Low dollar verses high dollar susp upgrade

[64skylarkls1]

Hey all,

I'm a newbie to this forum and to this 60's and 70's era of car collecting. I've been a street rodder (pre 1949 cars) for many years but also have a 98 WS6 Ragtop TA. I recently purchased a solid 64 Skylark convertible as I've wanted to do a mid 60's mild custom for some time now and this car is the perfect candidate. The power plant will be a LS1 with 6 speed from wrecked 02 camaro.

In recent weeks I've been researching suspension for this early A body and and I'm not yet convinced that the benefit you get from the upgrades is worth the big money spent. It's a no brainer with a '32 Ford that came with a straight axle. Dropping in an independent front suspension made a huge impact on not only the performance but also in safety.

Front end: This A-body came with a nice independent front suspension. I want the car to be about 3 to 4 inches lower all the way around. As long as the stock A arms are in good shape with new bushings, why not just use 2" dropped front spindles, cut a coil out of the original spring, pick up a used heavier '66 stablizer bar and finish it off with a good stiff shock? Can someone convince this engineer that spending more money up front will yield enough benefit to justify it?

Same goes for the rear suspension. I know the rear axle should probably be changed going for a posi unit but again, its all relative. I'm not taking this car to the strip, it will be my daily driver when finished. I'm thinking new bushings in all the pivot arms, a 1" stabalizer bar, shorter coil springs and a stiff shock.

Once again, could anybody convince me that spending thousands of dollars on the aftermarket goodies is going to be worth it? Is there good hard data to back it up? I will be going with disc brakes front and rear as I have the components already and the performance gains are undenyable.

I'm sure interested in what you all have to say.

[gearheads78]

Welcome to the site. I wonder where you heard about this place

[64skylarkls1]

Originally Posted by gearheads78

Welcome to the site. I wonder where you heard about this place

Yup!!! It's me!!! Here's to ya!

[rogue]

You can spend all the money you want on your car. In the end, its the driver that makes the car go fast. My own car is setup with modified stock subframe, hotchkiss leafs, iron big block, carb, no power steering. Old school technology compared to some of the cars in the community. It puts down lap times comparable with some of the top dollar cars on this site.

Fancy parts are nice and I'm glad we have access to all the great aftermarket support. In the end, it doesnt matter how many go-fast parts or how much money you throw into a car. Its how its driven. I've been lapped by a miata with 130whp. Anyways. Build your car how you want it. Theres nothing wrong with keeping a car semi-traditional when it comes down to the suspension and build. Can they keep up with a high dollar build? Yes.

The best go-fast part you can buy is track time/seat time. And driving instruction at events.

[Vegas69]

Bring it into the 21st century with some basic suspension parts, alignment, and most importantly a sticky set of tires and you'll be amazed.

[64skylarkls1]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

Bring it into the 21st century with some basic suspension parts, alignment, and most importantly a sticky set of tires and you'll be amazed.

Meaning.. It already has "basic suspension parts" on it What would make a BIG improvement for the money over a freshened lowered stock set up like I mentioned

[GregWeld]

Welcome to the site!! 'Tis the best!!

Okay - my own real time seat time -- no "engineering" included. I had the stock frame under my 56 Nomad - I decided to upgrade to some new tubular A arms... what these arms did - was improved the straight line tracking because I could now dial in some caster... BIG IMPROVEMENT. You go from 0 or 1 degree of caster to 5 -- BIG difference...

Now -- The tubular A arms also allowed me to run coilovers -- I have QA1 - but that's just a brand -- what this allowed me to do is --- SET RIDE HEIGHT --- and Dial in the rebound on the shock to SUIT ME... and the ride I want.

So another BIG improvement... Expensive yes --- Worth it..... Well -- for me it was so worth it -- I bought a whole new frame! LOL But now my handling is 100 X's better and the ride is better - because the frame is 'stiffer' - and because it has coilovers all the way around... and Rack and pinion steering is responsive and tight - as is the suspension...

But I did it "because I could" and "wanted to".... So in the end - it's still as you said - depends on how you're going to use it and what turns your crank.

[Vegas69]

I'll just apologize in advance.... http://www.detroitspeed.com/productp..._6472abody.htm Dse stuff is top of the line and will get you right where you want to be...

[Mkelcy]

Originally Posted by 64skylarkls1

Hey all,

I'm a newbie to this forum and to this 60's and 70's era of car collecting. I've been a street rodder (pre 1949 cars) for many years but also have a 98 WS6 Ragtop TA. I recently purchased a solid 64 Skylark convertible as I've wanted to do a mid 60's mild custom for some time now and this car is the perfect candidate. The power plant will be a LS1 with 6 speed from wrecked 02 camaro.

In recent weeks I've been researching suspension for this early A body and and I'm not yet convinced that the benefit you get from the upgrades is worth the big money spent. It's a no brainer with a '32 Ford that came with a straight axle. Dropping in an independent front suspension made a huge impact on not only the performance but also in safety.

Front end: This A-body came with a nice independent front suspension. I want the car to be about 3 to 4 inches lower all the way around. As long as the stock A arms are in good shape with new bushings, why not just use 2" dropped front spindles, cut a coil out of the original spring, pick up a used heavier '66 stablizer bar and finish it off with a good stiff shock? Can someone convince this engineer that spending more money up front will yield enough benefit to justify it?

Same goes for the rear suspension. I know the rear axle should probably be changed going for a posi unit but again, its all relative. I'm not taking this car to the strip, it will be my daily driver when finished. I'm thinking new bushings in all the pivot arms, a 1" stabalizer bar, shorter coil springs and a stiff shock.

Once again, could anybody convince me that spending thousands of dollars on the aftermarket goodies is going to be worth it? Is there good hard data to back it up? I will be going with disc brakes front and rear as I have the components already and the performance gains are undenyable.

I'm sure interested in what you all have to say.

Several observations:

No doubt, the front suspension on the '64 Skylark is significantly improved over the stock suspension on the '32 Ford, it is, after all, 32 years newer, incorporating 32 years of development of suspension and tire technolgy.

This is 2009 and the Skylark's suspension design was laid down (probably) 47 years ago. Similar to the '32 Ford to '64 Skylark gap, there has been substantial development of suspension and tire technolgy in that period. The "expensive" aftermarket products incorporate a lot of that development.

That said, if the improved handling isn't worth it to you it's not worth it. Use your drop spindles, don't do anything to correct the camber curve, cut the coils without changing rates, throw some sway bars in, top it off with KYB shocks and call it good. If you're happy with that no one here can or should talk you out of it.

And I'd certainly take Norm's advice - the man knows what he's talking about.