So I have noticed that there have been a few people wanting to upgrade there big buicks front suspension and a few have said that the GM B-body stuff does not work but can anyone tell me why? Is it the ball joints? is it the length of the control arms or the strut rod? I am asking because it looks identical and I am willing to work around some hurdles in order to get better handling and braking for this land yacht.
If you want better handling out of your big car, bigger sway bars are the answer. Problem is, no one makes big bars for a 1970 Electra as far as I know. I looked at Addco, and if anyone made them, they would, but their catalog doesn't list 1970. Has nothing to do with ball joints or control arms, my guess is the track width is all different. Maybe someone can make you a custom bar, but it will be pricey I'd guess. You might try these guys, http://quickorgarage.com/custom.htm
Thanks larry. I will look into the link you provided. I have already considered trying to source out a custom front and rear sway bar. I am wanting to update the tire/wheel package to a newer style tread pattern and a larger contact patch front and rear and from past experience stock suspension geometry does not like those changes and has a tendency to be more unreliable in response due to the lack of caster which is why I want to change the control arms. Can anyone say for certain what the differences in front upper and lower control arms are between the full size buick and chevy?
No not yet. I am still doing my research. It is just my experience that the older cars were designed to ride nice and not handle and the engineers actually designed the cars to have a slight negative caster to help make turning easier which when paired with modern low profile/ wide contact tires amplifies that effect and make the cars hard to control in a straight line.
Lack of caster might make the car want to wander a bit, but you can usually dial in some positive caster and slight negative camber to get some better handling characteristics. The power steering can handle any increased steering effort. I don't think you'll have any problem with wider rubber. The A bodies were designed to understeer. As the suspension compressed in the front, camber would become increasingly positive on the outside tire causing the tire to roll over onto it's shoulder. Years ago, HO Enterprises came up with a kit to put the taller F body spindles into the A body. That caused negative camber gain instead of positive camber gain. It resulted in dramatically improved handling. The downside was you had to use A LOT of shims to get everything aligned correctly, and the upper ball joint angle was not optimal. These days, Global West and others have tubular upper control arms that make the swap easier, and correct the angle and shim problems associated with the HO kit. That is for the 64-72 A bodies. No such kit exists for your Electra, but you get the idea. I would start with the sway bars. If you can cut down on roll, there is less + camber change and increased grip.
Yeah, I agree with compensating using the stock but if I can use the updated geometry of a new tubular it would be prefered. I just found that PST actually has front and rear larger sway bars for the electra part #'s SWAY857 and SWAY943. I will definitely be investing in those.
I drive a 68 Electra and have vastly improved the handling and ride of my car by doing the following. 1. Bilstein shocks all around. 2. lowered front end 2 1/2" by cutting stock springs. 3. Installed polyurethane bushings on stock sway bar. 4. Replaced ALL front suspension and steering parts with good quality rubber. 5. Mounted 235/70 r14 tires on stock rims @40psi
Hey guys im looking for some sway bar options for my 1970 lesabre 455. Just wondering how/where/what you found for your electra and if it would fit my lesabre if I could get the link or any info on how your setup turned out that'd be cool
https://www.opgi.com/cadillac/1970/chassis-suspension/suspension-components/ADD0897/ https://www.opgi.com/cadillac/1970/chassis-suspension/bushings-mounts/ADD0940/ those should work with an electra or 98 too
