Upgrading suspension for High Speed Stability?? Drag Racing

Ok so I searched " race" and 3 thread came up, nothing related to what I'd wanting to know or do.

So I'm a 2 time Drag Week participant, drag racing/van/gearhead nut and I want to build a 1968 Chevy Sportvan 90 that I already own into a racer. I already have a lot of good LS based parts left over from upgrades I've done on my Nova over the last couple of years so LS swap is likely the route I will go. This disqualifies the van for the Gasser class in Drag Week so I might as well upgrade the front suspension. I'm mainly concerned about, safety, stability, braking, etc.... I will likely use a LS2 or LS3 aluminum 6.0 w/LS9 heads and small twin turbos backed by a 4L80e. Most of this stuff I already have. This will easily make 1000hp and should have no problem running 8.90's@150ish mph. So getting the van lower would be of great benefit.

My first question is: if lowered can a solid axle in the front be low enough (to reduce wind drag and add stability), can the steering be tightened up enough, can the brakes be upgraded to some common 4 piston brakes such as Wilwood or Strange? I haven't really studied the leaf spring mounting locations yet but I feel it would be very easy and practical to fab a bolt in subframe that uses dual A-arms, Corvette c5 spindles, good brakes, coilovers, and a steering rack. Is this necessary? Is there a demand to build and market a bolt in setup for GM, Econoline, or Dodge vans/trucks? This setup would easily accept an airbag suspension also. In the rear of mine I would use sliders in place of shackles, and possibly raising the front of the springs to lower the rear and use Smith Racecraft Assassin bars for traction aid.

Anyway I'm open to opinions and suggestions. Check out "Crusty Nova" on YouTube if you want to know what my Nova is all about.

WOW..!!!...You have got my attension Sir "Bad A$$" I have seen your videos before I had a 1966 Chevy 2 also it was fast but nothing like yours...nice light bodys on these cars..!!!. ..                                                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VORuB6yXKiM

Thanks! Everyone thinks my Nova should be light. It weighs between 3700# and 3800# race ready with me, depending on what tires and wheels and how much fuel. A cabover van with 4 racing seats and an 8.50 cage, doing 400' wheelies and running sub 9sec 1/4 mile passes is extremely appealing to me. 😛😳 I don't get nervous expect on rare occasions. My 17 year old making 9 sec passes makes me cringe more than big wheelies while I'm driving.

You do have some weight there my 66 weighed 2915 without me in it..!!!... ..I would love to see that kind of power in a Early Van...

To answer your question, Frank Costa has put C5 suspension under his first gen Chevy, Number 9.

i'm just considering the C5/6 spindles.

Since you are planning on 150+ MPH AND long distance road driving, I's really suggest doing the following:
Complete front swap to something independent, with great brakes and a sway bar.
Try to find a donor that requires as few changes as possible to mount in the van. Parts availability can kill you on DW. Look for something that is at least as heavy, so you don't have to redo spring, shock and sway bar rates too much. Astro? Tahoe? Look around and find a suitable subframe that can mount, if possible.
Popular is better, so you can find a good adjustable shock to switch from wheels up launches to rough roads.
I'd assume a complete back half too, unless you enjoy tire limited and suspension limited drag cars.
This means both ends, so you might as well build a complete chassis and set ride height and angle of attack from the start.

You could go with an IRS (modern vette transaxle?) so the engine is back further and you can work on cooling a twin turbo motor over high loads and long distances easier. More money and engineering at the start, but better weight distribution and safety. Check into late model vette drag cars for how they keep them alive.
If you go with a conventional trans, think of it as a 4 link super gas dragster with a short wheelbase, side steer and doors!

Spend some time on a heater and defroster, some comfort on the long legs and the ability to fix what breaks, of course.

I enjoy the challenges of small radials. I drove my 3700# nova 300 miles to memphis a month ago and ran 5.33@137 on 235/60 radials. First time on the little tires and quickest 1/8th mile pass to date for Crusty.