1969 Camaro tru-turn

[Rod P]

Originally Posted by glr0212

• ½” Drop body bushings
  
• 18x9.5” front wheel w/ 6.25” backspace
  

get rid of the half height body bushings, that tucks the frame higher into the body

and that wheel backspacing (6.25” backspace) is more for a scott mock style frame that has the corvette arms

[glr0212]

i think we are missing something in communication here.

I clearly do not have room to move the wheels and tires OUT 1/2". The fender is already sitting on the wheel practically. I'll get another picture later to demonstrate this for you.

Also not sure how body height bushings are going to create more side to side clearance in the fender wells.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Yep, 5.750 would put you into the fender.

I'd go -1.8 on the camber and see what you have to do to keep your turn radius. Looks like its in the sway bar hardware already.

I don't see a problem with the half heights in there. It's the same as lowering the car as far as clearence.

Originally Posted by glr0212

i think we are missing something in communication here.

I clearly do not have room to move the wheels and tires OUT 1/2". The fender is already sitting on the wheel practically. I'll get another picture later to demonstrate this for you.

Also not sure how body height bushings are going to create more side to side clearance in the fender wells.

[MarkM66]

You're right, there's only so much room to fill. To get it off the fender, you need more backspacing, but that makes your frame clearance worse.

Looks like the wheel is already in negative camber. More would help, but you can't go to far.

The only way you're going to make this set up work is to raise the car a little, and notch the frame where the tire hits.

[jlwdvm]

So are we saying that this set up (if used per Ride Tech's specs) works on some 69's but not others? Is there something "non-stock" about the G/RS set up? I'm looking for answers before I buy wheels and I have the same set up as what is being discussed here...except I have solid Alston stock height body bushings.

[bret]

Could you post pic of the tire size? I'm not finding a 265mm tire in a kdw.
The standard height subframe bushing will serve to raise the body/fenders by about 1/2". You can simulate by adjusting the coilovers up to test fitment.
Also, additional camber will help fender clearance, help turn in for autocross ing, and will not significantly harm tire life
I routinely run cars with 1-1.3 degrees of camber on trips across the US. Theoretically that much camber will decrease tire life but we abuse our tires in so many other ways it doesn't matter.

[onevoice]

Originally Posted by bret

I routinely run cars with 1-1.3 degrees of camber on trips across the US. Theoretically that much camber will decrease tire life but we abuse our tires in so many other ways it doesn't matter.

The fit of tires is unfortunately an inexact science. I have had many 1st gen camaros, and they are not exactly precision instruments. First off, as Bret says above, add some neg camber. If you are just puttering around, it will reduce tire life, but if you ever autocross the car or run it hard, you will wear out tires well before you run the inner edges off with lots of neg camber. There is a guy that autocrosses a 67 camaro in an SCCA class where he is restricted to completely stock parts and he uses neg camber in the 5-6 degree range. It is so much that the front end looks broken.
http://www.rhoadescamaro.com/build/

Second, replace the lowered bushings. Every fraction of an inch counts, and a half inch will definitely help.

Third, it goes without saying that adding a inch or so to a normal backspacing measurement will make inner part of the tire contact the frame sooner. It will reduce your turning radius, but I bet you will probably be able to live with it. You won't actually be making 3 point turns into parking spaces.

Lastly, the stock type inner to outer fender bolts will have to change. It won't kill anything to leave them out, or preferably use something with a flat rounded head.

There is lots of misinformation floating around about the tru-turn setup. It is an excellent product for eliminating bumpsteer, lowering the car, and getting the steering arms out of the way so more BS can be used. It is not an always foolproof method of stuffing the wheelwells with rubber. It looks like your car hasn't been painted yet, so you still have the opportunity to do some minor mods inside the fender and it will be smooth sailing. That is until you change tire brands and the next set in an identical size hits, tires themselves can vary nearly a half an inch from brand to brand.

[bret]

Originally Posted by jlwdvm

So are we saying that this set up (if used per Ride Tech's specs) works on some 69's but not others? Is there something "non-stock" about the G/RS set up? I'm looking for answers before I buy wheels and I have the same set up as what is being discussed here...except I have solid Alston stock height body bushings.

Every body line on the Goodguys Camaro has had weeks of massaging to achieve the aesthetic effect we were looking for. It is completely useless as a measuring template

One of our sales/tech guys, Kyle, has a 69 with stock inner and outer fenders. I don't remember the tire size on his car...he is out of the office this week...I'll try to get exact info on his car when he returns. I do remember his buddy doing whack job on the alignment at first and he had tire rub problems. When we fixed the alignment it was fine.

[David Pozzi]

More negative camber will move the top of the tire in nearly 1/2". If you plan on Autocrossing your Camaro, start with -1.5 degrees camber & caster at 5.5 deg.