L98wit

iTrader: (2)

so ive been making a list which includes:

Tubular Steering Brace (Wonder Bar) - 1983-1992 GM F-Body: Camaro & Firebird
Tubular Sub-Frame Connectors - Convertible Cars - 1982-1992 GM F-Body: Camaro & Firebird
Rear Lower Control Arm Relocation Brackets - Stock, Strange, Currie
Rear Lower Control Arms - Tubular Adjustable with Del-Sphere Pivot Joints - 1982-2002 GM F-Body: Camaro & Firebird
Panhard Bar - Tubular Adjustable with Del-Sphere Pivot Joints - 1982-2002 GM F-Body: Camaro & Firebird
KON-8292-Yshock Koni Yellow Rear Shocks - Pair - 1982-1992 GM F-Body: Camaro & Firebird
KON-8292-Ystrut Koni Yellow Front Struts - Pair - 1982-1992 GM F-Body: Camaro & Firebird

from what i see i need springs and sway bars and inner subframes. just so people know im in college so don't give me really expensive suggestions . wheels, brakes, will be next year. this seems like a solid list and the plan for this car is to be a street car and also be in auto x.

ps i thought of a strut tower brace but i heard its pointless if i have the stock caster/camber plates cause of the rubber?

so what do you guys think? am i going in the right direction?
its a vert which is why i want the inner and outer subframes and a strut bar

this doesn't have to be all spohn but i found it easier and cheaper if its all the same website

camarotucker

iTrader: (2)

Spohns wonder bar will not clear dual electric fans. The guys here say they have good luck running two sets of subframe connectors (inner,outer sets), no idea if it that would work for a vert. A hardtop would the ideal car for autocross but im sure you are already aware. The best strut tower braces are three points, I went with a two point because of my set up, with no complaints. You can always add the caster plates later on. Personal preference, I would stay away from Spohn. I think going with some different companies is a pain but allows you to get the best overall results. Keep in mind you can throw all the money and parts at the car but in the end it is all about the setup and adjustments. All and all seems like a pretty solid list.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

TDS makes a great wonderbar (steering brace) and I'm pretty sure it clears everything (I have it and dual electric fans from a 1989 trans am GTA). http://www.top-downsolutions.com/

Spohn's SFC's are great and will fit the convertibles. I have SPOHN outer SFC's and MAC inner SFC's. Not sure if the inners will work with the convertibles but I assume it will because IIRC the verts got the bracing near where the exhaust is near the passenger's front rocker panel, which is out of the way of the inner SFC's. Although you lose some ground clearance with inner SFC's. Be aware of this before you buy.

For the strut tower brace (STB), I would definitely get it if you are planning on handling seriously. They are pretty cheap (all around 100 - 150 $ or so).

The strut mounts with solid spherical bushings are a must for many reasons.
1) They are solid mounts (no flex) and this means the strut tower braces do their job to the fullest.
2) They allow for a much broader range of alignment settings and alignment is key to handling in any car. No point in all the fancy goodies if your setup is all out of whack. (ofcourse you can still get a decent alignment out of the stock strut mounts, but the aftermarket ones allow you to adjust past the limits of the stock mounts)
3) They allow more travel for your nice new expensive KONI yellow struts you want to buy. If you lower your car with lowering springs, I recommend you get these (J&M, UMI, SPOHN, etc.)

And lastly, sway bars.. I would recommend getting used ones, buy buy new bushings and endlinks for energy suspension or some other polyurethane manufacturer. Try a standard size like 34mm front / 22mm rear and work from there. If your rear has too much roll increase the rear size to 24mm. Please note: Only start playing with sway bar sizes once you have chosen and installed your springs that you like, height wise and stiffness, because you will be going crazy trying to balance springs AND sway bars at the same time. It's better to pick a spring, and work on the sway bars.

If you want to get more advanced from there, there is much more you can do such as adjusting roll centers, SAI, scrub radius, etc. but these require some more expensive stuff and might not be necessary for what you want to do (mild auto x and street).

Good luck!

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

My dual electrics fit, using the Global West version of the Wonderbar/steering box brace.

A note: I removed my Spohn strut mounts because, with my Edelbrock STB, I couldn't achieve the setting I desired. I switched to the Founders version, believing their mounts would eliminate the issue. Not the case as there was still interference. Long story short, modification to the mounts was necessary.

JamesC

L98wit

iTrader: (2)

thanks guys i will add the caster/camber plates to the list if im replacing the struts might as well change the plates. seems like this will come out to the $2500 (not including springs and strut bar). in case people are wondering i have a 5000 budget. its not a wish list its a reality list . any1 have a good website for springs? i would love to lower the car but the roads here wont allow that much without scraping the bottom so im looking for stock height but stiffer springs. thanks everyone. i have a single fan setup so wont have a problem there.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

That's a fair amount of money if you are doing the work yourself. Did you account for shipping as well?

So for the lowering issue: You have a few options here. lowering Springs, extended ball joints, drop spindles.

Since you can't lower too much that kinda writes off drop spindles since they are 2" drop only. We are left with springs and ball joints.

Lowering springs are by far the most common way to lower although they come with issues, just like any other method. For what you want lowering springs might be the cheapest choice here.

What I did was buy stock height springs from MOOG (5665 and 5662 springs) which are very stiff already. Since I wanted slightly lower ride height I bought extended ball joints (0.75" taller than stock) so this lowered the car by about that. My front sits pretty low in my opinion and I too drive the car on the street so the front is still acceptable at about 27" height.
The rear MOOG springs were cut so that it gave my car a 0.5" rake (0.5" higher in the rear than the front). Cuttin them also made them stiffer which is good because the rear moogs were a tad too soft for my taste.

Now you can play with sway bars and if ur rear rolls too much or too little in the corners you can put a smaller (to increase roll) or bigger (to reduce roll) bar.

L98wit

iTrader: (2)

sorry for not updating. i was planning on having these parts installed by a mechanic but i guess he doesn't have time for me. im guessing that if i was able to get my car high enough on jack stands to change my tranny then i would be able to install these parts myself. i bought a air compressor and gun to make mi life easier. i also bought some new headers and y pipe as the old headers were stock and i had already changed the exhaust from the cat back. also bought a zetronix zt3 wideband kit to hook up to my ebl. unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how u look at it) i got a flat tire so i decided to buy new tires for all four rims which cost me 600$ ouch (the old tires were on the car when i bought it 4 yrs ago). im gonna have to do this slowly as i only have Tuesdays and Thursdays to do anything to my car and the hurricane sandy and the snow we got hasn't helped. i was also entertaining the idea of getting an ls1 rear end sand it and paint it (the rear end will probably be installed in February) as i still got the drum rear 2.773 gears. thanks you guys.

EDIT: well i couldn't resist the urge and got myself an ls1 rear end 12" disk brakes. all i need are new parking brake cables right? man i cant wait for the summer autox!

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Wonder Bar: TDS (fits great, extra connection on it too)
Sub-Frame Connectors: Spohn or TDS (Alston)

Rear Lower Control Arm Relocation Brackets: I'm not doing these

Rear Lower Control Arms: Spohn delsphere
Panhard Bar: Spohn delsphere

Koni Yellow Rear Shocks: Yes
Koni Yellow Front Struts: Yes

If you're on a budget, do the Wonder Bar (cheap, 5 minute job by yourself) and get the rear Koni shocks and Moog 5665 springs. The rear springs fall out when you change the rear shocks. Save your money and buy the front Koni struts later.......When you have the money, do the front Koni struts. But in the meantime you'll see an extraordinary difference between stock front and Koni rear.

Front springs are harder to change. I would recommend getting the Global West Del-Alum bushings and Moog 5662 front springs done at the same time. I had a shop put these in, as I don't have the hydraulic press needed for the Del-Alum install.

I think getting the SFC done after having front and rear springs installed is better. Because the new springs should level out the car better. Then get the SFC welded in after it's leveled. My car's ride heights were anywhere from 0.5 inch to 1.7 inches lower per corner with the old sagging stock springs compared to after putting the Moog 5662/5665 springs in.

Rear control arms and panhard bar can be done later. No need to do that right away.

I'm not a big fan of strut tower braces. Better to spend that money on the Wonderbar and Hotparts/Founders upper strut mounts.

The biggest bang for your buck will come from new struts/shocks.

L98wit

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the advise. I never thought that my car would be uneven cause of the springs but Im guessing these are the stock springs which are 21 years old. I got my ls1 rear today that i bought and plan on switching it during thanksgiving break. I finished swapping the headers and man was it cold i only hope that it doesnt rain next week and that its a little bit.warmer so that i can actuqlly feel my fingers afterwards.

Ps do u know how much it cost u to get those bushings installed

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

I paid $380 to install the front springs and Del-Alum bushings.

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Yeah it's expensive labor-wise because they have to remove the whole spring/strut/a-arm assembly, then take out the old bushings and press in the new ones, and then re-assemble. If you want to save some cash, just do labor yourself and if you can't do the bushings bring the a-arms to a shop and have them press in the bushings. It would save tons of money.. Wish I did it that way looking back at all the dough I kinda 'wasted'.