Re: Lofty Aspirations: My GTV6 racer

["Rich Wagner" <drsavage@domain.elided>]

Brad:

>1) Coil overs up front.  We'll start simple here.  My car is structurally 
>sound, with no rust in the shock tower area.  I also have the contacts and

>tools (but not the skills, yet) to do major sheet metal surgery, 
>fabrication and machining.  Should I even consider coil overs?

That would be a mistake.  First, you will never improve on the response
offered by the torsion bar system with any kind of coil-over system. 
Unsprung weight is your enemy.  Avoid it at all costs.  In the design of
the Alfetta front suspension, the Alfa engineers already have.  Coil-overs
will only give you a lower performance system.  Second, unless you know
what you're doing, you're very unlikely to properly distribute the
suspension loads from the top of the shocks to the front end of the car. 
The only spot on the front end of the car designed to carry those loads is
the fitting where the LOWER control arm attaches.


>4) Oh, I'm gonna wish I hadn't put this in here.  How do I approach this 
>delicately?  Has anyone ever though about replacing the DeDion rear 
>suspension with fully independent upper/lower control arms mounted on a 
>subframe that bolts to the existing DeDion & Watts linkage mount points?

An even bigger mistake.  You will never remotely approach the response and
performance offered by the De Dion system with what you're describing here.
 Sorry, but De Dion still offers the absolute highest frequency response,
and therefore performance, of any drive-end suspension system.  Want to
increase its performance?  Put on the lightest wheels AND TIRES you can
find.  (That will give you the biggest bang for the buck.)  Higher rate
springs will also increase its response and track performance.  (If you
intend to drive the car on the road, there are also detriments to increased
spring rate--make sure you understand them.)  More yet?  Have someone
fabricate the same system for you out of titanium,  or carbon/kevlar tubes
with metal end fittings, or out of 7075 aluminum, with final heat treating
to T6.


Rich Wagner
Montrose, CO
'82 GTV6 Balocco

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