ROADRACECLARK Question

[jlmccuan]

I don't suppose you would care to share some of your suspension modifications on your car? Springs, sway bars, etc.

Thanks

Jim

1966 Avanti II RQA 0088

[sbca96]

He would .. and he has. Might be best to do a search. He has a rear
sway bar (like Avanti), and heavy duty springs all around. The short
steering arms, and dual sway bar up front (two Studes welded). He is
also running manual steering. I bugged him a LOT already.

Tom

'63 Avanti, zinc plated drilled & slotted 03 Mustang Cobra 13" front disc/98 GT rear brakes, 03 Cobra 17" wheels, GM alt, 97 Z28 leather seats, soon: 97 Z28 T-56 6-spd, Ported heads w/SST full flow valves, 'R3' 276 cam, Edelbrock AFB Carb, GM HEI distributor, 8.8mm plug wires

[ROADRACELARK]

Jim,

Had a bad storm here last night thought better stay off line. Adding to what Tom stated, the front coil springs are from a 64' Cadillac Fleetwood with 3 coils cut off. Spring dimentions are the same as a Stude, but the "wire" diameter is substantally larger. The front suspension has all Delrin(sp) bushings, and the upper control arm shafts have been "fliped". The dual anti-sway bars Tom mentioned, are an early Lark, that had 4 mounting points on the control arms, and a late Lark that has the frame stand-offs. I cut about 3" off each end of the early bar, tack welded it to the already mounted late bar. Removed it from the car, completed the welding. Removed the late frame mounted stand-offs and completely "boxed" them for the added strength, all mounded with grade 8 hardware. Shocks are Gabriel Adjust-o-matics on Xtra firm. Rear springs have added middle/short leafs and clamped for more stiffness, no height change. Stude traction bars and early sedan anti-sway bar. Front brakes are Jim Turner's early version, 1985, with high performance pads, and have yet to reach their limits. Rears are Stude finned drums with full metalic segmented linings. Also have a dash mounted brake proportioning valve. It takes a few laps to get those rears up to temp.[}] Have 8" steel Chrysler/Ford rims all around. Front fenders have a "rolled" lip as do rears. Present tires are 225-70HR-15 Goodyear Eagle GT. (Soon to be up dated) NO clearance issues. Thanks for askin'.

Dan Miller
Atlanta, GA

[img=left]http://static.flickr.com/57/228744729_7aff5f0118_m.jpg[/img=left]
Road Racers turn left AND right.

[jlmccuan]

Thanks, Dan. Do you use the stock Stude caster and toe-in specs? I assume you flipped the upper control arm shafts to get as much camber as you could, right? I've wondered about mounting the upper control arm shaft on an angle bracket to give more adjustment. Could this raise the pivot point of the upper arm?

More questions. Do you feel the stock Stude control arms are stiff enough to maintain proper geometry during hard cornering? On sway bars, how rigid is your double setup and did it give you an oversteer?

Thanks again,


Jim

1966 Avanti II RQA 0088

[ROADRACELARK]

Jim,

The stock settings on the alignment were left alone, just fliped the upper shafts and that seems to work out ok so far. I don't feel the need to engineer new mounting brackets for more adjustment. It appears to be ok where it's at. I haven't had any indication of the control arms flexing and I haven't encountered any oversteer issues. On the other hand, with the upcoming set of new tires, all of that could change. The two Lark bars are 5/8" diameter each, and my guess is the effect would equal that of a 1" bar. This car is very streetable, although with the short steering arms, big tires and lots of camber, it's a bear to parallel park! [}] Thanks for askin'

[img=left]http://static.flickr.com/57/228744729_7aff5f0118_m.jpg[/img=left]
Road Racers turn left AND right.

[sbca96]

Dan,

You might want to hold off on new tires for the moment, if you are
still planning on upgrading your brakes to my Cobra setup, you will
have to get some 17 inch wheels to clear the 13" rotors. That means
your new 15 inch tires will be useless. Have you weighed your wheel
and tire assembly? The aftermarket wheels I got from AFS are known
to be strong and heavy, but they only weighed 50 pounds each with the
245/45 series tires. The stock 15 inch steel Stude wheel weighed 52
pounds with a 78 tire!! I would assume you around 55 to 60 pounds
with those meats you have. Less unsprung the better. Jim is going to
weigh the Cobra peices to get a stock Avanti vs 13" Cobra. I assume
the rotor is twice as heavy, but the calipers weight nothing.

Tom

[sbca96]

This is from an Email I received a while back from Dave Thibeault:

"The sway bar kits for the Avanti are a 1 inch diameter front with a matching 3/4 inch rear. The rear is also a little shorter in the offset which makes it a little stiffer. They are a copy of the 1984 Avanti Touring Coupe sway bar kit and are a major improvement in handling."

"The Avanti kit is the front and rear set where I sell the ones for Larks and Hawks individually. Kit comes with all parts needed to install."

quote:Originally posted by ROADRACELARK
The two Lark bars are 5/8" diameter each, and my guess is the effect would equal that of a 1" bar.

[ROADRACELARK]

Tom,

I'm looking forward to using your Cobra brake kit...just one problem,(not with your kit!) there is a fine line in this kind of racing as with the PSMCD. You're limited as to your wheel/tire size which will determine wheather you're in the stock class or modified class. As good as this car performs on the track, it might as well stay on the trailer, as compared to what else is out there in the mod class. Let your imagination be your guide.[}]
Quite a number of years ago, a fellow SDCer, David Walker of Chesene, S.C., built up a 55' Commander coupe to go SVRA (Sportscar Vintage Racing Assn.) racing. He had the Stude motor built almost to NASCAR specs.,including a Mopar intake w/ Holly carb ,custom tube headers, Doug Nash 5-speed tranny, Camaro front clip, 9" Ford diff. and 4-wheel disc brakes and more. Absolutely a fantastic car!! Ran great, sounded great, what's not to like. Then it came tim for tech. inspection. Because the car had all of those mods, he was not allowed to compete in the SVRA program. He was left with the competition exibition or the Timed Sport Run.[B)] The new series I am going into is even stricter. Back to your kit...can you use the smaller rotors and the GT calipers? I have an original 63' R-1 Cruiser they would work great on. Just a thought. Thanks a lot for your hard work on that project. Your articles on the Forum and in the AOA mag. were great and very informative. Keep up the good work.

Dan (tryin' to keep it on the track) Miller
Atlanta, GA

[img=left]http://static.flickr.com/57/228744729_7aff5f0118_m.jpg[/img=left]
Road Racers turn left AND right.

[sbca96]

Yes, the 2 piston GT calipers can be used with the 11 inch GT rotor,
that would fit into a 15 inch rim, BUT you would need the later Crown
Victoria wheels with the newer offset and provision for the caliper.
This is based on input I have received - not confirmed myself. One of
the individuals purchasing my adapter brackets is going to create a
12 inch rotor/ multi-piston caliper setup to fit in a 15 inch rim. I
can give you his contact info, maybe you can sneak those on. There are
also 16 inch steel wheels used on the "Interceptor" Police Crown Vics.

Tom

quote:Originally posted by ROADRACELARK
...can you use the smaller rotors and the GT calipers?