Ridetech II suspension on 68 Camaro - anyone engineered for VIC?

[Ranga350]

Originally Posted by 69stang

Try this guy his name is Taige and he helped me with some air bag work on my C-10 and liasoned with the engineer who did the mod plate for me. He's good to deal with too.
Mark.

https://www.modifiedrods.com/

Update...Taige had a heart attack last year (all ok after stents inserted). No longer works there, he sold up to the other guys and i think they've changed the company name.

[Shan]

Thanks for the update on that.

[Shan]

Ok - so this is becoming a bit of a mission.

I have had no luck getting hold of the twice recommended engineer so far (Paul). I've emailed a couple of times and the shop phone just rings out as well. Not even a option to leave voicemail. Not a great sign.

I have called a few others - not a SINGLE call back. Amazing. Must all have a lot of work on, that's all I can say. Wish I could run my business like that.

I did get hold of one shop - run by Archie Robertson in Bayswater VIC. Archie seems to have done himself a mischief and is in hospital, but the young guy who assists with VASS assessments was helpful. Unfortunately Archie Robertson does not do site visits, so the car would need to go to their shop for approval.

This young fella said the ridetech gear "should be ok", explained the process and made some recommendations. In the end he said Mr. Archie signs off on it though - not him. So yeah....I took the kind advice with a grain of salt.

One fabricator I spoke with says some of the engineers like technical drawings, I've also emailed Ridetech for any technical data or product dimensions they could share. Scarey thing is I have done some web searches - could not find ONE single technical drawing for the 4link setup - or any of the other Ridetech gear I bought either (front control arms and turn turn kit).

Anyway....will keep persisting and will update accordingly.

Cheers.

[cluxford]

Did you try Talk Torque ?

[Shan]

Hi Cluxford,

Funny you should mention Talk Torque (Bill Malkoutzis) - he just reached out to me on email.

Bill was the one who originally re-directed me to Paul @ Automotive Performance Solutions - simply because Bill was too busy.

Fortunately I have been cc'ing Bill in my attempts to reach Paul @ APS (without success btw) - keeping Bill in the loop.

Think he has realised I am having some troubles getting assistance and has kindly said he would call me himself on Monday to get the ball rolling.

To wrap it up in a nutshell - at this time - the only two who have been of any real assistance with advice or time are:

1. Talk Torque - Bill Malkoutzis
2. Archie Robertson Auto & Marine services - Daniel (Archie's offsider)

The only other one who picked up the phone was Jean @ Bonneville (but he does not do this type of work now).

Otherwise the rest have given me "donuts".
I have called multiple times, over different days to a few of them - they do not pickup the phone , or do not respond to messages at all.

Very strange.

[cluxford]

Bill was fantastic with mine. Say gday when you chat to him

[Shan]

Hi Guys,

OK - so another update.

Paul Bottomley from Automotive Performance Solutions (in Thomastown) did finally get back to me. He is the one that was twice recommended for this type of work.

He apologised about being hard to pin down. When I said I also called his office multiple times - he indicated they get 100's of calls a day.

So yeah - sounds like he is a busy boy.

From the lack of interest I have been getting more generally - I get the impression these VASS signatories are all pretty busy - definitely not short of work anyway. Something to keep in mind if you choose this path for your car.

Bit concerning is that Paul did say that Vicroads have made things a little harder with these sort of suspension mods. Sounds like this USA stuff now has to be tested for aussie standards.

Previously he could look at control arms and say - "yeah they definitely look thick/beefy enough" - essentially use his skilled judgement and give them the tick. Apparently vicroads do not allow that sort of thing anymore.

Not sure what that means for my Ridetech gear exactly, but I suspect this is going to be harder than I thought to get approved.

I am also fitting Fitech fuel injection. He said he would need to review and approve that also (including fuel lines).

I have a 700R4 transmission as well - that would also need to be approved.

So yeah - learning more as I go.

Going to sit down with Paul in the coming week or so - 1 hour introductory session to figure out a game plan. Will post on the results.

Cheers,
Shan

[69JavelinMan]

Following with interest, seems things are generally getting harder rather than easier.

Aussie roads? I reckon there are plenty of **** roads in the US that would put ours to shame.

[bonnevista]

Originally Posted by 69JavelinMan

Following with interest, seems things are generally getting harder rather than easier.

Aussie roads? I reckon there are plenty of **** roads in the US that would put ours to shame.

Yeah, have a drive around the 'burbs of Detroit...

[Shan]

Hi guys,

Update....

At this time I am still trying to make an appointment with Paul @ APS.

We spoke once and he said he would get his office manager to book the appointment.

Unfortunately I missed that single call and have been chasing them ever since. Yep.

I mentioned it before, but yeah - all these engineers must have work coming out the wazoo! Be prepared to chase them....and chase them....and chase them.... ; )

Wish people would chase after me around with a handful of cash like that!

I'm in the wrong job...clearly.

[YankTank]

What a load of BS. Good luck with it all my friend..

[Frenchy666]

APS did the engineering on my 69 camaro to get it certified with a 502BBC in it. The previous owner did this at my request before i purchased the car and they seemed to be quite easy to deal with and seemed ok when it came to the things that required fixing before he passed it.

[Shan]

Update....

APS did reach out to me earlier this month - locked in a time. Due to some commitments - I had to reschedule (so my bad this time), BUT going in on the 21st for "that chat". I'll post on things as they progress.

[Shan]

I think I mentioned earlier that there were no technical images for the Ridetech parts on the internet. I assumed having that sort of info was going to assist in the engineering, so have been hassling Ridetech for the info. I did get a response - which give me a little hope:

Shanan,

Unfortunately we do not have an “official document package” which you could hand off to whomever to have this system approved.
The main reason is that we are not sure what exactly is required. . .we have supplied info to customers in the past, but have never been able to get official word on what was needed.

Can you put me in contact with the person performing the inspection or responsible for approval of aftermarket parts?
I’d love to get an official response so we know how to handle requests like this.

Thanks!!!

Britt A. Marolf
Skunk Werks
Ridetech
350 S St Charles St
Jasper, IN 47546
Direct: (812) 481-4714
Web: www.ridetech.com

Sooooo....maybe if I can get Mr. Ridetech to talk with the APS engineer - process might be a lot easier for the next guy going down the same path.

My concern of course is that making it easier for the next guy might not be in a VASS signatories best interest. Where there is mystery there is margin....as they say in the sales world. I am hoping that is not the case though and I can get Ridetech and the engineer to talk and make a document "care package" for the next enthusiast. Will certainly push for it.

See what happens.

[Nev68]

I think that type of response from Ridetech is promising.
They are probably thinking about some addition to their market if they can promote the supply of required information to get their gear approved.