Is this normal?

[regal81455]

If you plan on adding a cage I wouldnt worry about it at all! The bracing that comes on the TR frames is only 1/8" plate steal so it's no big honkin brace but I do believe it is an extremely important spot to brace, if you dont have a cage!!!!!!!!!!


Well keep us posted on what you find out about the arms.

Ok cool - I figured the cage would suffice :biggrin: and yes Ill definitely keep y'all informed on my progress with the uppers - I thought I was going to get to it this weekend but Im getting tied up in other places so it'll just have to wait till next weekend probably

 

[HIboostGN]

Check the bJ plate it looks WRONG???

Regal,

I just checked my SPC catalog and it shows a bent plate for stock spindles and a flat plate like you have for a taller spindle car. I am not sure if some of the other G-bodies came with a tall spindle?? I know on Kore brake website they list all the spindles but i did not check and not sure what year you have on there. Something to check into. What will happen is the arm can not fully droop like it is suppose to. And i bet it will be in a slight bind when at drive height compared to stock. This will also cause other issues if it is true.
Hope this helps and is correct info.
Jerry

 

[regal81455]

OK!!! Well as luck would have it I got to work on the front end today and Im happy to report that I think everything is is going alot better! I started thinking/re-reading about what xcessive said regarding upper CA orientation and went outside and looked at mine and low and behold my uppers were on the wrong sides!!! Boy do I feel dumb!! Anyways to make a long story short I managed to get both sides in place - maybe someone can save me some time and tell me what the upper and lower BJ castles get torque to? Then Ill be on to bearings and hubs!! I feel SOOOOOO relieved now! Thanks for all the help guys! Heres a pic!

 

[regal81455]

sorry about the sideways pics fellas -fixed'em nevamind!

 

[pacecarta]

all ill say about your spring install is they are wrong , fronts and rears

 

[regal81455]

all ill say about your spring install is they are wrong , fronts and rears

care to elaborate a little more??? thats the way they came out of the car before disassembly...

 

[HIboostGN]

Rear Springs

I could be wrong since I never ran cargo springs. But I think the rears are upside down for sure?? Not sure what is up with fronts since i did not post the above question. Did you check those ball joint plates?? I am sure of it now, those plates are for a tall spindle and that looks like a short spindle to me. If you run it that way there might be binding or severe binding at certain extension points? Better to be safe now.
Jerry

 

[regal81455]

I could be wrong since I never ran cargo springs. But I think the rears are upside down for sure?? Not sure what is up with fronts since i did not post the above question. Did you check those ball joint plates?? I am sure of it now, those plates are for a tall spindle and that looks like a short spindle to me. If you run it that way there might be binding or severe binding at certain extension points? Better to be safe now.
Jerry

boy, so the rears were installed wrong this whole time?? as far as the fronts go what would I be able to check on the plates in order to know if it were for a tall spindle? are you referring to the "b" body spindle then? i hope not cuz I thought we had this whipped yesterday and now you may have ruined my day...i wanna hear what pace has to say as well....

 

[HIboostGN]

ball joint plates

If the plate is flat like yours it is for a tall spindle. If the plate has a 14 degree? bend to it or welded at that angle it is for a short spindle like a typical g-body spindle. I have only seen 2 cars with those cargo springs you have. They were both installed with the coils that are close together on the upper part of the frame not at the rearend. On the SPC arms like some of us run we can swap the bj plate back and forth. The arms you have are from a circle track company or a copy of them. They all run tall spindles or TALL ball joints on dirt track cars. Usually with the wrong tall ball joints from trucks and so forth. Or they will ream out the spindle to the right angle like you did? to make them work. I am not familiar with the company you bought the arms from so not sure what bj angle they came with or were suppose to use. Remember a lot of dirt track cars try and BEND the rules to make a part legal in class racing. Being a ex track inspector it was my job to stop them HAHAHA

 

[HIboostGN]

THOUGHT of some good news!!!

Hey what about swapping out those short ball joints for longer ones and then having your cake and eating it too! You can order tall ball joints from SC&C and then have the advantage of a tall spindle without all the headaces !!! DUDE this will let you run the upper arms you have and increase camber curve and only be out time YIKES! and a little money for new ball joints !! WIN WIN in my book! Go to the SC&C website Savitske Classic & Custom and read there FAQ section and look at there products. Call Mark and get those ball joints you wont be disappointed!!!

 

[pacecarta]

on the rears hiboost gn is correct they are upside down , there is a pocket in the frame to accept and support the larger tighter spaced coils when they become compressed , at the axle there is just a small 2" perch to accept the pig end , it would take a lot more load to overun that perch with the loose side of the coil down before the spring would contact the axle , the way you have it the coils are unsupported and can contact the rear axle

on the front stock lower a arms have two hole for the tail to be positioned on ,its ok to install with one or almost both holes covered but not both the reason for two is if one gets covered the other is there to tell if the end of the tail is where it should be
draw a straight line through the rear bushing on the lower a arm and the draw a line square from that to the lower ball joint that is where the bottom spring tails should be ,
the reasons why it should be so I could fill a page ..but i wont

as to if the upper a arms are meant for tall b body spindles i dont know ...looking at pics but my guess is they are fine for stock . the flat plate is how the gbodysparts tubulars come which others sell these same arms as well and work with stock spindles ,
they are neither right nor left but the shorter arm to the plate goes toward the front then put the ball joint in so it points down

 

[pacecarta]

Hey what about swapping out those short ball joints for longer ones and then having your cake and eating it too! You can order tall ball joints from SC&C and then have the advantage of a tall spindle without all the headaces !!! DUDE this will let you run the upper arms you have and increase camber curve and only be out time YIKES! and a little money for new ball joints !! WIN WIN in my book! Go to the SC&C website Savitske Classic & Custom and read there FAQ section and look at there products. Call Mark and get those ball joints you wont be disappointed!!!

tall lower ball joints move the rotor spindle height which will drop the ride height ,but will do it without affecting spring rate or travel

i dont beleive tall spindles (b body) move the rotor spindle height

 

[regal81455]

draw a straight line through the rear bushing on the lower a arm and the draw a line square from that to the lower ball joint that is where the bottom spring tails should be

Is this what you meant?? Also, does it matter on the fronts but on one end the tail is tight against another ring and on the other it's slightly seperated ( 1/2" gap ) which goes on top?? right now ive got the gapped one on top inside the frame perch...

 

[pacecarta]

see pic

and on front spring the flat wound end goes to top... the free tail end goes to the lower arm indexed as shown in pic
as you've described yours are installed upside down

 

[regal81455]

see pic

and on front spring the flat wound end goes to top... the free tail end goes to the lower arm indexed as shown in pic
as you've described yours are installed upside down

OK so the tail goes inwards at a 90 to the frame rails correct? and i guess Ill flip both pairs of springs over, lastly I need to figure out whether or not ive got the right UCA/BJ combo for a stock spindle - how in the world will I be able to tell this? can you tell im not a suspension guy!!?

 

[regal81455]

does anyone know if the upper ball joint seat diameter is larger on the b-body spindle or are they the same - if they are larger that would explain why i would've needed to ream the spindle out to get it to fit

 

[mach.80]

Hey what about swapping out those short ball joints for longer ones and then having your cake and eating it too! You can order tall ball joints from SC&C and then have the advantage of a tall spindle without all the headaces !!! DUDE this will let you run the upper arms you have and increase camber curve and only be out time YIKES! and a little money for new ball joints !! WIN WIN in my book! Go to the SC&C website Savitske Classic & Custom and read there FAQ section and look at there products. Call Mark and get those ball joints you wont be disappointed!!!

As HIboostGn said "..."

Markus has got it down to a science.

I just ordered my Lee Steering box form him.

I have the SPC springs and upper control arms w/ the taller Howe ball joints. Markus has my car keeping up with the 2002 bmw M3 down the street, and I'm not even done yet.

Joe

 

[regal81455]

I spoke with Mark shortly after all this went down, he thinks perhaps that the BJ's Ive got are for an "A" body and not for "G/B" bodies. He said that he can resolve my problem but he was stepping out for a bit. Ive since emailed him with some additional info he wanted and I am now just waiting for his reply - Ill keep everyone posted.

Thanks to all who've responded for your help and your patience!!

 

[regal81455]

As luck would have it...

Well those who've been following this thread know that I made a bonehead mistake reaming these stock spindles out to fit what I thought were the right ball joints ( but apparently are not ) but as luck would have it I think the LORD did this for a reason. I just got back from a small road trip ( 1 1/2 rd trip ) and acquired a complete 02 s10 blazer brake/spindle setup for a mere $70!!!! :biggrin::biggrin: You can imagine my excitement when I found these locally for that price! It would have cost me that to get a set of stock spindles from the local junker! Anyways Im going to get the K5208's tomorrow and hopefully with many thanks to all of you Ill have this thing back together ( 3rd x's a charm ) by the end of this weekend!!

 

[jdpolzin]

Awesome! Good find!!!