Early nova drag race steering

I know this a little o/t, but someone might have the info i need.
What mods are done to prevent toe change on launch.this thing changes almost 3"

 

possibly go to a rack or get rid of the outer tie rods ends and go to a heim setup...with spacers....been a few years since i have messed with those things....

otherwise , you might try limiters and run the risk of spinning

 

Adjusting in lots of caster will tilt the spindle back which lowers the ends of the spindle arms, that will help a lot. If you need to go farther, you have to heat and bend the spindle arms and adjust the tie rods longer.

 

I have heard of modified center links and steering arms, has any body seen or done this. I know these cars have been raced for years

 

Had the same thing with a '65 Nova My son and I raced. This might not be the answer for you but we installed a new Morrison(I think) sub frame with MII suspension. Worked great. Normal Norman

 

A dropped pitman and idler arm would go a long way (think 4x4), but anytime you fully unload the suspension you will suffer bump steer. Even the best stock suspension has limits.

 

The only thing that will fix that problem is limit suspension travel severely, which does nothing to help with weight transfer or use a taller spindle so the upper A arm isn't going downhill from the start. You will also need to keep in mind that this will raise the car some and it will require shortening spring height and limiting travel a little, so you don't over extend the lower ball joint, etc. You may have to shorten your upper control arms to correct the camber as well. Bill Thomas did this on a car called Bad Bascom and there is an article about the car detailing all the suspension modifications in the July 1963 issue of Hot Rod magazine. He used full size Chevy spindles which also have larger brakes to boot. Another option would be to use a tall dropped spindle for a later Camaro/Nova, but you will need to get a lower ball joint conversion kit from Global West to use them. I've never tried this myself, but I have given it a lot of thought in the past. Another thing, if you are willing to attempt this, I seem to recall seeing a slightly shorter Mustang? shock that would limit the front end travel and you should probably use 6 cyl. springs if you need to lower the car rather than cutting V8 springs if you are mainly using this car for straight line action.

 

I put a rack on mine with aftermarket aluminum steering arms from TRZ. I also installed a bolt on coil-over kit. I also made some travel limiter's. After I got it lined up, it drove great and went straight.

We limited the travel on mine to 1" depending on the track and the car would still drag the back bumper at times. This was on leaf spring rear suspension and a 10.5 " slick , so you can limit the travel and still make the car hook. Just take some time to get the car worked out.

 

If anyone's interested, here's the article as it relates to the front suspension. If you want or need travel in you front end or are building a road car and you are a do it yourselfer, you might be interested in this. The last picture is of an aftermarket later Camaro/Nova "tall dropped spindle".

 

I forgot to mention, the major flaw in these front ends, as in the Mustang, Falcon, etc. is that the upper A arm is running downhill right off the bat and as the front end rises, the spindle gets sucked in at a faster rate than the steering link and the toe goes out of whack, not to mention what it does to the camber. It is easier to correct on a Ford, as done on the Shelby Mustangs, by redrilling the shock towers to lower the inner A arm mounting points. Unfortunately, it's not so simple on a Chevy II, but moving the upper ball joint higher achieves the same end.

 

Eelco upper ball joint spacers?Maybe would help.

 

They don't change the ball joint position, just raise the car. Basically, they change the shape of the arm, but the pivot points stay the same.

 

Unless you are referring to the C shaped steel ones that go between the ball joint and spindle, then yes.

 

Thanks for the help

 

Later model camaro unstrut, lighter and junkyard cheap.

 

If you have the stock front suspension,the easiest route would be to make some limitting cables. (on the cheap) Upper A arm to shock tower. Once the cable "hits" it's gonna transfer all that lost energy to the ass end.Think about all the force your car is using to "unspring" the front.... If you control that,it's gonna plant the rear=is what you want. My .02C.
Good Luck.