Savitske Classic & Custom will repair or replace any SC&C made products found to be defective in workmanship or material (as determined by SC&C) within 12 months from the date of purchase from the original purchaser.  Warranty claims for non SC&C made products will be referred to the original manufacturers (ie. SPC&RP, Howe, etc.).  Parts should be installed only by trained professionals familiar with products of this nature.  Neither the seller nor the manufacturer shall be liable in any way for any loss, injury, or damage direct or consequential, arising from the use of, or the abilities of the product.  After use, the user shall assume all risk and liability whatsoever in connection therewith.  The foregoing is made in lieu of all warranties either expressed or implied.  Purchase or use of Savitske Classic & Custom products implies recognition and acceptance of this disclaimer by the consumer.  The seller directs the purchaser to fully examine each enclosed product component before installation and/or use.

Q:  Can you tell me about Savitske Classic & Custom?

A:  SC&C has been building hot rods and restoring classic cars since 1984.  Our staff are all hardcore automotive enthusiasts with backgrounds in street and race car building, racing, fabrication, body work/custom painting, design, etc.  We pride ourselves on exceptional quality, workmanship and engineering.  We enjoy building “real cars” that can be driven anywhere, anytime with complete reliability.  Resto-mod cars that look stock but go faster, handle and stop better and all out Pro-Touring cars are specialties.

Q:  Why are SC&C’s Street-Comp packages supposed to be better than just using other makers’ tubular arms?  They claim big handling improvements too…

A:  Changing just the upper arms can only do so much.  The shape of the arms has little effect on camber change, roll center or overhaul handling.  They add + caster which can make the car track straighter at speed.  However too much can make the car feel vague and the steering sluggish so it only goes so far.  As the + camber is increased there is a tiny improvement in camber as a side effect when the wheels are turned.  SC&C’s SPC adj. upper arm has this benefit as well as more and easier caster adjustment.  To make any profound improvement in the suspension geometry the actual pivot points that determine that geometry need to be moved vertically.  Racers both on road courses, like Penske’s winning ’69 Camero TransAm race car that used special taller spindles, raising the upper ball joint pivot point like our Street-Comp package and on circle tracks, where many classes forced to run stock G or F body chassis use tall truck upper ball joints to improve the geometry despite the fact that they don’t fit the taper in the spindles correctly like our Howe tall stud ball joints do.  They’ve been doing this kind of thing for years by fabricating new parts, mixing and matching stock parts, modifying suspension/frame mounts etc.  That’s how to win races with less than perfect factory chassis.  We’ve taken that race experience and technology and brought it to the street with Street-Comp.  Major suspension improvement, not just shiny parts.

Q:  Are these race parts durable enough for street use?

A:  All parts we sell are both race and street tested.  We use them on our own cars and live with them everyday.  Their durability and longevity are excellent and in most cases for exceed that of factory parts.  Many like the SPC arms and Howe ball joints and tie rod ends are adjustable for wear and fully rebuildable.

Q:  Can I use the tall ball joints or tall spindles and use my stock upper A arms?

A: Yes...and no. They'll physically bolt together and you could drive the car around but there's a catch or two.  There's the fact that the original arms on A, G and 1st Gen F body cars were originally designed to droop down over the frame and have the ball joints at the proper angle for a full range of travel. Once you lower the car, go to taller spindles or ball joints etc. the arms end up closer to level and the ball joints end up close to binding at ride height. Hitting a big bump can bind up the ball joints and put a tremendous amount of stress on them as well as the upper A arms and A arm mounting bolts. They'll only take that for so long before something fails...

Much of it also has to do with alignment. A lot of folks think if their car goes straight and doesn't chew up the tires that it's aligned properly and working as well as it can. They're kidding themselves and they're missing out on a LOT of performance. The alignment specs recommended in the `60s and `70s (and even `80s!) were anything but performance oriented. In fact they've changed little since the 1940s. Today almost every car is using power steering and we're all running high performance radial tires (except for the resto guys but that's another story...) these tires are often more than twice the width of the originals, we've also got another 40 years or so of experience to draw on. What's more, once we've corrected the geometry so that it works like a new performance car it demands the same type of alignment those cars run to achieve peak performance.

Modern performance cars run a LOT more + caster and  - camber. The + caster helps the cars track better at highway speeds and gives better steering feel. The - camber helps keep the tire's contact patch flat on the road surface during cornering. It's part of what makes new cars drive like new cars. Using these kinds of settings on older cars yields a BIG improvement in drivability and performance but because they were designed around different specs it's usually impossible to attain the best numbers with stock parts and shims. Lowering the car or increasing the effective spindle height with taller spindles or taller ball joints all add more + camber making it ever harder to dial in a - camber setting (which is what we want). That's the big reason for different upper arms. The taller spindles or tall ball joints make the big geometry improvements and the proper upper A arms make it possible to combine the new parts and geometry with the proper performance alignment, an unbeatable combination!

Q:  Will SC&C’s SPC arms work with the B car spindle swap?  What’s the difference between Street-Comp and the B swap?

A:  Yes, our SPC arms will work with the taller B spindles.  This swap requires a shorter upper arm so you just adjust the arms to fit and set the alignment.  The B swap offers better than stock brakes and improves the camber curves and roll center height due to their taller overall height.  That’s the good news, now for the bad news…the B spindles were designed for a totally different car.  So while they can be bolted on, not everything lines up correctly.  The steering arms are longer which slows the steering ratio and upsets the ackerman angle or the difference in the angles of the tires when you turn.  Worse, it doubles the amount of bumpsteer, which isn’t too good to begin with!  This can make the car feel very unnerving to drive, especially at speed.  The B setup is also quite heavy and increases the track width of the car, which may lead to tire clearance problems with fenders.  Street-Comp offers the geometry benefits of the B swap while dramatically improving the factory bumpsteer and saving weight!  There’s simply no downside.  Braking can be easily upgraded with premium performance pads and rotors or aftermarket kits such as those offered by Baer Brakes, both front and rear.

Q:  What springs should I run with a Street-Comp package?

A: For general performance street use we usually recommend Eibach Pro springs. Sold as a kit with matched front and rear springs they yield a firm but comfortable ride and much better handling than stock springs. They also lower the car about 1.5" in the front and 1" in the rear. We haven't had the best luck with Moog springs the last few years so we no longer recommend them.

 For cars that will see more track oriented use we can recommend specific spring rates and/or coilover springs for your application.