I have ordered :
> Edelbrock 3 point strut tower brace
> Canuck Motorsports 1.6 front/rear lowering springs
> UMI Performance Steering brace(wonder bar)
> KYB GR2 struts & shocks(not yet ordered)

I have already upgraded rear sway bar to whatever the 90 base bird has and may do same with front bar(from my parts car)
And I am running non-stock 16" Hotwheels w/ 245/50/16 Avon tech M550 A/S tires(supposedly an Ultra High Performance All season at Tirerack)

The things I'm not sure about are the strut brace which is specified for 85 and up Firebird. My car is an 83 TA, so I'm hoping I wont have a problem with installation. I have stock carb/intake w/functional CAI bulge hood. The application chart said it will fit 85+ carbed so I assume that it should fit or be easily made to fit.

The CM lowering springs also concern me due to the 1.6 drop from stock. Will these cause rub problems?
And the KYB GR2 struts/shocks(non yet ordered). Will they be ok with the 1.6 drop? They dont say whether they can be used on lowered setup's or not.

 

i believe the strut brace has an issue with the location of the ac compressor.

 

if that is true then I will have a perfect fit, because the A/C system has been completely removed.

 

I am pretty well set on the KYB GR2 struts but I am still unsure which to get for the rear. I was going to get the GR2 shocks but considering the small difference in price I wonder if the KYB Gas-a-just shocks would be better? Do you think I should keep everything matched up or would I be better off using the GR2's up front and the Gas-a-just's out back?

I'm planning to order these from summit tonight so speedy opinions would be great. Thanks.


Well I got the STB and I was mocking it up and it appears the strut towers are different. On my 90 the brackets sat flat on top of tower and had plenty of room, but when I mocked it up on my 83 TA it didnt even have enough room on the tower to sit flat. It hung off the front of tower about 3/4 inch or so. I'm not sure though because the TA has struts/shocks that are originals with 230,000+ miles on them and they are well past blown out. So its very possibly they are bent. I know the camber adjustment seems to be very different from side to side which tips me off that the camber may have been adjusted due to a bent strut. And based on poor steering wheel return I'm thinking the caster adjustment is WAY too negative which may be the reason I dont have space for the STB mount. The previous owner had spacers inserted in front springs to limit travel which was probably due to the bent struts.

I'm going to order new mounting plates as well as new struts/shocks, so hopefully when I get all that put in the available space for STB mounting brackets will be plenty. If not I will have to fab up some bracket adapters.

 

A STB without a solid upperstrut mount is useless. I got the ones from Spohn, but Hotpart sells them too.

Also, what about some sort of Subframe connectors? I would absolutly put a set on the car.

 

Just a quick update. I got my struts/shocks and mounts from Summit Racing, and was planning to have the entire car done today, but unfortunately Summit sent me a defective Strut mount so I had to call and order another and I gotta send this one back for refund in the morning. The bearing was missing the seal on the bottom side. Thank God I caught it before putting it on.

Anyway, after installing the rear springs and shocks the car was very noticably lower, however one side was about an inch from the wheel lip and the other was about 3 inch's from the wheel lip. I messed with the springs a bit, then switched them side to side and the lean was still there. So I put car on level surface and took measurements, and discovered that one of my front springs must be broken. Good thing I ordered springs.

Summit sent my new part out overnight air so I should have it Tuesday since they dont ship on weekends which really sucks.

I'll update again after everything is done.

 

update?

 

Well due to the idiots at Summit sending me a defective part and then sending the wrong part, I didnt get to the job quick enough so I lost my access to an alignment rack. i dont have the money to get an alignment done, so I'm holding off on the front parts until late August when I can get on an alignment rack again. But I have been considering getting the stuff donw and doing the alignment the old fashioned way. If I do then I'll update this at that time.