Stock C4 in the front?
 

Hey Guys,

So I picks up a corvette C4 front suspension for my '59 Apache. It has the mono leaf and gas shocks. I have been told that some guys keep the leaf but most go to coil overs. The susp. is out of the truck right now. Do I fab it in and try the leaf or do I mod the member, drop the leaf and add coil overs?

Does anyone have experience with both??

Thanks very much

Re: Stock C4 in the front?
 

Subscribed as I am at the same point and have similar questions about a 55 suburban

Re: Stock C4 in the front?
 

the c4 front spring is designed for the weight of the car, i suspect the weight of the truck is a lot more. go with the coil overs.

Re: Stock C4 in the front?
 

no opinion, just curious to see the setup! subscribed.

Re: Stock C4 in the front?
 

Truck only weighs 3450 and I believe I have read that is closer to the vettes' weight than you might think. I am sure the weight bias is different though.

Re: Stock C4 in the front?
 

I agree with this as the truck only has about 400-450 lbs load on the rear empty. (A guesstimate)
As for the mono leaf vs coil overs it is a toss up I think, as the corvette handled great in its time although its weight is more so spread across the front and rear suspension vs the truck. I would think that if you are looking for a road race type suspension the coil overs would be excellent, but if your looking for a weekend cruiser the mono leaf would do just fine. Either way it will be a huge improvement over the stock suspension and stock handling.
My project is a 55 suburban which will be a closer balanced load on both the front and rear. I personally am still kind of undesided whether I will use the mono leaf or coil overs in the front, rear will be mono leaf though.
I am hoping to start the shortening and fabricating the rear brackets very soon.
Hope I don't offend anyone because these are just my opinions and you know what they say about opinions. :)

Re: Stock C4 in the front?
 

I went with coilovers on mine. I have a 66, but figured that there was a very small chance that the spring rate and shock dampening would be correct for the truck - so adjustable coilovers solve both problems. Easily/cheaply changable spring rate, adjustable ride height, adjustable dampening. Thats my cents worth!

Re: Stock C4 in the front?
 

if you check out my build post i used a stock 93 c4 cradle ditiched the mono for coilovers even retained the c4 alum steering sf
haft with no mods to it i will say i have 500lb springs in mine and there no were close to what i need it was speced for 700 and the guy (dannys customs) sent me 500 the 4 times i talked to him about it he said there on there way 4 months still havent showed no he wont answer my calls