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Tightening up the basics
I was wondering where i should start for tightening up my 70' nova's front end. I swapped out the inline 6 for a 305 v8 (FREE heh) and now that i got so much more power/speed, i'd like to tighten up the front end in small increments until i can afford a powersteering setup and a 1 1/8" sway bar. I know beefing up the front will actually tighten up the rear. Which is my problem, I like to get it sideways and what not (in controlled circumstances, of course, show the pesky import kids i can slide too lol) but without powersteering, it's kind of a PITA to get it back straight without loosing an arm or wrist lol. I'm thinking a suicide knob would be a little helpful too. But i was thinking, of adding some poly parts to the front. What should i go with first? When i add a sway bar i'll add poly bar mounts/bushings and end links, but until then, what would be a good addition to give it some more curve-manners. because when it rains, it slides. With 2.73 gears nonetheless. (Oh, also anyone wanna trade a running 95 neon (2.0L SOHC) for a good rearend? heh) Rear coilovers are coming during christmas, and new front springs (thinkin 1" lowering. cuz the front sits quite a bit higher right now thanks to the previous owner adding 10 "spring helpers" in each front spring lol)
Thanks
Dallas
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A number of companies make poly bushing kits for your car....... A steering knob???? NOW you ARE talking about an arm buster!!!!! The same companies offer sway bars
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A little over a couple of decades ago I rebuilt the front suspension on my '69 GTO, and the things that really made it handle well was replacing the rubber bushings with urethane and some carrera shocks. Urethane on the swaybar will help, but putting them in the A-frames made a difference too. The biggest improvement I did was to get some really nice tires. That last addition made that goat stick like glue.
I used to be able to take this one certain set of curves at around 70 MPH, after the bushings and such I'd almost hit 80. It was handling much more solidly though, but the tires were still screaming and sliding. Eventually, I replaced the old Kelly Superchargers with a set of Eagle VRs and I went through them at about 95 MPH with no complaints from the tires. Damn things were $170 a pop back then, quite a chunk of change for a kid making $3.35 at McDonalds, but a change in rubber made an amazing difference.
I'm glad you said "controlled circumstances". A word of advice, know the roads you are driving. I was a stupid teenager when I was doing that, and I paid dearly. Unfortunately, I only had the new tires on my car for 8 hours before I wrecked it. Driving like a bat-out-of-hell flying through some s-curves on a road that just opened up. and I had never driven it before. It ended up dead ending into another road, no signs, no nothing. I figure I hit the curb head on doing at least 75. Luckily, I was fine, but the goat wasn't.
It's a blast having a car that will handle, just be careful.
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Thanks for all the tips guys! The car doesn't have a sway bar on it right now, so hopefully I can just bolt one on. That would be great! I have driven FWD cars most of my life (sometimes going out driving a friends RWD camaro or stang, or when i was 10 i would drive my moms old 86 monte SS 350) I grew up in the woods of Tenn. so i started driving on ice/snow at a very early age in old pickups, but when i got my drivers liscense, i have only driven 1 RWD besides this nova and that was a 5000lb caprice classic estate fully loaded wagon! so putting the same amount of power (well, i little more actually) into my nova with the engine from the caprice (same rearend gearing too..or close.) it's a whole new world of going through curves lol. i know the saying "muscle cars are great race cars...if your going in a straight line" lol. Especially with no power steering and the 6cyl suspension on an 8 cyl car. I really appreciate the help/suggestions.
Yeah, I agree, only stick to roads you know. From 17-19 i was really wreckless, BUT i never got into an accident. I guess snow driving helped out. I would jump railroad tracks, get my van on 2 wheels around curves, ditch diving, if i was backing up and there was a big bush in the way, just run over it, just all kinds of stuff that shouldn't be done, ESPECIALLY in a dodge caravan! lol. Then i got a chevy celebrity, that car wasn't tortured as severe, but it was ragged on for the 2 years i had it. Then my son was born, and I calmed down. I know about tires being expensive too. I make $9.50/hr, after child support and taxes/rent/phone, lights, water insurance, gas, car repairs..i make about $2.00/hr. lofl. Having no roommates sucks, but i guess i can't say that unless i've actually had one heh. So tires mostly come from the junkyard, but I got a nice set of slot mags at the yard (14x7, 14x9) that i'm going to put on the nova and im going to wrap them in nice sticky rubber. Just adding NICE USED tires to the rear made a difference. hey, at $15 a pop ON nice chrome rims, you can't complain!
Dallas
