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Fatman's exclusive G-Tech spindle is a really important improvement for the ’67-’69 Camaros and ’68-’74 Nova. A 2' drop is accomplished, with the strength of a one piece forged spindle. The taller spindle geometry was pioneered by Penske/Donahue back in the early days of Trans Am racing. The greater height makes the camber curve lean the tire into the turn, rather than out as stock. The upper arms must go down hill toward the center of the car to accomplish this. The new control arm angle also raises the chassis roll center in relation to the center of gravity. This reduction in the roll couple results in flatter cornering and less need for monster anti-sway bars that may increase ride harshness. A look at any Indy car will show you a level lower arm and the center inclined upper, which is the accepted form for superior handling. The taller spindle is also an advantage for drag racers as it allows more down travel for suspension during launch. Understeer is greatly reduced and results in a tested 20% improvement in cornering power. We also positioned the upper ball joint tapered hole so that either stock or tubular control arms will align properly. (This taller spindle geometry works so well that GM used in as standard on the ’70-‘81 cars, which have excellent design from the factory.) When the actual prototype parts were installed on a car, we did a bumpsteer analysis and found that the steering arm position needed an adjustment to dial in the geometry. We included that advance in our final design. No other spindle on the market, taller or not, can boast this improvement born of real testing real cars!

Some vendors still sell dropped spindles for these cars that use Metric GM disc brakes, but that is a step backwards in terms of stopping power. The rotor is smaller than the stock Camaro unit, and the caliper has a smaller bore and pad for less clamping force. Our G-Tech spindle will accept any disc kit we’ve seen for stock Camaro spindles, from stock iron to Wilwood, ECI, Aerospace, and Baer. A small trim of the caliper bracket is usually needed on the ¼" thick stamped caliper bracket used with stock GM disc brakes. Install these G-Tech dropped spindles in a couple hours on a Saturday morning, without even needing to rebleed the brakes. A quick trip to the alignment shop and your Camaro’s handling and stance will be transformed!

As the catalog states, many folks don’t realize that the common cast iron brake kits out there use a ’68-72 Chevelle/’68-74 Nova combination that moves the wheel out ¾" from stock drum brake width. Wilwood has just changed their kits so that they maintain stock drum brake width. Baer doesn’t advertise this fact, but their disc brakes kits, excellent as they are, move the wheel ¾” outboard from the drum brake position like OEM iron disc brakes. ECI makes disc kits which give you a choice of retaining stock drum brake track width, or actually moving the wheels inboard 1” for even more tire room under the fender. We sell the OEM iron brakes as the most economical version, and also ECI, Wilwood, and Baer with a different rotor mounted on an aluminum hub. The hub saves weight and keeps the track width stock for those who need the clearance for larger tires. If you want extra style, we can get Wilwood and Baer drilled and polished, front and rear.

Your new disc brakes will need a new dual master cylinder and booster to work correctly. The larger 9" unit will provide more boost, but won’t clear big block valve covers. A proportioning valve is not necessarily required, unless you are using the same size tires all around. Taller rear tires have more leverage resisting the rear brakes, and so have a built in proportioning effect.

The tubular control arms for the Classic Camaro and Nova are a real nice way to improve the looks and handling. We supply the bushings, ball joints, and shafts installed, using top quality components. The upper shafts have a 3/16" offset built into them, an improvement pioneered by MOOG. Doing so allows you to change the length of the upper arm 3/8" to allow a larger “window” for your alignment expert to deal with. The unfortunate fact is that these fine cars were not always precisely built, and may have suffered some dimensional changes with years of service. The offset allows you to get the alignment specs you want without excessive shim stacks, or running out of space. The shaft can simply be rotated within the bushing to dial in the proper length for your car. We suggest ½" toe in, zero to ½° positive camber, and 3-4° positive caster with power steering, 2° positive with manual steering.

The ’67-‘69Camaro/’68-’72 Nova version of these arms are available in standard width, or narrowed 1½" per side to allow extra tire clearance. They are also especially popular for street rods that have had one of these subframes installed, only to find out later that the tires won’t fit under the fenders. The narrowed arms will need a different outer tie rod end as specified in the instructions, and will not accept the stock front sway bar. Please see the paragraph on sway bars below for more details.

A molded urethane spring seat is provided for the lower end of the coil spring. This does a great job of reducing NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) and gives a more refined ride quality. They are also removable for conversion to coilovers or Airride. The upper ball joint has been moved back to allow caster settings that account for cars on a raked stance and using more positive caster settings for enhanced high speed handling.

The arms are TIG welded in proven fixtures for accuracy, using 1" × .188 mandrel bent tubing. Premium ball joints and rubber bushings are supplied. We use rubber since urethane tends to ride very harsh, and most customers are unhappy with them. If you prefer urethane, we can leave the bushings out and allow a $40.00 credit.

The standard finish is a lacquer primer for corrosion resistance. Acrylic enamel with just enough hardener to keep out dust works well as a final finish, in a color you choose to accent your chassis. We have also just added the option of black or metallic grey powder coating. We have always avoided chrome with the issues of inconsistent quality and price, not to mention environmental damage. Stainless steel has some problems in terms of durability after welding and is frankly a real pain to work with.

Sway bars are highly recommended to improve handling. Tabs are provided for front sway bars on our tubular control arms in stock length configuration. Narrowed arms move the ball joint inboard and will interfere with the stock sway bar link location, so a custom installation will need to be done, before any finish is applied to the arms. We have mounted the stock bar further forward and used a press to bend the ends in slightly. A new tab welded to the front of the lower arms accepts the new link position. These bars really help keep the body level for better handling and greater comfort.

Upgraded shocks are probably the best kept secret in hot rodding. Changing from a standard parts store gas shock to a premium aftermarket unit is as much an improvement as going from bias ply to radial tires! A Saturday morning a couple hundred bucks will pay dividends you can’t imagine. The same shocks form the basis for the coilover conversions. Coilovers allow you to tune the ride height and spring rate easily for a no compromise combination. Take the ultimate step to a single or double adjustable shock and allow tuning the damping of your spring action for amazing handling without a harsh ride. They really come in handy too allowing you to have soft shocks for normal driving, and then tighten them up for harder driving or a big load in the trunk when traveling. Imagine changing the characteristics of your suspension at the turn of a button!