Aside from trackinng down sway bars ( and I don't want to) Any suggestions on improving handling. Did a quick avoidance of a muffler on the interastate. I swung right then left to return to the lane. I was pushing 65 mph. To say the move was white knuckle is an understatement.
If i do new springs and shocks any suggestion to type and brand. I know it will never be indy ready but adding a bit more control during evasive steering would nice. I am thinking about spending 500-700 for steering and suspension front and rear.
I have new 15' tires and rims but have not put on until i improve handling.

 

As you know the stock suspension is tuned mostly for a soft ride. I used heavy duty springs and shocks from Fusick along with a rebuild of the front end including new bushings and end links for the stock swaybar. It handles and corners much better but you also have a stiffer ride, to me it feels like a (BIG) 60s musclecar. I'm not sure if the Starfire came with a stiffer front bar than the regular 88 but if so you might want to upgrade there. Good luck.

 

I do like the fusick parts...i will check out their shocks

 

I added the urethane upper control arm bushings and they helped out a lot, hard to find but they are out there on evil bay every once in a while.
I was looking into having the steering box rebuilt with a different ratio as well.
I did the bushings when I did the front end so everything together tightened up on my car.
Steve


P.S. you have to give mufflers a lot of time to cross the road or they can do major damage to the under carriage.

 

One other thing to check is the steering rag joint, mine was worn out and replacing it made the steering more precise.

 

I would check to see if edelbrock has an IAS shock available for it, or another brand of "road sensing" shock.

 

The steering rag joint number at NAPA is 630-1012, should be the same where you are.

 

You have a lot working against you because even "showroom new", a Jetstar 88 is a B-body car on an A-body chassis. Basically the worst handling you'll get in a full size Olds.
Rebuilding the entire front suspension would help. Kanter has kits for doing just that. All of the old rubber is just making the handling even worse.
I would not recommend urethane bushing, they *possibly* could help, but they could also make an emergency maneuver even worse. A rear sway bar would help. I know the J88 uses an exended version of the A-body rear, but I don't know if the lower control arms are the same and if the spacing in between is the same. If so, boxed arms and sway bars are much more readily available.

 

J88 did not have an A body frame. It used a B body frame. In 64 the factory modified the frame in 2 places for the J88. There were 2 tabs welded to the back of the rear of the engine crossmember for the engine mounts. They also put holes in the side rails for the transmission crossmember. Ball joints, bushings, and all the control arms (front and back) are B body. Steering is about 90% B body. Center links are different. Spindles mount the same as B body, but the areas that hod the backing plate and the spindle (wheel seal area and bearing areas are different. You can bolt in the big olds rear and the big olds steering knuckles. As far as handling better, stock rebuild of the suspension will help. Poly uppers should help too. I believe there are some Eibach springs that will help. There is a writeup here about it.

 

I thought this car was an 88 not a J88?
Navvet didn't say which model 64 he is driving.

 

This is unfortunately a misconception. The J88 is a B-body on a B-body frame. The only "A-body" chassis parts are the front and rear brakes and the rear axle housing. The J88 uses the same front suspension parts as any other 1964 B/C body car. The upper and lower control arms, pivot shafts, bushings, ball joints, and steering linkage use exactly the same parts as on all other 1964 B/C body cars. The J88 front spindles are unique to the 64 J88 in that they are B/C body spindles machined to accept the smaller front wheel bearings from an A-body. The brake backing plates are also unique to the 64 J88. The hubs and drums are common with A-body. The rear axle housing is the same as that on an A-body EXCEPT that the track width is wider and the control arm and spring locations are unique to the J88, so this is another part that is unique to the 64 cars. The backing plates and brakes are A-body parts.

That's ALL. Of course, the 330 engine and Jetaway trans are also common with the A-body, but this tread is talking about the chassis and suspension.

To the O.P., other than a good stock suspension and steering rebuild and improved shocks, there is little you can do to improve handling. You can have your steering box rebuilt with a quick ratio gear set. Despite your disinterest in aftermarket sway bars, that will be by far your best bet for improvement.

 

He didn't say it here, but I believe he has said Jetstar 88 in other threads.

P.S. A Jetstar 88 is an "88". That's why it says "88" after the word "Jetstar" on the side of the car.

 

Sorry guys...should have been specific: it is a 1964 4 door base dynamic 88. I know that even in showroom condition it wasn't a gem when it came to handling. I have notice some good suppliers of front end parts and I think I will stick with stock parts. BUT I have seen a dozen rear coil spring designs and manufacturers. Has anyone seen these " new" designs that are not OEM that may do a better job. Or is this just fancy crap.

 

Shows what I know.

 

This.

The only **** you can turn with springs is the rate. Stiffening the springs will improve handling at the expense of ride quality. More importantly, if you increase spring rate to the point that the tires bounce off the pavement when they hit a bump, this actually hurts handling, since the tires can't corner if they aren't in contact with the pavement. The ideal handling setup is softer springs with lots of travel, and sway bars to preclude body roll. Unfortunately you are stuck with the stock suspension travel, and unless you decide to add sway bars, you are stuck with what you can change.

 

So I should be looking at CONSTANT RATE springs??? I see Moog has them for @ 98.00. I do see others at 100-125 each explaining they are a better quality. This is not a Daytona racer...just want a more secure ride and handling