Going to rebuild the front suspension/steering on my 66

[MikeRey]

I'm tired of my steering/suspension or lack thereof...

I've got a 66 with manual steering. I plan on replacing just about everything on the front end and rear end.

I plan on going with Opentracker's upper/lower arms, roller perches, 1 1/8 front sway, kyb's all around, 560 lb rate front springs (1 inch drop), new isolator pads (poly or rubber?), monte carlo and export bars, subframe connectors... I'll get to researching the rear later on today. Anyhow, I also plan on going with the flaming river 16:1 steering box and opentracker's manual steering rebuild kit which includes 2 outer tie rod ends, 2 inner tie rod ends, 2 adjusting sleeves. I'm going to go with the upgrade with the roller arms and bear tracker kit...

Anything else I should look into replacing/upgrading while I'm doing all of this? I also plan on running the Baer disc brake kit up front as well. Will I have any compatibility issues with any of this? Mainly the brake kit with the steering upgrades.

 

[BlackGMC]

Anything else I should look into replacing/upgrading while I'm doing all of this?

Since your at it might as well replace the strut rod bushings and idler arm. I am not sure if those come in one of those kits, but I would check it out. I heard the roller idler arm is a pretty good piece.

 

[MikeRey]

Thanks for the advice. Anyone else have any insight?

 

[MikeRey]

Like upgrading the centerlink?

 

[65 fastback]

Your front suspension plan looks great and well thought out. Just a couple of things to consider.

Ditto what BlackGMC said.

Street or Track make a nice adjustable strut rod and I believe OpenTracker sells them on his site.

Definately go with the roller idler arm, also. It will help to reduce the effort of your manual steering.

If your going to go with the Baer Tracker Bumpsteer kit, you will not need the full manual steering rebuild kit. The Baer Tracker replaces the outer tierod ends and the adjusting sleeves.

Also, you might consider going with a progressive rate spring, like the Pro-Motorsports spring - http://www.drgas.com/store/product.php?productid=104&cat=22&page=1 - and I would upgrade from the KYB's to a better quality
shock like Edelbrock, Bilstein or Koni.

The change should be very dramatic, keep us posted.

Tim