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Thread: At a crossroad on my 55? Sell it or C4 build

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by rockytopper View Post
    Dog I'm a Mark supporter myself. I run his setups. I have a stage 2 kit on my cutlass and similar on my nomad project. Just curious what hardware you are looking at for 5500.
    That was for upper/lower front coil over/shocks,sway bar, brakes, new steering, spindles, tall ball joints. Rear springs/shocks/bar/watts link/brakes, with the stock diff, and whatever I forgot for around $5500. For the C4 front/rear, I am at $950, except for the frame part though.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 12-05-2015 at 04:22 PM.

  2. #22
    Registered Member rockytopper R.I.P 5-13-2017's Avatar
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    Well it sounds as if both options are similar in price. If you buy Lazlo's frame and put your components on it. I personally believe you would be happy with either. I have about 5k in same but I went shocks and springs no coilovers.

  3. #23
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Don't forget the stock C4 rears, whether Dana 44 or Dana 36, are all posi. I saw on the SC&C website that a new 9" rear is a bit over $2800, and a new posi for your stock rear would be around $850. Be aware that the C4 suspension might take some refurbishing, depending on condition.

    I agree the prices overall might be comparable, but imo the C4 suspension is superior to anything bolt-on for a tri5. The tri-5 frame has it's limitations as far as what improvements you can bolt on because a-arm lengths are set and anti-dive and SAI are fixed by the existing geometry. Kyle Newman raced his C4 equipped 55 Chevy in autocross for a while and was kicking ass on many of the Camaros and Mustangs he was racing against. To me that's a testament to the performance potential of the C4 setup. Watch these videos.

    http://www.newmancarcreations.com/dr...auto-cross.php

    At the 2011 Goodguys Del Mar Nationals autocross he ended up 1st out of 20 cars with his 55 wagon, 3rd out of 37 in 2013 with the 57 4-door wagon, and in the 2015 event he was 7th out of 36 cars with their C4 equipped 57 4-door wagon.

    http://www.superchevy.com/events/110...mar-nationals/
    http://www.hotrod.com/events/coverag...mar-nationals/
    https://www.good-guys.com/dmn-ac-15

    I suggested to one prospective customer recently to go drive a C4 Corvette, and that's close to what your tri5 would drive like with a C4 conversion. He was concerned about reports of a harsh ride, and he said after driving both an early and late C4 in the same day that neither were harsh in his opinion.

    Then there's the "cool" factor :



    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by chevynut; 12-05-2015 at 07:23 PM.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  4. #24
    Registered Member rockytopper R.I.P 5-13-2017's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 55 Rescue Dog View Post
    That was for upper/lower front coil over/shocks,sway bar, brakes, new steering, spindles, tall ball joints. Rear springs/shocks/bar/watts link/brakes, with the stock diff, and whatever I forgot for around $5500. For the C4 front/rear, I am at $950, except for the frame part though.
    Thats interesting about the watts link. He never mentioned it to me. I guess it would be tuff to fit on a nomad with stock tank after seeing one installed.

    http://www.trifive.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147810

    Looks like the guy is happy so far with results.


    Cnut one cannot argue the cool factor of your setup.

    I would expect the rearend upgrade with everything updated is going to be almost double the 850. I plan to include new gears & axles. With new 500 box and up graded rear I'll be pushing past the 7k for a bolt on solution and I have not included new steering components that have tobe included in that list.
    Last edited by rockytopper R.I.P 5-13-2017; 12-07-2015 at 08:13 AM.

  5. #25
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    Well, the $350 C4 rear I was going to get is junk. So, now I have complete 89 front, and rear out of a running car, for $1400 shipped. Still not too bad I guess. Didn't realize these setups are starting to get a little scarce.

  6. #26
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    What was "junk" in the $350 rear?

    Shipping on these suspensions is sometimes outrageous. It can run $300+ for two suspensions and $200+ for one. I usually try to buy several of them and spread the spipping cost. I also found out that Fastenal has pretty cheap shipping but it takes a while. They basically put your parts on their trucks that are delivering stuff to your local store.

    I'm not sure I'd say they're getting scarce, but Dana 44s are getting a little harder to find. C4 Corvettes still are pretty cheap and not hard to find locally in most places.

    Sounds like you're ready to get rolling.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  7. #27
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    Well, I couldn't resist the temptation not to buy the Dana 44 rear that is in the car I am getting the complete 89 C4 front/rear that I am buying. Was going to substitute a
    Dana 36 to save a little money, but I was able to get a deal on the 44 for $600 more. $2000 total, shipped. It just keeps adding up. Anyway, I am really curious as to what the best way to set up the rear torque arm off the differential to the chassis? Seems like an important piece of the puzzle. I'm getting the original C4 torque arm, but wondered if it could be used with a additional cross member?
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 12-10-2015 at 04:06 PM.

  8. #28
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    I tried using the original c-beam (torque arm) but the angles are wrong and it just won't work. I have a pile of them that will probably go to aluminum scrap if the Corvette guys don't want them. The one for the Dana 44 is different than the one for the Dana 36, since the 44 is longer and has a different pinion offset.

    Not too bad of a score on a front and rear for $2000 shipped. I've bought them cheaper locally, but it was just luck. I just picked up a late 44 center section only and got a good deal on it, even with shipping. I'll probably swap it into one of the suspensions I have if a guy wants a 44. The center sections alone usually go for around $1200 plus shipping.

    As far as the need for a torque arm, I personally don't think it's necessary. We use a bracket that attaches to the pinion and to the shock crossmember via a urethane bushing. I used a torque arm on my Nomad just because I thought it was kinda cool, and I built it myself. At the time I was a little concerned with the torque of my 502, and getting wheelhop. Since then I've not heard of anyone having wheelhop with a C4 rear so I don't think you need a torque arm at all. We make the crossmembers out of .188" steel to handle the torque and the force on the pinion support.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  9. #29
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    You don't often see a Watts linkage to locate a solid rear axle on a 55-57. It's just hard to package for one thing. A Nomad or wagon has trouble clearing a bigger axle if you keep the stock tank, let alone a Watts linkage or panhard bar. The Watts linkage takes more room in the wrong areas than a panhard bar.

    The other half of a Watts linkage, and this applies to any car with a solid axle, is that while it's technically superior, in practice a panhard bar does just as well until you have a lot of wheel travel. So it's of limited value if you have typical spring rates and a good rear sway bar.

  10. #30
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    I don't know, but I am concerned. I thought I had the quick change rear in my Camaro clamped tight enough, until I got on it hard, and spun the axel housing in the mounts. Got it shut down in time not to destroy anything. The u-joint bottomed out making the whole car jump up and down. After that I roughly calculated the torque reaction the differential. 2.66 first gear x 4.47 rear x 400 ft lb engine torque = 4750 ft lbs of torque on the axel housing. That seems to be a lot of force with a short lever on 1 bolt attaching the diff to a cross member spanning the chassis.

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