I have a 1963 Impala that originally had a 327 and a four speed those are long gone and it now has a GM crate 383 that is a lot lighter than the original cast iron 327 is....the result with out pics..sorry still at work..is that my front end sits a lot higher than I want...much like mustangs lol I am looking into either a) getting drop spindles or b) buying drop springs both of these are available in a two inch drop although I could go three inch drop in with springs.... i do know that afterward I will need to balance tires and camber just wondering what has worked best with you all out there I do want to stay away from air bags atm if at all possible thanks again I will sit back and watch what comes back to me
Dropped spindles will maintain the car's full suspension-travel (unless something else hits the ground first ofcourse), so no camber adjustments are needed. Why do you think the tires would need to be rebalanced? They don't need to.
Best way- Drop spindles. Maintains full suspension travel & geometry. Traditional way? Wack a coil or 2 off.
Was leaning towards them because the ones I have my sight on can be easily run disc brakes it would be very nice to stop my 3600 425hp car quickly
Is the 383 all aluminum or something? If it's a GM crate motor, than probably not. At the most, maybe it has aluminum heads and intake. The 383 can't be that much lighter than the 327. After all, they're both small blocks right? I would go with the drop spindles, but if you want to go even lower you could run both. The new drop springs will probably be stiffer and feel better than the mushy, old, worn out springs. You might not have to have to get an alignment as long as the new spindles are quality castings, and you don't use drop springs as well. If they are straight, and all mounting points (ball joints and tie rod) match factory specs, the camber & caster should stay the same.
Yeah...it is the ZZ383 with aluminum heads since I have had it is though the front sits higher put new springs in the rear hoping to move the ass end up but that did not work also do not want to cut coils but thanks guys just had not made my mind up yet
Do note that using the dropped spindles will negate your ability to use the stock drum brakes, if you still have them. If you currently have a disc brake conversion, some of the spindles will make the parts you have now incompatible, too.
Go use your local auto parts store(CarQuest, O'Reilly's, NAPA) MOOG new coil spring catalog. Look up the new springs for for your car front and rear. Then go to the back of the book and look under the correct chart for specifications. You'll find new springs with same wire size, end configuration and spring rate but shorter free height.
Drop spindles from Superior Spindle. I put Superior Spindles on my '62. I ordered them with the 12" Camaro 1LE rotors and calipers-> don't get there bearings they are Chinese crap. The only bummer is metric wheel studs, no standard size will fit without machining the holes. I used to have the spindles that use the 10.5" S10 rotors but sold them to a buddy because I wanted the bigger 12" GM brakes. Marty McFly
I'd start with new springs and see where that gets you. If your front end is lighter (and therefore higher) you need SOFTER springs to put it back where it was before the motor swap. You don't need special dropping springs or dropped spindles unless you're trying to make it sit lower than it did with the original motor. Cutting the springs you have will just make it that much stiffer. If you want to go lower than it was, then replace the springs with softer ones and go with dropped spindles. If you just want to restore the ride height you had, then it's all in the springs. (Dropped spindles and the springs you have will give you odd geometry in your front end.)
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