Thread: Chassis Engineering parallel leaf installation

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ok ok I'm going to figure a way to get a proper look at it. The CE dimensions do NOT add up and I'm tired of playing around with their crap and vauge answers to my questions. So if i fix the brakes on the GTO I can pull it out of the garage and for the other side if I can get the car back a couple feet I can look at it through the side garage door

This may have been mentioned I didn't read every word of the thread (being I have nothing to offer concerning this particular kit) but sometimes I think their "vague" instructions are to cover their ars. If they say "These are parts to be installed by a professional" and "To your design, so you are on your own" that releases them from the liability of the design. Just a thought.

Brian

very good point MARTINSR...it's unfortunate, but a very valid point. If you call them though they have no answers for why these instructions don't add up...they simply say "don't worry about that" or "just do this part" etc. Very nice people, but they can't seem to come up with reasonable answers...

I'm just confused because this kit seems to be very popular and they even told me the kit is so old that when it came out the '68 camaro rear it bolts up to was damn near new...seems like over 40 years they could come up with a few answers...

well I got a chance to look at it again today. the way I see it is there are three things that are important. 1) wheel centered in fender 2) shackle position 3) rear end straight to frame.

I had drilled through the rivet for the first hole on the rear bracket a couple days ago since the only thing CE states is that that rivet lines up to the first hole in the rear spring bracket. I put that bolt through and clamped the back.

Today decided to forget CE's measurements and see how well I could "eye ball" it. I feel like I nailed the drivers side...it looks centered and the shackle is slightly toward the back. The passenger side wheel, however I feel should still go slightly forward. The shackle is already slightly forward though and if the wheel goes forward the shackle will be even more forward...which does not match up very well to the driver side shackle being toward the back. Nothing I have measured on the rear has come out and I am starting to wonder...

Bottom line is the rear spring brackets are each mounted in the same place with each wheel centered, but each side produces a very different shackle position

I have a rear sway bar sitting here from CE that won't fit. I explained to them when I ordered it that it was to go on a 3/4 ton 51 chevy pickup. I even warned them the frame width is more narrow than the 3100 truck. Wasted my breath.
I'll post here somewhere else on that topic.

I don't recall having as much trouble with the instructions, but then it's been a few years. I seem to recall that some of the bracket holes lined up with existing factory holes and the rest had to be drilled. I know it was that way on my '33 that I did just a couple years ago.

The best I can do for you here is attach a picture of how my shackles hang, pretty close to vertical (with the car on it's wheels), this is before the useage caused settling. The centerline measurement of the upper shackle bolt is ~6" from the end of the frame. This dimension may not be of value though because this is a later 36 frame which is somewhat different than '35 and early '36 frames in the rear. It may or may not be the same. Also, if you're uneven side to side you may want to measure your frame to see if it's diamond'. Pick a factory hole or rivet on the bottom of the frame that is the same location on each side of the frame. Then cross measure (left to right and vice versa) front to rear. If the frame measures the same or very close on both dimensions the frame is square, if one dimension is longer than the other the frame is out of whack and will need to be squared up. As for the body, sometimes build tolerances will be different from side to side, but usually that won't amount to much over say 1/4".............unless there's been some body repair in the past.

As for CE attitude, I've had it both ways with them. Once I received a kit with no instructions, they immediately faxed them to me, and followed up with snail mail. On the other hand I called on the center trans mount conversion on my '33 and it's incompatibility with a Lokar shifter mounting bracket. My question was if they'd made a modification to deal with the interference. The guy launches off on a mini tirade about how it's not their responsibility to work around other peoples product, and how they've been in business for 14000 years or something. And then topped it off with they'd never heard that "complaint" before. When he finally shut up I said it was a question not an accusal, and that it was amazing to me that THE most used shifter in the hobby was only an issue on my car. Anyway, he calmed down and we figured out a solution (more from my end than his). I just chalked it up to his having a bad day............maybe there's a cancerous employee in there program.