NEW to the site, want ideas

[epeterson]

Just got on this site yesterday, I owned a 1977 Chevy Monte Carlo just not two weeks ago, but I sold it for a big profit and bought myself a 1971 Buick Skylark, it looks fantastic an its got a completely rebuilt 350, it sounds fantastic and its got tons of horses. The paint is spectacular but theres always more to be done, the ultimate goal for this car is to turn it into a pro touring car. And im on the site to find ideas for my car

[cactuss4]

Ahh 70 skylark was my first muscle car. Tan :)

GL!!

[Angelo]

Very nice. My question for you is do you have a direction in mind? Dropped ride hight? Big rim? Painted or polished? Brake upgrade? I only ask because I found its easy to spend money twice if you start buying or changing without knowing, for sure, what your final vision is. Best of luck to you.

[epeterson]

The ride height is something I truly love, it sots higher then most classic cars but its stock, it came like that in 71 and I love it. On the downside it has drum brakes and i'd definetley want to swap those out for some better brakes. The suspension is nowhere where it should be so i would also like to upgrade that, i like to keep the interior as stock as possible, but the exterior will probably change some, the hood is a very cool aftermarket buick gs hood with ram air, and I love that too. It has two black rally stripes on it, and those look badass, so if like to continue the rally stripes on the roof and down the back end, but I know how much changing paint around can be.

[Amatouring]

Cool Car! I see the familiar ugly blue plates on there. What part of Wisconsin are you in? To get better ideas you should give us some idea of your goals and your budget. Some of the cars on here were built with insane capabilities (on insane budgets), My cars are pretty lame in comparison, but they wouldn't even have gotten this far without a plan and a budget. What do you wish the car would do better the most? Handling, reliability, looks, stance. power? Prioritize what you want the most, ask some questions, and start thrashing.

[epeterson]

I actually just bought the car from Wisconsin but I live in Lake County IL, (right up by the border). The plan for this car is going to be more about making it more reliable than a car you can buy today. I want new brakes, new suspension and the rally stripe on the hood continued down the back of the car.

[SRD art]

Welcome to the site, and nice ride! I had 2 friends in high school that both had Skylarks like that, one was red the other black. Brings back some memories...

I have a 73 Nova I'm building for my son that sounds like will be something similar to what you're doing- a "stock-ish" look while making it safer, more responsive, and more fun to drive. You can have all that without going ballistic and turning it into a full-on pro-touring/ track car.

Some food for thought... I noticed you said you wanted to keep it stock height. Lots of folks into the pro-touring genre will tell you to slam it in the weeds, but dragging your headers on the ground isn't always the right answer for better handling and "modern driveability". However there are some definite advantages to lowering the car somewhat to help get the geometry closer to correct; geometry is key to to a good handling car. Geometry on your stock suspension is way less than desirable, consider the car was made to ride comfortably and maybe go straight a little fast.

Another inherent problem with these cars is the surprising amount of flex they have. The stock rear control arms are stamped steel and are a bit prone to bind up in performance driving. They're not designed to help the car drive like a new BMW. It has a full frame but if you pick one up from one corner you get a real education on how much metal can twist. Add worn out rubber body mounts and things are even uglier. Stiffening things up where you can is a step in the right direction.

There are several options out there for suspension upgrades. Most of what you find here on a forum like this is geared towards serious handling for autocross and road racing while still being "streetable", maybe a step more than what you are after. So answering your question will take some research and decision making on your part on what you really want.

So far it sounds like you want some simple upgrades that won't take away from the stock look. Take a look at these items to start out with- Speed Tech A-Body suspension (http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/Category_ID=247/home_id=-1/mode=cat/cat247.htm) The cool thing about the Speed Tech parts is that just bolting them on will help correct geometry issues, and we can set you up with the right shock and spring combos to improve your handling and keep it relatively close to stock height. Then if you choose to race it you can always simply adjust ride height and shock dampening for a little better performance on track day. Our control arms all have Delrin bushings, the ultimate in durability and performance for street cars. They also come with new ball joints installed so you don't have to worry about getting those separately. You'll want to make sure your front steering components are in good shape too- tie rod ends, steering links, steering box, etc.

The Speed Tech rear suspension has our "Articulink" rear control arms that truly free up binding and allow the suspension to work the way it was intended. Delrin bushings tighten things up without the negatives of poly bushings. The rear sway bar is a link type mount that works much more effectively than the more common bar that bolts to the lower arms. Speed Tech sales guys will set you up with a spring that matches the type of ride and performance you want, and if you change your tastes later on the springs are easy to swap out.

We also have many different brake packages from top vendors that we can set you up with according to your wants, needs, and budget.

There's a lot more that can be discussed about this but too much to type and read. Speed Tech parts are proven again and again on the street and track. They're reasonably priced, easy to install, and the staff truly wants you to have the best experience you can with us and with your car. For answers to more questions, give us a call, you'll find that the sales guys here will listen to you and give suggestions geared towards what you want, not try to sell you generic packages or what they want you to have. 435-628-4300

[epeterson]

Thank you so much!