1970 GTO convertable suspension upgrades

[Jaybe2]

Hi my name is Jason I have a 1970 GTO that has been sitting in my garage for to long. What I'm looking to do is bring the suspension up to modern standards and fix some of the geometry problems that the A body has. I want to go coil overs at all four corners so I can set my ride height and want all new arms. I would like to buy a complete kit that is designed as a kit and not buy all individual parts. I'm going for the pro-touring look and stance but the ride of a street cruiser as I will probably never race it. I'm starting to lean toward Ridetech, Global West has some nice stuff but they don't seem to have a kit. UMI has some nice stuff but no kit with coil overs for the rear. Does anyone have advise one what kits work best.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Hey Jason,

From reading what you typed out, I think that our level 2 coilover package is perfect for your goals. Our tubular control arms add more caster/include delrin bushings, the tall spindle creates a better negative camber curve, and we can set the kit up with the correct coil springs to give you the nice ride quality (and still handle like a modern sports car). The shocks in the kit are a rebound adjustable, monotube piece that you can fine tune for your own personal preference, and they have a 1,000,001 mile warranty! If you have any questions, you're welcome to get with me anytime.

http://www.ridetech.com/store/coilover-system-en.html

[UMI Tech]

Hi my name is Jason I have a 1970 GTO that has been sitting in my garage for to long. What I'm looking to do is bring the suspension up to modern standards and fix some of the geometry problems that the A body has. I want to go coil overs at all four corners so I can set my ride height and want all new arms. I would like to buy a complete kit that is designed as a kit and not buy all individual parts. I'm going for the pro-touring look and stance but the ride of a street cruiser as I will probably never race it. I'm starting to lean toward Ridetech, Global West has some nice stuff but they don't seem to have a kit. UMI has some nice stuff but no kit with coil overs for the rear. Does anyone have advise one what kits work best.

Hi Jason.

Thanks for mentioning UMI.

We have coilovers available and are happy to quote a kit on [email protected]. We are working on the website to develop a full kit with front and rear c/o but in the meantime we can customize for sure.

Our '72 LeMans works very well on the street as well as on GoodGuys Auto-x, Optima, track days, etc.

We address the short spindle problem with the A-body and also have bump steer solutions, spring and shock tuning knowledge, etc.

ramey

[Jeff70]

This guy has a write up of a RideTech install

http://www.leftlanebrain.com/frame-off-restoration-update-2-install/cutlass-coilover-suspension-install-4/

[BMR Sales]

Jason, We have a kit that gives you Coilovers on all 4 Corners. We also have a 68 GTO Project car

[Jeff70]

Good point about the geometry correcting products. No point in throwing your hard earned $ at bling.
Budget will be a big factor.

You can go basic with something like the tall balljoint type kit that SC&C offers, AFX spindle from SpeedTech or Detroit Speed has a bolt on product which I believe corrects some downfalls of the factory geometry but not like their non-bolt on products.

[Left Lane Brain]

This guy has a write up of a RideTech install

http://www.leftlanebrain.com/frame-off-restoration-update-2-install/cutlass-coilover-suspension-install-4/

Hi Jeff70,
Thanks for the link! Just a quick adjustment to the link to go directly to the coilover install writeup:
http://www.leftlanebrain.com/ridetech-coilover-suspension/

Jaybe2 (https://www.pro-touring.com/members/52748-Jaybe2),
I'm very happy with the handling after the complete install. It is a night and day improvement. It was a little low for my taste at first, and so I upped the spring rate from 700 to 750 lb/in in the front to help raise the car some (I have a big block with AC and power everything, so heavy) and ridetech was happy to help on the phone. I use the car for similar purposes as you hope to, mostly cruising, but I wanted safe, crisp, and responsive handling. This car absolutely drives on rails now, even compared to my BMW M Sport.

Thanks,
LEFTLANEBRAIN

[BMR Sales]

Good point about the geometry correcting products. No point in throwing your hard earned $ at bling.
Budget will be a big factor.



Just had a customer that Blinged everything on a Chevelle, Chrome & Fake Chrome everywhere. Had Cheap Chinese eBay A-Arms and was complaining about my Springs. The best advice I can give, is do some homework, and then buy products that were designed to work together

[chuckd71]

If you don't want to do any frame surgery I think I'd give UMI or Speedtech a shot. I have Ridetech lower control arms, and front/rear coilovers (since it was an easy install when swapping out my ridepro e3 and shockwaves) and they are ok, but even with the front screw as high as it will go the car is still too low. I have ATS spindles and bought the parts Ridetech had recommended, but this time it just didn't work out. Probably have 1,500 miles on the setup, it would be more but the car hasn't been running. As soon as I can find a suitable replacement (likely the GW extended travel setup) these are coming out ASAP. Not bashing Ridetech, just saying that advice is sometimes worth what you pay for it and you might be better off buying everything at once if you don't want to risk having to redo something. For my part I would rather trial and error some shocks than give up my spindles. Live and learn.
The people at Speedtech and Matt's Classic Bowtie are top notch, would recommend both of them 100%. Ridetech was hit or miss, mostly hit though to be fair, and they did help me out when my Ridepro decided to stick itself in some weird rebooting loop, which they certainly didn't have to do. I'm very happy with the quality of their brackets and control arms too (and the muscle bar, which I've since sold). A friend of mine loves his BMR and it looks nice as well.
TL;DR - It's probably hard to go wrong. Spend the extra to buy American, the service after the sale can be worth the price.