Recommendations for the first step - A body

[gumbygto]

I need to replace the springs & shocks & uca rear bushings (I'm pulling the one legger rear and putting in an anti spin rear) on my 68 Cutlass. While I'm there I'm going to put some modern tires/wheels on the car. I'd love to do the entire suspension now, but it's not in the budget (maybe next year). My goal is to upgrade the ride from it's current "couch" status to a little more spirited performer.

Everything right now is stock (rubber bushings, sway bars, etc).
Should I upgrade the sway bar size?
What would be a good starting point for the springs/shocks?
Should I upgrade the all the rear bushings to del a lum or similar?
I was thinking of 245/45/17's for tires (Firehawk Wide Ovals).

Thanks
Scott

[PT Goat]

My advice would be to lay out an optimal plan for the whole car, and get there one piece at a time as the budget allows. But don't cut corners! This way you should be able to avoid doing things twice (and sometimes 3 or 4x). You want to avoid spending $ on a partial upgrade that you end up replacing later. I bought new stock springs, then bought Eibachs, and bought KYB shocks and then replaced them with Bilsteins. I can give you a dozen other examples.

Wheels and tires is a great place to start, but keep your future plans in mind. Like clearance and backspacing for bigger brakes, or rear tire size if you plan on mini-tubbing.

New swaybars, springs, shocks are all important items, but should be part of your overall plan. For your rear suspension, I'd just buy new upper and lower control arms. By the time you buy bushings, and pay to have them swapped (or buy your own press), you've spent too much $ and you still have stock arms. Someone else can chime in on what would be a nice rear combo on your Cutlass. Good luck!

[jackfrost]

go for some Bilsteins and higher-rate drop springs. i think this will be your best bang-for-the-buck.

then, like PT Goat said, just go for aftermarket arms instead of putting bushings in your stock arms.

figure out if you're going to change the front suspension to aftermarket stuff BEFORE you decide on front bushings, like Del-A-lum's. you don't want to have to buy those twice.

also, rebuilding the steering is fairly inexpensive, and will improve a lot of how it feels on the road.

[gumbygto]

Thanks for the responses. I certainly do understand the need to plan ahead for future upgrades. It costs enough to do it once, let alone 2 or 3 times.

My goal is to upgrade the braking system (currently stock disk/drum) to an 11" Baer brake kit (front & rear), put on an aftermarket front suspension (like an sc&c kit). Basically, improve the handling & be able to drive it anywhere & everywhere in comfort. Plus, I want to make sure its reliable. I do not plan on auto x or any racing with this car.

I guess my original question was to find out what the a body guys use for springs/shocks - to find out what works well and to avoid what doesn't work. I've got to replace them now so I might as well get the right type & quality for my application.

Scott

[gumbygto]

Well, after countless hours reading and searching, thinking I had the right idea and then confusing the heck out of myself ..... I called Marcus at SC&C. He took the time after 5 pm to talk me through everything. Thanks Marcus! I've decided on the Street Comp Stage II Plus kit and I also ordered springs from him. He told me about the price reduction on Bilstein shocks at Summit so I ordered shocks from them when we were done talking. I can't wait 'till everything arrives.

As for tires, Nitto 245 or 255 45 17's should do the trick. Now I need to pick out wheels.

[scott_fx]

hey gumbygto. did you ever get the setup installed? if so how do you like it?