complete suspension, 71 camaro

[71rs]

looking for advice/input/commentary/discussion on suspension plans for my 71 camaro.

first, about the car. it's a work in progress (aren't they all), but these are the components that the suspension will be accomodating:
71 camaro
aluminum-headed 406 smallblock, flywheel HP ~ 450
T56 6spd manual
9" rear w/ 3.90 or 4.00 gears, truetrac or trak-loc
16x8 wheel, 4.5" BS, toyo RA1 255/50/16 all the way around

my goals so far include:

1) keep weight in check. hollow sway bars, aluminum center for the 9" rear, etc., where possible/practical

2) balance of street, strip, and track manners. No 90/10 shocks, no 900 lb/in coils, no slapper bars/caltracs. If I can cut a 2.0 or better 60ft, get above 0.9g on the skidpad, and keep the ride nice enough to keep all my teeth in my head after a 2 hour cruise, I'll be happy.

For frame of reference:



* My 1991 Z28's FE2 (stiffer IROC-rate springs/swaybars) suspension is definitely too soft, I want something more "sporty" than this

* my 2002 miata (with factory suspension package including stiffer springs and bilstein shocks) is more of what i'm looking for

3) avoid the use of solid bushings in the rear end (I presently have solid aluminum bushings in the front spring eyes, and they transmit an obnoxious amount of gear noise to the car)

4) maintain a near stock ride height with no rake (i.e., flat) for multiple reasons - front tire clearance in the wheelwells, header clearance, etc. etc.

So, what I think I'm looking for is:

1) rear leafs in the 170-185lb/in range, stock or near stock ride height, with some kind of anti-axle-wrap design (most of the leafs towards the front, double-front eye, etc.) Herb Adams front perch modification (re-drilled holes 3/4" higher in perch). Preferrably rubber bushings, metal to metal bushings as a last resort. How quiet can the lined bushings (i.e. del-a-lum types) be?

2) front coils in the 450-500lb/in range, with stock or near stock ride height. More (+) caster, (-) Caster around 0.75*. Tubular arms if they offer a weight savings or geometry improvement. SC&C street-comp stage 2 stuff?

3) Good shocks all the way around (bilstein or koni, potentially QA1 or others but I'm not familiar with their stuff much).

input/commentary?