1966 Chevy Biscayne 427 Suspension Upgrade

[jeff198901]

Hello,



I am looking to upgrade the suspension in my 66 biscayne 427. The car has a stock suspension which I find to be very bouncy and leans a lot when I go around a turn. I am not looking to go crazy with the suspension in this car, but perhaps add some new shocks and springs and sway bars.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do to get rid of this "floating" feeling?

Thanks

Jeff

[JustJohn]

Most of this applies to your model year as well:
https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...ghlight=impala

Basically replacing out all of your suspension rubber, tubular control arms, and these alignment specs will make you Impala drive like a car instead of a boat.

	caster	camber	toe-in
driver	4 deg	-0.5 deg	0.10 deg
pass	4.5 deg	-0.5 deg

I don't recall whether the 66 has adjustable strut rods like mine but their bushings need to be part of the rebuild.

[jeff198901]

Where is the best place to buy a bushing kit?

[jeff198901]

I was thinking of doing something like upgrading springs/shocks and possibly doing some heavy duty sway bars?

[JustJohn]

I was thinking of doing something like upgrading springs/shocks and possibly doing some heavy duty sway bars?

You won't be able to get the necessary geometry changes without at least changing to aftermarket front control arms. That, paired with a basic bushing repair/replace, will likely get you where you want to be.

Josh up there is also correct - most aftermarket control arms available (mine included) have delrin bushings now.

[jeff198901]

I am looking at this suspension kit:

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/packagedeal029

Is this a god kit?

I have a few questions about the kit:
1 - what size front sway bar bushings do i order? they are all 9.5xx roughly
2 - What are the rear track bar bushings? Do i order them "both ends the same" or "both ends different" ?

Thank you

[CampbellshotrodsAZ]

This forum is probably going to try and sway you away from the above options. Just throwing stiffer springs/shocks/sway bar at a stock suspension car is just going to be a bandaid for the weak geometry these 60's cars had. There are those on here that can explain it more eloquently than I, but to have a true "Pro-Touring" car, you'll need to get rid of all that original design.

Regarding the poly bushings, those used to be the hot ticket, but now it's shown that poly isn't all that it was thought to be. Delrin is the way to go.

I'll let ridetech better explain the differences.

http://www.ridetech.com/info/2017/03...sion-bushings/

[Rick Dorion]

You can get about 3.5 degrees of positive caster out of the stock strut rods. I'd first pull them and put Global West replacement bushings in. I went with their strut rod myself. I also have their front sway bar an lower control arm and springs. My Bel Air handles nicely.

[alocker]

You can get about 3.5 degrees of positive caster out of the stock strut rods. I'd first pull them and put Global West replacement bushings in. I went with their strut rod myself. I also have their front sway bar an lower control arm and springs. My Bel Air handles nicely.

Yep, the strut rod is a nice feature for more caster easily. The geometry is actually pretty good especially compared to other 60's cars. I use Helwig sway bars and they are a decent value.

An adjustable panhard bar is nice to have if you plan to lower the car or put decent size rubber on the rear.

Shocks really affect the ride but the budget spectrum is huge. Give us your budget and we can make recommendations.

[jeff198901]

Yep, the strut rod is a nice feature for more caster easily. The geometry is actually pretty good especially compared to other 60's cars. I use Helwig sway bars and they are a decent value.

An adjustable panhard bar is nice to have if you plan to lower the car or put decent size rubber on the rear.

Shocks really affect the ride but the budget spectrum is huge. Give us your budget and we can make recommendations.

hey! my budget is around 1500-2000. I am not looking to make my car something that corners. It is simply a cruiser. I just want to to drive real nice and look good without all the bouncing and leaning!

[andrewb70]

hey! my budget is around 1500-2000. I am not looking to make my car something that corners. It is simply a cruiser. I just want to to drive real nice and look good without all the bouncing and leaning!

Shocks play a HUGE part in not only handling but also ride quality. I spoke to Brett from ridetech extensively about this over the weekend. He gave me a street drive in the 48 Hour Camaro and I never thought a car with 1000lb/in front springs could ride as nice as that car. Of course you're not going to get springs that stiff, but then again you're not trying to spend $11K on shocks.

Using Delrin for suspension is also the way to go because it eliminates "sticksion" cause by other bushing materials. This is good for both handling and ride quality.

Andrew

[alocker]

Andrew is on to something there.

Your budget is reasonable should get you to your goals. Here is what I would do.

ridetech RQ shocks. If you plan to drag race Viking would also be a suggestion since you can set them up as a drag shock and can tune the launch.
Helwig sway bars.
Decent ball joints.
I also agree on the derlin bushings if you can find them for stock stuff. That i'm not sure off. Otherwise poly is fine.
Recommended springs.

[jeff198901]

Andrew is on to something there.

Your budget is reasonable should get you to your goals. Here is what I would do.

ridetech RQ shocks. If you plan to drag race Viking would also be a suggestion since you can set them up as a drag shock and can tune the launch.
Helwig sway bars.
Decent ball joints.
I also agree on the derlin bushings if you can find them for stock stuff. That i'm not sure off. Otherwise poly is fine.
Recommended springs.

Thanks for the reply! Could you possibly help me out with some part numbers?

[andrewb70]

Thanks for the reply! Could you possibly help me out with some part numbers?

Just call ridetech and talk to the tech guys.

Andrew

[jeff198901]

Just call ridetech and talk to the tech guys.

Andrew

I just sent them an email! If I dont hear back I will call

[JustJohn]

Also, you will have to stand over the alignment tech to make sure they don't adjust your steering using shims. Car doesn't need them due to the adjustable strut rods. Even if you tell them and they nod "yes", you'll get shims in your control arms if you don't supervise.

[jeff198901]

will make sure of this! my best friend will be doing my alignment when the time comes

[Rick Dorion]

Oh, yeah. I also installed the ridetech single adjustable shocks. Fantastic.

[jeff198901]

I found out the ridetech RQ shocks have been discontinued.

Here is what the recomended (for stock ride height)

Front: http://www.ridetech.com/applications...-series-clone/
Rear: http://www.ridetech.com/applications...ock-hq-series/

[marolf101x]

Sorry I'm a little late to the party.
Here's the quick link to all the options we offer for that platform:
http://www.ridetech.com/applications...impala-b-body/

The links you posted above are the correct smooth body replacement style shocks for your application.
As you have noted, we have discontinued the RQ shocks (Ride Quality, non adjustable). We felt the HQ (Handling Quality, rebound adjustable) dampers were a better choice all around for both ride quality and increased performance. Not everyone likes the valving I chose for the RQ shocks. That's ok as the HQ allows you to dial in the ride quality to your taste.

As stated before, if you are simply refurbishing the OE suspension, be sure to select the bushing material for your desires for the car. Personally I hate poly as it's noise when not lubricated, and can take a set after being pushed (which most suspension points will see). For performance applications I prefer Acetal-AF (Delrin with Teflon so it's self lubricating). These bushings are typically brown or black and provide minimal deflection, no noise and no "sticktion", with the trade off being a slight increase in NVH. Mostly in old cars you feel it in the steering wheel more than the seat of your pants. It doesn't really hurt ride quality.

Now, for a larger, cruising "Slow Touring" machine such as your Biscayne or my 66 Lincoln Continental convertible I prefer OE style rubber bushings. They will provide the lowest NVH at the cost of higher deflection and added spring rate (when the bushing is twisted it gains rate which becomes added to the spring.) So it's paramount to use a shock with plenty of rebound force to offset this increased rate.

Also, like mentioned before, a modern alignment will do wonders.