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Suspension improvement?

Hodee

Hodee

Donation Time
I have a series five with all new front A-arms,king pins, ball joints,tie rods etc. New shocks as well from Sunbeam spares i believe are Monroe. But... I'm wondering if adding an adjustable Koni or other brand would offer a better/sportier ride. A arm bushings are rubber as are sway bushings. I do not race the car but enjoy it on back country roads and find it a bit too soft. Suggestions? Wondering if this should go under the "modified" section but the car is currently nearly all stock. thanks
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
The rear end of your car is as old as the front end, so do yourself a favor and rebuild it. This will soften the ride even more (as the rear springs will be free to move), but improve handling.

I'm guessing you have gas shocks, which take the edge off of the ride. Switch to any non gas shock to retrieve the bone jarring, sporty ride.

Bill
 
Barry

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
I am curious about a S-V Alpine with kingpins.

The Alpine was more "civilized" than other small British sports cars in the '60's and that included softer suspension.

If you want a "sportier" suspension, you really need to look at the suspension "package" including spring rates, shocks and anti-roll bar(s).

Stiffer springs are probably the most difficult to do, especially if you want to maintain a normal ride height.

Stiffer anti-roll bar(s) are readily available (ADDCO) if you want to reduce the excessive body roll.

Shocks are an easy way to make the suspension feel stiffer. Shocks that fit a first generation Camaro will usually fit a S-3/IV/V Alpine, so there are plenty of candidates. Get some good aftermarket double adjustable shocks and play with the settings to get a feel that you like.

Just my opinion, YMMV.
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Hodee said:
Any recommendations ?
Click to expand...

Not here. I went to gas shocks because my butt is not compatible with a sporty ride. "Better" ride is a very subjective term. My butt tells me the Monroe (Camaro) gas struts that have been on the car for almost ten years, give a "better" ride. Any recommendation that I might give would not be valid, as your butt is obviously calibrated differently than mine.

Bill
 
Hodee

Hodee

Donation Time
Bill, Not sure how my butt is calibrated and don't want to find out! I assume a double adjustable shock would mean compression and rebound, is that correct? Would any adjust for ride height or is that all depending on the springs? I wouldn't mind a bit lower height but don't want to get crazy on mods. First gen Camaro meaning 67-69?
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
I think you are correct on all counts. Yes, the Camaro rear shocks fit the Alpine. Keep a mind a couple of things shocks cannot control: Ride height (unless they bottom out, you don't want that) and final "set". They have impact only when the suspension is in transition.

Probably the best single thing you can do to improve road performance, after bringing old parts up to snuff, is to install a 7/8" front sway bar. Very effective, even with the Camaro gas shocks, but has negligible impact on ride. The car will feel more sporty because ti does not lean nearly as much while cornering. Not because the ride is stiffer.

Bill
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Hodee said:
Thanks Bill, are they available from Addco?
Click to expand...

The last I knew. It is the standard Tiger bar, so you will probably have to look for a Tiger replacement bar. Just be sure to get the Tiger bushings. I got mine from Summit a few years ago.

Bill
 
DanR

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
Hodee said:
Anybody tried the Q1A shocks for a Camaro as a direct bolt on to the Alpine?
Click to expand...

I made a purchase for the '68 Camaro front an rear shocks to find out what kind of a ride they would do for my Blue Boy V6.

The rear shocks were a perfect fit. Do not yet know how the ride will be.

The front shocks could not be fastened due to the bottom end having a forked slot style, see PIC ....

The Blue color shocks are the Monroe shocks. In the PIC where you only see a portion of a blue shock, that is the bottom end of the rear shock. The other blue shock is the front and it too uses one bolt to fasten into a special Alpine bracket that has two holes for securing the bottom.

Notice the two new shocks have the slotted forked ends. They do not match the Special Alpine bracket.

Maybe there would be a way to make them work if you removed the slotted forked piece and utilized a bolt similar to the Alpine one.

MAybe I will go back to that later. But for now I will continue with the Monroe.

What started all this is I had a bit of noise coming from the front while driving sometimes on a rather rough road.

The ride was not exactly what I would call a smooth one.

When I removed one of the front Monroes I notice the metal sleeve in the rubber bushing of the Monroe was a good bit larger in dia than the stock Alpine bolt used to fasten it in place. This could be the source of a rattle like noise while driving.

I removed the sleeve/bushing and pressed in one that was snug with the Stock Alpine bolt, assembled the Monroe shocks and will give it a trial run later today....

Wondering if any others using the Monroe shocks discovered the same looseness in their shock mount? Maybe you too have the same situation as I but do not know it!Shocks for SV Alpine 20190329_161717.jpg
 
Mike Broome

Mike Broome

Silver Level Sponsor
I updated my S5 suspension for road and some track use. One inch front anti roll bar with matching bushes. Tiger front springs with the rubber top ring removed to give a one inch reduction in ride height. I use a 1/8th rubber ring instead of the top ring. Small amount of negative camber to improve turn in. Koni adjustable shocks on front, Spax on the rear. Rear springs are Tiger racing units and also lowers the rear by one inch. I also have a pair of bolt on anti tramp bars. All bushes have been replaced. The ride is firm but fine for me and the handling is miles better.
 
260Alpine

260Alpine

Silver Level Sponsor
Dan, You press out the bar pin in the front Camaro shocks. Drill the lower shock mount to use larger bolts if necessary. Or use a thicker steel sleeve for the stock bolt.
 
Last edited:
nsbluenose

nsbluenose

Silver Level Sponsor
DanR said:
Thanks for the comments! Some of which I have already done.
Click to expand...
Bill Blue said:
The rear end of your car is as old as the front end, so do yourself a favor and rebuild it. This will soften the ride even more (as the rear springs will be free to move), but improve handling.

I'm guessing you have gas shocks, which take the edge off of the ride. Switch to any non gas shock to retrieve the bone jarring, sporty ride.

Bill
Click to expand...
As Bill suggests do the back suspension as well. About 10 years ago I completely rebuilt the from end of my 1968 Camaro, new everything. On my test drive, after an alignment I thought that both my rear tires were low on air pressure as the back end was not really following the front end. Checked the air pressures on all 4 wheels and they were fine. Turns out that new on front and old on rear were not compatible. Rebuilt the rear suspension and the Camaro hugged the road like a new car.
 
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