Corvettes were not originally equipped with them. All bets are off if someone has substituted a mish-mash of incorrect aftermarket hardware.

 

[KANE]

I'm sorry but that is not correct.
Gas pressure shocks, especially high-pressure gas shocks (Bilstein, etc) will change ride height and the change will be measurable, however, this is really only an issue on a car not originally equipped with them...

Thanks Hib- I've had a Vette with ride height issues from the wrong parts. Someone had put on what seemed like great parts on paper... but the former owner didn't think through things entirely. The car was outfitted with Blisten shocks and the wrong springs.

That Vette I spoke of looked very much like Ryan's for a couple of years until I figured it out.

:bash

I replaced both shocks and springs on the front with parts that did complement each other. The rear had a similar problem to Ryan's and longer bolts were the solution.

I outfitted the car with OEM size tires too as a previous owner put tires on it that were the wrong size as well.

Like Mikey said- a mishmash of parts makes for an ugly combo. Flour, salt, water, sugar, and eggs makes a cake. Too much salt and flour and no sugar or eggs make glue.
:L

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Just for reference, I put a set of gas charged Bilstiens on my 73 recently, in place of the service replacement AC Delcos.

No change in ride height.