69 camaro rear suspension travel help...
 

how much travel do you guys run on a pro touring 69 camaro for the rear suspension? I'm trying to set up my rear end right now

This is where I am at. I'm mocking up the rear end so I can start to build the triangulated 4 link. I just need to know a common measurement of the amount of travel a car would see on a the road.

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0552.jpg

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0554.jpg

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0555.jpg

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0573.jpg

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0580.jpg

Most are in the 5-5.5" range.

In a perfect world, 6". Then you have an inch you can raise or lower the rear for ride height setting & still get by, & would still have 2" of bump or rebound. If you have bumpstops on the shocks, it uses up some bump travel. I like to see 2.5" travel clearence to the bump stop. Many coil over shocks are 5.5" stroke.

Ok then I seem to be pretty close in range. At ride height, the top of my housing is 3 inches from the frame rails. In these pictures, how does it look?


This would be at ride height...

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0604.jpg

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0605.jpg

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_0606.jpg

those frame rails seem to be your biggest issue, not sure who's they are. They look they remove a lot of your clearance by the way they are bent. I don't think 3" is anywhere near what is normal. David said 6" ideally and I believe that was at ride height.

I meant 6" total travel bump & rebound, so 3" of available bump travel with maybe .5" more lost to a coil over bump stop, leaving 2.5" bump travel before you hit the bump stop. With shocks behind the axle it translates into a little less travel at the axle centerline due to the motion ratios.

3" at the axle is pretty good. Be sure to check your pinion bumper & driveshaft to tunnel clearence. If your trans is angled down to the rear, it will require the pinion to be angled up the same amount to align it, this can cause the driveshaft to be higher than you might think.
Those frame rails do look like they droop to the rear.
David

thanks David. I've never had one that close at ride height, but the factory rails are bent completely differently than what he's using.

Bad penny is at the limit, or darn close to it.

Would there be any downsides to having around 1"-2" more travel in the rear than what you stated ?The roads around here are pretty rough in some areas and any extra traxel could be beneficial.I do realize that ride height would be affected ,but I will have a little over 2" of channeling of the body over the frame rails.Would that not help with the ride height issues that inevitably come along with the extra travel?