I have noticed that my Lark seems to lean, alot while taking a corner. The corners usually aren't even sharp, but I have talked to a few local car enthusiests and they all seem to say the same thing- The leaning was something that the more "luxury cars," as in Buicks and Cadillacs, would do. Is there a good aftermarket sway bar, or something else, that would help the issue? Thanks.
My freind is running a hotchkis suspension in his base model 69 Cutlass, and loves it. The car was a boat before the swap, the usuall boat feeling, lots of lean, no cornering, and just bad handling in general. He got the kit from hotchkis which supplies 4 springs, sway bars, boxed rear upper and lower control arms, and braces. He changed out the shocks for KYB-GR2's and got the car realligned. He also replaced all the bushing with polyurethane, and some of the body mount bushings as well. After alot of research, he concluded that this was the cheapest upgrade for the MOST improvement from stock. The kit took about 2 months to completely "settle". When i first rode in the car, i thought it was too stiff. But after 2 months, its actually a very comfy ride. I wouldnt see a problem with taking the car on a long trip or anything. He has to be careful now and keep a close eye on the speedo. Its very easy to twisty and turny roads now at 60mph and think youre going much slower because of the amazing suspension.
I bought a front sway bar at a swap meet for a 73 Trans am for $20 It was 1 1/8" I think...and bolt right in with new bushing (as the one I took out was 7/8 or smaller I think) My original was bent like the previous owner tried to jack the car up on it... the bigger bar made a huge improvement.
A second gen Trans Am front sway bar will bolt right up and make an amazing difference all by itself. If you put polyurethane bushings at the end links, it really stiffens the car up without ruining the ride. A nice set of 245R15-60 tires all the way around will not hurt either. I would not put too much polyurethane in the suspension. These cars can bind up and the suspension can squeak. End links and the like are simple and produce a lot of bang for buck. If you want faster steering, swapping a quick ratio in is pretty simple, too!
I didn't know so many sway bars were compatible. That's a comforting thought, now I just have to find one! :TU:
also check out 88 to 90 9c1 caprice police cars.. same bar as trans am and huge well over 1" almost 1.25. cheap at the pick your part
hotchkis race rear sway bar comes in 1 5/16 = 1.3125 rear bar requires their trailing arms though front comes in 1 3/8" = 1.375 hr parts rear anti roll bar is 1.25
H&R rear bars are attached differently, making them more effective. Look at any new RWD car's rear swaybar setup and you'll see that they're attached the same way H&R does it.
I love my Hotchkis TVS system on my 64. It went from practically feeling like it would tip over in a corner to being able to autocross it.
Extreme. Swaybars make a big difference but the entire kit is incredibly complete all the way up to Bilstein shocks specifically valved for the spring rate and weight of the car. Here it is in action in a 180 degree corner at speed.
Thanks! Yep, the new parts make autocrossing a total blast and I'm completely addicted. For reference, that pic is taken as fast as I could go while negotiating a 180 degree corner and that's as much body lean as it gets.
i've got the set from OPGI. work good, however I have about .25" of spacers for the rear arms. you'll aslo want to box the rear arms. huge improvement.. also make sure all of your bushings are good.
I put a 1.25" one on this spring and noticed a huge difference too. Much better than the old worn out .875", I'm sure the new bushings and such helped out as much as the bar itself but it is well worth the $75 I had in mine. Any Larrys right, the rears on those cars were leafs so they will not match up.
