Hey guys...I'm at my wits end with this front suspension on my 70 GS. I replaced the A arms with the tubular Dick Miller A arms and I can't seem to keep shocks on the dang thing. They are constantly breaking. For the sake of information. Here's what Ive done and why(My best thinking). I wanted a higher stance in the front due to the rear tires being taller and wider 15's. The rear springs are for an 81 Regal Wagon same diameter as a 70 A-body but taller with more weight capacity for more downward energy to hook better. So this raised the rear about 3 inches. I think the stock suspension has the rear at 1/2" below the front making the rear now 2 1/2" above the front. Too much! (IMO) In my attempt to raise the front I decided to replace the stock springs with 1969 Chevelle SS 396 F41 springs to get the lift I wanted. Now the stance is exactly like I want it at the rear being 1" higher than the rear. I broke the first set of KYB's 2 weeks after installation and then Monroes 1 month after that. I then figured with the springs being taller, maybe, just maybe the shock should be the same as the 69 Chevelle. So I put a nice set of KYB shocks for a 69 Chevelle on and they broke within 2 months. Let me just make this clear to anyone reading. The third time is the charm is lost on me. Having admitted this, I proceeded to blame KYB and changed out the shocks with Monroes for the 69. They are now broken and I'm convinced there is something beyond me which I'm overlooking. This is a daily driver GS clone 70 Buick Skylark with a stock 350 other than headers. Maybe y'all can help me see what is wrong and/or offer alternatives to the existing front suspension. I'm open to all things ending in a smooth non-rattling front end. Thanks in advance.
You say the shocks are broken but I don't see where you explain the broken part. There must be 50 ways for a shock to break: 50 Ways to Break Shocks (sung to the tune of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover) Chop off the top Pull out the piston Rip off the bottom Blow out the cylinder ... and you get the idea Can you post a picture or give a better description of the actual failure? I actually have a 70 that I've owned for 35 years and I have never had a shock failure and I've had it jacked up, slammed and everything in between.
exactly what is breaking? the rod/shaft? perhaps the shocks are too short for the full extension of the springs. These 396 springs are meant for that heavy engine and thus the travel of the spring at optimum extension passing over a pothole for the 396 would be far less because of the engine weight than your much lighter engine would have with the spring already expanded farther at rest and even more so at optimum extension.
did the new A arms come with any information ? Like you may need an inch longer than stock shock Are you sure it's not the new a arms that are the problem ? just thinking out loud here.
Jeff, Have you measured the travel of the shaft of the shock and figured out if it is close to the middle of the travel? I would also contact the manufacture and talk to them about the problem? Nelson
The joys of owning an antique! You need to know two things: 1) Is the shock long enough? With the front at full droop, is the shock over extended? With no shock in the hole, jack the car up and let the front end hang on the bump stops. You have bump stops don't you? Then try to insert the shock. If it is too short to protrude through the top mounting hole, you need longer shocks. 2) Is the shock too tall? With the front as compressed as you can get it to the bump stops (you have bump stops right?) measure the distance from the top to bottom mount holes. Now compare that to the shock compressed to that distance. How far are you from bottoming it out? I'd want at least an inch margin in both directions. I have tubular uppers and lowers for the last several years, good bump stops and factory spec'ed Monroe shocks with no issues so it is possible.
I'm slightly open to the possibility of returning it to stock but at this point I'm thinking I'd prefer to stay with the tubular and install the correct parts for the change in geometry. It's just a process of elimination and learning. Frankly, I'll install air ride or coil overs before I go back to stock but thanks for the input. Thanks Knucklebusted! Yes! I have bump stops. I need longer shocks because when installing the shocks I had to compress the spring by jacking the a arm up for the top of the shock to go through the hole. I was unaware it was supposed to be long enough. Completely my fault for being ignorant. It was about an inch too short. For my next question. Logically the 69 springs with the 69 shocks should have been long enough. I'm now wondering why the shock was not long enough. I am going to call Dick Miller to discuss the a arms. In the mean time, I would hesitate to blame the parts house due to this has happened twice and I doubt they could have sold me the wrong pair or shocks twice. Besides, I cross referenced the shocks. The KYB and Monroe part # matched the year, model and F41 Suspension.
If it were stock, you'd have been OK with stock shocks. However, you've delved into the custom modification end of the pool and things need a bit more of a delicate touch. For reference, 68-72 GM A-bodies are all pretty much identical with the exception of weights and spring rates. All the structural parts (A-arms, sway bars, ball joints, spindles and brakes) are interchangeable. What you need is to find a parts place that will help you find a similar shock that is longer. They may have a book or you may just have to look up specs for B-body cars to see if they are bigger. Barring that, the cheap way to increase the length is to use an extender on the spike mount. You can easily add an inch there and still use stock shocks. I would like to see a picture of how it sits to gauge how far you have lifted it in the front.
Well I spoke with Dick Miller and turns out when I purchased the suspension package. There was a part which was not sent with the order by accident. He was very apologetic and accommodated me quickly. Seems the version I have needed a 1" spacer for the t-bar for the bottom of the shock to sit on instead of just sitting it the bottom of the a arm cup. This explains why it was hard as hell to get the nuts on the shock bolts on the inside of the spring. I remember saying if these things sat up higher I'd be done in 15 minutes instead of an hour per side. He is sending me these spacers and bolts and nuts right now. So, I think this should be solved. The weight difference with the small block he said should not be a factor. It's only 100lbs at the most. 69 Chevelle spring 69 Chevelle shocks and this spacer sounds to me like a logical plan. What do y'all think? P.S. I'm so glad I bought the lifetime warranty shocks!! LMAO!
The instructions didn't list this spacer? I would have thought he would replace the KYB shocks if it was a company error. Ie. not listed in instructions and not sending the required part. The good news is problem solved. post a pic when you have it sitting pretty. I'd like to see the end results.
Yeah! To tell the truth I never even looked at the instructions until just now and no mention of the spacers anywhere in them. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is probably the reason there are 2 versions of these lower A-arms. He asked all the right questions right off the bat. I venture to say also I'm not the first customer to call about this issue. Oh well! I'm just satisfied to know it's going to be fixed. :TU:
Here is how it turned out. The spacers he sent me were only coil spring insulators. So I got on the phone with KYB Tech Support and we decided on a longer shock. Turns out the 67 Skylark shock was perfect for my application. I think it turned out just right. What do y'all think? Thanks for the input!
