Thread: 66 Lemans/GTO complete suspension

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Hey everyone! As some of you may or may not know, I am a beginning hot rodder. I am pretty mechanically inclined and feel I can do most anything if I take the time to learn and ask enough questions. The guys over at enging talk helped me through my first ever engine buile immensly, and now that it is done I am hoping I may get some help in here for the next project, suspension. I have a 66 Lemans/GTO clone, that has pretty much all factory suspension. I would like to even it out and slam it, without sacrificing performance. I just put in the aforementioned 496 bbc, and like to eat up newer model mustangs, cameros, and all imports. So to end my babbling and get to the question, Has anyone here evened and lowered a GTO, Lemans, Chevelle, etc.? What all Is involved. Is there a complete kit available that is all bolt on for a reasonable price? Should I use air or stay traditional. Any and all help is greatly apprecitated. Thanks in advance!

My suggestion would be to get some books on suspension and read up on it so you know how changes in one area will affect the car in other areas.

Your car has unequal length control arms at the front and the usual way hot rodders lower these cars is to shorten the spring or like you're thinking, install bags. The problem that arises when you do this is that you totally screw up the front suspension characteristics. You change the instant center, roll couple distribution, camber gain and other characteristics for the worse.

When the factory designed the front suspension on the car, they mounted the control arms into the car with a relationship to the car and to each other in such a way as to make the car handle and steer properly. When you shorten the spring or install bags, the relationship of the upper and lower arms change as related to each other and as related to the car. You can argue with me all day long that it is cool to do this, and I'll argue back with you that all it is is a bag of worms. In my humble opinion, all you're doing is trading a nicely handling car for an evil handling POS in order to look cool.

In order to retain the handling characteristics of the car, the best you can hope for is dropped spindles or completely disecting the car and Z-ing the front of the frame to lower the body, but keep the suspension/steering in its stock position.

Plus, lowering the car and "eating up Mustangs" probably will not work together.....as Tech can attest, the suspensions that hooks up for accelleration are not low rider designs. You can do a drag racing type suspension that makes the car lower but not "cool low"

mike in tucson

the gto never sat hi in stock form so how low do you want to go my car sit just right i think? i have to look out for hi man hole covers and ruts that big block with headers may not let you go as low as you want and the oilpan to?

Originally posted by pat mccarthy
the gto never sat hi in stock form so how low do you want to go my car sit just right i think? i have to look out for hi man hole covers and ruts that big block with headers may not let you go as low as you want and the oilpan to?

kinda what i was thinking unless you dont want to drive it around?

The best I can recommend is to check out Global West for their suspension and brake package. Granted they aren'y cheap,but they've already done all the homework. Hank

Well you have given me something to rethink. I would like to keep the performance at least what it is, but ideally to improve it. Pat, you will probably know more about this than most, but you mentioned the car didnt sit very high with stock suspension. With that in mind someone must have modified the suspension in the past, at least in the rear, because it sits up quite a bit higher in the rear than the front. It is really noticable if you look from the rocker to the ground, I would say it goes up at least 4 inches just between the wheels. The car will not hook this way, and with the new big block all it does is blow the tires away, granted they are radials, and quickly losing tread depth, but if the car is nosed down from the start isnt that working against me if I want the tires to plant and hook. Also, Pat, as a side question, what ist the widest tire I can get in there with the stock wheel tub? Thanks again.

what work in my car will not work in your i cut my rear end to fit the tires to fit with my rims and cut the lip some on the top with out work you would be lucky to get more than 275 60 my car right now they are 27/50r15 bfg drag radials and mine dos set a bit hi in the back but it hooks good there is not one stock thing on mine front is QA1 coil-over front end and the back is the custom 4 link i made with the custom ford 9 ich and all the the hook up mounts. i have to put a new wheel cylinder in the back if you want i will give you all the info and send pics of all the work if you want it and this may better then trying to go thru all of the steps and you can see it