LS1 in Firebird Formula, lots of weight removed in the front
 

Ok, so I finally finished swapping in the LS1 in my 72 Formula. It had a Pontiac 400 in it before, and everything was cast iron - intake, heads, block.

Now that everything is aluminum, the car sits soooo high that I think the springs are maxed out and the upper a-arms are at so much of an angle that my wheels have really bad toe out.

I have a few questions -

1. Has anyone had this experience?

2. What did you have to do to remedy this? Did you end up getting different springs and upper and lower a-arms?

Thanks for any help/advice; I'm soooo close to getting this car the way I want it!

Here are a few pics:

Afraid I can't offer any advice to you, but let me be the first to say... Nice looking set up you've got there!!

Sweet 'problem' to have! I'm not a LSx guy but they are significantly lighter. You're gonna need some lighter springs bud! Cool project! I'm still dreaming of LSx power.

Nice car, you will like the swap. I had the same problem with mine. I put a new set of Moog 5610 springs in mine.

Before


After

I anticipated the same issues on mine, while I was restoring my suspension I cut a full round off my stock springs....I have the cast iron block with alum heads.

I still don't know what the final result will be because I still don't have all of the body parts on my front end yet....including my big bumper.

Nice ride. Those Formula 400 are beautiful.

Cut the springs will fix the high front end.

5610s would be a good place to start. A lot of places, like Autozone, sell springs that have the Moog part number buried in theirs somewhere. Probably $60 or so at the local store.

Is it possible to cut the spring you have???

step 1, buy some Hotchkis or other 600+ lb/in springs, if you have gone to the trouble of putting a modern engine in the car, stock spring rates are probably not okay with you either

Step 2, start cuttin. If you use the hotchkis small block spring you are probably going to want to cut at least a half coil if not a full coil off but I'd start with a half coil.

Wow, thanks for all the responses and compliments!!! You guys have some VERY nice cars, makes my polished turd look unpolished.

I will definitely look up the Moog 5610s at the parts store, thanks JJ. Are the 5610s good for a street cruiser/daily driver setup?

And it is possible to cut the springs, but I'm never cut springs before and don't know a damn thing about suspension.

I'm thinking about getting a front end bushing/ball joint kit from Performance Suspension Tech / Hotchkiss / DSE so I can replace all that stuff while I'm at it. They're worn like crazy.

Thanks again, guys!

Thats a beautiful car dude. I have allways liked the formula with the dual snorkel front end.

Thanks man! I always dug the dual snorkels too. A friend of mine can't stand them but they look mean to me. Functional too.

I just bought QA1 adjustable coil overs for mine with the lightest springs.

Nice, you wouldn't happen to have a part number for those springs would you?

I expect to have to cut the Hotchkis springs I installed in the '78 Camaro in
the wake of the LT1 install, aluminum heads, intake and manifold, along with
the plastic radiator will shed some pounds.

Tom