I was looking at getting my suspension redone on my 72 Supreme. Parts I was looking into were UMI rear tubular controll arms & braces, Hotchkis springs & Koni shocks. This isn't going to a raced vehicle but a nice street cruiser with an attitude. Rest of the combo is 455/400 10 bolt w/ 3:23. Looking for advice on the parts i've picked out, i was lookiing into the Hotchkis rear kit but it was said on other sites to cause binding and that the braces bolts caused muffler interference. All help will be appreciated!

 

I put Hotchkis arms and rear sway bar on my 71 supreme, and i haven't noticed any binding or interference problems, I didn't use their springs, went with stock height ones. Quite an improvement over worn out stock and no sway bar.

 

I have a complete Hotchkis suspension on my 68 442 vert. I have had no issues but then my exhaust is a custum hand fab set up. Its a little harsh over the bumps and on crapy roads but soon as those roads smooth out its really a fun car to drive. I also went with the agr steering box and I gotta tell ya its like driving a modern car. I definately out handle my buds 69 gto,66gto,72chevelle,68firebird I would do it all over again in fact I think all my buddys are jealous.

 

I forgot to mention I lowered the car an inch.

 

I have UMI parts in my rear suspension. I didn't choose the tubular versions because I feel the boxed ones are superior in strength. I did get adjustable upper arms, but they are not needed.

Its quality stuff, and had zero problems what so ever with the items. Easy to install.

I went on to use the factory sway bars from a 442 and sourced the springs from my local auto parts store.

Be sure to check all of your adjustable jam nuts after your shake down cruise. They can sometimes loosen, no matter who made them.

 

I found that the upper and lower controll arms aren't the issue with Hotchkis but the braces bolts will come into contact with mufflers. The UMI braces have a bend in them to correct that issue. After doing some searches those were the concerns with Hotchkis besides the price. I like the stock but i'm going with 15" SS1's w/ 295-50 in the rear and 245-60's in the front so i'm guessing a 1" drop should keep me right at the stock height. When I get to the front end (Moog bushings) i'm also going with a quick ratio steering box, most likely the AGR unit. i have a friend that can't stop talking about how much of a difference it made in his 69 Cutlass.

 

I put the hotchkis lower arms and rear springs with new KYB gas shocks and a factory rear bar on my very worn out cutlass. Huge difference. Next is the Hotchkis front springs with a rebuild kit and a 1.25 sway bar off a 2nd gen TA with the KYBs. I will also be putting B body spindles and bigger brakes on the front as well. A lot of improvement but not near the expense of a full aftermarket kit.

 

Myself, I bought the complete Hotchkis TVS kit w/ HPS-1000 shocks (Bilstein), and 1 3/8" billet alum. front sway bar bushing brackets (they are very nice and totally eliminate the 'squeezing' of the bracket issue to get bolts threaded into frame).

Could not line up the Hotchkis rear arm braces though, so sold them in favor of slotted tubular Edelbrock braces (plus they do not have the 'contact the mufflers' issue). I also had issues with the huge Hotchkis rear lower arms. They were too wide (but prob no diff than other similar arms from UMI for example - although UMI has 'shortened' their rear lower arms recently). So sold them as well and ended with skinnier Currie Currectrac (billet alum.) rear lower arms that clear the rear axle mount ears fine.

Now... I think the rear sway bar from Hotchkis is a bit ugly, and want to get an OEM factory 7/8" one... but I have the huge 1 3/8" front Hotchkis bar (albeit hollow inside)... so not sure if that would be a good match.

 

I like the UMI stuff to priced well MADE IN USA look like a nice product .
I with 15" You will notice your upgrades but not fully use them .

 

So are the tubular lower controll arms alot weaker than the boxed ones, or will I not notice the difference in a street car? I like the look of letter tires & thats why i want the 15" SS1's, does the sidewall play a big difference the suspension play. I'll have to find the price on those CurriTrac lower controll arms & compare.

 

They are a bit pricey. Got mine directly from Currie ($399.95). SC&C has them for $10 cheaper.

 

I've allways held the opinion that boxed arms are heavy duty. In contrast, the tubular arms are lighter and more race car applicable. IMHO.

Remember, these arms locate the rear housing in your car for proper geometry. Personally, I want heavy duty and nothing thats going to "give" too much side to side movement.

 

on the adjustable upper arms;

are they adjustable to locate the rear end (pinion) for driveshaft alignment ? or is there another reason for them being adjustable ?

is the driveline adjustment a concern w stock springs or only lowered springs or something else

I see a lot of the suspension ads (like tubular LCAs and UCAs for the front and adjustable ones for the rear)dont tell you why you should buy their product, only that it is superior, I want to know why its better and how

 

Adjusting the location of the pivot points of the control arms has a large effect on traction. If you have a set-up which allows you to choose different pivot point locations, then you typically also need control arms with adjustable length.

Adjusting only the length of the control arms really only changes the driveline angles. Of course, as the pumpkin rotates it also moves the pivot points slightly, so there might be some small effect on traction. But you should only adjust the control arm length with the intent to achieve a certain pinion angle.

Driveline angles are inportant, but there's typically a fairly large range of angles which will not rob too much power, not vibrate, and not wear out the U-joints.

 

$399 ouch...... they are a nice looking lower arm & thinner. I'll be getting the boxed arms for the added strength. I was wondering about the adjustable upper arms myself and if they're need for a street car?

 

Not needed, but I would definitely use the dbl adj rear uppers with lowering coil springs like the Hotchkis ones for example... just in case.

I put Eibach Sportline lowering springs on my daily driver (newer car) and the car shimmies/shudders on low acceleration b/c the driveline angles are now out of whack. I have no way to correct it though being a FWD and no easy mods that I know of. I will prob try the Eibach Pro-Kit springs instead.

 

I have UMI round lower and upper, upper are adjustable and have the Roto Joint. They are great. And I did/do have exhaust problem on the right side. The end ot the bolt with the nut hits the muffler sometimes and thumps, I've going to get that fixed somehow this winter. I also have a 1.25" front sway bar and a 1" factory style rear, all front and rear poly bushings, the car really handles way different than before. A very big improvement.
On the frame braces, the UMI and Hotchkis bars have a long tube where the bolt goes through the end/mount, that is where I ran into exhaust problems. Some braces have a flat mount there and use a shorter bolt, that would help my exhaust problem. But they also have a slotted hole there on at least one end which I didn't really like. I was looking at the Edelbrock;
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-5283/
which have a shorter tube and bolt and are adjustable and have a bend to help with exhaust clearance, but when I went to order they were not available.
Good luck,
Mike

 

1" factory style rear? From UMI? Curious what that looks like.

I have never seen those adj style braces. I have the basic Edelbrock ones myself, as I could not get bolts lined up on the Global West or Hotchkis style braces.

 

The 1" rear bar came from The Muscle Factory, it looks exactly like a 7/8" factory GM rear sway bar http://www.muscle-factory.com/shopdi...s+and+bushings
The 1.25" front bar came from a Trans Am.

 

Very interesting. Wonder who makes it. I could then still use my Hotchkis 1 3/8" hollow front sway bar.

 

Thanks for the pic, i quess i'll end up going with edelbrock braces. Question about springs & shocks, if your going to go with aluminum heads and intake, should I use a 350 or still go with a 455 set up? For right now everything is original cast iron.

 

Dad and I just put the UMI tubular lower control arms and the braces on his 71 Judge last week, the adjustible braces made it a snap, and with M/T 275/60/15 drag radials,that are really sticky, there is lots of grip, little if any flex, and NO tire rub. I am so happy with their products so far, I ordered a full rear set for my 69 Chevelle.

 

oldzy that's looking nice

 

I used these arms. From pmt fabrication. Very strong and very adjustable.

 

http://www.tntraceshop.com/photogall...s/180300-2.jpg

no brace to get in the way of mufflers