Thread: Traction issues!!! I need help!!!

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I am buying a 1979 el camino conquista. it will be my secong one they are both exactly the same except the paint jobs. in my first one i had about three hundred horse power. it was decent for speeding. in my second one i want to install a 450+hp crate motor and a street th350 also i would like a posi-trac rear end. i would like to hear some reccomendations on how to solve the traction issues. i want to keep the car streetable but i also want to get all my power grounded but im lost in how to go about this because el caminos have such little traction. i will have plenty of money to do this with my army enlistment, and with my career choice. thank you

ethan

Car Craft Mag does some articles on suspension. Study up on INSTANT CENTER. Your car I think has the same chassis as all A bodys, so parts to change things are available. You can move the instant center back with anti hop kit available from several companies and which raises the back of the car on acceloration and therefore pushes down on the wheels on accelloration. Or you can move the instant center forward by lowering the frame mount point on your lower control arms, which will try to lift the front end on acceloration, thereby transfering weight to the rear wheels. These two things are exact opposits, and I don't know which works, but I'm from the 60's so I'll go with trying to lift the front wheels off the ground to plant the rears. Also, Mick Thompson DOT radials are supPost to stick.

One more idea.......use the search bar on this site. We just had this very discussion where a lot of knowledgeble people jumped in with some good info. It might help you to walk away from the four bar set up your Elco has or redo it with an aftermarket set up (according to your budget). It's not a bad set up for the street just takes patience to make the "bind" of your angled bars produce a good bite.

On my 72 Monte, I boxed the lower arm's, replaced the uppers with Jeg's adjustables, an air bag in the right spring with about 4-6 pounds of air really helped it hook. I also ran BFG Drag Radials with anywhere from 12-15lbs, and a very short burnout. 1.65 60 foot time in a 3800lb small block car, it hooked well. Oh yea uerethane bushing's.

With your car you might need to look at a weight bar mounted over the axle or in the rear bumper.

No-hop bars hurt my traction, but if you want to try I've got a set I'll sell you.

Ron

Good info Ron. My 66 GTO with over 400 rear wheel HP is only doing 1.9 60" time. I did once get a 1.7 on the last pass with worn out BF Goodrich radials, but they were very inconsistant. Now using Hoosier bias ply DOT slicks with good consistancy. I also have a used set of anti hop bars I don't use.

I would think moving the instant center forward, drag shocks, and some good beefy lower bars would help a lot... an air shock on the right rear is an old fashioned way to get some preload on the right rear. If you're in to some fabricating, a longer lower bar seems to help, also. I would go with the adjustable uppers, if for nothing else to get some of the bind out of those factory stamped steel arms and also a handy way to make some pinion angle adjustments. On the front, some lighter springs and 90/10 drag shocks. When you are at the track, (NOT on the street) you might also want to disconnect or remoce the front sway bar.

put some weight on the in side of the back bumper you can make a tube up that you can fill with lead shot bolt it off the inside of you back bumper. use some south side lower bars. i made all my bars moved the mount holes. instant center was just in the back of the front seat. reset the angle on the pinion .it is now just back of the engine. it hooks about as good as a gto is going to with dots tires

we run a 76 and all we did is pulled the front sway bar, installed a rear anti sway bar, adjustable rear shocks, and boxed the rear arms with poly bushings. put a 100# in the tail gate with it down and we pulled 2-3ft wheelies with a 590hp big block..

i put about two 100 pounds of sand bags in the truck and lost the front sway bar and 90.10s that work ok but the front end was spooky you would get on it and would jump a lane. but once it was on the back tires it was good .but the take off and landing putting the front end back down on the ground was fun i did a 509 for a friend and it would burn the tires off the rims all the way down the track . he ask me what to do ? i said weight would help car was rusty had holes in the back he work at a store that sold BIG bags of bird seed he fill the trunk full they said he was going like hell at the track with bird seed flying out the rust holes in his trunk