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Pro-Touring '72


quarterbooty

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Hey guys. I don't post here often, but I just got done making some major changes to my car that I figured were worth posting about. I've owned my '72 since 2003. It was definitely a 10 footer when I bought it, but over the course of several years and a lot of hours it ended up like this:

 

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It was basically a resto mod to this point. The drive train was modified and upgraded, but the car remained stock appearing. The suspension and brakes were redone, but not with anything elaborate (Hotchkis springs, Hellwig bars, Metco trailing arms, poly bushings). It rode nice, but that's about it. The brakes left much to be desired, but that's expected when you're pulling less than 10 inHg at idle with a vacuum assisted booster. So, combine the sub-par handling and abysmal braking with an "it's never done" mentality, and the result was big overhaul (for me at least!).

 

I replaced the front suspension with control arms and spindles from Detroit Speed. I also went with their sway bar and coilovers (550#/in spring rate). Build quality and fitment are both top notch.

 

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For the front brakes, I went with the C6 Z06 setup from Kore3 (6 piston monoblock calipers and 14" rotors). I can't say enough positive things about Tobin and their products. The biggest problem I had during the entire brake system upgrade was stopping a leak on the original combination valve proportioning fitting. I pulled the valve apart to eliminate the proportioning function (now using an adjustable Wilwood in the rear line), and I had it apart a few times before I got the right o-ring and sealed it up.

 

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Out back, I elected to keep the Metco trailing arms and Hellwig sway bar for the time being. I did install Detroit Speed's bolt in rear coilover kit to match the front and get the ride height adjustability. Rear brakes are also C6 Z06 (4 piston monoblock calipers and 13.4" rotors with the Kore3 drum-in-hat parking brake assembly).

 

IMG_0322.JPG

 

 

It took me forever to decide on wheels and tires, but I eventually settled on Rushforth Super Spokes with Nitto 555s. 18x8s and 245s up front and 18x10s with 285s out back. Here's how it looks now:

 

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Here's the engine compartment. It's a 383 with a forged Eagle crank and H-beam rods, JE pistons with 11:1 CR, AFR 195 Eliminator heads, a 242°/248° 0.584"/0.579" Comp hydraulic roller ground with XFI lobes on a 110° LSA, Holley HP carb, Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, MSD ignition, and the list goes on. It's nothing special, but it runs good and gets out of its own way. I did toss the vacuum booster in favor of a hydroboost unit. It's a relief not to have to stand on the pedal anymore.

 

IMG_0491.JPG

 

As for alignment specs, here's where I'm at (nominally):

 

Caster: +4°

Camber: -0.4°

Toe-in: 1/16"

 

The car handles great, and it's much more fun to drive now. Not that it wasn't before, but there's a lot less "work" involved and it's definitely confidence inspiring. The ride is firm, but I wouldn't describe it as harsh. It actually handles like a modern vehicle. I'm planning on a 600 steering box upgrade soon. The old 800 just feels mushy and doesn't provide any road feedback. Let me know what you guys think. I'd be happy to provide more information or detail on how this went together. Thanks for looking! I can't wait for Good Guys to get here so I can embarrass myself on the autocross!

 

Nick

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Nice job...

 

You will LOVE any upgrade to the steering box. Combined with your suspension, your Monte will feel 500% better!

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Nice set up!! cool

 

One question, since you've gone this far have you considered a Rack and Pinion Setup?

 

A couple of shots (several months ago) of mine going in...Poster "Allan" uses the same set up...

 

New-front-control-arms-pump-and-brake-li

 

New-Fuel-pump-and-exhaust-015.jpg

 

 

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Very nice... cool

 

Question though...I never seen a rear spring set-up like that before, actually I didn't think it was possible...I see the factory location of the rear spring is gone and the car is now riding on the original shock mount (I see it has some sort of extra bracket) via those coil-overs...is that safe?

 

IMG_0322.JPG

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The rear coil over is a quality piece from Detroit Speed and engineered for our cars and will hold up well. To the OP man you have really raised the bar and built a really nice car, great job.

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Thanks for all of the positive feedback guys!

 

WOW! Love the car man! What backsapcing are those rims?

 

Fronts are 4.75. The rears are kind of odd. The driver side is 6.25 and the passenger side is 5.75. The rear portion of the wheel opening lip was tighter on the driver side, and I didn't want to cut on it (car was already painted), so I decided to go with the mixed backspacing. Apparently, this is more common than you might think. At least that's what the guys at Driverz Inc indicated. The difference in wheel lip width isn't noticeable, and both wheel wells are filled out this way. Of course, down the road selling these will be somewhat of a challenge, as someone will most likely need to rehoop one of them.

 

Nick

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Very nice 72 Monte! smile

 

I really like all the modern suspension upgrades. I just got done doing all that to my Red Monte, but its supension is set up for Drag Racing instead of handling.

 

And I thought my coil overs were expensive. eek

 

 

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Nice set up!! cool

 

One question, since you've gone this far have you considered a Rack and Pinion Setup?

 

A couple of shots (several months ago) of mine going in...Poster "Allan" uses the same set up...

 

I thought about it, but I saw so many high marks for the Lee 670 boxes that I just planned to go that route. What kind of setup are you guys using? It looks really trick. How does it feel (if you have yours on the road yet)? BTW, I like the SPC uppers and tall BJs that you went with. How long were you on the phone with Marcus? grin

 

Nick

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Very nice... cool

 

Question though...I never seen a rear spring set-up like that before, actually I didn't think it was possible...I see the factory location of the rear spring is gone and the car is now riding on the original shock mount (I see it has some sort of extra bracket) via those coil-overs...is that safe?

 

 

Thanks, Bill. I had the same questions/concerns when I started looking into the setup. It's a pretty new design from DSE, so there weren't many people running at the time that I was evaluating my options. Over on pro-touring.com, I found a guy with a '66 Impala that installed the equivalent setup on his car and he loved it. I talked to the reps at DSE on multiple occasions, and I was finally convinced that it's a good design.

 

Here's a picture from their site of what's included in the kit:

 

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There are heavy gauge steel brackets that bolt into the existing upper shock mount location on the frame with three bolts. There are tabs on this bracket that are used to bolt up the upper eye of the replacement shock.

 

There is an analogous bracket that wraps around the trailing arm mount and ties in to the rear end with four bolts. Two on the back of the trailing arm bracket, one through the original shock mounting hole, and the last via the trailing arm bolt. The shock then sits in a pocket on the new bracket and a bolt goes through the lower eye. Here's a shot from the other side on my car:

 

IMG_0330.JPG

 

In my opinion, it's a robust design. I was looking at the welds connecting the factory spring perches to the axles on my car, and I was less than impressed to say the least!

 

Nick

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Originally Posted By: TN454Monte
Nice set up!! cool

 

One question, since you've gone this far have you considered a Rack and Pinion Setup?

 

A couple of shots (several months ago) of mine going in...Poster "Allan" uses the same set up...

 

I thought about it, but I saw so many high marks for the Lee 670 boxes that I just planned to go that route. What kind of setup are you guys using? It looks really trick. How does it feel (if you have yours on the road yet)? BTW, I like the SPC uppers and tall BJs that you went with. How long were you on the phone with Marcus? grin

 

Nick

 

All of my stuff came from Savitske Classics and Customs(SC&C)

It's their Stage II kit. But yeah, there were some long phone calls when the choices were being made, can't say enough about SC&C'c owner he was a great help and took the time to talk directly with me about what I wanted from a package.

 

 

Both Allan and I used Unisteer Inc for the R&P Kits, there were some small issues, with the shaft being too short, as it was for a Chevelle and having to order new ones to fit the longer Monte.

I think Flaming River is carrying them now as well.

 

I'm close to putting my back on the road, Allan is already driving his and gave it favorable reviews, but I don't want to put words into his mouth, he might chime in and give you a better idea of his opinion of the R&P upgrades.

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And I thought my coil overs were expensive. eek

 

ditto

 

Looks like a nice product after viewing the link...we all know the saying..."if you wanna play you gotta pay"... cool

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Here's the engine compartment. It's a 383 with a forged Eagle crank and H-beam rods, JE pistons with 11:1 CR, AFR 195 Eliminator heads, a 242°/248° 0.584"/0.579" Comp hydraulic roller ground with XFI lobes on a 110° LSA, Holley HP carb, Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, MSD ignition, and the list goes on. It's nothing special, but it runs good and gets out of its own way. I did toss the vacuum booster in favor of a hydroboost unit. It's a relief not to have to stand on the pedal anymore.

 

Nick

 

You're so full of it Nick! "It's nothing special" lolkicking Guys, this thing sadly put my BBC to shame doing roll-ons on the highway. It is a low 12 second car . That's pretty sweet with a completely drivable SBC, especially when you consider now that it has better brakes than 99% of all other cars on the highway, and handles better than most of them as well. All this on a 1972 platform. Very nice work Nick. I love those coil overs as well. You've come a long way from that stock 350 and maaco body work!

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You're so full of it Nick! "It's nothing special" lolkicking Guys, this thing sadly put my BBC to shame doing roll-ons on the highway. It is a low 12 second car . That's pretty sweet with a completely drivable SBC, especially when you consider now that it has better brakes than 99% of all other cars on the highway, and handles better than most of them as well. All this on a 1972 platform. Very nice work Nick. I love those coil overs as well. You've come a long way from that stock 350 and maaco body work!

 

Ha! If I knew that we were racing I would have floored it! I still think that you were sand bagging.

 

Nick

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Originally Posted By: Jared Richey

 

And I thought my coil overs were expensive. eek

 

ditto

 

Looks like a nice product after viewing the link...we all know the saying..."if you wanna play you gotta pay"... cool

 

They're not that bad. Something like $50 a pair. Wait, you're not my wife...

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