[chuckies76ta]

Hi: Wondering if anyone has experience with ride/suspension systems?

I have a 76 Trans am, and I'm thinking about doing a custom system. Right now the car has original front control arms and coil springs/ shocks. Rear has leaf springs and shocks.
I would like to firm up the suspension so the car corners better, handles like a modern sport car. What are some thoughts?


Thanks for any opinions.

[Steve C.]

If interested, different kits out there. Here is one of many........

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/QA1-H...pe7gWr4MmU7-O4

https://www.detroitspeed.com/product...n_and_chassis/



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[Steve C.]

Related. If you haven't done so considering upgrading your steering box. A topic well discussed here on PY.

On my Trans Am I choose to not use the original factory steering box with it's variable ratio.
Instead I bought a popular box with 12:1 ratio and upgraded from their standard 210 valving to a firmer 220 valving.
Valving is the key.

Absolutely outstanding out on the open road with the firmer valving.
The upgraded valving provides a firm road feel, like what you might find in a modern sporty car like a BMW, etc, yet for my needs it's adequate for around town and related parking.


.

[Steve C.]

?

Sub-frame bushings
Sub-frame connectors
New steering linkage parts; Ball joints, tie rods, pitman and idler......etc




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[78w72]

PTFB has all kinds of suspension upgrades at various performance levels, usually for better prices than the other big suspension places. There are also companies that offer coil over shock kits & 4 link rear suspensions, friend of mine just did one on a 2nd gen TA.

[JLMounce]

You can go from as mild as adding a sway bar and upgraded shocks to the stock control arms and springs, to rear link type suspensions and aftermarket sub-frames.

Depending on what your goals are and what your budget is kind of depends on the path you may want to choose.

What does the car not do now that you want it to do? How much money are you willing to spend in parts and possible labor? What is the indented purpose of the car?

[vertigto]

https://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=...4&maincatid=29

[Steve C.]

Link for the parts listed in post #5........

https://www.pro-touringf-body.com/

Again, one of many.


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[Steve C.]

Do your homework when it comes to control arms !


.

[Steve C.]

Another good company........

https://www.globalwest.net/


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[chuckies76ta]

Originally Posted by JLMounce

You can go from as mild as adding a sway bar and upgraded shocks to the stock control arms and springs, to rear link type suspensions and aftermarket sub-frames.

Depending on what your goals are and what your budget is kind of depends on the path you may want to choose.

What does the car not do now that you want it to do? How much money are you willing to spend in parts and possible labor? What is the indented purpose of the car?

I'll just try answer you all in this post. First of, Thank you all for the information.



The car has had a total restoration years ago. All new front end parts, bushings, bolts. It has new leaf springs in the back and Cal trac.


I guess from what JL Mounce is asking I may have asked to much in my first post this morning. The rear end of the car is pretty stable. It drives awesome on the highway. What I don't like is the way the front end bounces around at times. Like when you hit a dip in the road.

I got thinking about maybe replacing the front shocks with a pair of QA1. I was thinking the single valving. That would be a start in slowing the bounce in the front end.



Front end would be my issue for now and not really care about cost. But I don't want to start tearing the car apart. My use is drives in the city and fair amount of highway when I do go out.

I'm wonder about coil overs and still use the stock control arms. So I could set front end height and slow the bounce down.



Thanks again.

[chuckies76ta]

Originally Posted by Steve C.

Another good company........

https://www.globalwest.net/


.

Ya I like their products. Did the frontend of Wife's 68 Firebird with upper and lower control arms and coil over shocks with QA1 stocks.

[chuckies76ta]

Originally Posted by Steve C.

Related. If you haven't done so considering upgrading your steering box. A topic well discussed here on PY.

On my Trans Am I choose to not use the original factory steering box with it's variable ratio.
Instead I bought a popular box with 12:1 ratio and upgraded from their standard 210 valving to a firmer 220 valving.
Valving is the key.

Absolutely outstanding out on the open road with the firmer valving.
The upgraded valving provides a firm road feel, like what you might find in a modern sporty car like a BMW, etc, yet for my needs it's adequate for around town and related parking.


.

I had the steering box rebuilt years ago and I'm happy with that. Thanks

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by chuckies76ta

I'll just try answer you all in this post. First of, Thank you all for the information.



The car has had a total restoration years ago. All new front end parts, bushings, bolts. It has new leaf springs in the back and Cal trac.


I guess from what JL Mounce is asking I may have asked to much in my first post this morning. The rear end of the car is pretty stable. It drives awesome on the highway. What I don't like is the way the front end bounces around at times. Like when you hit a dip in the road.

I got thinking about maybe replacing the front shocks with a pair of QA1. I was thinking the single valving. That would be a start in slowing the bounce in the front end.



Front end would be my issue for now and not really care about cost. But I don't want to start tearing the car apart. My use is drives in the city and fair amount of highway when I do go out.

I'm wonder about coil overs and still use the stock control arms. So I could set front end height and slow the bounce down.



Thanks again.

These cars are horribly undersprung as they were designed. Shocks that lack much in the way of rebound valving don't help that much.

Based on what you're saying here, I would probably recommend a basic spring and shock kit.

Any of the aforementioned companies make a good product that you can either piece meal together, or buy as a complete kit. This is typically preferable for most people because it takes a lot of guess work out of the equation. Especially for people like yourself that aren't pushing their car, but just want to fix some of the issues associated with the factory suspension on these cars.

Since you're not concerned about budget. My recommendation would be the RideTech Street Grip system.

Link: https://ridetech.com/product/1970-19...etgrip-system/

The big selling points for me on this kit is that it's an OEM+ type system. You're not re-engineering much in the way of the suspension, just augmenting it with some appropriate rate springs and some minor changes to the suspension geometry.

While I typically prefer a linear rate spring, the progressive rate spring provided in this kit will provide good ride quality while also providing enough rate when you're pushing the car to help keep the front tires planted.

Even though you've rebuilt the front end somewhat recently, I'd still opt for the rebuild with delrin bushings and tall ball joints. You're going to minimize deflection that can cause alignment change during cornering and the tall ball joints are going to help correct the negative camber gain issues inherent in the GM short long arm suspension system. This is going to give you more contact patch and thus more grip in the corners.

The composite leaf springs are also pretty trick pieces. They'll provide slightly more wheel rate and save a bunch of unsprung weight off the rear of the car.

The shocks provided are valved specifically for the application and the large sway bar adds more grip in the front when you need it. Because this is a street application, ride height is lowered only by about an inch. You get a bit better stance while retaining respectable ground clearance.

I don't believe that aftermarket upper and lower control arms are needed for your application. Just add a modern alignment to the above upgrades. If you decided you wanted to do some more serious handling specific driving like autocross, back road or canyon carving etc. then I would also recommend upper and lower arms that help achieve caster and camber angles beyond what the factory arms can provide.

[chuckies76ta]

Thanks Jason for the info and again to all for taking time to share ideas. I'm gonna ponder this and look at the links and check these products out. Funny you mention RideTech as I was talking to a car guy on the weekend which is what got me thinking about my ride. Thanks again. guys.

[chuckies76ta]

Just an update on the Front. I changed the front sway bar to the larger QA1 and installed QA1 single adjust shocks. I can't believe the difference in how the front end stop bouncing. I set the shocks on #8. It also quieted the front end when going over those payment cracks in the road. The response in steering is better, but it feels like the tires are planted so much nicer on the road with the noise gone. I use to hate the noise from the front end when going over small crack repairs in the pavement. It got rid of that and actually feels more like a modern drive. Thanks guys.

[R 70 Judge]

Looks good! QA1 makes really nice stuff. I saw this thread late otherwise I would’ve recommended Classic Performance Products (CPP) stuff. I’ll share my setup in case anyone else wants a recommendation.

I have CPP tubular upper and lower arms on my TA and they fit great. I went with Viking double adjustable coil overs in the front and Viking double adjustable Crusader shocks in the rear. Rear springs are Calvert with Funkhouser Racecars traction bars and shock relocation kit. It moves the shocks inboard and allows for a longer shock with more travel. The tie down mount also makes trailering the car a piece of cake. I also have Funkhouser sliders in the rear which aren’t really necessary for street use. I’m working to make my car more street friendly and will be adding a 1 1/4” front sway bar next.


https://www.funkhouserracecars.com/p...raction-system

https://www.funkhouserracecars.com/p...-spring-plates

https://www.funkhouserracecars.com/p...-spring-slider

[R 70 Judge]

Originally Posted by chuckies76ta

Just an update on the Front. I changed the front sway bar to the larger QA1 and installed QA1 single adjust shocks. I can't believe the difference in how the front end stop bouncing. I set the shocks on #8. It also quieted the front end when going over those payment cracks in the road. The response in steering is better, but it feels like the tires are planted so much nicer on the road with the noise gone. I use to hate the noise from the front end when going over small crack repairs in the pavement. It got rid of that and actually feels more like a modern drive. Thanks guys.

Did you happen to notice a significant weight difference between the factory sway bar and QA1 sway bar?

[chuckies76ta]

Originally Posted by R 70 Judge

Did you happen to notice a significant weight difference between the factory sway bar and QA1 sway bar?

Yes I did. The QA1 sway bar was somewhat heavier. By how much I don't know. I should have weigh both of them. When I read this before ordering my thoughts were it will be same weight or lighter. Front sway bars are manufactured from 1 3/8", hollow (3/16” wall) 4130 chromoly steel for a lightweight yet stiff solution.
I know how light chromoly is, but actually never gave it a second thought. Hmmm

[R 70 Judge]

Originally Posted by chuckies76ta

Yes I did. The QA1 sway bar was somewhat heavier. By how much I don't know. I should have weigh both of them. When I read this before ordering my thoughts were it will be same weight or lighter. Front sway bars are manufactured from 1 3/8", hollow (3/16” wall) 4130 chromoly steel for a lightweight yet stiff solution.
I know how light chromoly is, but actually never gave it a second thought. Hmmm

Very interesting. I expected the QA1 piece to be substantially lighter.