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Sunday, January 13, 2013

Dynamat and Coil Springs (revised)

If you thought I was just going to Dynamat the floors then both you and I were mistaken.  Gerri kept coming out to the garage saying, "It's beautiful, keep going".  So I did.  As you can see there are lots of nooks and crannies in the luggage area of our 63 Corvette.


I have to admit it has a space ship kind of look to it.


Without air conditioning the roof insulation will be extra nice on those hot summer days.  


The luggage stop is suppose to be riveted to the body but when I went to install it I found that the frame was in the way.  It should have been riveted before the body was installed.  No worries, I just got out my trusty Rivet Nut tool and installed threaded fittings.  Stainless screws were used.  


The interior looks nice from the front...


... and it looks great from the side.


New topic.

My friend and fellow Corvette enthusiast Jim Q has hinted a couple times that the front end sits a little too proud.  So I did some research at the National Corvette Restorers website and it turns out Jim Q was right.  The heavy duty F40/F41 front suspension has a much heavier spring rate but it lowers the front end 1 1/2" from stock.  They refer to the stance as "Being in the weeds".  We are definately not in the weeds so I thought I'd better take a look.


What I found is a 6 coil spring with a free length of 14".  That's the wrong spring for our car.  The correct spring has 7 coils, a 12" free length and it has .668 wire.  Part # is 3832518.  The one in the picture is wrong.


So, thanks to Jim Q and Ebay, the front end is now down in the weeds.


I do like the California rake look but wheel clearance may be an issue.  I did full turn clearance checks and it's OK, but when the car is driven we may have issues.  The maximum wheel width on a 63 is suppose to be 6.5 inches.  We're running 7's.  We will just have to wait and see.  


The wiring harness is on order but I have no idea when it will be delivered.  It will most likely be the topic our my next posting though.  Should be fun.

Many thanks for watching.  We're at 80,000 views if you haven't noticed.

Post Script

The coil springs discussed in this post are also incorrect.  See the correct springs posted on March 10, 2013 or just follow this link:  Coil Springs and Carpet

10 comments:

  1. 2014 Stingray , Nah 1963 thanks .

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  2. The new stance now looks right, even though I was not going to mention it again. Sorry for the extra work and $$$$ but it deserves to look right and it does look awesome.
    jim q.

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    Replies
    1. how much clearance do you have between the tire sidewall and the inner lip of the front fender now? Brian Perth Australia

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  4. Brian,

    I can get my fingers between the two but I don't know how the wheel geometry acts during a turn or when going over a speed bump. I just have to wait and see.

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  5. Much better when it's closer to the ground like that.

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  6. I agree! The 2014 Corvette looks really nice but I think I like our 63 SWC better. Thanks.

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  7. Q. Frost,

    I like the stance too. It is really low. I just hope we don't run into any clearance issues. Thanks again for the comment and I am glad you're enjoying the blog.

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  8. Let me just take a moment to tell you what a thrill it's been for me, trapped behind a computer for 10 hours a day, to take the occasional break and read your blog. I owned a 78 Silver Anniversary Vette when my wife and I were first married. My uncle worked at GM making them, used to race a 73 in the clubs back in the day. Thanks again, I'm finally caught up to the current state of things, so to speak.

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  9. Q Frost, Glad to hear you're enjoying this blog. It's good to know the blog is found useful for whatever reason, even if it's to pass the time during lunch breaks and reminisce about old rides. Thanks for the comment.

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