1957 Corvette RestoMod
| C4 Corvette Chassis |
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| 1957 Corvette RestoMod Project - Page 17 Chassis Suspension Mock Up - Front-End No surprises! The reason to mock up the chassis is to make sure all components fit correctly. Any parts that attach to the frame, or chassis to body, should be mocked up and assembled. Some will say this creates extra work - why not just fit everything on the final assembly? The mock up stage is done for two very good reasons. If the frame, components, or body need any modifications to ensure a good fit, then accomplishing those mods after final paint will definitely ruin your project car. The second reason is many of the parts you plan to use may not always work well together. Sure, vendors will say their parts are "bolt-on" and no adjustments are necessary - don't believe it! In this page are brief descriptions of how to mock up your 1957 RestoMod with C4 suspension and steering components. |
| We start with the front suspension and the transverse leaf spring. At left you can see it fits through the front cradle. The red spacers on top of the spring's mounting points are made by Guldstrand and it lowers the front end about 1/2-inch. |
| Above is a test fit of the spring with its two mounting brackets. The lower part of the bracket holds the rubber bumper on the bottom of the spring. The J33432 spring compression tool is then used to "flatten out" the spring for our next steps. |
| The lower control arms are next (above left). Use the supplied bushing grease to wedge the arm into its position on the front C4 cradle. One problem you may encounter is the J33432 spring compression tool may interfere with seating the spring's ends on the control arm. In this case, the tool must be re-set on the spring to allow lower control arm movement. |
| Next, install the upper control arms to the bracket on the C4 cradle. Note the shims sitting on the frame (above left)? These must be installed the same way they came off. This is why you were so careful during disassembly. If not, then alignment of your front-end will be a very laborious adventure. Hold the shims in place, open end down, and tighten the original hardware, as seen above right. You can see this upper control arm has a new ball joint installed (see page 6) |
| Shock absorbers are next, but only the top is fastened for now (left photo). The steering knuckle (right photo) needs to be installed on the upper & lower ball joint studs of the control arms. When the knuckle is loosely threaded onto the ball joints, then fasten the lower bracket of the shock to the lower control arm. Now you can tighten the knuckles. Do not permanently install the cotter pins yet. |
| The rack & pinion steering gear goes on next. Move each side through the cradle and attach the left side into the bushing's bracket, then the right side by use of a bolted bracket. |
| Bolt the hubs next (above left). The long bolts must enter through the large hole in the hub flange. Now you can attach the sway bar end links and the sway bar. Use the sway-bar-to-frame brackets to loosely fasten at the frame. Also do not tighten the sway bar to end link bolts. These need to be loose until the chassis is on the ground. Brake calipers can then be bolted to the knuckles - but if your rolling chassis wheels will not allow the calipers to be bolted up, no problem - just wait until you have your new custom wheels. |
| The finished assembly should look like the photo at right. Once the spring compressor is removed, your suspension is available to be put on the ground. Chapter 11 of my new book details the entire assembly and will be available very soon. |