I have a 68 442 that needs everything. Nothing original on car. Wondering if anyone has used the opg ch32580 suspension & brake stage 3 kit. Want to use 15" super stock rims. Any suggestions on the front sway bar size? Options 1 1/8, 1 1/4. 1 3/8. Like the stock stance so the rear options are springs, 2" drop springs or coil overs. With coil overs is the height very adjustable, up or down? Not looking to drop body, like the stock stance. This seems to be a very complete setup. Thanks Ron

 

The aftermarket rear disc brakes may not clear Olds SSII/III wheels. The problem is that the SSII/III wheels use the same center disk for both 14" and 15" rims. The outer hoops on the 15" versions have a unique center drop that goes down to meet the smaller center disk. This restricts room on the backside of the wheel and can cause caliper clearance problems. Others have added spacers to correct this. I'm not a fan of that solution.

 

You can do stock front discs for less than $400 and they stop great. Other than they look cool I can't understand why anyone would put rear discs on these cars. It's a total waste of money IMO.

The best upgrades I did to my 68 were a fast ratio steering box, heavy duty front sway bar, and rear air bags. I already had stock front disc brakes. The rear air bags reduced body roll a lot

 

Personally, I like the 11" rear drums from a 1973-77 Cutlass. These bolt on and do clear the SSII/III wheels.

 

Look at Detroit speed www.detroitspeed.com
Running complete F&B kit 3
Drop spindle / coil over adjustable shock / splined sway / steering box / ect.
Costly but the does car handles !

 

I would prefer rear disk brakes instead of drums. Tuning a brake system with drum brakes is a lot more difficult than with disk brakes. Even with the shoes adjusted, you can never get the drums exactly the same which contributes to uneven braking. Drum brakes are self energizing which, in my opinion, makes brake bias tuning more difficult than disc brakes. Disc brakes and an aftermarket adjustable proportioning valve are easier to tune the desired bias.

But, the OP may not really need a four wheel disk brake system depending on what he is after. If the OP is going to run small wheels and tires, I do not think he would get much benefit out of a four wheel disk brake setup. You simply wouldn't have enough tire grip to warrant a system with more braking capacity.

The CPP kit may not have the braking capacity of an OEM D52 caliper setup. They need to publish more information so the consumer can calculate clamping forces, resulting brake torque at each wheel, and the inherent front to rear brake bias.

As for as the CPP suspension kit, I would not buy it. I do not see any information from CPP on the suspension parts design. CPP also has a reputation of doing a poor job knocking off other companies products. In my opnion, If you are not fixing the front geometry with an aftermarket part, just refurbish and use the OEM pieces combined with higher rate springs and larger front and rear sway bars. You can buy DelAlum bushings for the OEM front control arms from Global West and they will perform as well as an aftermarket part - provided the aftermarket part has stock pickup points. Also, looking at the pictures of the CPP kit, I would want a first hand look at the rear lower control arms and how they mount the sway bar. It looks pretty flimsy in the photo. Another issue is the use of poly and plastic bushings everywhere - i.e. I suspect that this kit may induce a lot of suspension bind.

I would research various aftermarket suspension designs and then implement one of those designs using a top tier supplier such as Detroit Speed, Global West, SPC, etcetera.