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Not content with the current aftermarket choices for improving the handling of the "A" body I have come up with my own recipe for success. My official disclaimer : While this works well on my car yours may be different and modifications to the frame are necessary. Many of the parts used are designed racing use and while they will probably serve the street guys as well the possibility of failure does exist. Please use the information here at your own risk.

Now, the Coleman 9" Impala spindle is very similar to the "A" body spindle in its overall shape, I used (1) left front steer arm and (1) left rear steer arm flipped over on the right side. Most circle track guys run a longer steering arm on the right side to increase turn in bite, to get a pair of arms the same length you need to buy the same side steering arms. The spindle pin is almost 2" higher than a stock Chevelle resulting in a 2" ride height drop with no adverse changes to the geometry. Combine this with some shorter coils and you can get the overall front geometry very close to where it should be. Note: running 17" wheels is a must to clear the steering arm and the steering needs to be converted to outer rod ends to work.

For brakes on this application I used some early 70's Impala rotors and had them re-drilled for the required 5X4.75" bolt circle. The Coleman spindles come drilled and tapped for use with their brake adapter brackets. I choose the 12" brackets with 3.5" spacing, this results in a nice place to bolt up the Wilwood Forged Superlite calipers. Against advice from Wilwood I am using the "E" compound pads on the street to avoid having to have a second set of brakes just for track days. these seem to be the most versatile for my application. Having a few months on them now I do not recommend running these on the street, they dust really bad and are noisy as hell after warmed up. To connect the 1/8" pipe fittings on the Wilwood calipers to the IFF fittings on the hard brake lines I found some neat adapters at Speedway for a few bucks, they convert both IFF and pipe to JIC and then just hook up your choice of length JIC brake hose.

The lower ball joint is the biggest cause of headache in this swap, the large Impala stud is in a HUGE socket. It would need to have almost .200" machined off to work in the stock lower arms. The easiest way I found to accomplish this (real easy for me since I already had the modified LBJ in place from the "B" spindle swap previously) was to have mid 70's Camaro LBJ machined down to 2.010 and press that into your lower arms, then use the adapter at All-Star to convert the medium sized stud to the large stud and slip them in place. The upper ball joint boss is also a unique piece as it requires the use of a larger than normal joint as well. No problem if use the Speedway style upper arms, they use the GM truck style joint.

Driving impressions; having gone from the "B" spindles to this new arrangement is somewhat unfair because I hated the "B" spindles so much that going to a straight axle would have been an improvement. I did notice right away that my steering response and turning circle were back where they were supposed to be, maybe even better than factory. I also noticed immediately that even though it sat considerably lower the ride was much improved, likely a result of the eliminated bump steer issue. Often times rough ride is viewed from the drivers seat where he fighting the steering wheel for control and it is perceived as a harsh ride as is the case here. None the less it is much more enjoyable to drive now.

For those just tuning in here is a short slide show of what has already been covered. Basically stock lower arms that I have reinforced with 1/8" steel around the LBJ and the outer portion below the spring. I also welded the outer shells of the LCA bushings to the arm to prevent any flex from that portion of the arm. The uppers are off the shelf pieces from Speedway Motors utilizing solid pivot bushings, metal on metal. The springs are 950# pieces from Coleman with Speedway 5 1/2" adjusters. The steering linkage is 5/8" rod ends with solid threaded tubing for linkage adjustment.

In the rear I went with a homebuilt lower link made of 3/4" rod ends and threaded steel tubing. The upper links are off the shelf Edlebrock pieces using a Jonny Joint derivative on the frame side and Wolfe Racecraft bushings in the axle ears. I also added a rear panhard bar to locate the axle laterally, this removes the upper links from determining lateral location and RRCH, it now sits at around 9" vs. the 22" it was at stock. This addition of the PHB makes the rear feel much more planted and solid when cornering, with no other changes rear roll stiffness seems to have increased by ~25%.

Wheels are Centerline Rhino (now renamed the "Santa Cruz") wrapped in Kuhmo MX series tires. Fronts are 17X9.5 with 5.5" backspace and 255/40R17's and the rears are 17X11(one-off build and no longer done in case you inquired) with 6.0" backspace and 275/40R17's.