67 Air Con, Auto, Power Steering car Suspension Help

[Ray A.]

My 1967 L68 Air con, power steer, Auto. I have three questions. It car has an unusual suspension set up. I have read the Judging manual and it doesn't clarify my question. What I am seeking to clarify is if the Judging manual is correct for my optioned car. Here is the problem. This car has previously been a top flight car in 2002 and 2005, but i acknowledge that it may have been altered since.
Question One
The auto car has different front spring setup from the base 427 and the F41 option. This is correct as per the Judging manual. According to the build sheet the car is not a F41 car, however the front shocks have the "EN" code on them which is a heavy duty shock. According to the Judging manual if the car is not an F41 option, it should be fitted with the standard shocks and therefore should carry the "EK" marking.
Does anyone know if this applies to Air Con cars? What is correct set up for this car in terms of shocks for the front, given the different springs as per the Judging manual. Does this car come with the heavy duty shocks given the car is Air Con and power steer to help balance the extra weight?

Question Two
My car rear spring assembly has 7 leaf springs which if the judging book is correct is only for the F41 option, standard set up has 9 leafs. The rear shocks are also heavy duty and carry the "EP" stickers but dont have the rear outer tube eliminated on the shocks as per the F41 option.
I can make the assumption that given the different springs on the front of the car, Corvette may have given the car the 7 leaf rear spring to balance ride hight on the rear etc? If someone can confirm what the correct setup is for one of these cars it would be appreciated as i have a NCRS judging coming up in about 5 weeks time and would like to have the car correct.
Question Three
The judging manual states that the throttle and auto kick down springs are Yellow (Page 106) but later in the book it says they are Lime Green (Page 139)? Does anyone know which is correct?

Any constructive help with these matters would be greatly appreciated. I am in Perth Australia and their are no L68, Auto, Air Con cars to go and look at for comparision.

Kind regards
Ray Atkinson
My email if you wish to talk direct is rayatkinson@westnet.com.au

[John H.]

Re: 67 Air Con, Auto, Power Steering car Suspension Help

Ray -

Based on your description, the car appears to have a "mix" of components. The 7-leaf rear spring was only used with F-41, but it would then also have a 15/16" diameter front stabilizer bar (vs. 7/8" on a standard big-block), the HD front shocks, and the HD rear shocks, which are configured VERY differently from the standard rear shocks.

I'm not sure about the color of the kickdown linkage springs (lime green vs. yellow), but the description on page 139 (in the Small and Big-Block Chassis section) is incorrect; it says they both run to the engine vent tube. On a small-block with Powerglide, one spring connects to the vent tube mounting bracket, and the other one connects to a tang on the spark plug support bracket. On an L-68 with Powerglide, the description on page 106 (in the Big-Block Mechanical section) is correct (there's an excellent photo of this arrangement at the bottom of page 257 in the Dobbins book).

This item (Powerglide kickdown linkage) should be covered in the individual SB and BB Mechanical sections, or both descriptions should be shown in the combined Chassis section; currently the small-block kickdown linkage isn't covered at all in the SB Mechanical section, and is incorrectly described (and not identified as the SB arrangement) on page 139 in the combined Chassis section. I'll address this with the National Team Leader.

[Ray A.]

Re: 67 Air Con, Auto, Power Steering car Suspension Help

Hi John
Thanks for your help in these matters. My car has the standard 7/8 stabilizer bar so in accordance with what you say this car should have standard shocks and a 9 leaf rear spring set up. Please confirm.

Yes i was aware that the discription for the springs were incorrect and was going to notify NCRS but if you do so that would be great.

Also the discription for the throttle return spring connection point to the car is unclear which according to the photos in Dobbins and Adams books it connects to the chrome heat shield that holds the coil and distributor.

kind regards
Ray Atkinson

[John H.]

Re: 67 Air Con, Auto, Power Steering car Suspension Help

Ray -

I agree - I think your rear spring has been changed; if it had a 9-leaf spring, everything else makes sense.

Section M35, sheet A12 in the '67 Assembly Manual shows the inboard kickdown spring hooked to the clamp screw on the coil bracket, and the outboard spring hooked to the plug wire support.

[Ray A.]

Re: 67 Air Con, Auto, Power Steering car Suspension Help

Yes i agree with you on all of this. Some amendments to the Judging guide will clear up these areas. Would love to know the correct colour of the springs and what they looked like. Their are several different photos (Adams and Dobson) on this which show different sizes of springs etc. It would be great if we could get it defined for the judging manual. Also the springs that are supplied by long island corvette are different again is size and colour.

Do you know who i can purchase the correct rear spring set up from that will meet NCRS specifications, at short notice?

kind regards
Ray Atkinson

[John H.]

Re: 67 Air Con, Auto, Power Steering car Suspension Help

Do you know who i can purchase the correct rear spring set up from that will meet NCRS specifications, at short notice?

kind regards
Ray Atkinson

Ray -

The closest you'll find to the original configuration is available from Eaton Detroit Spring, www.eatonsprings.com ; you'll want to disassemble it, paint it gray, and re-assemble with liners from Quanta (www.quantaproducts.com) - they also have the gray paint. When you call Eaton, ask Mike if he can ship it unpainted - saves stripping it.