[penny_chevelle]

Hey guys,
Im 16 and have hit the point in the restoration where I am looking at retro moding the entire suspension. the car I have is a 69' Chevelle and it handles alright now but it has drum brakes and I just invested in new shocks for it. so as of now im almost clueless as to where I should take it. I want a stiff quiet ride that I can get into a little bit and not worry about taking corners at higher speeds. I would like discs. and also my handling has a little play in it is there some way that I can tighten that up too.
Thanks to all,
Stuart

 

[johncolvin]

Quite a bit of this depends on how much $$$ you have to spend. If your budget looked like mine at 16, your upgrades will be probably be smaller.

If you are mechanical, I would jack up the car (safety first) and look for any play in the bushings, ball joints, centerlink, etc. If they are original, they are probably worn out. Find which ones need to be replaced. If you are not sure, see if there is a shop that will take a free look at it - here in MO, they will inspect these parts during a state vehicle inspection ($12).

Maybe take off the brake drums and see what kind of shape your brakes are in. Maybe they need to be replaced???

If you need springs, be very careful when removing them.

A Jeep steering box is a good and easy upgrade. I really enjoy having mine.

There is tons of good info around here for all these modifications. Remember, be very carful when messing with parts that are under load - it's a good way to loose fingers, eyes, etc.

If you have some extra cash, you can find disk brake setups from salvage yards, swap meets or one of the vendors around here. A good thing about a kit is all the parts are there and there are probably detailed instructions (I would hope so anyway).

Remember, some changes to front suspension parts will require a professional alignment. Also, make sure you have proper tools (jacks, jack stands, wrenches, etc.). And get an assembly manual for your car. It has exploded diagrams for your car and all necessary torque settings and measurements.

If you are doing suspension work, you will need a torque wrench to get all bolts to proper torque. I would invest in some PB blaster - helps loosen those 40+ year old bolts.

If you have more specifics, let us all know and we'll go from there.

 

[penny_chevelle]

Thanks for replying! All your information helps. I have some mechanical background but not as extensive as I would like. The car is 90% origonal minus a few things I had to replace. So that means that most of the parts that can wear are and need to be replaced. I didn't understand what you meant by the jeep steering box. If you could explain that in more detail please do!

 

[Rokker]

I would check for play in the steering box to. It can be adjusted by loosening the nut and bolt on top of it.
To tight - steering will not go back to straight forward/no play.
To loose - steering wheel has play/wheels return to straight forward.
Worn out - steering will not return/have play in it.

The trick is to find the Sweet spot between play and ease of turning the wheel and the steering wanting to go straight after a turn.

 

[johncolvin]

Ha that's funny, I need to do the same thing after putting my new steering box on - I completely forgot to tighten it up :thumbsup:
Good info.