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By the end of this summer or next year I will be going back to the USA (Georgia and Florida).
I’m making a list of parts for my 77 C3 (and other things to do). Some parts I will ship locally to a friend’s address, and pick it up later. The restoration of the suspension will be on the top of my list this time.
Here is a list of what I have figured out and what not:
- I’m still figuring out the ball joints…. Because I have some new ones laying around in the garage, but I don’t know they’ll fit.
Questions:
1) Any thoughts on the Koni Classics? (They are $50 cheaper than the Bilstein B6’s)
Good for street driving?
2) For a 1977 they have the following spring rates: 315, 340 or 355 pound.
It's important they will not my put my rear higher then what is normal for a C3 (I've read that there are some people having problems with this).
What would be the best for street driving?
3) What about the front springs? Will these ‘standard’ coil springs work with the above ‘setup’?
That rear spring looks a lot like the TRW that some (most) people complain is too high.
I would suggest you consider a VanSteel spring
Also, seems that lately people are having a lot of issues with the poly bushings coming apart after a short time. Any real reason not to stick with moog rubber?
M
That rear spring looks a lot like the TRW that some (most) people complain is too high.
I would suggest you consider a VanSteel spring
Also, seems that lately people are having a lot of issues with the poly bushings coming apart after a short time. Any real reason not to stick with moog rubber?
M
Aren't these more durable? If it's true what yu say I will go for the regular rubber bushing set.
I have used a TRW spring with 8" bolts for a long long time, 360#. Mine say a little high
Seems like some were/are ok, others were way too high. I don't like hit and miss things
The other thing is expected wheel sizes (15 vs 17)
Do a forum search for poly bushings, seems like lately they haven't been holding up like they used to
But anyway, make sure you do your research
A spreader bar is always a good investment. As far as shocks go I thought my shocks were very good then the lower bushing failed. In went a pair if Blistein HD what a difference in ride, they really work well with a composite spring. With any glass spring get the 8" bolt kit, you'll be glad you did. T
Instead of piecing together a kit from different vendors, why not call Van Steel and buy one of their kits that has everything and is designed to work together. Bonus, if you are visiting the West coast of Florida on your trip you can stop by there and pick up the parts and save shipping.
From another post on suspension and Wheels that I posted a while back:
I have a 78 L-82 4 speed car with the gymkhana sport suspension (67,000 miles) that I have owned for 34 years and I have tinkered with the suspension one part at a time over all those years to achieve the perfect balance of superb handling, steering response and a firm but not harsh ride. Not knowing if you have a base suspension (most likely since most did not have the sport suspension from the factory) or the sport suspension, below is what you need for truly sportscar handling with a great ride for your 78:
Front:
550 lbs front coil springs/1 inch lower than stock-$100 1 1/8 inch solid front sway bar (OEM Bar size)-$200 poly upper and lower control arm bushings-$50 Bilstein HD shocks-$150 Front Spreader Bar-$100 Custom blueprinted/rebuilt OEM steering box- GTR 1999-Gary Ramadei-$300 This modification will make your OEM box about as good as it gets with the OEM steering and very close to a borgeson.....not quite but close
Rear:
360 monospring-$300 Bilstein Sport shocks-$150 OEM Style Rear Sway bar (not the aftermarket type bars. I highly discourage NON OEM/GM style rear sway bars)-7/16 or 9/16 or 3/4 inch (I have this one replacing the stock 7/16 inch bar)-$200 Competition adjustable strut rods with heim joint ends-$200
Total Cost $1750
This suspension will get you a FAR SUPERIOR suspension than what came on the car when it was new, X3 if the car had a base suspension from the factory. You will need to add 17/18 inch rims and tires (ZR rated only W/Y sub rating) later to maximize the superior suspension setup. I have ultra high performance summer only tires Front-255/45/17 ZR and rears 255/50/17 ZR's.
This is ^^^the basic C3 suspension design pretty much unmodified from its original design but maximized for handling, steering, response and grip....I will say this again, the ride is far superior to the OEM gymkhana suspension that came on the car with 255/60/15 crap tires and is very compliant. A neighbor who has lexus LsS460/430 sedans recently rode in my 78 and he commented more than once about the power is great BUT he could not believe how well and tight the ride was....kept saying it.
I said this way back in the beginning of this thread...This ^^^^ will get you a fantastic ride, superb handling, all with basically a stock designed suspension with 17 inch ultra high performance summer only tires.............
I will also add that Karol on this forum with his base stock suspension,L-82 4 speed, and 15 inch aluminum OEM rims with 255/60/15 Radial T/A's, just this past weekend rode in my 78 ^^^^ and then in a back to back comparison we rode in his 78 unmodified base suspension L-82 and he could not believe how much BETTER my car rode than his car (not to mention handle). He loved the rebuilt/upgraded 355 L-82 but raved about the ride....This example is an immediate comparison of real world results, no theory here, with a direct comparison of the 2 suspension types...Not sure what else to say here about this subject.
These upgrades to a C3 basic suspension are FAR SUPERIOR to the way the car was in stock form and for very comparatively little money. If you plan to just drive on the street, I would highly recommend going this route, even though my car can more than hold its own on a road course.
I had oil Koni's back in the 80's on this car and Bilstien Heavy Duties in the front and the Sports in the rear are far superior. A composite rear spring has far superior ride characteristics to a steel one and you cannot compares steel spring rates 1:1 to a composite. I would definitely go 355/360 rear composite spring rate or even higher...
As mentioned above, definitely add a front spreader bar and competition adjustable heim jointed struts (you want heim joints, NOT poly or rubber bushings, back there) along with GTR1999's blueprinted/custom rebuild of your OEM steering box. The OEM recirculating ball steering with this modification has ZERO play now.
Hope this helps!
Last edited by jb78L-82; Jun 13, 2020 at 06:38 AM.
Instead of piecing together a kit from different vendors, why not call Van Steel and buy one of their kits that has everything and is designed to work together. Bonus, if you are visiting the West coast of Florida on your trip you can stop by there and pick up the parts and save shipping.
Yes I can buy certain smaller parts that fit in my luggage (rubbers, bolts strut rods etc), but for instance the composite spring itself would be to big, and the 4 shocks + two springs would be to heavy (There is a max weight for each luggage bag).
So the bigger/heavier parts I will have to ship to Europe. Buying in the shop itself and then ship these big parts... I won't do that, because I had some bad experiences with that (Very high import costs + shipping when got the package). For instance: One time Summit send some 12 stainless header bolts to Europe... They used UPS shipping I think... guess what for that $20 product they charged me $150 (shipping + import costs)...
When I buy and ship big heavy parts from US to Europe, I always buy on Ebay (global shipping program) or Amazon, that way I know how much they charge for import and shipping.
But If I have the change I will certainly make a stop at Van Steel. They are based in Clearwater, Florida, right?
Planning suspension rebuild
