hey everyone, i have a 1968 chevelle malibu that i would like to rebuild the front end on. currently i have the entire front end taken apart and i bought an energy suspension hyperflex bushing kit. i have only had this car for about 6 months and am new to restoring cars so i am having alot of trouble deciding what parts to pick and buy to complete the front end. I was first thinking of doing the qa1 coil over conversion but i am confused and unsure if that is the right way to go so i figured u guys might be able to help. i am willing to spend about $1500 total on the front end meaning sway bar,springs,shocks, etc. I would like it to be primarily a street car but it will also see a lot of time at the track. Right now it has a small block 350. Any suggestions on what to get would be greatly appreciated.

bump

I'm no chevelle expert, mostly a camaro guy, but a chevy is a chevy.

I like the poly a-arm bushings. Make sure you take the sleeves out and grease em with the stuff provided before installing, or they'll squeek. Usually best to have a shop press the old bushing out and the new ones in, have them do the lower ball joints too.

The rest of the stuff is best bought from an auto parts store. The standard moog / trw ball joints and tie rod ends are pretty much all there is.

QA1 coilovers are nice but pricy and tricky to buy cause you gotta tell em what spring rate you want, so you have to know. Sure there are guys here that do tho. It can be nice to be able to adjust the ride ht.

Standard type springs and shock work fine too.

Lotsa places sell various spring shock etc kits and parts. Some good ones would be Hotchkiss and detroit speed and engineering. I read here that a lot of guys get stuff from sandc.com too. Addco make decent hi-po swaybars too.

www.scandc.com :)

thanks for the replys they were really helpfull but i am still confused about two things. what is the difference between the greaseable racing bushings and high durometer rubber bushings that they sell? Also what suggestions do u guys have on the spring rates because i have no idea what would work well.

The rubber bushings are more street-friendly, but IMHO, they aren't worth the extra cost. The greasable will perform better, just transfer a small ammount more vibration to the chassis.

For springs, that depends on what you decide to do for sway-bars, and if you have a BB or SB

For a mild SB car, I'd go with ~550# springs, and a 1-1/8" swaybar in front, with ~135# rear springs and 7/8" rear sway bar.

Stock rates are in the ~350#F and ~120#R range, which is way too soft.

I'm running 700#F/175#R, and some of the serious open-track guys are in the 950#F/200#R range.

derek, are those arms the same ones made by pole position? tom

Yes, Pole Position is now SPC... they changed names about a year ago.