'71 GMC Track Day Video

[bovey]

Originally Posted by cericd

Cool video. I like your other video too that discusses your trucks setup. I know you said it's the standard 4/6 drop but I was wondering, do you have a c-notch in the rear and is the 6" drop all spring or a combination of springs and blocks.

Hey Chris, yes, it is C-notched. The rear suspension is really simple at the moment. I've owned this truck for 25 years and when I originally lowered it the only company making drop springs was a lowrider company out Cali called Chrisholm, hell, I even had to make the drop block to get to 6".

Anyway, the rear suspension in all it's glory.

4" Chrisholm drop springs
2" homemade blocks
ECE shock re-locater kit - from when they first made them.
CPP pan bar - stock location
Beltech Nitrodrop shocks
CCP C-notch kit

That it, and I chase down some crazy new AWD with it.

This will be getting replaced moving forward as it's heavily taxed on my race days - this year was just sorting out if I liked autoXing/track days or not.

NC John, the video is 2 laps of the DDT track, however, yes - the monster track at Mosport is on my list to hit next year. My truck is way too fast, and way under suspensioned (new word) for those kind of speeds. I was even holding back on the DDT (Driver Development Track) to keep the paint side up.

[cericd]

Originally Posted by bovey

This will be getting replaced moving forward as it's heavily taxed on my race days - this year was just sorting out if I liked autoXing/track days or not.

What's getting replaced? The truck or the rear end setup? What's causing you to be heavily taxed. Sorry for the odd question. I'm an AutoX noob.

[bovey]

Originally Posted by cericd

What's getting replaced? The truck or the rear end setup? What's causing you to be heavily taxed. Sorry for the odd question. I'm an AutoX noob.

Replacing suspension parts, the truck is not going anywhere.

In my case, speed combined with the types of racing I'm doing is more than what my current suspension was ever designed to handle. Mix that with a race track that allows for a ton of speed and it can be dangerous.

A lot of the autocross you see at car shows are designed to keep the competition around 35 MPH - no helmet stuff. That is not the case with the groups I run with up here. 90% of my competition are Miatas, S2000s and Subarus and they are fast and nimble. To be able to compete with them I need to build a very specific chassis to be nimble and deal with all of my power, as I run a LS 427 making 600ish HP with a brick torque curve.

My design criteria for the next version of my truck must be:

1) Nimble to deal with tight autocross designs. i.e. front IFS with excellent caster/camber adjustment

2) Stable for high speed track use. Not to mention the idea of doing Cannonball Run style road rallies... but that is off in the future.

Who doesn't love the Big Red Camaro? Inspiring car.