I'm also a huge fan of the body lines on the quarter panels- my eyes are just drawn right to them.
BUILD THREAD Sweet Johnny & Gina: A Love "Two Large" To Fail
- Thread starter Sweet_Johnny
- Start date
yup and the tail lights were verticle like previous yrs 68-72' which weren't yrs i favored A bodies pre 70 & post 67 ut worked well on those 78-80 Gs. correction i hated the chevelles of that era. 1970 monte ss is my all time fave, the pontiacs were nice, olds & buicks had the looks where chev failed. lol
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Johnny,
I know you've kept these nice suspension parts slated for the El Camino, which is built more for performance. What performance upgrades do you have planned for the Cutlass? If you know the El Camino will be off the road for long period of time, then perhaps use the parts on the Cutlass. Looks like you'll be driving the Cutlass more, you may as well make a nice, enjoyable handling driver out of it.
I know you've kept these nice suspension parts slated for the El Camino, which is built more for performance. What performance upgrades do you have planned for the Cutlass? If you know the El Camino will be off the road for long period of time, then perhaps use the parts on the Cutlass. Looks like you'll be driving the Cutlass more, you may as well make a nice, enjoyable handling driver out of it.
Originally I planned on keeping the Cutlass 100% stock, then decided that minor upgrades to the 305 would be fine so long as the parts were all factory performance ones aside from headers (I know, 305). I'll also be swapping in a TH350 with a mild stall converter, and the interior will be getting multiple changes, but ones that are very easily reverted back to stock. I hadn't ironed out the suspension yet but had intended to use 450-500# springs up front and 150# out back in conjunction with some better control arms and most likely Bilsteins of some kind. My real struggle is simply admitting that the Camino is much, much further away from seeing the road than I'd hoped, and taking its parts makes it real. I believe you guys are right though- I should install what I have and USE IT.
You could still keep the Cutlass relatively stock with a few factory suspension upgrades. Better springs, F-41 swaybars,( or the swaybars that you already have) a set of Bilsteins or KYB Gas adjust shocks, and add some of the factory braces. I guarantee you'll feel a day and night difference in handling and stability.
My Malibu had Hotchkis springs and KYB shocks. Once I added F41 sway bars front and rear, it handled way better. I also added the jounce bars and a rear trailer hitch.
It really doesn't take a whole lot to get these cars to handle decently. I used F-41 springs in the front, cargo coils in the rear, KYB shocks, jounce bars with a GP cross brace, 36 mm GTA front swaybar and F-41 rear swaybar, fender to core support braces, rad support X-braces, and a Curt class II trailer hitch.
I also used Energy Suspension body mounts. All these additions have greatly improved the handling .,,and I boxed the rear lower control arms.
While the car does already have the F41 setup from the factory, those 420/140 springs are shot- I can push either end down multiple inches by hand. The shocks are bad too, of course. I don't have a rear seat brace and would have to double check to see if I've got the radiator X bars, but poly body mounts are on the list. And although I could, I won't take them from Karma. I wasn't going to mention it until I installed it but I picked up a NOS AJ47 hitch a while back that'll get mounted to a rear frame brace.... tucked behind a fiberglass bumper if I can ever make that happen.
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Were those drop springs by chance? Also, what rate were they?
And thanks for chiming in guys, I appreciate the feedback, tips, and collective knowledge that you all have to offer.
They are drop springs, but I bought them back in 2008, so I couldn’t tell you much about them. The front I actually had to cut, as the front sat way too high.
just grabbed a set of BMR springs for my GP, hopefully I have a better experience.
