front end 69 nova

Alan Roehrich · 01-18-2014, 10:31 AM

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.

01-18-2014, 10:31 AM	#8
Alan Roehrich Veteran Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Murfreesboro TN Posts: 5,118 Likes: 1,577 Liked 1,837 Times in 417 Posts	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. __________________ Alan Roehrich 212A G/S Last edited by Alan Roehrich; 01-18-2014 at 11:17 AM.