I've had my '72 Cutlass 442 convertible for 12 years and have never touched the suspension - it may be time. The car has air shocks in the rear and is sitting a little lopsided. Could the air shocks have been factory or (I assume) an owner may have added at some point? There is a valve on the rear bumper behind the license plate. I'm considering going back to factory spec springs and shocks (Moog and maybe Bilstein, though Bilstein seems like overkill for the 800 miles per year that I put on the car).

I will not be doing the work myself (time, space, skill limitations) so want to educate myself a bit before speaking to a local garage that has been recommended.

Any pointers?

 

Link to my 1971 CS convertible suspension rebuild you might find of some benefit.

Winter Project - '71 CS Suspension

 

Norm - thanks for the link. Lot of good info. Your '71 looks great.

 

Thanks, Mike.

 

RPO G66 Superlift Rear Shock Absorbers were a $41.00 factory option for the 1972 model year, so they may or may not have come from the factory. Factory air shocks will have a Shraeder fill valve behind the rear license plate, to the right of the fuel filler. Aftermarket air shocks may have also used that location, and even if you have correct Delco air shocks they were available as an aftermarket kit so there's no way to prove they were factory-installed without a build sheet.

 

So, I did pretty much everything you're thinking of to my '72 ragtop when I got it back in 2016

My blueprint in general is:

all Moog bushings for control arms and rear diff
All Moog steering parts (arms, center link, tie rods) and ball joints
urethane end links and front bar bushings
1-1/8" front bar (Global West)
1" rear bar (Summit Racing's own brand)
UMI rear control arms (tubular)
also added a set of OEM FE2 (for chevelle it's F41) frame braces (easy bolt-on), relatively cheap to score on Ebay
Currently using Ride-Tech shocks all around (adjustables) but KYB and Koni (orange) are decent non-adjustable alternatives - tried the Bilsteins, they started becoming too harsh for me after about 5-7k miles.
stock Moog front springs and 6435 rear springs (Moog discontinued these but Mevotech still makes them under their p/n SMS6435 (these give the rear a slight rise from stock - I run 17x8 AR Torq Thrusts on 245-50-17 rubber all around)

If you're planning to upgrade your steering box, a 12:7 or 14:1 firm-feel build would give you decent feel and 3-1/4 to 3-1/2 turns L to L. This would complement a fresh suspension build very nicely. I use the Lee 12:7 ratio box currently but you can also look up Carhex (he advertises here and on the V8 Buick site) for one of his OEM rebuilds - he has a great rep for that amongst this crowd.

 

70sgeek recipe is similar to my standard “A” body “go to.” I’m replying simply to plug an often overlooked part, the rear frame braces. Especially on convertibles they add a noticeable, positive increase in chassis integrity and more solid, composed feel, plus they’re cheap and you’re already there.

​​​​​​….

 

Yeah, I paid < $100 for the OEM braces - used but in great condition and had already been sandblasted / painted. Worthwhile easy add-on while you're under there.

As I noted above, F41 Chevy / FE2 Olds are the same braces so if searching in Ebay, try both terms to see what comes up.