First Gen F body ride height question

[Fluxion]

I have a 67 firebird that I am working on and I am contemplating quite a few modifications. I have a question about the ride height I see on quite a few first gen camaro's. All the cars on here look great and want a similar stance.

How much clearance should there be between the pavement and the bottom of the rocker panels? I want it kind of low like 4"-5 at the rear of the rocker and maybe a little lower at the front. Is that too low on a car that will be driven? I know the front subframe and headers will probably be a little lower. What kind of ride height would be recommended for a car with something like a Lateral dynamics or Art Morrison 3 link in the rear?

Thanks for any suggestions, Bryan

[ProdigyCustoms]

You will never be able to drive a sub frame car at a 5" rocker height, that subframe would be at 3". You need about 5" to the subframe which will set your rocker at 6 1/2" to 7". At that height the fenders and quarters will barely cup the top of the tires. you will have to build a full chassis and channel the body for a "ride height" of 5".

It is difficult to make a 67 / 68 look low. The wheels wells being rounded on the 67 / 68 make give the illusion of the car being taller then it really is. A 69 will look lower then a 67 even with a slightly heigher overall stance because fo the squared off fender openings on the 69.

Our 69 Firebird looks lower then our 67 Camaro, even though the Camaro is nearly one inch lower. Below are 2 of our cars. Now I specify "ride height" becuase a lot of cars can sit low on the show field or even the fair grounds at idle. By ride height, I mean driving down the road, hitting bumps and pot holes ride height.

Project Prodigy, the 67 Camaro, is probably one of the lowest "ride height" F Bodies around with a 5 1/2" to 6" rocker height at "ride height". It has a channeled body, full frame, nothing hanges under the car at all, the rockers are equal to the lowest point on the car.

Project Prodigy is 47" to the top of the windsheild frame which works out to a 4 1/2" to 5" drop.



Project EmptyNest, the 69 Trans Am, is probably one of the lowest "Ride height" 69s around with a with a 6 1/2" rocker height. This is a Speedtech Subframe car and has a number of tricks done to the car so it can drive so low. The subframe is installed with no body bushings which is equal to a 1" body drop, also, it has zoomy style collectors on the headers so the headers are only a 1/2" lower then the subframe, which puts the header right at 5" off the ground. Our customer inner fenders among other things allow the front wheels to steer at that height.

Project Empty Nest is 47 3/4" to the top of the windsheild frame which works out to a 4" drop. Project EmptyNest is 3/4" taller the Project Prodigy.

[Vegas69]

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[Fluxion]

Thanks for the information Frank.

I was thinking 4-5" because before I tore down my car it sat at 4". I did get stuck on a few speed bumps and my headers were flattened. I liked the look but I do know it really isn't practical. The reason for the low ride height was wore out springs and it is a 6 cylinder car that now has a 400. The turn radius did suffer as well.

I really like the look of project prodigy, 6" sounds better. The tires on my car were tuck in a little too much and they did rub a little. I have been wanting to build a full frame and channel it into the body. I have already made some aluminum body mount bushings that are only 1/4" tall to lower the front end some. Now that I am going with a full frame that will be welded in solid I guess I won't need them.

I was planning on using the stock front sub frame and grafting it onto my own shop built 3/4 back frame, kind of like you would see in a lot of dirt track cars. I have built a few chassis for circle track cars and have done body modifications, chopped a few, sectioned a couple, even made a two door out of a 4 door. I have never channeled a car, so this would be a first for me, I'm looking forward to it!

If you don't mind my asking, how did you mount your sub frame directly to the unibody without the sub frame bushings? I was thinking I could weld it solid, would this be the wrong approach?

I am a little worried about hood clearance issues in the engine compartment. I may have to bolt some things back together and take more measurements.

Thanks for your help, Bryan

[ProdigyCustoms]

We just bolted it straight in with shorter full thread bolts. Done a few of them. You need to lower the enigine a bit to totally remove the subframe bushings. We built the engine mounts in both cars and lowered the engines, we lowered the engine a lot on Prodigy, maybe as much as 2 1/2" full inches. On Prodigy we also had to make a tall transmission tunnel, about 2" taller then stock. and wider also for exhaust. The trunk floor is raised a couple inches so the rear is higher in the body so the rear suspension is not in droop all the time. Snaking tailpipes through was a treat! There is a tremendous amount of time mocking up and figuring in things like exhaust clearance, oil pan protection, air cleaner clearance, Headers are SUPER tight! Prodigy is belly paned, which added to the fun.

Long as you have a extra few thousands hours, you will be fine.