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#1
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Safety and Comfort upgrades for 70 GTO
I want to make my 70 GTO more of a daily driver quality car. Translation - more comfortable and a little safer. Not interested in racing, just a fun cruiser quality car I can drive comfortably for hours at a time. Here’s a list of possible upgrades I’d like to do to get it there.
Short-term goals: Aluminum radiator Vintage Air A/C Borgeson 800130 steering gear box Fuel injection (Holley Sniper, probably) Three point retractable seat belts (Wesco) LED headlights and taillights 12 bolt rear (3.55 gears, truetrac differential) Tremec TKX TMI Products seats Long-term goals: Complete suspension upgrade (pro-touring style) Engine upgrades (goal of 500 hp with 400cid non-stroker) Speaker upgrades “Bigger” wheels (thinking 19” or 20” rears, and prob 18” on front) In terms of safety and comfort (short-term goals), what am I missing?
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Matt 70 GTO 400 4-speed "Turbos make no noise and leave the line like Baby Diarrhea!" - GTOGeorge |
#3
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For safety there may an arguement to make to do your suspension and brakes first and then do the go fast (engine, trans etc) mods..
For comfort or less road noise maybe add sound deadening material alll over the place (in the cabin, trunk under the hood etc)..
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1968 - Pontiac GTO |
#4
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This car was rebuilt/restored about 6 years ago, but essentially to original condition. It was for my dad, and that was what he wanted. Then he lost interest and never drove it, and wanted me to have it. I want to enjoy it with my young family (wife and toddler) for years to come, hence the importance for safety and comfort.
It does have newer brakes all around, front disk rear drum. I plan to add rear disks to the 12 bolt rear. the suspension is “rebuilt” with original style components but just doesn’t handle as good as I would like. (Even with a healthy front sway bar and a rear sway bar). Sound deadening is definitely on the radar as well.
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Matt 70 GTO 400 4-speed "Turbos make no noise and leave the line like Baby Diarrhea!" - GTOGeorge Last edited by PontiacMatt72; 05-28-2021 at 07:43 AM. |
#5
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Well, things i did to open the 68 GTO for long trips:
87 Octane fueled 470 CID, Holley 1050(non-cork fuel bowl gaskets) on Dual-plane. Flat HYD cam. HEI with low resistance button. (Remote module assy to firewall to install soon) 4-Wheel PDB using G-body Master CYL, 70 Front Disc, 84 Rear Calipers, 79 Rear Hats. PS using 69-70 BOX. 70 Rear Sway Bar and Boxed lowers. HD Springs. Rally IIs for assured Lugnut tightness. Low Fuel Warning, Oil Pressure Light with Rally Gauge OD Gear On Floor Shifter, Dash Toggle and Speedo-Alert setting (Automatic 3-4, 4-3 !) 95 Analog Lincoln Stereo Cassette, Speakers, wiring, 68 power Rear Antenna switch. Garmin GPS <===== do it now. Trunk: Twine, cables, Jumpbox, 2-Qts Oil, trans Fluid. Tire gauge in glovebox. (<no spare anti-freeze?) (No mechanical fan? yet.) Removed AC compressor... have not needed AC, strangely.
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12.24/111.6MPH/1.76 60'/28"/3.54:1/SP-TH400/469 R96A/236-244-112LC/1050&TorkerI//3850Lbs//15MPG/89oct Sold 2003: 12.00/112MPH/1.61 60'/26"x3.31:1/10"/469 #48/245-255-110LSA/Q-Jet-Torker/3650Lbs//18MPG 94oct Sold 1994: 11.00/123MPH/1.50 60'/29.5"x4.10:1/10"/469 #48/245-255-110LSA/Dual600s-Wenzler/3250Lbs//94oct |
#6
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I don't think you're missing anything. My wife and I daily drive ours and use them pretty much the way the factory delivered them and find them to drive perfectly fine and be plenty comfy for long trips as is.
We've added a few of the things you mentioned like overdrives for better fuel mileage, LED lights so we can see better at night. Other than that pretty happy with the cars. Anything you add above and beyond is just icing on the cake. Do what makes you feel good about it and enjoy |
#7
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Not that hard to do I put a rear camera on the license plate mount and display on my radio. If factory radio kits are out there for the video display on the rear view mirror. I also added a cruise control for trip and used a Rostra aftermarket. Not needed but I am very happy with my Hydroboost brakes (junkyard Avalanche). I also put in a Fays2 Watts link in the rear. Required a Nova fuel tank for room. What ever you do make sure that you try and only do something once. saves time, money and frustration.
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#8
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With the toddler you will need rear shoulder belts for the child seat. Easy to do and it was a factory option.
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Ed 1968 GTO (Thanks Mom) 2006 Silverado 2007 Cadillac SRX 2015 Chevy Express |
#9
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I am currently doing alot of those to my 69 however I am opting to do suspension and brakes before i put the TKX in. The LED taillights were a major upgrade they are very easy to see now
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#10
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I'm in-process with the following upgrades on my 70:
Cold Case aluminum radiator GMB aluminum water pump with cast impeller Original Air A/C and VDO blower motor Borgeson 800130 steering gear box DUI HEI and Taylor 8.2mm Thundervolt wires BMR tubular upper/lower A arms with tall ball joints BMR rear upper adjustable control arms Right Stuff 4 wheel disc big brake kit with stainless lines Viking coilover front/rear UMI rear shock tower brace PST body mounts Polyurethane bushings Original 400 (403hp/482tq) rebuilt (forged Icons/SCAT H beams) Original Qjet rebuilt Oversized RARE exhaust manifolds 2 .5" H pipe exhaust with 40 series Flowmasters Original TH400 rebuilt with heavy duty sprag and shift kit Auburn Pro limited slip differential with original 3.23s Retrosound stereo with JL 4x10/6x9s 1 gauge battery cables with RA + cable insulator tube Powermaster GM 12si-Style 100 amp alternator Powermaster Hi Torque starter with RA heat shield FatMat insulation Rally gauges 18" US Mags Rambler (gunmetal) wheels and Nitto NT555 G2 tires I'm sure there are a couple more that I've forgotten...
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1970 GTO (Granada Gold) - 400 / TH400 |
#11
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The 'best' upgrade I ever did was the ATS spindles. I tried the CPP ones on the 442, utter failure, can read my thread on it.
Sound deadening is a biggie too. You have to use both, the 'vibration' mat, and the heat barrier. I had issues with the valving on the Borgeson box, and ended up with a reman 600 from ames. The 'bird has a Flaming River 600 box. The RightStuff lower tubular arms are fine, just replace the ball joint. There is a considerable advantage in geometry in the Global West uppers, and I've tried them all, except BMR. Both A-bodies drive like new cars, people who ride with me can't believe it, it's that good. You can check my build threads and other threads, I documented a lot here, and on the oldsmobile site for the 442. .
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. 1970 GTO Judge Tribute Pro-Tour Project 535 IA2 http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=760624 1971 Trans Am 463, 315cfm E-head Sniper XFlow EFI, TKO600 extreme, 9", GW suspension, Baer brakes, pro tour car https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...ght=procharger Theme Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zKAS...ature=youtu.be |
#12
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I felt a lot better about my 67 after I put in generic shoulder harness'.
Low cost but big deal. I spent about $300 in replacing all my steering components (tie rods etc) then got a professional alignment. Car went from kinda scary to drive to fun to drive.
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1967 Firebird 462 580hp/590ftlbs 1962 Pontiac Catalina Safari Swapped in Turd of an Olds 455 Owner/Creator Catfish Motorsports https://www.youtube.com/@CatfishMotorsports |
The Following User Says Thank You to RocktimusPryme For This Useful Post: | ||
#13
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Quote:
Is the best bang for the bunch move to spend the money on the GW uppers and then generic ebay lowers?
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1967 Firebird 462 580hp/590ftlbs 1962 Pontiac Catalina Safari Swapped in Turd of an Olds 455 Owner/Creator Catfish Motorsports https://www.youtube.com/@CatfishMotorsports |
#14
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I left my 64 GTO alone for 50 years, not real upgrades except in the 2nd and 3rd Muncie 4 speed trans and the three 8.2" 10 bolt rears and the one 12 bolt rear. The engine was basically a over-bored original 389 348 HP Tri-Power engine with factory 716 heads and a few Camshafts and lifters/exhaust headers, intake systems, over the years.
Then I bought the 9" Ford A-Body Housing from Jim Butler, bought the Tom Lee Steering box, bought the 12" 1LE spindles, the Global West Upper control arms, I put later NOS factory Lower control arms on the car as they had the larger shock hole (bigger shock tube diameter) vs the 64 shock hole in the lower control arm. That was in my "fix the steering and suspension" days. I also replaced the stock 64 A-Body convertible frame with a much stronger (like NOS) frame from a low mileage 1966 convertible GTO. Then I helped a guy with his 64 GTO Coupe when he wanted to go faster and we ordered a lot of new at the time 455 engine parts, low mileage block, edelbrock aluminum heads, different camshaft, Tri-Y headers, stainless larger diameter exhaust, VOE mufflers from the Hand Family, fresh excellent front and rear bumpers, and all new brake and fuel system components. The last step has been the Explorer Rear Disc Brakes that bolt on the 9" rear, and the custom Sebring Convertible 3 point seats adapted to the factory floor mounts. The floor boards and the trunk floor were exchanged for new parts about 15 years ago. So the last steps will be adding a Hydro-boost brake system to go with the potential T-Trim Vortech supercharger blowing into the EFI NASH/warrior Intake system. The engine has a Factory 455 crank, good eagle rods, and TRW Pistons. It has been balanced. So I a lot of safety mods to go along with a larger STREET engine that should last my son's lifetime. Sorry for the long post but you can see that there were a lot of good parts out there years ago to improve the A-Body vehicles. Today there is a lot of knock-off crap that I would never put on my vehicle. Still have not decided on a EFI computer for the car. I will run Holley carbs and a BG Tri-Power intake until I decide to go Modern EFI. Tom V. ps My Sebring Chrysler 3 point seats had to pass all modern safety Crash Tests before the vehicles could be sold. Don't jerry rig the safety stuff. 1967 standards are not 2015 standards but are better than nothing. what I did on my 64 vehicle would directly apply to a 1970 GTO.
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"Engineers do stuff for reasons" Tom Vaught Despite small distractions, there are those who will go Forward, Learning, Sharing Knowledge, Doing what they can to help others move forward. |
#15
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Quote:
Exactly what I did on the 442. .
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. 1970 GTO Judge Tribute Pro-Tour Project 535 IA2 http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=760624 1971 Trans Am 463, 315cfm E-head Sniper XFlow EFI, TKO600 extreme, 9", GW suspension, Baer brakes, pro tour car https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...ght=procharger Theme Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zKAS...ature=youtu.be |
#16
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These are the rear seat belts i'm going to order. Someone at a Pontiac show had them and he gave me the name. they looked real nice. fwiw
https://www.morrisclassic.com/collec...int-seat-belts
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72 Luxury Lemans nicely optioned |
#17
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Quote:
And which global west upper control arms did you use - the “standard” (CTA-42A) or “negative roll” version (CNR-423)? I’m also eyeballing the global west steering knuckle, claims to virtually eliminate bump-steer.
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Matt 70 GTO 400 4-speed "Turbos make no noise and leave the line like Baby Diarrhea!" - GTOGeorge |
#18
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If it would not absolutely wreck the vibe of my car I would have an Apple CarPlay head unit under the dash
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468/TKO600 Ford thru bolt equipped 64 Tempest Custom. Custom Nocturne Blue with black interior. |
#19
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Quote:
To the OP, the upgrade to the suspension and brakes is a major improvement. I did the Jeep box conversion w. a reman box and replaced every front and rear suspension component including front swaybar and also installed one in the rear. I installed tubular control arms front and back, upper and lower. I like a bit more compliance in the ride so I went with KYB shocks for less teeth chattering. I installed inexpensive sound deadening (Frost King foil faced foam) throughout including under and behind the back seats and under the package tray. If I planned long cruises, aftermarket or modern seats would be my choice. Despite new seat foams and adding variable density seating area foam, the seats still feel like a cheap box spring mattress. New buckets would be a bigger improvement to comfort than all the suspension parts in the world.
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Triple Black 1971 GTO |
#20
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Quote:
https://speedtechperformance.com/pro...evelle-a-body/ I use the CTS-42 ones which are basically the ones designed for the ATS spindle. If you use the GW spindles, you would use the CNR arm. The GW spindles are nice, but they use standard inner/outer bearings. That was intentional, because you can use a handful of different spindles/brake combos. Doug's intention was to base off the wilwood hubs, and OE, so you don't have to take the big dive upgrading brakes to use the spindles. (and still have a path for big brakes). The GW spindles are an excellent option. If you look into the 'AFX' spindles you will find they have the same claims as 'eliminating bumpsteer', and the GW spindle geometry is basically the same. (I think they both use the same geometry but unsure. Both are Doug's design(s)). I think Doug sells his too as a kit only, and are here: https://www.globalwest.net/kit423-ne...1-spindle.html Pretty sure GW offers F body spindles-only, opposite of what SpeedTech does. Odd. Maybe it's a 'professional arrangement', not sure. .
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. 1970 GTO Judge Tribute Pro-Tour Project 535 IA2 http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=760624 1971 Trans Am 463, 315cfm E-head Sniper XFlow EFI, TKO600 extreme, 9", GW suspension, Baer brakes, pro tour car https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...ght=procharger Theme Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zKAS...ature=youtu.be |
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