jorkee

Hey guys, new member here, and newb to these cars as well. Since this is my first post I'll bust out my schpeil here:

I first came across my (now) 85 Trans am way back in 1999, at the tender age of 11. My mom had just started seeing a guy, and it was his baby. At 11 years old I had no real interest in anything other than pokemon cars and Sega genesis. That all changed one day when we were heading out for dinner. I decided to ride with my (now) step-dad in the TA, and my mom followed in her truck. So we're driving along, and what do you know; red light up ahead. My dad pulls up beside my mom in her truck and says "watch this". He honks at my mom and revs up a bit. She looks over and laughs and shakes her head. He revs up more and next thing I know there's squealing tires and smoke billowing from the back of the car. The whole *** end is shaking up and down, and I was LOVING it. I look over, and he's got the biggest grin on his face as he launches it from the light. Since that moment I've been hooked on cars, and have had a serious boner for my dad's TA.

The next 13 years went by with me lusting for the TA to be mine one day, only to be told that "it was too much car for me", and that "the only way I'd get it is in a will". The car stayed an inside joke within the family for the next decade. Fast forward to the present, and my dad has now taken on the responsibility of raising a family of 6 kids over his car, and my mom has decided it's been sitting too long and needs to go.

One day in casual conversation my dad mentions that mom is making him get rid of it, and that it's going to have to go on kijiji soon. Without batting an eye I just looked him straight in the face and asked how much. I was met with "you don't want this car, it needs too much work." This car could have currently been on fire and I still would have wanted it. We settled on a price and a week later I showed up with the cash, and the car I had been drooling over for 13 years was finally mine.

Let's get one thing straight though: I don't like F bodies. I don't like Chevrolet/Pontiac cars of any sort. I can appreciate all cars, but there's a huge list of imports I'd rather have before almost any muscle car on the face of this earth, it's just how I am. I'm 24 now, and since 18 I've owned honda civics from a wide span of generations, mild lowered cars with wheels, to 11.65 1/4 sleeper hatches, and I currently am the proud owner of a Stage 2 2011 WRX STi. This car is the polar opposite of the kind of cars that I like, but if not for this car I could be a "don't care about anything but point a to b" kind of guy, and that's weak.

My goal for my car is to bring it back to a usable form of it's former glory by restoring a few parts, and maybe adding a little power along the way to end up with a fun cruiser. As it currently sits it could use a suspension refresher, some new rubber, and a headlight motor (I hope) fixed. My first plan of attack is suspension, and as I mentioned before I'm new at this non-import stuff. I've compiled a list on summitracing.com of parts that I can forsee being a good idea to have swapped out in favor of safety and driveability. Let me know if I'm missing anything

KYB Excel-G front shocks x2
KYB Gas-a-Just rear shocks x2
MOOG 5622 rear springs x1 set
MOOG 5665 front springs x1 set
MOOG tie rod sleeves x1 set
MOOG replacement tie rod ends x2
MOOG replacement ball joints x2

majobis

iTrader: (3)

Some good info can be found here, specifically lists of recommended replacement areas:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/suspension-chassis/

Drkhrse89

iTrader: (1)

The suspension rebuild is really going to depend on what you want out of it. If you truely are looking for a quiet rebuild to stock form here is what I would recommend. Now keep in mind this is entire suspension and not just steering.

The list you have above including.
Inner tie rods/Outer tie rods (you didn't specify above)
A-Arm bushings
Front and rear sway bar bushings
Front and rear end links
Center link
Idler arm
Caster/Camber plates
Rear lower control arm bushings
Panhard bar bushing
Transmission mount (if cracked)

Now if you want to step it up a little.
Adjustable caster/camber plates
Subframe connectors (3rd gens are a uni-body design and benefit greatly from connecting the front and rear)
Adjustable rear lower control arms
Adjustable panhard bar
Strut tower brace
Koni adjustable struts/shocks
Adjustable torque arm
Lowering springs/weight jacks/coilover kit
etc...

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

I would add that bushing selection is also very important. All bushings in the car should be polyurethane, the exceptions are a-arms (delrin are the best), lower control arms & panhard bar (spherical, roto-joint/del-sphere are the best performance-wise), and motor mount (unless you're racing).

Koni adjustable yellow shocks are the best shocks you can buy for the street.

I also have to add that there are several ways to lower the car, some are simpler, cheaper and just fine. Some are more expensive, complicated but will provide the BEST performance. I won't go into details as you can do the research on here and find all the info, but to give you examples there are, as mentioned above, lowering springs, weight jacks, coilover kit (I would not do this on a street car that handles), as well as extended ball joints and dropped spindles. On these cars, lowering them affect the suspension geometry greatly and it changes things like roll centers and the CG in different ways so it's important to do lots of research before buying expensive parts.