Thinking that the Nomad may be my next project. The car was a custom int eh 60s and a drag car in the 70s. When i bought it in 96 it had been stored for some time. It has an all-around high stance. Rear end below the springs and the front end has Chrysler Spindles that are flipped upside down and welded with fixed camber. I'm not completely sure about using these; as they are a home-spun creation. Does anyone know where i could source someone to make me one-off spindles so i could keep the ride height but have the ability to align the front end, etc? You see drop spindles everywhere, but never raised ones. I'm pretty sure it'd have to be some one who could just fabricate some. Any thoughts guys?
I'll suggest getting some stock spindles and then use them with upper ball joint spacers to retain the high height.
cool! I have never heard of ball joint spacers. How do those work? Do they make ball joints with longer studs on them? it'd have to come up probably 3 inches. The car has (almost) a gasser height stance but rather than being done with straight axle, it's done with the spindles. The current spindles have steel tabs welded in the back to "fix" them in place. would it be completely unreasonable to use what's on it? i know for a drag car, front end alignment doesnt matter so much as for a street car...which it will be when i finish it (street car)
A pic would help. Does it have a gasser FE now? What look / stance do you want to retain? Fabbed spindles, while possible, need careful attention paid to design, engineering, geometry, metalurgy, etc.. We're talking major critical component.
I thought I had some pics in my email but I dont guess I do. I'll have to grab some this evening off of the lap top and post them. They'll just be pics of the car in general, I know I dont have pics of the spindles at this time. I'll have to take some for you. I do not think that care and precision were taken into consideration when welding the tabs on the back of these spindles. LOL. I'm assuming FE is front end. If not, correct me. The car has stock steel front clip. they had cut the inner fenders for hearders, and the hood rockets were removed for air flow. i'm not going to build it as a gasser, per se, but i do love the high boy stance.
Chrome, Many a gasser used ball joint spacers back in the day. It was a hell of alot easier then doing the full straight axle swap. They are simply blocks machined to have the same bolt pattern as the ball joint and fit between the upper a-arm and the ball joint.
oh wow, that's not what i had envisioned, having never heard of ball joint spacers before...but that would definitely work! Where can i get a set of those? or would i need to fab them? I'm sure i'll get poison glances from the EOM crowd for building the car in a non stock manner, especially being a rare color combo car (dusk pear/ivory...it's surf green/white now, which is what i'll be going back with) but, it's not like i'm cutting the car up, so it's all reversible.
Ball joint spacer allowed more lift of the suspension. They did not raise the suspension while standing or going down the road. They let the suspension drop more before the front wheels came off the ground.
I think some outfits istill sell them. As he showed in the photo they let you use a taller spring and still have some travel with the upper A arm. Your spindles may actually have AMC spindles scabbed onto them as they unbolted from the AMC upright with 4 bolts and guys would cut off the stock spindle snout and weld on the AMC units to raise or lower cars during that time frame that The car was gasserized . I'm seeing the "fixed camber" thing as bs as you adjust camber on that car by adding or removing shims from between the upper control arm shaft and the mount on the frame and the spindle doesn't get involved in the issue unless the builder set the camber so far off it can't be adjusted to correct it.
Probably the best and most accurate description of their intended purpose. With 90/10 shocks they were intended to let the front end lift that much more but usually guys used them along with taller springs on the street to get the "gasser" look for their poser car.
well. that makes me re-think.. i am not looking for more travel, i'm looking for the standing, and driving height than anything else. re: fixed camber, that was actually my mis-speak. i used the wrong term. They're not AMC scabbed onto the factory stock units, they're actual whole chrysler spindles, flipped up-side-down and there's a tab welded between two areas on the spindle.. you know, thinking about it now (and not having looked at them for years) that may just be how they mounted the backing plates to the spindle...the welded tab.... before i go and confuse the entire issue, let me look, and get some pics in the next day or two. So, if the spacers dont provide additional ride height then are we back to custom spindles? i dont want to go with a straight axle... i just dont
There is a guy buying/selling in the classifieds, who does the 'stacked" spindle approach to raising the front end. You'll have to do a search to find him. Since the spindles are forged steel, rather than cast iron, welding them is doable. Plus, it does'nt affect the comfort aspect of the ride, because all it really does, is change the spindle height location relative to the front suspension; heavy/stiffer springs are'nt used. I'm guessing the Nomad is a Tri-Five Chevrolet. I've never heard of using flipped Chrysler spindles; got any pics of that set up? Butch/56sedandelivery.
56sedandelivery, Yes, it's a 57 Nomad. I'm going to have to grab some pics ASAP of the setup. i thought i had some on email, but dont guess i do. Do you remember anything regarding the guy selling on here? Not sure i'd love the idea of stacked spindles, but i suppose if done correctly, they could be as safe as anything else.
Give me a couple of hours and i'll see if someone can run out there and grab a couple pics of the suspension
That was the intended purpose. However, some local dipshits in the San Jose area had a mechanic that 'specialized' in the installation of these spacers...some of them 5" long, with loooong bolts! These guys had him install tall coil springs also, to raise the Chevys to extreme heights. The tall ones didn't pass tech inspection at Fremont drags, but there were a few of them running around the local drive-ins and downtown. This was in the 1972-1980 timespan. I installed tube axles in a few of these later...
wellll. they are bolted together after all. i'll post pics and let you guys decide WTF was done here. they're sure as heck not usable! see the steel plate they welded in below to steady the spindle? what the heck this cobbled up mess is, i am not sure.
it would appear that they have scabbed one dismembered spindle ONTO another.... eesh. and they were racing it like this? The spindle that contacts the backing plate is welded to the backing plate and to the steel brace plate....
I have seen something like that before. There were a couple of tri-5 Chevys from NJ that had 1/2" plate bolted to the uprights and the spindles were lowered and bolted back on. Always looked scary to me but those 2 guy put lots of miles on their cars.
This is the same basic setup for "stacked spindles"; it takes 2 pairs of spindles to make one set. I don't think yours are "bolted together", but are bolted to the ball joints and backing plate just like the stock ones are, and to the steering links. I don't remember the guys HAMB handle, I'll see what I can come up with a search. The only thing about doing the stacked spindles, is it moves the wheel/tires outward about an inch. I think yours are built a little "higher" also, and not reinforced as well as most I've seen. I've seen some that were reinforced with ankle iron scrap, and were run that way. Like I said, they are forged steel, not cast iron, so welding really is'nt the big scary issue most guys seem to think it is. If you're happy with your ride height, rebuild them, and add some reinforcement to the bottom where the drilled plate is, only underneath it and parallel to terra firma. Butch/56sedandelivery. I could'nt find his ad in the parts for sale section, but did find him in the wanted section. His HAMB handle is smokumup, and he's in Texas. The wanted ad is for "Wtb 55-56-57 stock spindles", if you want to do a search for it. You can PM or e-mail him now anyway. Butch/56sedandelivery.
hey fins that looks like the tri5 two spindle set referred to earlier by 56 sedan delivery----if so that is very safe and used on many cars --there is a guy in tulsa that does them ---put an add on craigslist and talk to him
wow, cool. thanks guys. If these are salvagable, then i may go ahead and toy with them a bit. i guess, the way they are build you could still do a full proper front end alignment on the car, couldnt you? since the chevys align with shims here and there?
Painkiller, thank you for the great informaiton. that's very cool to hear first hand. Thanks for the pictures too. Much appreciated.
I see the Tx. fella is selling them on that auction site we all know and love; just do a search for "raised spindles". More than a bit pricey. Butch/56sedandelivery.
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