Hey all,

Okay, I'm a long-time lurker but I'm finally getting serious about finishing my project car, the 1971 Chevelle I bought back in '84 while in High School. I'm starting with the mechanicals first, leaving the body and interior for last. I've installed a Baer 4-wheel disc brake system and I'm looking for suspension parts to finish off that effort.

So, I've been doing my research and I've narrowed my parts list to what I'm listing below... does anyone have ANY opinions / experience with what I'm suggesting, good or bad? My Chevelle will be my daily driver so I'm not looking to build a mega hot-rod, nor am I trying to build the ultimate canyon carver...

Thanks in advance... I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Front Suspension

Fat Man Fabricating

2" Drop Spindles (these spindles will work with my Baer brakes)
Tubular Control Arms (upper/lower) - Powder Coat Finish - Black
Sway Bar - Front
Sway Bar - Rear
QA-1 Coil-Over Shock/Springs - Front
QA-1 Coil-Over Shock/Springs - Rear

Hotchkis

Adj. Rear Suspension Kit






So, any thoughts? Thanks again!

-John
Phoenix, AZ

2" Drop Spindles (these spindles will work with my Baer brakes)
Keep your stock spindles and lower with springs. If you're looking at their "tall" drop spindles, I'd recommend instead spending that money on the tall balljoint package from SC&C (www.scandc.com) :yes: Fatman claims their revised steer arm location fixes bumpsteer, but the fact is they moved it the wrong way, and made it much worse. :clonk: They moved it downward about 1/2" which helps correct bumpsteer on Camaro/Nova chassis, but it needs to go upward on a Chevelle chassis.

As for dropping with springs, your stock springs are far too soft anyway, so a stiffer drop spring from Hotchkis or Eibach will help the handling tremendously.

Tubular Control Arms (upper/lower) - Powder Coat Finish - Black
For the best value, I'd recommend SC&C's adjustable uppers (just order the Stage II+ package with the tall balljoints. :) ) and the lowers aren't really necessary, as none of them on the market today change the geometry in any way. They are stronger though, which is the only benefit. The ones from CPP appear to be a good lower arm for the money.

Sway Bar - Front
If you correct the camber curve with a taller balljoint or taller spindle, and install a stiffer spring such as Hotchkis/Eibach you don't really need anything bigger than 1-1/8" for smallblock, and maybe 1-1/4" for bigblock. The cheap and easy alternative to aftermarket is a 2nd Gen F-body (70-81 Camaro/Firebird) front bar which is a direct bolt-on... found easily for under $50.

Sway Bar - Rear
stock GM 7/8" or aftermarket 1" rear bar will work well with a mild performance set of drop springs like the Eibach or Hotchkis.

QA-1 Coil-Over Shock/Springs - Front
Not really worth the high price IMHO. They do not change motion-ratios, and the use of the stock upper spring pocket puts side-loads on the shock body itself. Hotchkis sells re-valved Bilstein shocks that work very well with theirs or Eibach's springs.

The only benefit to coil-overs is easy ride-height adjustment, which isn't something you'll do very often anyway, as it requires re-aligning the front end. There are much cheaper ways to get the adjustability if you are satisfied with a "set it and forget it" type of setup.

QA-1 Coil-Over Shock/Springs - Rear
Rear coil-overs do have a benefit of an improved motion-ratio, which provides increased roll stiffness with a lower spring rate, but unless you're real serious about cornering performance, it's not worth the extra money.

Hotchkis Adj. Rear Suspension Kit
Avoid these like the plague. :eek: Poly bushings are terrible in a converging 4-link susension, especially in the uppers. Johnny Joint type spherical joints are the best in this location, which are available on Currie uppers and lowers, and Edelbrock uppers only. The Edelbrock uppers are considerably cheaper than the Currie uppers, but the Curries are MUCH beefier... beefier than they need to be unless you're putting down serious power and hooking up hard.

For the upper housing ears, I'd recommend rubber bushings.

Thanks Derek.... great detail in your reply and I very much appreciate it.

Anyone else with an opinion? I would love to hear anyone's thoughts or even hands-on experience with these products.

Thanks again
-jk