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Originally Posted by Mike Hall
I May be getting a 66 nova Hardtop this weekend and I wanted to get some ideas on what it would take to build a super low stance G machine. I guess a full frame would be needed or would it? I want a stance like John Parsons and Doug Sinjem's nova. I like how Doug used the C5 front suspension which I plan to do as well. I guess the C5 stuff can be mounted to where there is enough room for a nice offset for the wheels. The AM full frame loaded with brakes and all is 13K which is not bad but would the setup they offer on there frames be the best I could get? They suggested the Tri 4 bar setup for the rear. I'm lost on all this suspension stuff so any help would be awesome. By the way the car will be powered with a LS1/56 setup with twin turbos. Nothing wild but I hope for 650-700HP. I look forward to suggestions from you guys.
Thanks
Mike
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Hey Mike, It's funny you should be doing this kind of project since it is pretty close to the same type of project I have going on right now. I'm sure you and I both had the same experience of seeing both John and Dougs cars and saying to ourselves "Damn, I just gotta have one of those!". In fact, since Doug lives out my way I plan on visiting him and looking at his car and picking his brain. As far as the front end, I've been told by many people that AM has figured out the geometry issues so, hopefully, it's a no brainer. The real tough decision is what type of rear suspension to use. This has been my dilemma for the last few months and I have been posting like mad to try and get as much info as I can on this. From what I have learned so far(By the way, I am in no way qualified as a mechanical engineer so the following statement comes from what I have been told and what seems logical!) depending on how you want to drive the car(My car will be driven 99% of the time on the street with an occasional run down the ol' 1/4 mile!) it seems that either a truck arm or IRS is the way to go. I say this because, from what I've been told, the 3 and 4 link setups require a lot of tweaking to get them right. Since most of my driving will be street and not dragging the issue of hooking up the tires is not on the top of my priority list. Most of the performance I will want and need will be when the car is already in motion and I need it to handle like it's on rails. Basically, I want to be able to smoke BMW's and Porsches in the corners just to see the look on there face! Even better will be the look on there face when I pull away from them on the straights to! Can't wait!
I, personally, have decided to go with the IRS suspension although, as of late, I have been PMing with John Parsons on this very subject and he feels that the narrow track these cars have prohibits an IRS from being setup in the way he feels would be worth it. My feeling is that if AM can figure out the front end then they should very well be able to figure out the rear also, although if John is telling me this he obviously knowd s his stuff so I am seriously considering his info. I will continue PMing with John and hopefully,together, we can come up with a solution. I will say that in JP's case he will be road racing his car whereas my car will be on the street most of the time so his application and mine are different. Also, street won't allow me to go at the speeds that he will which is where the difference in rear suspensions will be noticeable. Lastly, My feeling is that if almost every car maker on the planet uses IRS as there choice of rear ends there must be a reason and since most of my driving will not be going 120 through the curves then I think IRS is a good compromise, besides if you look at the latest issue of Popular Hot Rodding, there isn't one negative about IRS other than cost and the fact that it is difficult to modify it in to the rear. Since you and I are doing full frame builds the packaging issues are not an issue. My feeling is if your doing a full frame the cost of an IRS is the last thing on your mind, relatively speaking. In any case, I will keep you posted on what I learn in the ensueing weeks and months. If you hear of some good info please feel free to share it with me also.
