Haha, yeah, gotta pay to play i guess. I think the stock parts or at least the new steel stamping are up to the task for most folks. As much as i would love to spring for the tubular offerings, i think adding Delrin bushings to the stock arms will probably improve the performance plenty for me. I might even box the lowers in case i ever pull the front wheels on launch.
I found a few things for ya: https://www.carid.com/1972-buick-riviera-suspension-systems/ub-machine-bolt-in-ball-joint-upper-inner-shaft-control-arm-229883841.html https://www.carid.com/helix/helix-tubular-narrow-control-arm-set-266445812.html I'd say to contact ROS as well, they are normally A Body but they might be able to help http://www.ros6872parts.com/ROS_68-72.php I would also suggest trying the ROA, those folks live and breath Riviera's http://www.rivowners.org/ I found this website also, The Riviera Performance group http://rivperformance.editboard.com/forum Good luck, I hope this helps...
Roto-joints are a way to go, polybushings in rear suspension are a no go. In my 66 i made this mistake, ride was very harsh even poly in panhard was not good. I made rear arms from 7075 aluminum rods and panhard from cromoly pipe using roto joints all around and i must say i couldn't choose better. Ride is quiet and silky smooth despite Billsteins b6 and i now can controll when the Riv wants to Drift and she want's it a lot:3gears:. As for the front i went with delrin in upper a-arms, i guess You could also use delrin in lower arms on Boattail since it's moving only in one plain not like in 2nd gen where it moves in 2 arcs and delrin would bind. Polyurethane is good maybe for engine and body mounts. In fact i am really disapointed in polybushings. Peace,
Thanks for the recommendation on the roto-joints! Here are a couple pics of the differences between the upper a-arm bushings of the Impala and Riviera. As you can see, ill be using Delrin bushings in the front suspension. As for body bushings, the stock ones look pretty good still other than the radiator supports. I had toyed with the idea of going solid but i dont want to go through the hassle of trying to lift the body off the frame.
Jason, one thing to remember when purchasing rotos is to get their spanner wrench, otherwise You won't be able to preload them. I used joints from Spohn. Peace,
Here's a view of the stock (top), Impala (middle) and Global West offset cross shafts. Here are the new tierod adjustment sleeves from Global West.
Here's a pic of the new MOOG idler arm. Looks quite a bit beefier than the stock unit. Also, the new disc brakes for the rear conversion will need the interior of the hub machined a .15" to clear the axle flange. Just cant seem to find a 1" thick rotor in a 5x5 pattern that fits. There are plenty of thinner rotor out there but they wont work with the calipers i have. Oh well, off to the machine shop they go.
Would this Caddy rear rotor work? http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=391037&cc=1409385&jsn=541 What fitment issue are you running into? I have a posi rear I'd like to add disc brakes to before installing, so curious. Thanks! Also, it's been several years since I replaced the front end components on my boattail, but I recall that the MOOG idler I bought had the wrong taper (diameter or angle, can't remember). I think I ended up keeping the one that was in the car as it was still tight and never figured out if I had a defective part of if the taper was just plain different. Fuzzy memory, but worth checking before you install.
I think that rotor might be too thick to work with the calipers i got. The rotors im using are just over an inch wide and that leaves me with, maybe, a 1/6" of either side of the rotor with the piston all the way in the caliper. I wanted to use the 95 impala rotor but it was only .78" wide and while they fit perfectly, i don tknow enough about the working ranges of calipers to want to take the chance of it not being right..plua the thicker rotor should dissipate heat much better. I measure the opening on the old and new one and loosely checked the idler and it seemed to be the correct one. I wont really know for sure until i torque everything down so ill be sure to keep an eye on that. Thanks for the tip.
Here are the Impala upper A-Arms with the Del-a-lum bushings. [video]https://www.facebook.com/jason.wehmeyer.3/videos/10155035461000337/[/video]
Finally, finished boxing in the lower a-arms. I also reinforced the end link mounting area since i intend on increasing the sway bar size. Now ill just get them powder coated, install the bushings and ball joints and I'll be ready to reinstall.
FWIW, I used the rear disc brake setup from a 1976-78 Cad Seville (5 on 5" bolt circle) on my '71 Riv. It took some minor mods to the caliper mounting bracket to match the holes in the axle flange. I did not use the Cad parking brake-style calipers, but instead an identical set of calipers as factory front '71 Riv calipers. Fit right in, cheap even fully loaded, and same pads all four corners. Downside, no p-brake, but it's an automatic xsmn. In pawl we trust.
Not much in attachments here. Let me dig though some old files and get back to this. One photo here is before I installed the splash shields that protect backside of rotor from road debris. I did use a '71 Cad Eldo salvage yard proportioning valve (disc/disc) also.
Cleaned and painted the stock calipers and got some EBC Red Stuff brake pads. New stainless hoses should be here in a couple days.
WiIlwood kit 220-11372. I tried the 14" kit (11371) first and while it matched the stock line length perfectly, because of the crimped metal hose ends, at max rotor turn the line didnt have the flexibility of the stock rubber lines and had a very sharp bend in it that i didn't care for so i went with the 16" line kit instead. I'll probably make hose holder to keep the hose from resting on the upper arm but i don't think its really necessary. Another side note, the Dorman spindle dust covers are made in China. I was a little disappointed with that.