BYBIS Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 My MC was delivered about 3 days ago and I'm digging into it a little each day. Power steering isn't working, lost a control arm busing in my driveway, etc... With that said, I think I'm just going to rebuild the front suspension so I know it's all good. Any suggestions for rebuild kits? Shock/spring brands, places purchased, etc...? I also have a headlight out. Anyone upgrade to Xenon, LED, etc...? Since I put them in my Tundra, I'm a little spoiled. Finally, anyone have a picture of their 454 layout under the hood with air conditioning? It looks like the car came with AC and the condenser is present, but the compressor, etc... is not. Curious as to how it all lays out. Thanks in advance for your help. T. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhawk Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 For headlights I'm running the OE7 from Dapper Lighting. I haven't had it out at night but it certainly brightens up the shop when testing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 TJ, along with the photo's you are requesting you may want to purchase a factory assembly manual because it will give you the most detailed information for the Air Conditioning. rob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 My 71. Post up if you want more pics. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 Well, Thomas, now that you finally have your 53 year old SS, it's time for the discovery, repair and personalization fun to begin! 😄 I bought my '70 SS sight unseen (except for a few photos of the exterior by the prior owner) so I was confronted with a ton of surprises when I got it home! But, that's somewhat to be expected and all a part of the joy of owning a classic car. Like many of our members here, I have done a lot of mechanical repair/replacement/upgrade projects across the two '70s I have owned. For one thing, I completely rebuilt the front suspension of both cars including wheel bearings, disc brakes, ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings, idler arm joints, shocks, coil springs as well as stripping and repainting every part that was reused. I also installed a used factory power steering system and rebuilt the pump prior to installation. Both projects made a significant difference in how the car handled. At one time, I had extensive photo project journals available on PhotoBucket but then those jerks started charging hosting fees which I refused to pay so they dumped me and all of my content. Fortunately, I still have all of the photos (just lost the information/instruction in the captions) so I might be able to share something helpful if you keep telling us what you need. On the first frontend rebuild, I ordered a suspension rebuild kit (from eBay, I think) which had new parts made in India. They seemed to be of reasonable quality and have worked well so far. The second time, when I rebuilt the front suspension on my '70 SS, I decided I wanted all US-made parts so I ordered all of the components separately and went with the Moog brand whenever possible. There wasn't a huge price difference as I recall. Don't know if you've done front suspension rebuilds before, but I hadn't. Replacing front coil springs requires some care and the proper tools if you want to stay safe. IMO, a good pair of internal spring compressors are essential for the job. Maybe you already have some. If you don't already own a ball joint and control arm bushing replacement tool set, rent or borrow one from your favorite auto parts store - you'll be glad you did. The Moog 6330 coil spring is a popular replacement for the factory "GQ" code spring used in most '70 SS builds. I certainly would not go with anything lighter, especially since you have AC adding weight to the front suspension. Also, remember that the front sway bar on an SS is 1 1/8" diameter so don't buy the standard 7/8" diameter rubber bushings. The larger ones can be hard to find. I attached a photo of the engine compartment of my former SS with AC (but prior to replacing the missing load level compressor). Let the fun begin ... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragCat Posted July 31, 2023 Share Posted July 31, 2023 This is my 70 SS when it arrived, the last being before I pulled it out. All the a/c stuff is still there just on a crate now. There are a few threads around of members that have upgraded headlights / tail lights. I like the service manuals on CD, I can print the pages of what I need and not worry about buggering them up while doing projects. Let the fun begin 🤣 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BYBIS Posted July 31, 2023 Author Share Posted July 31, 2023 Gentlemen- Thank you so much for the responses! This has been very helpful. Like some of you have said "Let the fun begin". Owner's manual is on order. Making a parts list now. It looks like one could eat off of some of y'alls engine bays. Dang. Hoping I can get mine that clean one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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