86 Regal Ride Height

[kifried]

Hi, I'm looking into what shocks and springs to put on my 86 Regal Limited. Several years back my father had installed some stock 91 caprice springs and the car is really high (the rear bumper is probably 3' - 3.5' from the ground). Does anyone have any information about what the stock ride height would be for an 86 regal. I've been looking at the eibach pro kit or hotchkis lowering kit. Also considering bilstein shocks. Is there anything wrong with say stock AC-Delco shocks? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Ken

 

[Geesie]

...I could go out tomorrow with a tape and see how mine rides. It's pretty much stock.

Nothing wrong with stock shocks as long as you like the stock 80s Buick ride. Me, I'm going to get a stiffer sway bar and Bilstein or KYB shocks because it's a little too floaty for my taste.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The shocks do not change things as much as a properly selected set of springs. Remember that the shocks are just there to dampen the spring oscillations and not to actually change the way the amount the wheel moves for a given input. Also, if you lower it, it may kill all of the caster in the alignment and make it have stability issues at speed. If that happens, you will need offset cross shafts on the upper control arms. I agree that the stock suspension tuning sucks-bad on these cars. However, the stock big sway bars off the V8 cars with the different sport suspensions (FE-2 or F41) do make a big difference. Also consider getting a quick ratio steering box to add more road feel. That, along with properly matched springs and shocks, and a bigger wheel and tire set, will make a gigantic difference in the way these cars handle! Then you will have to do something about the brakes, and the gearing, and the engine, and the...

 

[Geesie]

Quick question: Anyone know what the size of the stock sway bar is on the Regal Limited?

 

[kifried]

haha, yeah it's all overwhelming. I'm still trying to understand how changing one component affects 100 other components. It's often hard to grasp it all, being a newbie to all this. I have an olds 350 in the regal with a 200-r4. Unfortunately I still have the stock non-posi 2.56 rear, which definitely will have to go.

So I guess the springs are the most crucial. My riding situation now is garbage. I feel like the car is going to flip when I'm going around turns slowly, it doesn't feel low and centered, and honestly, most of the time I'm thinking, "wow that was a hairy turn, or that didn't feel too stable." What I've read on other posts is that a real good combo is the bilstein shcosk with eiback pro kit. So that is the baseline I'm gonna go with unless someone else can advise me otherwise. I haven't gotten into the sway bar issue yet haha.

 

[kifried]

royal smart, what steering boxes are interchangeable with my setup?
Thanks