Here's the '70 Nova with stock suspension and skinny front drag tires.Not so hot for the rigors of an autocross, or even our slalom testing.
For years automotive aftermarket companies have been engineeringperformance suspension kits for classic cars, and they show no signs ofslowing down any time soon. Most of the musclecar focus has been on themost popular models, such as first- and second-gen Camaros, Chevelles,Tri-Fives ('55-57 Chevys), and Mustangs. And it's no secret thesecompanies are making some serious bank--and rightfully so. The quality ofavailable product and technical advancements provide us with better thanstock suspension components in terms of functionality, performance,safety, and looks. It's a big win for the parts makers and the consumer.
Now that the most popular models of the classic car genre have productdeveloped for them, we're beginning to see some of the slightly lessdesirable models get their day in the sun within the aftermarket world.
After a Hotchkis suspension makeover and a set of Hoosier A6 Autocrosstires, the Nova has a whole new attitude and a gorilla grip on theslalom course. (photo Steven Rupp)
Take, for example, '68-74 Novas--get 'em while you can. These arebecoming rare, and some consider them to be the last affordablemusclecar. In today's market a first-gen Camaro, especially '69s, andmost any Chevelle will take your wallet for a major hit, so a '68-74Nova might be the way to go if you want to get into some vintageAmerican muscle at a reasonable price. Recently, we've seen a number ofaftermarket companies introduce restoration and upgrade parts for this"classic." Suspension companies are getting in the groove, and HotchkisSport Suspension is right in the mix developing new high-performancesuspension upgrade packages.
John Hotchkis of Hotchkis Performance (www.hotchkis.net) recently introduced us to a fairly typical'72 Nova purchased by a young, ambitious high schooler who took hisdaily driver, added some performance upgrades, and did some weekend dragracing. The car has a few bolt-on mods like headers, intake manifold,carburetor, and some dated slapper bars. This thing was the absolutedefinition of old school.
The Hotchkis Nova TVS suspension upgrade kit (PN 80013, $1,257.00)consists of 2-inch lowering front coil springs, front and rear sway bars(all hardware, dogbones, and end links included), 2-inch drop rear leafsprings, tie rod sleeves, and all necessary mounting hardware and springpads. As an upgrade to the TVS kit, we also included upper A-arms (PN1107, $739.00) and lower A-arms (PN 1109, $900.00), as well as theHotchkis/Bilstein shocks ($97.00 each).
Now that the owner has outgrown his drag phase and his driving palatehas somewhat matured, he wanted to take his quarter-miler and buildsomething with a little more functionality--a great street driver orweekend cruiser that could give new sports cars trouble on the twistybits of PCH if he so desired. That's more his style.
We here at Nova magazine are always up for some track day fun, so wetook the mainly stock "hot rod" out for some before and after tracktesting. We figured it would be a great way to show the performancedifference between a Nova with a stock, used-up suspension like the onemany of you readers drive and bolt on some quality engineered suspensioncomponents from Hotchkis Sport Suspension.
When building a car with performance suspension components, you'll stillwant the vehicle to be street-worthy. Oftentimes car guys tend tooverlook the driveability aspect of a suspension upgrade package. Sure,you can build a car that kicks ass at the track, but you'll want thatsame suspension to be accommodating in everyday driving situations aswell. That's where spring rates, suspension geometry, alignmentspecifications, and shock valving are so important. The pros at Hotchkistake pride in their performance suspension packages being both tracksteady and street ready.
It's important to keep the suspension tight with fresh, qualityreplacement parts. Therefore, we've also included the new Hotchkis tierods, pitman arm, and idler arm. No part numbers were available on thesebrand-new items at press time, but info should be available by the timeyou read this. Check www.hotchkis.net for availability.
For this suspension upgrade, we started with the Hotchkis TVS (Total Vehicle System) for '68-74 Novas. Thekit includes front and rear hollow sway bars (all hardware and dogboneend links included), 2-inch lowering front sport coil springs, 2-inchdrop rear sport leaf springs, tie rod sleeves, and all the necessarymounting hardware and spring pads. Since this car was going for thefull-tilt suspension upgrade, we added in upper and lower A-arms, tierods, steering, pitman arms, Hotchkis/Bilstein shocks, and Hotchkissubframe connectors for good measure. We also converted the car from theoriginal show-reacting manual steering to power steering with a steeringbox and accessories from Flaming River.
At The Track
Baseline Test
Our "before" and "after" suspension testing consists of slalom, skidpad,and braking. For slalom testing we use a 420-foot course consisting ofcones set 70 feet apart. Average speed is measured with timers placed atthe beginning and end of the course. The skidpad measures lateralg-forces by way of a 200-foot-diameter circle. Total time taken tocomplete the skidpad circumference is measured, and a mathematicalformula indicates the average lateral g-force capabilities of the car.
As you would guess, the classic Nova, sporting thirty-year-old stock suspension components, and tires designed for straight-line racing didn't fare very well in the "before" testing.