Don't get me wrong about rubber vs. poly vs. heim-joints vs. etc. However far you wish to take things is strictly a matter of where in the vast gray area between OEM and making an all out effort your preferences fall. On the one hand, if you don't go anywhere near the limits very often and ride comfort is a much higher priority than pulling G's, then you are best off going with fresh rubber everywhere. On the other, you don't have to be a hardcore/racer type to enjoy better handling, and IMHO if those G's are very much of a priority at all then poly control arm & anti-roll bar bushings (w/plenty of grease so they won't bind/squeak) and heim-jointed camber struts (w/lock plates so adjustments stay put) very well ought to be on the menu from which you're shopping along side items such as springs, shocks, HD idler, "tight" steering box, spreader bar, solid diff locater kit, lowering, etc., etc., etc...

Myself, tho I don't track my Vette I still tend to land nearer the hardcore end of the spectrum, as I'm one who finds the benefits of running lowered and stiffly sprung (along with a good number of other mods) to outweigh the "penalty" of giving up some comfort (I've got my DD for that). Others lean the other direction, and would likely find my setup unbearable. There's nothing wrong with being from either persuasion, as long as the choices made match up with your purposes. Again, this isn't a black and white call. ...but, I digress...


Yes, NMB is a rod end brand. You can fab up your own struts (many have) if you're good at solving puzzles and gathering bits. If you'd rather not go to the trouble, then make sure to buy top quality kit.

As I haven't bought rubber bushings in a long while, I can't direct you there, but I'd think Paragon, Mid-America, Zip, et al ought to have that covered.

The x-member bushings are fairly important not to ignore if they're in bad shape. Still, think about at least adding a solid locater kit w/solid or poly diff biscuit. If you go to the trouble of converting to solid mounts (a major mod), there are some other significant projects you ought to be doing, but that's something you don't need to worry about unless you get pretty serious.

Lastly, in case you're not fully aware, I must caution that you could be treading very near the slippery slope of those infamous "while I'm at it's".

 

I think I might be standing at the top of that very slippery slope My wife thinks I'm halfway down.

I will not be doing any high-performance driving with the car but I do want to have good quality components that will hold up over time and make the car handle better. It seems like the difference between "average" components and very good ones (I'm speaking of upgrading the rear end only at this point) is just a few hundred bucks--IF you know what you're doing. So now I'm fired up! I will definitely be doing a better job on this project than if I'd just grabbed a catalog, ordered the parts and slapped them on. These posts have really helped me figure it out.

Thanks to all the posters, I sincerely appreciate your time and wisdom. Here's to ya

I've already rec'd the diff cover, and will be ordering the rest of the parts over the next week or so. I will post before & after pics when I get down to bizness.