Thread: Am I in trouble here?

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I've been puttering with my car and trying to finalize the alignment. Now I've been looking at this "situation" for a while, but never put a ruler up against the front end. Holy s@#$, 3.875 ground clearance!!! The front Mll lower control arms are per TCI - that is about a 1/2" upslope from the frame to the ball joint, the tires are 205/60x15 so are not small in diameter. That splash shield will never last!! I can level the 'A' frames and gain some - or just remove the splash shield and either modify it or just leave it off. To modify, I need a bead roller with a small width wheel to put the detail back in the piece - and don't have one or even know any one who does. So it looks like some experimenting will be done...and these mods are not on my "punch list" of things left to finish .... yet.

i have a bead roller with with many rollers for different size beads. can you draw what the cross sec looks like of the bead i may have one thats close

do you have dropped spindles???? the stock M2 spindles are 2 inches higher>

When I do a build, I try to use thought, theory and engineering from the factory as much as I can. The OEM engineers make good money to figure things out and I try to learn from them.

Several years ago, I needed to know the minimum ground clearance I should use on a build, so I went up to the Chevy dealer with a tape measure. I figured that the engineers at Chevy would have put the Corvette at the minumum acceptable ground clearance for a street-driven vehicle. The closest clearance I could measure on any part of the car was 4.000", so that's the figure I've used for years. I see 3 15/16ths on your tape. I'd move on to another area of the build and call the splash pan good, as long as you don't nose into a concrete parking bumper.

I usually keep a 4" thick block of wood on hand just to throw down on the floor when I'm mounting components so I know where to put the component for clearance.

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

do you have dropped spindles???? the stock M2 spindles are 2 inches higher>

yep i re worked a 55 chevy pick up with a heidts front end. had to go back to stock spindles to get the bbc oil pan off the ground

Is that height with the fluids, etc. in the car? If so, I would agree with Tech....the Corvette is fine with the 4" clearance. Actually, it is the clearance plus where the clearance is relative to the axles....if the minimum clearance is half way between the axles, you could drag on a speed bump. If the minimum clearance is at the axle, you would go over the speed bump. I'd say test the thing on a driveway entry and learn the limitations....if in doubt, make it lower.

Also, learn not to straddle dead armadillos laying in the road.

mike in tucson

"dead armadillos"

Texas speed bumps.

although it not visible in this pic, the splash apron on my 32 rpu is exactly the same measurement as yours and I have been driving it for several years.
I put some long distance miles on this car and have never encountered any real problems.

Mick

I think you are in trouble. I just went out and measured the splash apron on my model a and its 6 1/8" clearance.---Brian

Thanks guys -

OK - that is the cars low point with the "standard" TCI IFS offering. The spindles, again are "standard" for their chassis - not really dropped. The car is virtually complete, less the interior (and that another tale of woe!!) with all the fluids - water, oil, transmission, diff at operating levels and the gas tank is half full. As far as the body, the hood is off, but that only weighs about 10# for the top 2 pieces and hardware.

I think what I'm going to try is to put a couple more turns on the spring adjusters to see if I can get another .500 out of the height and drive carefully. If not, Pat, I'll be PMing you about some splash pan mods.

As a note - we don't have armadillos here, but we do have possums, skunks and 'chucks that count the same (and 15# turkeys - almost hit one about an hour ago, but my F350 wouldn't have noticed. Then there are the good ol white tail deer just waiting to crunch your vehicle - saw 4 about a mile past the big bird)

I think youll be ok! im no expert, but ive had plenty of lowriders including my daily driven honda which is probably lower than yours. the splash apron is real close to the wheels on yours so it should not hit too much except for the real tall speed bump or real steep drives, just hit them at an angle and youll be ok.

Originally Posted by hotroddaddy

I think youll be ok! im no expert, but ive had plenty of lowriders including my daily driven honda which is probably lower than yours. the splash apron is real close to the wheels on yours so it should not hit too much except for the real tall speed bump or real steep drives, just hit them at an angle and youll be ok.

You have no idea what kind of roads we have up here in the North Woods - especially after a nasty winter. You have to drive like a slalom racer to miss the foot deep pot holes

Originally Posted by IC2

You have no idea what kind of roads we have up here in the North Woods - especially after a nasty winter. You have to drive like a slalom racer to miss the foot deep pot holes

i do allways tell any new guys with low cars or deep oil pans to put one tire over the man hole covers and not center up on one the roads in town here are very bad. there nothing like the sound of hitting bottom i spent many hours re working inners on the chevy just took one time to F#ck them up was going down a road that they did not post that they milled off the top 4inch+ of top coat off and it was at night so i never see the drop off

YOU know ... deep down ... that the front end will SETTLE down some ...
after a few hundred miles ...

IF you ended up where you are, I think you would be OK
but as a starting point ... TROUBLE ... IHMO.

That's like a voice rumbling down from out of the clouds!!!!!!!