1972 Chevelle First Classic car

[1972gto]

Hello,This is my first post here. I just bought a 72 chevelle with a 350 and manual tranny. Its my first time owning a classic so bear with me. The car is in generally good condition, just need some interior work, repaint and small rust spot that needs taking care of. Id like to change the suspension to something newer and more comfortable. Its just going to be a weekend cruiser so not looking for something for the autox track, id like comfort and stability. I really like the umi stuff, my uncle has all their stuff and viking coilovers for his 72 gto but he's going for a 750 whp ls3 6 speed build, im eventually gonna go for and ls swap but the most i wanna make is 450 to 500 whp. Which kit do you guys recommend i get?(umi or other shop). For the brakes, my uncles got 2010 camaro ss brakes he pulled from the junkyard, ive been thinking about getting c6 brakes and brackets from kore3. I dont have the smallest budget but not the biggest one either. Thank you for your help.

[raustinss]

Definitely a congrats and a good youre on the right track , fix the suspension and brakes before trying to go faster. Id suggest speedtech, umi, detroit speed and abc performance. They re all basically the same with small differences. If youre considering swapping out the brakes consider using speedtechs spindle , this will allow you to use any c5-7 corvette brakes . Hope this helps , keep us updated

[1972gto]

Thank you, I will take a look at those spindles. Power can always wait, but the cars needs to be ready for cruising as the season is just beginning. Where im from car season is in the winter, no snow or rain and coldest it might get is 40 F. Unlike summer (which is most of the year) where we see 115 everyday and 122 F on a daily basis.

[tm5nardo]

Sounds like a nice car. Post a pic when you can. Welcome aboard!

[Mechanical]

Sounds like a nice car. Post a pic when you can. Welcome aboard!
Sounds like the start of a fun project. I have a 72 chevelle and went with QA1 for suspension (coil overs all around) and wilwood brakes (6 piston up front, 4 piston in rear)

the ride is smooth and allows you to adjust the height to your liking
The brakes feel like a modern car !

What stance are you going for? Wheel size/backspacing will come into play

[1320str8liner]

Sounds like the start of a fun project. I have a 72 chevelle and went with QA1 for suspension (coil overs all around) and wilwood brakes (6 piston up front, 4 piston in rear)

the ride is smooth and allows you to adjust the height to your liking
The brakes feel like a modern car !

What stance are you going for? Wheel size/backspacing will come into play


What made you go with QA1 over UMI or others that offer suspension packages? Im in the research phase, just curious as to what your opinion was

[pitts64]

If you going to put those big wheels on it and make it modern why not use a newer car.

I would just put a Lee 14:1 with 30 pound box.
Adjustable uppers like SPC.
.9 and .5 tall ball joints.
Adjustable rear control arms Spohn Delsphere.

The factory disc/drum brake set up is nice if you use quality shoes like the Porterfield performance street. They sell the same compound in pads as well as shoes. Having the shoes and pads match really makes a difference. Also remove the rear self adjusters and adjust by hand. That way you can keep the side to side bias balanced. People have no idea how mush trouble a pulling rear wheel can cause. Most dont even know how good that brake system is because the self adjusters usually never tighten the brake shoes up enough..

4 Spoked rally wheels in 15 x 7
4 Cooper Cobra 225/70r15 tires. They are coming out with vintage looking radial tires, like those cool looking Firestone tires from the 60s.. Any vintage wheel look better then those big goofy circus wheels some people use today..
Paint it a nice color like Plum or silver blue.

And go have fun..

For engine I would put a nice low compression 454 and keep three speed if it one the tree. Three on the tree is one of my favorites. You have to shorten the transmission throws though.

[jetmech442]

Hey 1972gto,welcome to the rabbit hole , lol. Your post sounded a lot like mine about 10 years ago, I never considered autox or track days, just wanted it to turn and stop better. It's hard to go wrong with the vendors here, especially if you’re looking for an engineered kit that works well together. UMI, Detroit Speed, BMR..etc.
Pitt64's suggestion of the Lee box, tall ball joints and SPC uppers are some of the best first mods to make. The Bj's and upper control arm correct the backwards camber and get you much closer to modern alignment specs-I did those first and it’s what kicked off my car to what it is today. The next thing for me would be springs and shocks. Shocks being about the most critical part of the suspension in my mind. Varishock, QA1, Viking....all have that new shock valve technology that the older "thin" shocks area lacking. Plenty of opinions abound for those companies, I'm a fan of (and use) Varishocks.
For brakes, the Stock D52’s have great stiffness and stopping force, especially with an aggressive street pad. Wilwood makes a great version that looks good too. But if you’re planning on bigger wheels in the future then yeha, Tobin is probs the best guy in brakes to work with especially to get you some C6 hardware that works with your spindles.