Well... Now that I have the 70GS back on the road (with a new posi!!), it has some pretty bad wheel hop issues. Out of all the cars I've ever had (ranging from high 15's to low 12's) I've never had to deal with wheel hop. What would be the best suggestion for getting rid of it? My friend has a 66 GTO he's putting together and he's installed some new lower control arms (SSM?) because he's anticipating a wheel hop problem. They bolt a little below the rear end and have an extra bracket that he needs to drill a hole for (after he sets his pinion angle). I do have to say that our 70GS hasn't seen the track yet though. Any chance it might hop on the street bad, but be OK at the strip? Or will it be worse at the track? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. :beer
The rearend has (everything!) new, inside and out, including upper control arm bushings. But all 4 control arms probably have the original bushings in them. Everything went together good and tight, but it's still 33 year old rubber. Does that make that big a difference? o No: It's bad enough that if I'm cruising at 20 MPH and stomp on it, I'm wheel hopping all over the road..... (that is......after the carb stops wheezing for fuel) :gt: LOL My carb tuning kit will be here tomorrow! :Brow: With the old single track rear, the right rear tire would just go up in smoke nice and smoothly.
Rick Do the bushings!! You can go well into the 11's with just an air bag in the right rear. Don't waste the money on SSM or "no hop bars". If anything,just box the stock arms when you replace the bushings.
Thats the real problem, Rick. The stock (?) bushings are worn out. Do you still have the braces that go from upper to lower control arms? GS Kubish is correct.. BUT you for sure won't have a problem with Hotkiss setup, AND its adjustable. A LOT of money for sure though!!
wheel hop Rick, you stated that everthing is new in the rearend, thats good, however I would recomend you take the time to replace those 30 year old bushings on all control arms, upper and lower. 8 bushings in all, with a good quality poly-graphite bushing like the ones from PST or comparable Co. 30 year old bushings are going to be most likely dry rotted and or worn through, you'll probably get new hardware as well, relatively easy job, a few hours of work will be well worth the effort. I suggest you try this first, then mabe no-hop bars from T/A Perf. Are you using air shocks? if so lose e'm fast, get air bags for the car. and quality shocks. you may want to conact HRpartsNstuff.com for some quality upgrades, they are in Kent Ohio just my .02 hope this helps Bruce
Thanks for all the replys guys! Grant... neither picture is showing up. But if it's "ALOT" of money.... I'll probably try some other things first. I have 5 Buicks to work on ya know. :gt: LOL Bruce... No air shocks. Standard springs and KYB shocks all the way around. Supposedly "new". Most of the stuff that's "new" or "fresh" on this car is at least several years old. (or "new" to the previous owner) The rear end, I got from a board member here, and when he says "new" he means "NEW!" :Brow: Gary, I'll be looking into new bushings tonight. Sounds like a good first step. Also an airbag (or a pair?) I've never dealt with them before. Thanks again everyone! :TU: Oh... I don't know what you mean by "braces from the upper to lower control arms"? This has a rear sway bar, but nothing else "out of the ordinary" back there. It was originally a GS350 if that makes any difference? ...well.. I guess it still is... it just has a 455 in it. :gt:
If you are going to replace the control arms, look at the ones from HRparts'n Stuff. They have a really nice setup.
Most of the 455 cars have a stamped brace that connects the upper and lower control arms at the frame. Edelbrock, Hotchkiss make some nice tubular ones. Year one has the stamped ones. This could also help you situation. There are lots of guys here that are going real fast with very stock stuff. If you replace the control arms go with Currie. This gives the best combination of ride/control/handling.
Hmmm... I guess there might be something at that end. I didn't really pay any attention to the "frame end" of the arms. The only time I was "back there" was for hooking up the emergency brake cables, and I don't remember seeing anything that I thought was unusual. I'll have to look again tomorrow night. But then again... this was originally a GS350, so if this is a "mostly GS455 piece", I doubt it has them. o No: Anyways... Looks like I can get a good bushing set for around $130 from that HrParts website. I'll be checking around to see what else is avaliable too. Looks like good stuff though. I'd never seen any that were re-greasable before. :TU:
Rick, Sounds kinda expensive just for the bushings. Are they rubber or poly-urethane? Anyways, if you want to save some money and not get the good control arms (which are much stronger and have better bushings), at least strongly consider boxing the stock ones for added strength. Unless you are going to RACE the car HARD, you will be fine with these two upgrades.. GS 350 SHOULD have the control arm braces I was talking about earlier. Look on the front or frame ends of the upper and lower control arms; the very place that your bushings are worn out. HTH's, Jeff:TU:
HRPartsNstuff makes some super high quality control arms & other pieces for the rearends. Earlier this year I bought a set of their rear upper & lower control arms with bushings, awesome pieces. And, cured my wheel hop 100%. Turns out one of my upper control arms was literally broken into two pieces! Also, they sell a tool for removing the bushings from the rearend housing. This makes the job MUCH easier, you can pull/install these bushings in just a few minutes with the rearend in the car. Much better than pulling the whole rearend, bringing it to a shop with a press and waiting around for it! No, you can't have my tool! Look at http://www.hrpartsnstuff.com/ It's not cheap stuff, but well worth it IMO. Especially if you'll be stepping up the HP. -Bob Cunningham
Just curious, did you tighten the control arm bolts with the weight of the car on the springs ? If not, when you let the car down, the bushings could be bound up and it will wheel hop. I agree that you at least need to replace the original bushings, too.
I'll definately be boxing up all the arms when I have them off. I work in a fab shop so that part will be free. :gt: Steve... now that you mention it, I can't remember if I had the arms "loaded" when I tightened up the bushings or not. I think I had the jack under the pig "almost" picking up the car off the jack stands. But I can't remember for sure. I'll be sure to do that when I re-istall everything with the new bushings. Jeff... yes, they are Poly, and have grease zerks in them. See pic below :TU:
FYI - I had bad wheel hop when I first installed the 455. Typical No-Hop bars cured it immediately. Last year, I installed METCO upper adjustable and lower control arms.....VERY Stout pieces and they give BUICK club members a discount (They didn't ask what "Club" I belong to....so I didn't tell). It firmed up the ride quite a bit Not cheap.....but definately a nice setup. HTH
