Suspension Redoing 30 year old front suspension, need advise please

The cc plates help with the alignment. The factory plates have rivets that have to be drilled out to make a camber adjustment but caster is almost non existent. Way more alignment precision with caster camber plates. No need for coil overs or bump steer kits... unless lowering springs are being used.
 
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The cc plates help with the alignment. The factory plates have rivets that have to be drilled out to make a camber adjustment but caster is almost non existent. Way more alignment precision with caster camber plates. No need for coil overs or bump steer kits... unless lowering springs are being used.

Yeah but in this guys case he shouldn't need cc plates. If he needs cc plates to get a factory suspension car into alignment specs he's got other issues he needs to throw his purse at first is what i was getting to
 
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What coilover kit did you have that was loud and didn't ride well? I've had three different brands and can't see how a factory spring is better in any way possible.

Honestly I’m not sure. I bought the car with them and didn’t own it long enough to really dig into it. They could’ve been poor quality or set up wrong. They clunked ever time I backed out of my driveway. And rode quite rough. In my application (Street) I prefer springs. Just my opinion based on experience.
 
Honestly I’m not sure. I bought the car with them and didn’t own it long enough to really dig into it. They could’ve been poor quality or set up wrong. They clunked ever time I backed out of my driveway. And rode quite rough. In my application (Street) I prefer springs. Just my opinion based on experience.
Many variables , most likely installer error
 
Coil overs ride better, are way easiest to install, you can adjust ride height and spring rate changes are easy and cheap.

If you are talking about MM Control arms, be careful which set you pick, each is for a different wheel placement. If you ready all the descriptions they explain it pretty well.
 
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Coil overs ride better, are way easiest to install, you can adjust ride height and spring rate changes are easy and cheap.

If you are talking about MM Control arms, be careful which set you pick, each is for a different wheel placement. If you ready all the descriptions they explain it pretty well.


Ok gotcha on the different offset(s) offered. What about the famed “offset camber bolt”? I think it’s camber? Should I put those in the stock type setup??

I don’t know that I can afford a good coilover set up right now, and I’ve always understood they’re harsher, and pricier??
 
I'm not sure what the camber bolt is, I thought that was newer cars, but I could be wrong.
Coil overs are pricier for sure.
Harsher? Maybe with the cheaper brands, but I use the MM set with koni's and I feel like everything about them is better than a standard coil spring.

It's tough, I don't want to tell people to wait or spend money they don't have, but if I would have just used all high quality in the first place I could have saved quite a bit of money in the long run.

I'd fix what you need to fix now, then compile upgrades over a period of time.
 
Coilovers are only as good as the struts you use... if you have junk struts and put coilovers on them they'll be harsh or just as clapped out as they were prior to the coilovers.
If I were just building a car to cruise on the street in nice weather I would keep it as simple as possible. I would field the options of tubular control arms with spring perches vs replacement factory arms with bushings/ball joints already installed. See which one makes more sense cost wise. It maybe cheaper going the tubular a arm round which then you'll shave a few lbs off the car and look better to anybody that bothers to look under your car lol.

Spring wise just stick with the stock springs or a quality lowering spring. If you lower your car though, remember if you don't spend the money on the strut/shocks your going to suffer in ride quality section no matter what spring or coilover setup you open the purse for. Could you deal with lowering springs on clapped out struts/shocks of course, would your girl appreciate better struts and shocks? of course should would

Not saying you have to go right to top of the line but don't fall into that pit of
trying to save some on the struts\shocks by making the mistake of purchasing marginally better quality ones over factory.

There is no camber bolt with these cars, their are camber plates on your strut tower that are non adjustable from the factory. You shouldn't need caster camber plates like I mentioned in a prior post for a stockish suspension car. They come into play when alter the height and wheel base of the car a good bit or if the car is not striaght or true which happens but should really be corrected the right way.
 
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Coilovers are only as good as the struts you use... if you have junk struts and put coilovers on them they'll be harsh or just as clapped out as they were prior to the coilovers.
If I were just building a car to cruise on the street in nice weather I would keep it as simple as possible. I would field the options of tubular control arms with spring perches vs replacement factory arms with bushings/ball joints already installed. See which one makes more sense cost wise. It maybe cheaper going the tubular a arm round which then you'll shave a few lbs off the car and look better to anybody that bothers to look under your car lol.

Spring wise just stick with the stock springs or a quality lowering spring. If you lower your car though, remember if you don't spend the money on the strut/shocks your going to suffer in ride quality section no matter what spring or coilover setup you open the purse for. Could you deal with lowering springs on clapped out struts/shocks of course, would your girl appreciate better struts and shocks? of course should would

Not saying you have to go right to top of the line but don't fall into that pit of
trying to save some on the struts\shocks by making the mistake of purchasing marginally better quality ones over factory.

There is no camber bolt with these cars, their are camber plates on your strut tower that are non adjustable from the factory. You shouldn't need caster camber plates like I mentioned in a prior post for a stockish suspension car. They come into play when alter the height and wheel base of the car a good bit or if the car is not striaght or true which happens but should really be corrected the right way.

Going with a tubular arm with factory style spring perches is what I’ll probably go with for the sake of making sure neither stock one is bent any (not likely) and they’re hard to just swap to poly bushings. MM is brand I’ll probably choose and I suppose I want the stock location deals (no offset.. what are offset ones for??)and a decent strut/spring combo chosen more for straight line acceleration than turning, but still mostly street driven so nothing radical.... recommendations?
I feel my stock springs are probably shot too, no??
I have new rack and tie rod ends, no front sway bar, so only other bushings to replace are Upper strut, ball joints (probably come with arms), are there others to be swapped?.. I’ll probably get CC plates eventually if it still doesn’t go straight.. especially if I get a spring that lowers the car much... I don’t think I want to lower it much... thank you gents
 
Update.. I found my alignment guy!!
Stick “k member” was tweaked a little.. don’t know when or how or how I hadn’t noticed it... anyway loosened the 6 bolts that hold it on and pried it back straight.. also loosened big bolt on motor mounts and got it to “clock” just a touch clockwise and passenger side header is no longer touching the subframe/K member.
thanks guys!!... I’ve got another question I’ll post separately.
 
Ok.., I finally got my alignment problem straightened out so I want to redo my suspension and would like to hear from some people with experience with different setups if possible.. of course all input is welcome and appreciated.
Rear of car has “auto part store” shocks but polyurethane bushings everywhere with tubular upper and lower rear control arms.
Front of car is stone stock save for some used 70/30 struts that maybe junk..used off eBay.. duh??
Stock springs in front.. 4cyl springs in rear(someone said it’d hook better??)
I have about $3000 to spend on front suspension/springs.. I have no idea which way to go and need help in understanding what I need.. I’m sure all front bushings are shot (though not visibly tore/worn) they’re 32 years old with probably 180,000 on them.
I do not run a front sway bar and although far from a racecar I’m mainly interested in straight line acceleration... thanks in advance everyone!
I probably left out dm some needed info but that’s mostly it I think... I have 17” wheels 8” in front 9” (width) in rear if that is a factor
 
Ok.., I finally got my alignment problem straightened out so I want to redo my suspension and would like to hear from some people with experience with different setups if possible.. of course all input is welcome and appreciated.
Rear of car has “auto part store” shocks but polyurethane bushings everywhere with tubular upper and lower rear control arms.
Front of car is stone stock save for some used 70/30 struts that maybe junk..used off eBay.. duh??
Stock springs in front.. 4cyl springs in rear(someone said it’d hook better??)
I have about $3000 to spend on front suspension/springs.. I have no idea which way to go and need help in understanding what I need.. I’m sure all front bushings are shot (though not visibly tore/worn) they’re 32 years old with probably 180,000 on them.
I do not run a front sway bar and although far from a racecar I’m mainly interested in straight line acceleration... thanks in advance everyone!
I probably left out dm some needed info but that’s mostly it I think... I have 17” wheels 8” in front 9” (width) in rear if that is a factor..

Also, car is still 4 lug but I know I can’t afford new wheels right now too.. hopefully whatever modifications I might do wouldn’t make it less accommodating for a 5 lug swap
 
For drag stuff check out team z motorsports.they have a metal matrix front end kit,and rear relocation upper kit.speak with Dave he's the owner.Three g's will cover it.
 
Maximum Motorsports has a few coil over kits. They're tailored more for road racing but might help. UPR makes a whole drag setup. http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-...uspension-trimming-the-fat-out-of-a-fox-body/
Urethane bushings should be fine. They squak sometimes but are durable. Delrin bushings are more durable and require less lube than urethane bushings but you'll be spending a chunk of change more for them.https://www.maximummotorsports.com/Delrin-Bushing-Kit-for-MM-Front-Control-Arms-P991.aspx
 
Honestly I would put a front sway bar back on the car if it's a street car... sure having one off helps transfer the weight to the rear better but the car becomes a sloppy pile of crap taking even the easiest turns on the street especially with aged lakewoods... What I used to do is unbolt one side of the swaybar at the a arm while at the track or for a street race to get the transfer without living without one all the time.

I've always had good luck with strange adjustable struts and shocks on previous cars. I've done the lakewood thing back in the day and the strange ones are much nicer.

As far as mm control arms are concerned they are high quality but I would give them a call and find out exactly which ones you should order because you do not want the offset style it'll move the wheels up closer to the front fender opening and depending on tire/wheel sizes you'll be rubbing.

You could also look at UPR's stuff, they are more straight line and weight savings oriented