Hey everyone.... I am ready to tackle the suspension on my 72 hardtop GS. My goal is to make the car more responsive and fun to drive on the street...less sway....carve some corners if I need to. May even enter a local auto cross if the upgrade goes well...but nothing too serious.....mainly just improve the driving experience and make it feel like a more modern car. I am already running 17 inch wheels, good tires, and upgraded brakes. I am driving myself crazy looking at all the options out there. Qa1 coil overs..UMI package...DSE package...ridetech.... I would really appreciate some inputs... I talked to Mark at sc&c at length on Monday.....have pretty much decided on the "touring plus" complete package...seems like they have pieced together a nice system....but it is not cheap....$3500.00. Are there better options out there for that kind of money that will produce better results based on your actual experience?.....or is there a cheaper way to get similar results? Here is the list of items that come in the touring plus kit: 1. SC&C Stage 2 Plus kit - SPC adjustable front upper A-arms with greasable delrin bushings and offset pivots, on 4130 chrome moly cross shafts, and Howe Precision series Xtra tall upper and tall lower ball joints. 2. SPC tubular front lower A-arms with a ride height adjustment kit, and a pair of SPC progressive rate jounce bumpers. 3. SPC Performance spring kit (F+R). 4. Currie Currectrac rear trailing arms - billet aluminum lowers, and adjustable tubular uppers. 5. Hellwig tubular sway bars - 1 1/4" front with severe duty end links, and 1 1/8" adjustable rate rear. 6. Varishock QS1 single adjustable shock absorbers (F+R).
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t it's a good package, but you can get same parts for less if you buy the parts through other sites with that setup you really need the johnny joint rear bushing kit...otherwise the rear suspension stuff that he sells or the ones ive mentioned in the best brake and suspension page ends up just being the typical street/strip setup.. johnnyjoint bishing kit makes that rear setup more geared towards pro-tour also look at the 2 rear bars ive posted in that thread, only 2 that wont bind your suspension. ---------- Post added at 01:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 AM ---------- Johnny-joint bushing kit http://scandc.com/new/node/815 you forgot to add the control arm brace bar http://scandc.com/new/node/786 you can get the spc uppers and lowers cheap here abour 205 for uppers and 440ish for lowers http://www.sparktecmotorsports.com/ fget the part numbers off spc website i'd substitute the rear upper/lower combo with these...same style part, just cheaper in price uppers http://scandc.com/new/node/101 lowers http://scandc.com/new/node/774'Tubular, not boxed like the curri, but theres cheaper boxed lowers that do same thing as long as you get it with atleast 1 spherical end ---------- Post added at 01:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:08 AM ---------- also..if your'e not running headers, and plan to stick with manifolds you wont need the spc height adjuster kit i can sell ya mine if you plan to run or infact have headers
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t do you need the johnny bushing kit? if you going with the umi / roto joint?
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t I ordered the sc&c package yesterday but upgraded to the varishocks. I will post results once I am finished install and testing.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Hehe, haha, hoho.....received the shipping notice today. Parts are on their way. I went with the single adjustable varishocks.....still having second thoughts though and think I should have went with the double adjustables, but just could not justify spending the extra 400 bucks. I have a few car shows coming up over Father's Day weekend, so don't think I will tear the car apart until after that to install the parts. ---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 PM ---------- Probably a little overkill. Don't "need" them.....they just add a little more articulation of the rear end, and my bushings in the diff were shot anyway, so I decided to replace with these.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Parts are starting to show up . Killn me that I have no time to wrench on my car for at least the next 3 weeks.... Still having second thoughts on going with the single vs double adjustables......but I just couldn't justify the extra $.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Installed the rear umi uppers and adjustable lowers control arms, rear Varishocks, rear spc springs today. I decided not to install the rear johnnie joint right now...too much of a pain with the rear in the car. Rear Hellwig bar is next (that takes a little time due to relocation of mounts). Looks good so far....
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t pics please! :grin:
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Here it is so far...... I really hope the rear Hellwig bar is worth it......installation is sort of a pain. You use the mounting location for your outer exhaust hanger. Have to relocate that and drill a new hole in a location that has very little access.....I think I may have to remove the springs again.......I ran out of time again today. If the Hellwig bar mounted in the conventional way I would be done with the rear component installation. Shocks, springs, control arms in so far: These are almost new Moog rear springs that were in the car on the right. Interesting to me that they are the exact same height as the SPC springs even though the SPC springs are 1 inch lowering springs. I will be interested to see the actual ride height of the spc vs the Moog. I really didn't want the car any lower, so hopefully it won't actually drop that much. Huge improvement over stock upper control arms:
rear stuff installed - finshished the Helwig sway bar Rear is finished. The car sits exactly 1 inch lower than the stock springs with the SPC springs, even though the uncompressed height of both springs is exactly the same and the SPC spring has more coils. Not sure if I will keep the car this low or raise it back up 1 inch.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Started the front parts install today. Going veererrrrryyy slowly. 20year old parts do not come off that easily. Will post some pics when I get it done.
Got the drivers side done...almost I got the drivers side done today, almost. I was unaware that you have to cut the hole in the lower A arm larger or install the shock and spring together in order to fit the front Varishock! And, once installed.....adjusting the rebound is not easy because it is inside the spring. Not a great design. O well. Trying to decide if I will cut up the new control arm or take it apart and put the shock and spring in together. Anyway, things continue to go slow. The last time I did the suspension on this car was 20yrs ago....so things are well stuck together. I addition, I drove this car on construction job sites for years....so lots of gunk. I am cleaning as I go. I have installed the driver side SPC upper arm with the tall Proforged .....not much clearancing needed...I was happy about that. Installed the lower KLM tubular arm. Installed the SPC front spring with the 1/2 inch spacer to compensate for the tall Howe lower ball joint. Installed the larger Hawk D614 pads. Installed the Jeep Gran Cherokee steering box. What I started with: Progress: Where I am at: Some comparison pics: I will have some more time on Tuesday to try and finish the passenger side.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Real nice! I am going to get the SPC arms at some point as well... still wrestling with the disc brake conversion. Keep us updated!
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t I almosy forgot. Spring length is only one characteristic of a spring that determines its properties. Material, length, and coil design all make a difference.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Whew! Finished the install. Easily have 2X the time I thought it would take. (probably 3 days total). The last time I did suspension on this car was 20 years ago. Stuff was STUCK! The passenger side lower ball joint killed me! 4+ hours trying to get it out. I broke 2 scissor ball joint separators and 1 fork. I hit the spindle every way I could and could not get it to come loose. I was about to take the sawzall to the ball joint and then press it out. I remembered a suggestion to take some ATF and acetone and mix them together to create a super penetrate oil that will loosen anything. I did it, let it sit, then put the replacement separator on it and "pop"....came right off. Additionally, the install was difficult for 2 reasons: 1. the lower control arms took some massaging with a grinder on the poly bushings. 2. the Varishocks are 2 inch in diameter, larger than the standard A body shock....you MUST cut the shock hole bigger or install with the coil spring and then bring it through the arm. Because of the design of these lower arms I could not install and lower down....so I had to cut the hole bigger. I did not want to remove anymore material than I needed to, so it took some time. I hope the Varishocks are worth it, because this was a PITA. I am not sure I would go with them again on another project knowing this......but their performance will determine that. Overall, happy with the result so far, but only able to have a limited test drive until I get it aligned. The car looks great (I think), but is sitting too low for header and front spoiler clearance (only 3-4 inches of clearance on each). I will install some SPC spring spacers in the next few weeks and attempt to raise the car 1 inch. The JGC steering box is noticeable stiffer. I already had a fast ratio GM A body box in there.....so the only real improvement is feel. This is a nice change. Makes it feel like a newer model car. In summary, here is what I installed: Suspension: SPC front and rear springs SPC front upper control arms KMR Lower control arms Howe Precision series Xtra tall tall lower ball joint and Proforged Xtall upper ball joint UMI Performance rear Roto-Joint/Poly tubular rear lower and adjustable Roto-Joint rear upper control arms. Hellwig tubular sway bars - 1 1/4" front, and 1 1/8" adjustable rate rear. Varishock single adjustable front and rear Jeep Gran Cherokee steering box Here are some final pics: Stance: Header clearance: Final pics of the front suspension parts installed: Crappy Pics of examples of how much of the upper control arm support I had to cut in order to install the SPC upper arms...I must of had the shakes: I also replaced my Summit Racing turbos mufflers with Dynomax "Super" Turbos. The sound is soooooo much better. The summits sounded like old school glass pack or cherry bomb mufflers to me under full throttle. I really like the Dynomax sound much better. Next, I will work on improving the brake feel. Performace is good but takes too much pedal pressure. Got a 1 inch CPP adjustable master cylinder. Going to try it out and see if I can reduce the pedal pressure required.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t Nice job. Looks like you really did your homework on what is needed for performance suspension. You will love how your setup works. Nice that SC&C is putting together a package similar to mine :grin: I did this type of setup years ago and have been preaching ever since about the importance of the spherical joints in the rear control arms. I even had the same problem with needing to raise the front end an inch for ground clearance. What will really surprise you is the combination of ride and handling you will get with the bind free suspension system. ---------- Post added at 01:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:10 AM ---------- I think the Howe ball joints give you the same type of suspension geometry that I got using the "B" body "tall" spindles. Did not have to cut up the mounts for the Global West control arms but do not have the extra adjustability you have.
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t I really like the stance and would leave it if the car was mine. I know its your car but it looks wicked right now!:TU:
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t I really like it also....but I like my headers and spoiler more .
Re: Considering buying the SC&C touring plus package...are there better choices for t You will not notice the inch except a lot less scraping of your headers. I have that big Postons pan and it hangs below the headers. Welded up a little skid plate on the crossmember. Get the front too low and you mess up the suspension geometry too.
I replaced it all with the full ride tech a body shock wave system last year. Loved the old system. But really really love the adjustability of the ride tech. I have the ride height sensors, so I can load the car up with the family and have no worries about bottoming out. Ride tech is the best choice for all around street driving. Overview: Install video:
