Drivetrain Rear End Comparison

I believe the suspension is original. I can take a picture of the vehicle when I get home from school. To date I know it has subframe connectors and thats it in terms of chassis. As for the other things that you asked I can not confirm at this time.
 
If it has not been retrofitted with quad shocks, I would consider aftermarket arms and better bushings to minimize wheel hop. Wheel hop was an issue on my 79
that had a SROD and a 302. And that hop is hard on parts.

As far as brake lines fitting, I would check a parts catalog to see if the donor car used the same hose as your 79.

My 79 had ferrous metal drums, not aluminum ones.
 
I guess I'm not really familiar with the quad shocks that you guys are talking about so I will have to do some homework on that. I think the link that I posted for the control arms does have the sway bar brackets welded to the bottom. Is the difference of using aftermarket control bars and an aftermarket sway bar like night and day difference in terms of handling once they're installed?
 
Not guaranteed. I have aftermarket control arms and new bushings and shocks and had wheel hop without the quads. Had to put them back on.

Agreed. That is why I typed"minimize". (Quad shocks are a second pair of shocks that are mounted horizontally on the rear axle.) Some on here have lucked out without quad shocks but I am not trying removing mine. If the arms only help some, he is still better off than a stock 79 set up.
 
Oh okay, thank you for explaining the quad shocks concept. I will have to look into doing that if it isnt already done. I plan on doing the control arms and sway bar as soon as I get back in the money cause the rear end can come later
 
On my 86 I ran MM lowers w/stock uppers,sway bar,and removed the quad shocks. With eibach springs & shocks. I had no wheel hop and it handled a lot better than stock

I was counting on doing both upper and lower control arms and then a sway bar to get me by. I'm a bit nervous about dropping the ride height any with springs because of header ground clearance issues.
 
I was counting on doing both upper and lower control arms and then a sway bar to get me by. I'm a bit nervous about dropping the ride height any with springs because of header ground clearance issues.
You could get front coil overs and adj the ride height. Ground clearance isn't usually an issue unless it's drastic speed bumps or really steep drive ways. I never had an issue but I ran shorty headers. The h pipe/cat back never has hit anything and I've driven over some speed bumps and had a driveway with some grade to it. Just a fwiw depends on how much you drop it and headers. A 3/4"-1" drop shouldn't ever be a problem
 
You could get front coil overs and adj the ride height. Ground clearance isn't usually an issue unless it's drastic speed bumps or really steep drive ways. I never had an issue but I ran shorty headers. The h pipe/cat back never has hit anything and I've driven over some speed bumps and had a driveway with some grade to it. Just a fwiw depends on how much you drop it and headers. A 3/4"-1" drop shouldn't ever be a problem

Okay sounds like a plan. Thanks for your input