For what its worth, the stock...
For what its worth, the stock C10 suspension is not all that bad. But like all the older truck suspensions, geometry and materials can be improved. Check out this before shot of Aaron Owawa running the C10 through its paces. Notice the stock suspension’s body roll and how the front tires are leaning toward positive camber. Believe it or not, the rear suspension has a lot to do with how the front end reacts in corners.
The words Camaro with a bed have been passed around the CLASSIC TRUCKS HQ more than once. What does Camaro with a bed mean? We all know what a “sleeper” is, right? A really fast car or truck that looks stock from the outside, but has a huge motor that will beat faster-looking vehicles. When I hear the words “Camaro with a bed” it makes me think of a truck that looks stock, but can hang with performance cars. Is it possible for a truck to perform like a car? Some people still believe that a truck is not capable of handling like a newer truck, let alone a new car, but companies like Hotchkis Sport Suspension have proven otherwise.
We realize that not everyone is going to take a perfectly good C10 and race it around some cones set up in a random parking lot, but what if the truck drove more like a new car on the highway? Interested now? We should all be fascinated in making the sloppy stock C10 handling better on the streets. I’m not promoting street racing, but rather normal driving or getting on the freeway. If you have a stock classic truck around where I live in California it’s almost impossible to get on the freeway without pushing the limit of the truck. Not to mention stock drums that, in an emergency stop, would put you into the next lane of traffic.
Lets talk about the rear suspension on the Chevy C10 and how Hotchkis Sport Suspension improved the already good rear trailing arm setup. Starting with the stock Panhard bar and its downfall. The stock C10 Panhard bar is short and this can cause problems when fitting larger wheels and tires. The stock short Panhard bar travels on an arc that moves with the suspension travel of the rearend. By adding a longer Panhard bar to the rearend, the travel of the rearend, or arc, side to side is reduced. This means no more rubbing the driveshaft on the exhaust because of the stock Panhard bar’s short arc. The mounting locations of the Panhard bar make a huge difference as well; you will notice the Hotchkis Panhard bar is much lower than the stock Panhard bar. Mounting the bar lower will affect the vehicle’s roll center for better street and track performance.
Here is a quick look at the...
Here is a quick look at the parts being modified or replaced.
The Hotchkis TVS kit also comes with new trailing arm bearings that allow the arms to cycle by eliminating or reducing suspension bind – one of the trailing arm’s downfalls. The stock rubber bushing can cause the left-side trailing arm to react to the right trailing arm or vice versa with the stock rubber bushings. To further increase handling of the rear suspension, Hotchkis has developed a rear sway bar that is adjustable. The sway bar has the ability to be tuned via three holes on each end. Want the sway bar to be stiffer? Move the mounting location inward and outward to soften the bar. We also went ahead and added a Wilwood four-piston big brake kit to the rear suspension for its good looks and significantly greater stopping power.
Corey Bedortha will be doing...
Corey Bedortha will be doing the installation of the Hotchkis TVS C10 suspension. We used a four-post rack and supported the rear of the vehicle with jacks under the front of the trailing arms. Corey started by removing the bottom bolts of the coils to make room to work. Make sure to support the rear housing because it will drop free when you remove the shocks and coils.
The old shocks were then removed...
The old shocks were then removed and discarded.
With the shocks out of the...
With the shocks out of the way, the upper coil mounting bolts can be removed.
The lower shock mounts are...
The lower shock mounts are removed and the U-bolt is reused, so make sure not to damage the threads.
The rear trailing arm is then...
The rear trailing arm is then removed from the housing and set on the rack.
Remove the e-brake cable on...
Remove the e-brake cable on both trailing arms. If you can’t get the cable out, there is an adjuster toward the crossmember that will aid in its removal.
The front mounting bolt is...
The front mounting bolt is then removed and the trailing arm should be free at this point. Be careful removing the bolts – it may fall on your feet if it is not supported.
These bearings will need to...
These bearings will need to be pressed into the old trailing arms. They allow the trailing arm to articulate by eliminating or reducing bind.
Hotchkis recommends that you...
Hotchkis recommends that you use a piece of tubing cut in half to aid in pressing out the old rubber bushing. Notice the piece of tubing is pressed on the open side that is not supported. If you don’t support the trailing arm when removing the bushing, then the trailing arm can be damaged.
Corey pressed out the old...
Corey pressed out the old bushing and is now carefully installing the new Hotchkis bearing. Make sure the bearing goes in straight when pressing it in.
The bearing should look like...
The bearing should look like this after it is pressed into the trailing arm.
If you have the correct equipment,...
If you have the correct equipment, rivets are easy to remove. Corey is geared up with a face shield and ear protection because air hammers are loud. There are six rivets per stock trailing arm mount and they all need to come out. Using a flat-bladed bit on the air hammer, Corey removed the head of the rivet and then changed to the pointed bit to push it through the crossmember.
A few more rivets to go and...
A few more rivets to go and the trailing arm brackets were removed.
Using the provided hardware,...
Using the provided hardware, the new adjustable trailing arm mounts were bolted in.
The upper rear shock mounts...
The upper rear shock mounts also need to be removed. Corey punches the rivet head with a large drift.
Then he drilled the rivets...
Then he drilled the rivets out using a small bit and increased the bit size until the rivet was removed.
Using the provided bolts,...
Using the provided bolts, Corey bolted the new upper shock mount in the same holes that the old mount was located.
Next, Corey bolted in the...
Next, Corey bolted in the trailing arms on the front mount only.
On the driver side, a shock...
On the driver side, a shock bracket is bolted on the bottom of the trailing arm.
On the passenger side, a shock/Panhard...
On the passenger side, a shock/Panhard bar bracket is bolted on the trailing arm. Notice the adjustment in the Panhard bar mount.
The new shorter Hotchkis springs...
The new shorter Hotchkis springs were then installed using the stock coil mounting plate.
After Corey installed the...
After Corey installed the coils the next step was installing the new shocks.
The stock Panhard bar is removed...
The stock Panhard bar is removed and we set it next to the Hotchkis Panhard bar. Notice how short/small the stock Panhard bar is. It may look like there are two Panhard bars, but one is to provide support from the bracket to the frame.
On the driver side, the stock...
On the driver side, the stock Panhard bolt is used to install the much lower Panhard bracket. By dropping the Panhard bar and using adjustable mounting locations, the suspension can be tuned to your driving style.
After installing the driver...
After installing the driver side Panhard bracket, the support bar is installed to provide a location for the frame mount. Make sure that you get the support bar and Panhard bar in line with the rear housing.
Corey marked the holes with...
Corey marked the holes with a silver pen and drilled out the mounting holes on the frame. Using the provided bolts, he then installed the bracket.
Next, the Panhard bar was...
Next, the Panhard bar was installed to the left bracket and the lower right bracket. Corey then adjusted the upper support bar so that the left mount was straight up and down. Then Corey measured the rearend from left and right to center the wheels in the wheelwells.
Corey held up the sway bar...
Corey held up the sway bar and marked the frame with a silver pen. He then drilled holes to mount the sway bar mounts.
The sway bar was then bolted...
The sway bar was then bolted into place and the rod ends attached. The only welding that is required with the kit is the lower sway bar mounts. We clamped the lower mounts on the trailing arms to mark the locations of the mount. Then we cleaned up the mount and installed the provided spacer on the inside of the mount.
Notice the arrangement of...
Notice the arrangement of the spacers and the inner spacer behind the mount. Using your welding glove to block the bearing from weld splatter tack the bracket on in four spots. Then remove all the hardware and finish-weld the bracket. We then drilled a hole all the way through the bracket and mounted the lower sway bar link on the trailing arm. Repeat this step on both sides.
Since the owner was planning...
Since the owner was planning on using bigger wheels, now was the time to upgrade the rear brakes to a four-piston Wilwood big brake kit. On a GM housing, the rear cover needs to be removed along with the clips that hold the axles in. Corey removed the small bolt that holds the sun gear pin in. The clips were then removed and the pin was slid back into place so the sun gears would stay in place.
Corey started by removing...
Corey started by removing the rear drums. Four bolts and the brake lines are all that hold the drums on.
We then cleaned the rust off...
We then cleaned the rust off the housing.
The Wilwood e-brake and mounting...
The Wilwood e-brake and mounting plate was bolted on the four holes of the housing.
The Wilwood caliper mounting...
The Wilwood caliper mounting bracket was bolted on with no spacers to give a starting point for the caliper spacing.
Wilwood recommends using safety...
Wilwood recommends using safety wire on all the rotor bolts. This is a good example of how it should look when completed. Make sure to follow all the Wilwood-recommended procedures before testing the brakes.
The axle was then slid back...
The axle was then slid back into place and the clip installed on the pumpkin side. We then cleaned the axle-to-rotor mounting surface and used a few lug nuts to hold the rotor on the axle.
The caliper and pads were...
The caliper and pads were then installed. We were extremely lucky because the rotor was able to spin free when caliper and brake pads were installed. No shimming was needed on this housing, but every housing is a little different and may need a few shims that are provided by Wilwood in the kit.
Don’t forget to install the...
Don’t forget to install the bolt that keeps the pads from coming out.
Looks great and the owner can’t wait until the wheels are on. Stay tuned for next issue when we install the front suspension and provide the data for the before-and-after testing.