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Thread: Picked up my new C4 chassis!

  1. #11
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    Here is the frame with the rear end in place. Still working on posting pics. Tinypics is a little awkward so far
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 06-24-2016 at 12:09 PM.

  2. #12
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    No facebook link?

  3. #13
    Registered Member NickP's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LEE T View Post
    No facebook link?
    Lee, it seems it's common among most of the seniors or ol' farts here not to have a Facebook account.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by 55 Rescue Dog View Post
    Only a total of 3 hours on a quick detail of the Dana 44 Grand Sport rear with a fine wire cup brush using WD-40 as a lube, I'm happy with the way it looks. Don't know what is so different about the aluminum on the differential housing, but it will take paint to fix that someday. After only another 2 hours wrestling the complete rear assembly in the frame, I'm ready to install the front suspension, after cutting off the stock engine mounts. Sorry I still need to l still need to learn how to post pics. Easy on face book. Hope to have a roller real soon.
    He said he does post pics on facebook

  5. #15
    Registered Member NickP's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LEE T View Post
    He said he does post pics on facebook

    OK, Lee, my bad............................................... ..........................

  6. #16
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    Buying this factory traverse C4 spring compressor made it so easy, and safe to compress the springs. Didn't have the weight of the car to use, and this made it a breeze to disassemble the suspension. It was well worth $280 for a tool that was $1500 new. Does both front, and rear, and compresses both sides of the spring evenly. When decompressing, you can easily turn the threaded rod by hand. With it compressed to this point, I simply removed the 4 inner pivot bolts, and pulled the spindles, and A-arms intact in a couple minutes each side. It will also make it easy to make ride height adjustments on the front spring, and remove/install the steering rack.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 06-28-2016 at 03:18 PM.

  7. #17
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    Rear suspension looks good, and moves smoothly, with 5 inches of wheel travel, and the stock mounted toe rod has plenty of clearance. The camber swings in about a
    3 1/2 degree arc. Uses the early stock C4 shock, and it is mounted at a very effective shock angle near vertical.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 07-02-2016 at 02:27 PM.

  8. #18
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    Didn't take long to turn it into a roller, minus wheels. Less than 20 hours, of which 1/2 went to cleaning parts. What works well for me on aluminum for a quick clean up, is a fine wire cup on a die grinder, with plenty of WD-40 for a solvent and lube, and only takes a couple minutes on each part. Then a quick buff by hand using never-dull. All of the stock C4 suspension pieces bolted right on, using most of the OE hardware too. This is a VERY rare 96 Grand Sport F/R. Pretty slick setup so far.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 07-07-2016 at 03:36 PM.

  9. #19
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Sorry to burst your bubble but there's nothing "very rare" about a C4 Grand Sport suspension. They used all the same suspension parts as any other late C4 corvette with the exception of the black front calipers which are available if someone wanted them. I removed the front and rear suspensions from a 96 Grand Sport and sold them with a frame for the same price as other dana 44 rear suspensions and those with the big front brakes which I get a little more for. Most guys are opting for C5/6 brakes.

    My nomad has ZR1 front and rear suspensions. I think they're even rarer than Grand Sports but again the suspensions are really no different. Different suspension options used different springs and swaybars. I think the Grand Sports used the ZR1 suspension option.

    You could get the J55 big brakes on other options and the dana 44 came with any car with a manual transmission. I've bought several over the years.

    I think I have around 5 dana 44s in stock, both early and late versions. I have at least one set of J55 brakes too. Certainly not "rare".

    Btw, if you have "plenty" of room for the stock rear toe adjuster your rear is probably sitting at close to stock height. Imo that kinda defeats the purpose of a C4 conversion.

  10. #20
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    Sure the components aren't that rare, but finding a complete package from 1 in a 1000 grand sports in this condition is, I think. In addition to the bigger front brakes, they also came standard with the fast steering rack, and a 3:45 gear. The 96 cars also had the softest spring rates, which I will have to try before changing springs. Yes the rear might sit an inch higher, but NO mods needed to the suspension, or floor pan, and will have a very usable ride height. Spent $2000 for all the suspension, $140 for new rear shocks, and $15 for misc. hardware to put it together. All the bushings look great, and the original pads and rotors show little wear and will get reused too. The whole purpose of using a C4 conversion was to not buy a ton of aftermarket parts to make a better driving car.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 07-11-2016 at 06:11 AM.

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