My 64 sits about 1/2 inch lower on the right front. I already rebuilt the entire rear end, bushings, trailing arms, shocks all around, front springs, and when I had the frame on jack stands, the measurements from ground to the top of the wheel well was even. The pocket that the trailing arms mount into are solid. It only sits low when on all four wheels, oh, and it also has new 4 tires and rims. When I replaced the front springs, the A arms appeared solid, but rebuilding them is all that is left. Every time I see a C2, I alway check to see how level they sit and many, I would say about 75% of the ones I looked at sit low on the right front. I can get it even by shiming the right front spring, but not sure if that is normal practice. Anyone else have this problem? Mike
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Re: 64 front right sits low
When you installed the front springs, did you seat them only at the top (in the frame pocket) as shown in the Assembly Manual? They don't index/seat at the bottom - the hole in the lower control arm is just for water drainage.
The factory suspension height measurement tolerances are +/- 3/8"; if one side was in-spec on the high side and the other side was in-spec on the low side, the difference between the two as measured from the ground to the top of the wheel openings could be up to 3/4" and still be within factory specs. -
Re: 64 front right sits low
Thats some spec. isnt it. I see the springs not installed correctly a lot of times. Not the fact that they are not indexed, I dont think that makes much difference, but that they are not up in the pockets. That leaves the spring almost straight up and not centered in the housing.Comment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
Thanks for the reply, the springs are indexed proper. I did not know the tolerance, so if I am within factory spec's I guess I'll stop worrying about it.Comment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
Do a couple hard right turns. Maybe that will settle it out. Did you actually go out and measure that or is it that noticeable to the eye? I never thought about doing that as I guess I just expect a 45 year old car will settle out on it's own one way or another. I have replaced my rear spring twice in 44K miles, once when it broke going backwards off an off ramp, and again when it was squating too much and was affecting the handling.
Stu FoxComment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
I just corrected the exact same problem on my 1964 Corvette. First we rebuilt the rear spring, that leveled out the back but the right front was still about 3/4 inch low. We shimmed the right front spring (installed the shim in the upper tower). Now the car looks 100% correct when you look at it from the front and back on level ground. I have a 4-post lift in my garage, and when I measure now on all 4 corners, I am within 1/8 inch and I am happy again. I was in the same boat, my frame was 100% straight and everything else was A-OK.
Your call, but I would fix it.
-ChuckComment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
Chuck-----
What kind of "shim" are you talking about? Also, keep in mind that this sort of correction was never done at the factory. The car, if within the allowable specs as John described, would have been shipped as-is. So, what would they have done if a car was OUT of the allowable specs? I don't know. However, I don't think they would have "shimmed" the springs.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
I would like to know how you shim it too as I think I might have the same issue.
DaveComment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
Michael, Try taking the measurments as shown in the service manual and comparing sides this will give a indication if it's suspension or body. Get a level floor and measure from the center of the lower a arm bushing to floor, then from the machined boss on the spindle below the lower ball joint to floor. The difference in these measurments should be approx 3". Compare this to the other side and if they are about the same the problem is likely the body.
These measurment must be taken with the suspension normalized like after you go for a drive and the floor should be fairly level for obvious reasons.
Comment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
The work was done by Corvette Paramedics in Mt. Holly NJ. After spending several days looking over the springs, frame, suspension, etc; we installed a 1/2 inch poly spacer in the upper spring tower on the passenger side. If you need specific info on the part used, you may want to ring Ed @ Corvette Paramedics at: 609-265-2702. Ed is a great guy and his shop is a supporting NCRS member. If he is not close to you, I am sure that he can order and ship a part to your home address. The car now looks 100% and rides great. While this is not "factory", I am very picky about the car not sitting correct and I prefer the proper look. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at cdavis@adaptivesolutions.com. Best of luck!
-ChuckComment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
Chuck-----
The issue is not really a question of whether the spacer is "factory", or not. No one is ever going to be able to discern the spacer is installed so the issue of "originality" is relatively moot. Also, the fact that a spacer between the spring and the tower was used is far better than a spacer which installs between coils. That's what I was getting at in my previous post.
The real issue is this: correcting a ride height problem by making a suspension change (which is effectively what was done here) when the actual problem is in body-to-frame mounting seems very "off-base" to me. Personally, I would have checked the actual suspension dimensions as described in the AIM. If all is well here, then the problem is in the body-to-frame mounting (which is quite common). There is no really practical way to correct this type of problem. However, I would not make an adjustment in the suspension to "compensate". This amounts to putting your suspension out of spec in order to achieve a desired "cosmetic" effect.
But, to-each-his-own.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
I'm with Tim on this. IF the difference is in the chassis/suspension, it would be acceptible (I suppose) to shim a coil spring but if the difference is in the body or body shims, I would definitely not recommend shimming one coil spring. That throws the balance of the entire chassis/suspension off.Michael, Try taking the measurments as shown in the service manual and comparing sides this will give a indication if it's suspension or body. Get a level floor and measure from the center of the lower a arm bushing to floor, then from the machined boss on the spindle below the lower ball joint to floor. The difference in these measurments should be approx 3". Compare this to the other side and if they are about the same the problem is likely the body.
These measurment must be taken with the suspension normalized like after you go for a drive and the floor should be fairly level for obvious reasons.
The frame/suspension measurements are a completely different issue than the body.
It's possible that one side of the body has several more shims at the core support than the other??Comment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
if the suspension is installed correctly according to the AIM specs couldnt this problem be resolved by adding/ removing shims at the body mounts?Comment
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Re: 64 front right sits low
The C1 front springs were ground flat on one end, and shims were available.Comment
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