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1973 Grand Prix

ANGRYBLACK said:
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 .
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amazing info. I was actually considering saving for tubular arms, I thought they are stronger and flex less and are a must with stiffer spring rate?

Hotchkis shows nothing, doesnt even lis5 grand prix as an option. Selecting a same year lemans, nothing really. Are the GM A bodies of same year really interchangable? If so, why is GP not listed?

Curious
 
Tubular arms are heavier, and not usefully stronger. I broke a lot of stuff on my Camaro, but never those.

If it’s a street cruiser, I recommend rubber bushings if you want to go fast I recommend you swap to Del-a-Lums.

Worst money I ever spent was putting in urethane a-arm bushings. Squeaking, binding, never allowing the suspension to react to the ground. They are terrible. Did I mention that they don’t last? They start to compression set immediately.
 
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Ezcellent info.

Rear glass - its like bent in the middle, but some online I see are smooth - are they interchangable? My tint guy says he will have to do 2 piece tint on the rear if it has that sharp bend, so maybe rear glass is worth changinf
 
www.fusionmotorco.com

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle

This is one head turning 1970 Chevelle Resto-Mod!!! Attention to detail and thought were applied when this one was built with all the trim matching the...
www.fusionmotorco.com

what wheels are these?

edit. forgeline
 
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Beat95yj said:
Worst money I ever spent was putting in urethane a-arm bushings. Squeaking, binding, never allowing the suspension to react to the ground. They are terrible. Did I mention that they don’t last? They start to compression set immediately.
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I've noticed that if I don't keep up on the lube for my TC UCA's in my 4Runner, they bind and it's a PITA to have to jack up the front end, loosen the through bolt and then grease the bushings and shoot some teflon spray on the uniball. I'm looking at upgrading the suspension on my 14 F150 and have been looking at the JBA arms as they claim you can grease them with weight on the suspension. Thoughts?
 
Roc Doc said:
I've noticed that if I don't keep up on the lube for my TC UCA's in my 4Runner, they bind and it's a PITA to have to jack up the front end, loosen the through bolt and then grease the bushings and shoot some teflon spray on the uniball. I'm looking at upgrading the suspension on my 14 F150 and have been looking at the JBA arms as they claim you can grease them with weight on the suspension. Thoughts?
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Haven’t really looked at either specifically. I have seen a lot of tubular with just urethane over the years. Grease is definitely your friend. If you have an old buddy you can make some delrin aluminum bushings. They hardly feel firmer and they move much more freely.
 
ANGRYBLACK said:
  • 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
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Any approx year range to look at? If I can get a quick ratio box from a jeep for 200 bucks rather than dropping 900 for a borgeson 12:1 I'm in.

Alex.
 
GM Guy said:
Any approx year range to look at? If I can get a quick ratio box from a jeep for 200 bucks rather than dropping 900 for a borgeson 12:1 I'm in.

Alex.
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1995 IIRC.
fordguy said:
amazing info. I was actually considering saving for tubular arms, I thought they are stronger and flex less and are a must with stiffer spring rate?

Hotchkis shows nothing, doesnt even lis5 grand prix as an option. Selecting a same year lemans, nothing really. Are the GM A bodies of same year really interchangable? If so, why is GP not listed?

Curious
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Call.
Beat95yj said:
Haven’t really looked at either specifically. I have seen a lot of tubular with just urethane over the years. Grease is definitely your friend. If you have an old buddy you can make some delrin aluminum bushings. They hardly feel firmer and they move much more freely.
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Delrin for the win. Global west is the go to for them on A and G bodies. Front Suspension Components

Its an Body so the chassis is the same for all the mid sized cars. Grand Prix, Cutlas, Regal, Malibu and Monte carlo. The bodies are different in shape. Weather stripping is 90% the same across GM for each chassis. Now the only Chassis part that is chevy only is the rear axle. The Buick, Olds, Pontiac AKA the B.O.P. rear. IIRC it has scallops on the side of the diff cover but last i bothered to remember was over 30 years ago. But it has an 8.2 ring gear diameter. And does not have the square blocks at the bottom of the case.
 
I was once so stupid as to pay a shop to install a limited slip and gears in a BOP 10 bolt. Talk about throwing money down the drain.

The 8 1/2 inch 10 bolt is much better.
 
arse_sidewards said:
I'll take "things I never thought I'd hear anyone say" for 200 Alex. :laughing:
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Car stuff. A friend of mine has a national powered El Camino. Before some drunk driver hit it outside his kids school it was was an absolutely beast and dead reliable. I tested drag racing shocks on it with a 275 drag MT drag tire. So incredibly rad!

IMG_1410.jpeg
 
17x9 honeycomb, yay or nay?

as it sits now
 

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fordguy said:
17x9 honeycomb, yay or nay?

as it sits now
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Personally, I'd look for a set of factory rally wheels but that's just me. As for the yay or nay....nay.

An old set of Keystone classics would be :grinpimp: also.
 
Thumping said:
Personally, I'd look for a set of factory rally wheels but that's just me. As for the yay or nay....nay.

An old set of Keystone classics would be :grinpimp: also.
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I need 17s at least, 18s would be nice
 
How do I tell 400 from 455? Google says stamped on front of engine but I cant see

Any point in keeping the stock ac compressor, or gut it and if anything at some point convert to a newer system?

Trans upgrade options to a 4 or 5 speed, worth it?

It pulls and brakes pretty good, even girlfriend was impressed. Might be a 455
 
fordguy said:
How do I tell 400 from 455? Google says stamped on front of engine but I cant see

Any point in keeping the stock ac compressor, or gut it and if anything at some point convert to a newer system?

Trans upgrade options to a 4 or 5 speed, worth it?

It pulls and brakes pretty good, even girlfriend was impressed. Might be a 455
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Put your head in front of drivers tire and look at front side of the block, it will be stamped there
 
crispins said:
Put your head in front of drivers tire and look at front side of the block, it will be stamped there
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cant for the life of me see it

however heads are 4x 1H which come back to be the 455 heads

edelbrock intake and holley 750cfm carb, headera have a stamp but cant see

temps run up when I run it uphill for a few minutes
 
Which Edelbrock intake? The performer is about the same as stock, the performer RPM is probably the best choice for that motor. (assuming somebody has put in screw in studs/ cam and set it up to.rev over 4k)

The torker will look good on your garage wall

You won’t see much out of the headers unless the heads are ported
 
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