'68 Camaro stock subframe mods.........

[realcoray]

Originally Posted by AWDPete

I have no idea what you are talking about

Well, I guess there are a couple of ways to look at this. I've owned the car since 1979 and have put about 300 miles on it. The last time it was driven was in 2000. My time frame may be a little different then most!

I'm not the kind of person that will spend large sums of money on a whim, I will educate myself and research it to death before I start spending money. That's where I am right now, research mode. I have a blank canvas in front of me and a goal:the car must be 1:competitive and 2:functional. Pretty doesn't figure into my goal with the possible exception of wheel choice but only after meeting goal 1 and 2. Do I need a new subframe to be competitive, I don't believe so. Will I need to upgrade my front suspension, yes but with what? Will I need to upgrade my 4-wheel drum brakes, yes but with what? What will meet my requirements 1 and 2 without "overkill" or "overspend" to get the job done? It's not so much about; I have $xxxxx to spend - what should I get? as it is; what do I need to do to get my car to meet requirements 1 and 2 and be "capable" of finishing in the top 5 to 10% of an Optima challenge suspension wise?

The suspension is only a part of being competitive, with many people arguing the biggest aspect being the driver. Narrowing all factors down to front suspension, you can definitely be capable in a stock subframe car.

If you're going to go stock subframe there are a few ways to approach it.

Cheap - Tall ball joints or guldstrand mod, new shocks and springs, some form of a-arm upgrade (upper adjustable and stock lower), sway bar and steering upgrades.

Medium - Tall spindles, new adjustable shocks and springs, sway bar, new a-arms.

More - The above plus double adjustable shocks or coil-over conversion or more extreme changes.

I don't have the perception that there is a huge gap between one option and the next. The biggest gap is from stock to any upgrade, and then things get incrementally better or more adjustable.

I'm going with the medium cost option and expect it to be competitive having spent a lot of time reading about components and piecing them together to make a good whole. That's one of the bigger tangible benefits with the aftermarket subframes, in that you can just order it and all of the pieces work together without you having to do much thinking.

Brake wise I have AFX spindles so I just went C5 brakes which are cheap, have lots of pad options and aren't uncommon on track cars. I intend to leave the option on the table to upgrade to C6 ZO6 brakes in case I need to,