| Classic Performance Products |
| 1963-72 Chevy Truck Tubular Suspension Install
Part Two |
| By Bob Ryder |
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In our previous "Totally Tubular" tech article,
we visited Classic Performance Products in Anaheim, California, where we
fol- lowed Jeff Wise and Danny Nix as they installed a CPP fat bar and track
bar rear suspension setup.
This second suspension article will feature CPP's front-suspension
tubular upper and lower control arms, shocks, springs, engine mounts, and
transmission crossmember.
The tubular upper and lower control arms are designed
to add 5 degrees of caster while providing full wheel travel and as little
friction as possible. The tubular arms are made from 1-inch 120- wall DOM
tubing, and the pivot barrels are thick 1-inch .188-wall DOM tubing to eliminate
distortion from welding and hard use.
The bushings are made from self-lubricating, non-squeak,
patented plastic that will outlast any rubber or urethane and work at temperatures
in excess of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The billet 4140-alloy steel cross-shafts
and sleeves are zinc-plated for lasting performance. The sleeves have an
interlocking design that prevents the hardware from ever working loose. |
The pivots carry both forward and back loads (the original
cross-shaft pivot was designed to carry a forward or back load, not both).
The control arm assemblies are a simple bolt-in installation with no modification
required. They work with all factory and replacement power steering designed
and developed a tubular transmission mount that is a direct bolt-on OEM
replacement. For custom installations, the tubular mount can be located
any place along the frame by drilling holes in the framerails. The 1-inch
tubing provides maximum exhaust and ground clearance. The design also allows
the exhaust to run over the mount for even more ground clearance for slammed
trucks.
The CPP tubular engine mounts are a direct bolt-in for
either the original small-block V-8 or the LS1 When using the CPP LS1 engine
mount adapters, big-block mounts are also available. The tubular engine
mounts area fully gusseted twin-tube design with heavy-gauge mounting flanges.
These mounts offer extra room for brake, fuel, transmission, and air lines
inside the framerails. |
The CPP 3-inch-drop precision wound coil
springs are heat-treated and tempered to withstand millions of cycles without
losing their strength and sagging. They provide a sporty spring rate that
complements the tubular control arms. The adjustable, nitrogen charged shocks
are specifically designed for lowered trucks. The compression and rebound
rates are matched to the CPP lowering coils and have an external adjustment
to fine tune the ride and driving style.
The anti-roll bar kit features a 1- inch-diameter solid
roll bar with modern styling end links. The updated roll bar end links allow
the bar to work bet- ter, with less binding and a longer bushing life. The
extra-thick 3/16-inch low-profile mounting brackets keep the anti-roll bar
geometry in the ideal work- ing range and have an extra 4 inches of ground
clearance.
We will be capturing
the highlights on digital as Jeff and Danny install the CPP front suspension,
transmission crossmember, and engine mount kits on the '67 Chevy C10's frame. |
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| 1...This '67 Chevy 1/2-ton pickup with a 350/350 automatic
transmission and frame will be receiving all new CPP front upper and lower
A-arms, 2-inch drop spindles, shortened coil springs, front gas-filled shocks,
a shock reinforcement bracket, steering box, steering center link, tie rod
adjuster sleeves, tie rod ends, pitman arm, idler arm, sway bar, sway-bar
mounting brackets, and sway-bar poly bushings. To complete the frontend
overhaul, an all new CPP transmission crossmember, poly trans mount, a pair
of new engine mount brackets, and poly engine mounts will be installed. |
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| 2...The crusty front suspension components will be disassembled
and replaced. |
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| 3...Jell Wise, CPP lab technician, begins disassembling the
'67 Chevy front suspension. The '67 frame was actually pre-fitted using
'73 up-front control arms and other suspension components. |
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| 4...The frame was given many hours of intense labor, including
welding, grinding, and sanding, before the matte black paint was applied. |
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5...systems, with or without OE bumpstops. The lower control
arm's one-piece, stamped, lowered spring pocket is flush with the lower
control arm tube's bottom radius for a clean appearance. The upper and lower
control arms will be teamed up with a pair of 2-inch drop spindles that
will be major factors in the nose's lowering equation.
When lowering your early truck's sus- pension, it is important to make the
undercarriage as flat as possible. One of the potential hangups is the OEM
transmission crossmember that rests below the lower framerail plane. |
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| 6...After removing the steering box mounting bolts. Jeff discards
the manual steering box. |
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| 7...He aligns and mounts the new CPP power steering box to
the framerail. |
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| 8...Jell installs the new pitman arm on the splined pitman
shall. |
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| 9...He uses an impact gun to tighten down the nut on the idler
arm. |
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| 10...CCP installs a coller pin to guarantee the castle nut
won't back off the idler arm shall. Wherever castle nuts are used, they
are secured with cotter pins. |
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| 11...The steering will be joined together with a CPP center
link, tie rod ends, and adjusting sleeves. |
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| 12...The front suspension will be lowered by installing CPP
upper and lower A-arms 2-inch drop spindles, shorter coil springs, and gas
shock absorbers. |
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| 13...To flatten out aggressive cornering, a CPP sway-bar kit
will be installed, complete with mounting brackets, poly, bushings, and
sway-bar links. Allowing the framerails to layout are a CPP transmission
crossmember, mounting bracket, and poly mount. The custom CPP engine mount,
brackets, and polyurethane mounts will finish off the frontend installation. |
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| 14...The steering center link connects the steering pitman
arm to the idler arm. |
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| 15...The idler arm nut is secured using a pneumatic impact
gun. |
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| 16...The CPP tubular upper A-arm cross-shall secures it to
the framerail in the OEM mounting location. |
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| 17...Danny Nix helped Jeff mount the CPP lower control arm
using U-bolts. |
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| 18...CPP's lower A-arm coil spring pocket is made of one-piece
stamped steel. The coil spring pocket doesn't exceed the lower control A-arm's
tubing plane line, which helps eliminate hanging up and scraping. |
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| 19...The CPP shortened coil spring is installed to support
and work with the 2-inch drop spindle. |
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| 20...The 2-inch drop spindle is aligned and joined with the
lower control arm ball-joint and secured with a castle nut and cotter pin. |
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| 21...The lower tubular A-arm is 3/8-inch shorter to help eliminate
negative camber trom the front-end geometry. |
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| 22...A washer is welded in place to reinforce the elongated
shock absorber mounting stud hole in the framerail. |
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| 23...The gas-filled shock absorber is aligned to the mounting
stud. |
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| 24-25...To enhance the shock absorber mounting stud's strength,
a CPP reinforcement shock absorber mounting bracket is bolted to the frame-rails. |
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| 26...The gas-charged shock links the lower control arm to
the framerail mounting stud and reinforcement bracket. |
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| 27...A quick overview of the upper/lower control arms, 2-inch
drop spindle, coil spring, idler arm, and shock absorber. |
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| 28...The CPP tie rod adjusting sleeve is threaded to the inner
tie rod end. |
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| 29-30...With the inner tie rod installed into the idler arm,
the outer tie rod is then threaded into the adjusting sleeve. The outer
tie rod end's length is aligned to the spindle and secured with a castle
nut and cotter pin. |
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| 31...A pneumatic gun secures the sway-bar mounting bracket
to the framerail. |
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| 32...The larger diameter sway bar is installed using mounting
brackets, poly bushings, and sway-bar end links. |
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| 33...A pneumatic impact gun secures the sway-bar poly bushing. |
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| 34-36...A look at both the passenger and driver side CPP dropped
front-suspension components. The front view shows the system from spindle
to spindle. |
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| 37...The original transmission crossmember is unbolted and
removed from between the framerails. |
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| 38...The new lower profile CPP transmission cross-member is
installed between the frame rails. |
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| 39-40...The original engine mounts are removed and discarded. |
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| 41...New CPP poly engine mounts are aligned and bolted to
the engine block. |
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| 41-43...The CPP engine mount has a unique interlocking design
that keeps the mount from slipping during installation. |
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| 44-45...The CPP tubular engine mount brackets align and lock
with the engine mounts, then align with the original engine mount bracket
holes in the framerails. |
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| Go
To Part One Go
To Part Three |
|
