Okay so I would like to see about improving the front suspension of my 71 olds cutlass. Not sure if any of it was ever replaced. What would be the items to replace?

shocks
springs
sway bar
suspension kit (was thinking one from PST)

http://www.p-s-t.com/

Suggestions and or opinions.

Thanks

 

It really depends on what your going to do with your car. Just drive normal, track, autocross, etc...?

 

normal

 

LOL, within the spec's that the manufacturer intended.

 

I can only give my opinion of the mods that I recently performed. I rebuilt my front suspension with new Moog rubber upper and lower control arm bushings, new Moog upper and lower ball joints, new Moog outer tie rod ends (all of the rest of the steering components were tight and not in need of replacement). Beyond that, I also installed Monroe (cheap, but work well) shocks, reused the original springs, and installed a new UMI front sway bar with poly bushings and installed a rear sway bar from UMI which also required new lower control arms (also used tubular from UMI). All I can say is that the ride is greatly improved, the car handles much better and feels planted to the road. I don't have any regrets from any of the suspension upgrades I did, and all of the work can be done by anyone with the determination to tackle the job. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

For normal driving, I'd say that your original springs are fine unless sagging, you would probably be happier with a larger sway bar, for shocks you can choose between Monroe and KYB at the low-price end and Koni or Bilstein at the high-priced end. Bilsteins handle very well, but are not harsh.
You need to decide between rubber or polyurethane bushings. I like polyurethane, because they tighten it up without making it significantly harsher, but the original rubber types are fine, too, and Moog is the most respected name.

- Eric

 

Thanks for your input and the one from Eric

 

so a larger sway bar would be the 1 1/4" for the front

 

I'm not sure of the exact sizes, but the stock 442-type bars improve handling and still give a smooth ride.

- Eric

 

I look at it this way, most of the parts on my front end were there for a very long time. So I replaced with stock it rides and drives fine with the Monroe shocks. On the springs I used moog cargo station wagon springs in the rear and heavy duty's up front to raise it.

 

Along with the front end parts, rear sway bar (also need boxed control arms) and a quick ratio steering box also greatly improve the driving experience.