All Lined Up
As we've discussed, installing Hotchkis' B-body spindles and revised upper control arms on an A-body actually changes the car's suspension geometry. This is crucial to improving handling, of course, but so is the fact that the new setup also allows for a greater range of alignment options. "You want negative camber and positive caster," intones Corey Bedortha of the Hotchkis Installation Center. This the opposite of how the factory did things. That being said, here's how our El Camino alignment progressed. Factory toe-in was set at 51/416 inch; Bedortha set it to 11/416 inch with the TVS in place, and retained this figure. Factory caster was -1.5 degrees. Bedortha set it to +1.9 degrees post-TVS, but after installing the B-body spindles and control arms, he able to set it at +4.8 degrees, greatly enhancing the Elky's stability. And the camber specs we've made so much fuss about? The original specs checked in at 0 to +0.5 degree. Bedortha was able to obtain -0.7 degree with in Part I, but installing the new spindle setup allowed -2.0 degrees.
The foundation of this conversion is, of course, a set of B-body spindles. The replacement piece (left) is roughly 1.75 inch taller than the original A-body spindles. When combined with the appropriate upper control arm, this allows for a negative camber curve, improving front wheel traction. The new setup also allows for positive caster, which, put briefly, improves vehicle stability. Note the difference in the steering arms. The B-body spindles improve suspension geometry, but bumpsteer is a concern.
Hotchkis' tubular upper control arms for A-bodies look positively elegant when compared to the factory stamped pieces. Note that the new A-arms are shorter and have less of a downward curve than the factory piece to accommodate the taller B-body spindles. The result is that the upper arm actually pulls in as it travels upward, tilting the top of the tire in toward the car and creating negative camber. Offset cross-shafts help create static negative camber without a thick alignment shim stack; polyurethane bushings, which reduce flex and bind, are a given.
Hotchkis Performance has been hard at work on a plethora of new Chevelle parts, among them these trick tubular lower A-arms. According to Ogawa, all the forces that occur during suspension operation go "straight through" the lower control arm. Accordingly, this piece needs to be strong, and this one is. Again, poly bushings improve the situation.