What's new
By:
Filters

1973 Grand Prix

fordguy said:
Is there a complete upgrade? ie. arms, calipers, rotors, springs, etc?

Going to put 17x9 honeycolmb wheels on it
Click to expand...
Yes. Aldan makes coil overs for them with POR a-arms.

A body chassis iirc. So many parts are available for that.

A friend of mine had a bone stock 73 in high school. Green with a white vinyl roof. It did the best burnouts of any car I’ve ever seen. So rad in stock form.
 
Yep, mine was a 455. Unusual because it had a 3.42 limited slip and no vinyl roof. Torque monster to a 17 year old, ran pretty good really. Those are beautiful cars, since the days of Fireball Roberts I've always been a Pontiac fan.
 
Last edited:
Beat95yj said:
Yes. Aldan makes coil overs for them with POR a-arms.

A body chassis iirc.
Click to expand...

school me please, i always seen this but confused, are all a body parts interchangable? or 1973 A body only for example?
 
fordguy said:
school me please, i always seen this but confused, are all a body parts interchangable? or 1973 A body only for example?
Click to expand...
Most GMs in that era had the same chassis from 73 to 77. Frank may have a better idea if suspension was the same across all GM stuff or if BOP and Chevys were different.
 
fordguy said:
Maybe some remember my white 1976 one that I regretted selling, well, I am back in one.

Looks like hooker headers, pulls good, current reg, needs some TLC. No smog so :flipoff2:


Assuming this would be a th400?

First order of business, suspension. What good options are there?
Click to expand...
Would Smash, in the derby arena. And it would probably do a fine job of it.
 
TanTJJim said:
Most GMs in that era had the same chassis from 73 to 77. Frank may have a better idea if suspension was the same across all GM stuff or if BOP and Chevys were different.
Click to expand...

thanks, cars look so different I didnt think it was the same chassis.

Is a rack and pinion conversion pointless?
 
fordguy said:
thanks, cars look so different I didnt think it was the same chassis.

Is a rack and pinion conversion pointless?
Click to expand...
I'm not too familiar with the mod scene on these cars and what's available. I'm sure rack and pinion is an option but that seems more track oriented. If it's just a cruiser I think sticking with a factory style setup with the steering gear box would be just fine.
 
TanTJJim said:
Most GMs in that era had the same chassis from 73 to 77. Frank may have a better idea if suspension was the same across all GM stuff or if BOP and Chevys were different.
Click to expand...
If it’s the same chassis, A-body (chevelle, GTO, etc) B-Body (caprice, boneville?) F-body (Firebird, camaro) etc

Some parts interchange across chassis lines like the front suspension on a nova and Camaro are the same, although the Nova typically lags a couple years.

There is a shit ton of information out there on these things. Do some homework. One of my coworkers could rattle all this off correctly off the top of his head, but I haven’t worked with it directly in 15 years so I’ve probably forgotten a ton.
 
Last edited:
fordguy said:
thanks, cars look so different I didnt think it was the same chassis.

Is a rack and pinion conversion pointless?
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t bother. Unless you’re doing 100 K buildup. Put some lowering springs and shocks in it. Throw some sway bars on it and go cruise. Everything else extra.

I can’t remember if this is an A or B body. B-suspension geometry is pretty good. A-Body is less good.

B – body is the same as second generation F body with a different bolt pattern and a bigger brake.
 
Beat95yj said:
455 were common in a Grand Prix
Click to expand...
Yeah could be either, still only 8:1 CR, except for the SD which was 8.5CR IIRC. Kid in my HS had a Trans AM with the SD engine, and he put true-spoke wire wheels on it, as was the fashion of the time. :homer:
 
fordguy said:
school me please, i always seen this but confused, are all a body parts interchangable? or 1973 A body only for example?
Click to expand...

1st things 1st. Keep it simple.
If you have the A boddy BOP 8.2" rear axle, get rid of it when you up the HP. Easy to ID as it will not have the square blocks at 5 and 7 o clock. An 8.5 Chevy rear bolts in. Freshen up the rear drums and call it good if you aren't gonna flog it.
  • Keep the front brakes but swap out the rotors for drilled and slotted, ru Hawk yellow pads up front. Just remember to warm them up as soon as you start driving. POY for big brakes for a street car if you must.
  • Poly Bushings from anybody. Summit racing offers softer poly that is Grey.
  • Replace the upper ball joints with the 1/2" taller ones to help the camber curve. On an A body that will get you a little better than the F body stuff.(The GM problem with all of its chassis is actually the upper control arm mounting location so don't waste your money on tubular arms unless you wanna burn through cash)
  • Add and aftermarket Steering box that has a 12-1 ratio. IIRC the later jeep grand cherokee box is a cheap $200 12-1 option. I cant speak on how it feels yet as i haven't run mine
  • Replace the body mounts after the brakes and suspension but before performance parts. Again the summit racing stuff is softer.
  • Stainless steel brake lines and call it good.
  • Spoon makes a killer rear sway bar for street cars that is a must have.
  • Buy the best damn shocks that you can afford.
  • A good 200R4 transmission swap gets you a deep .67-1 overdrive and a 2.74 1st gear. It is also about the same size as the TH400 and even the stock column shifter will work. Once you get a real transmission in then get some 4.10s out back.

Here is my take. Not really an A body guy but have built a few.
Hotchkiss can set you up with a complete suspension that will ride softer but pull 1G. They are the 1st to do it 35 years ago before "Pro Touring"
Spoon Performance is the go to if you wanna be serious.
The Later guys out in PA. and all the others offer a great product derived from the folks above. Shop where you like .
 
MuntCuffin said:
You could burn some shitty gas with that, and the damn thing would run forever just to keep disappointing you.
Click to expand...
Except you can't because the shitty cam profile that's probably also retarded combined with the smog heads are gonna result in it knocking, probably. It's literally the worst of both worlds. If you want something that can run on garbage in factory configuration you gotta go back to a 50s flathead
 
arse_sidewards said:
Except you can't because the shitty cam profile that's probably also retarded combined with the smog heads are gonna result in it knocking, probably. It's literally the worst of both worlds. If you want something that can run on garbage in factory configuration you gotta go back to a 50s flathead
Click to expand...
And the amc 2.5 :flipoff2:
 
I pretty much agree with everything angry black said, but I don’t recommend tall ball joints, or f-body spindles on a bodies. They create all kinds of toe change as the suspension cycles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh