front end 69 nova
 

Hi
what type bushing ball joint etc is the best,
im looking to refresh my stuff

thanks for you help

Re: front end 69 nova
 

I don't know if it's the best but it's what we use.
Global west bushings and extended ball joints. They sell it in kit form

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Matt,

Check out Howe Racing Enterprises. That have extended ball joints that go up to .9 long.

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Mat, I went with Energy Suspension urethane control arm bushings, Moog #K5250 offset control arm shafts and standard Moog replacement ball joints.

Afco and ProForged make low friction extended upper ball joints. QA-1 has standard length low friction ball joints that can be serviced. -Al

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Afco steel bushings and there low friction ball joints, the Afco tops can be ordered .5 longer.

Re: front end 69 nova
 

I just did what J&S posted and it made my car totally different! It was an easy install, car has a ton of front end travel now and drives like a dream

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Thanks for the help guys!

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Are the replacement bushings roller bearing or something like that ? When you say steel bushings does this mean its steel to steel ,no bushing material ? The longer Ball joints are for reducing camber change? thanks

Re: front end 69 nova
 

The global west bushings are aluminum and derlin I believe and the Afco's are solid steel with grease fittings.

Re: front end 69 nova
 

What is the point of the longer ball joints?

Re: front end 69 nova
 

They help to keep the camber from going off the radar at full lift.

Re: front end 69 nova
 

The idea behind all of this is to reduce the friction, so that the front suspension moves freely, allowing the shocks to have complete control. It makes the front end motion very consistent and repeatable. The other part, as Jim said, is the longer upper ball joints keep the camber from making radical changes as the front end moves through its range of travel.

Another added bonus is increased front end travel. Combine this with the correct springs (which should lower the static ride height considerably, 1" to 2") and a set of shocks such as Santhuffs, and you have a front suspension that you can count on to allow the car to leave hard with the rear tires planted, yet remain easily controllable and driveable.

With offset upper control arm shafts for extra alignment adjustment, you can get the car to track straight consistently. They recently allowed aftermarket parts to reduce bump steer as well.

Find a shop that knows what they're doing, have the front end aligned with your weight in the driver's seat, you want no more than 1/8" toe in, 6 degrees or more positive caster, and zero degrees camber, at around 2" above static ride height, because you want the alignment as close to perfect as possible at the ride height the car has going done the track.

One thing I left out of this post, and a good racer reminded me of it, was that the Nova has less clearance than a Camaro, so you may not be able to run the exact caster and camber settings. You'll need to make the adjustments and then check carefully for clearance to make sure you do not create a tire clearance problem.

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Attachment 22650

Attachment 22651

Did the install on mine today. Overall not that bad.

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Sorry for all the dumb questions,With increased travel do you end up with a bumpsteer problem?

Re: front end 69 nova
 

You might. You can buy a bump steer kit to solve that problem, they're legal in Stock now.

Re: front end 69 nova
 

Has anybody had any binding issues with the .90 long proforged 101-10017 with stock control arms? I assume the upper bumpers would be the defining length on how far the upper A-Arms can stretch and work before excessive negative camber becomes an issue?

Jim