Hey Cory,
zbugger is absolutely right in stating, “To start, I'd suggest inspecting and replacing your steering components. Tie rods, Idler arm, bushings up front. Also make sure your steering box is ok.”
For the best results, make sure the suspension fundamentals are sound and then proceed with the performance aftermarket goodies.
There are numerous things you can do to that 76, that will improve the handling and be a progression towards building a full out G-machine. To stick around the $1000 budget we would recommend the following upgrades:
Performance Coil and Leaf Springs- Higher rate, performance springs will lower the stance of your Camaro, tighten up the handling, and improve the overall feel. Since you will be lowering your car and thereby reducing the suspension travel, higher rate springs are necessary to keep the car from bottoming out. It’s important to change springs when building a performance car, as the factory springs are most likely sagged out, and did not originally have the optimum spring rates as far as handling is concerned.
Sway Bars- Properly engineered sway bars make a huge handling improvement and will offer you the most bang for your buck as far as performance mods are concerned. Simply sway bars connect the left and right sides of the vehicles suspension with a bar or tube that twists as the car rolls during cornering. Higher rate, stiffer sway bars allow less twist and therefore allow less body roll because as you turn corners the sway bar applies force to the opposite corner, which in turn pushes the body up right, reducing body roll and sway. Enjoyable driving on a curvy road, autocross course or race track requires the car to have balanced, neutral handling without being tight (understeer) or loose (oversteer). Premium performance sway bars give you this result.
Shocks- When improving suspension components on the car like springs, and sway bars, it is very important to get high quality, performance shock absorbers to control the spring and suspension movement. You will need more car control during performance driving and the shocks will help tremendously. These performance shocks will minimize excessive suspension travel up and down thereby keeping the tires on the ground providing needed traction. Another benefit is reduced or the elimination of wheel hop when accelerating and braking.
These 3 modifications are simple, bolt in installations and can easily be done in one afternoon at home.
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