The whole car rattles and the shock bounces around and lingers on the frame for a second before it collects itself and keeps going again.
I know cars as late as C7 Corvette do this too.

Is this even fixable?

 

Have you checked the condition of your struts & shocks? How about control arm bushings? What size wheels & tires are on the car?
Have the coil springs been cut, or replaced with stiffer ones?...

 

I'm not saying this as a taunt or trying to sound smug, but, I keep every moving part of my car in optimal condition and I do not have the negative ride experience that you are describing. As in, I see the slightest slop in any suspension component = replaced on the spot. Every piece of rubber like the engine mounts, transmission mount, torque arm bushing, and so on get checked on a very regular basis and again, ANY slop = replacement. I allow no loose fasteners anywhere in my car's interior as "rattles beget rattles", one loose dashboard fastener quickly becomes three, and before ya know it the whole dash is flopping around like a fish outta water over every bump. My car is my daily driver, has been for almost 20 years now, but it's also my hobby to mechanically maintain it so it doesn't fall apart around me. At this point I've replaced every functional component at least once, and a bunch of em more times than I'd care to count

 

New shocks all around. everything else is stock.

89 RS Camaro. 76K miles.

 

These cars do need constant maintenance. I even had to cushion the outer door handles that rattled on certain types of bumps.

 

" the shock bounces around and lingers on the frame " Not sure what you mean by this?
What brand of shocks did you use on the rear and what brand struts for the front? Some of the aftermarket shocks and struts are worse than the originals. Old tires get hard and harshen the ride as the wear down. For the rattles you just have to find the cause. When I bought mine the door rattle was horrible. I had to replace the door seal. it shrunk up over the years and the door would move with no pressure from the seal. My door handle was next as it rattled like snake and drove me nuts as it was right in my ear.
Anything is fixable, you just have to start with one thing at a time and once all is sorted the ride will be a night and day difference.

 

Hey Vinny,

What I mean is the car does not feel solid on the ground when hits a bump or potholes, it's like it pauses for a second before it keeps going again.

I dont remember what I put on there but I can find out, I bought them after doing a search in here. I am thinking the front end needs a rebuilt because it's all stock.

Also thinking of installing subframe connectors.

I like to make the suspension more solid. Any tips will help.

The rattle I talked about is the whole car....Yes, door handles and lots of stuff rattle. The doors are very heavy on these cars BTW are there any other options for lighter doors?

 

Gotcha. These cars have been known to "float" even when new. Sounds like you just need to attack this one thing at a time as your issues sound normal for a 30+ yr 79K car.
Start up front, assuming the new struts are fine inspect the front end to see what it needs. Take it to a reputable shop if you can't do this yourself. Use of quality stock components will be fine, stay clear of "white box" parts and fix what needs fixing. You probably do have worn steering parts.
You can upgrade the sway bar bushing and links with urethane. I used adjustable struts, replaced my worn strut mounts, idler arm and center link, I added a TDS wonder bar and strut tower brace and adjusted the worm gear on the steering box. I do recommend SFC's and I used the inner Alston type that I had welded. This will help tremendously both on rattle and ride quality.
There is no such door kit that I am aware of except for door pin replacement. For the rattles just start somewhere, SFC's would be good to start as that may get rid of a few. Fix the door rattles next, I replaced my door seal, handles and window sweeps at the top of the door. Adjusted the felt guides for the window as it rattled inside the door. Between the doors and the twisty frame on these verts I think it accounts for 80-90% of the rattles.

 

Thank you for the tips. I am going to go through all this.

I am going to upgrade the engine first. Way underpowered for my liking. If have any suggestions please let me know:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ld-you-do.html

 

If you were to buy a new engine, which one would you buy?

 

I would fix the suspension 1st. Sub frame connectors would be the first thing, absolutely. I would not put a more powerful engine in until the chassis could handle it.

When you get to the engine upgrade your budget will be the determining factor on the engine you purchase. If your budget allows my choice would be the GM ZZ4.

 

Personally, I'd be putting some of that 7K into the 30 y/o suspension. Even a low powered car that handles well can be a blast to drive. You need to recognize what you want to do with the car? Auto X, Road Race or just a cool cruiser that handles better than the factory form? Other than repairing/replacing old worn out components the two components that you should spend the most on are the shocks and struts and tires, everything else you can be frugal on. You need to figure out which is the most important right now, and it sounds like your coil springs are worn out, there are a few different options, stock replacements and aftermarket, do you want to retain the factory ride height or lower the car?