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Part 11 - Rearend and Suspension Upgrades
Moving to the rear, we removed the entire rear suspension, and glass bead blasted all the components, just as we did at the front. The original Dana 44 differential assembly was replaced with a Dana 44 from a ZR1 that features a strengthened batwing and 3.45 gears. The batwing bushings were replaced with Energy Suspension pieces, which helps eliminate housing flex. We also replaced all the U-joints in the driveshaft and halfshafts with heavy duty Neapco non-greasable "performance" joints. The factory 4+3 transmission was augmented with some "short throw" shifter links, which tightened up the shifter action. The rear trailing arms also received Energy Suspension bushings to help with bushing deflection. We replaced the monospring with an ’84 Z51 spec spring, and the anti-sway bar was replaced with a Z51 spec piece. All mounting bushings were replaced with Energy Suspension urethane pieces. The cheapo Monroe "Tire Store Special" shocks were junked in favor of some HP series Tokico performance shocks, and we wrapped up the rear suspension with our cross-drilled and slotted rotors and Goodridge stainless steel-braided brake hoses. After a 4-wheel alignment was performed, the ride quality and handling were vastly improved over the original road worn suspension. The 1984 Z51 Corvette was considered to be the best handling of the C4 platform, but the tradeoff was a harsh ride quality which was considerably detuned in subsequent model Corvettes. Blackbird’s ride, while stiff, is incredibly tight and responsive feeling, and handling is incredible. Blackbird now handles like it’s on rails. This is the reason we went with ’84 Z51 pieces for our suspension refurbishment. With the suspension out of the way, it was time to move on...
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