Upgrade front or rear of SC first?

[Pazuzu]

I'm doing the full suspension upgrade (t-bars, sway bars, shocks and bushings all around).
Basic stuff. I have extra control arms with the Elephant polybronze races already glued in, etc. I have enough extra pieces and parts to make the whole thing run somewhat smoothly.

However! I do not have time. My car is a daily driver, and I don't want it down if possible.
So, considering the lovely 3 day weekend coming up, I think I can get one half of the car banged out (everything installed, basic string/anglefinder alignment).

Is it safer to upgrade the front first or the back? In other words, which will allow me to drive the car for a few weeks, up to freeway speeds, without killing myself?

If it's important, I'm doing the old standby of 21/27 t-bars, late Carrera sways, Bilstein HD/Sport front/rear and Elephant polybronze and monoballs all around.

[Joe Bob]

Well the front is easier than the rear. I would suggest renting or borrowing a ride....doing only one end will set the ride up a bit unpredictably. Plus you really should have it aligned and balanced after all the work.

[Grady Clay]

Mike,

If you have all the pieces, the entire project can be done in a long day.

However, Murphy is in charge, not you.
Sure enough you will need something additional.
Sure enough something will need an ‘Easy Out”.
Sure enough ….


Joe Bob’s advice is well founded.
You can just as well come to an impasse doing one end at a time.
Have back-up transportation: “Enterprise will pick you up.”

One of the great benefits of DIY is being able to take your time and ‘do it right’.

Best,
Grady

[Pazuzu]

Sure, I'd love to just do it all at once, and had originally planned on taking a week off to do that, but such plans have gone the way of Murphy

Practically, 99% of the driving would be 35 mph drives to work and back. I could even stay off of the highway completely if necessary. As for squirrelly driving...my stock rubbing rusting t-bars and beat to death bushings already have quite a bit of squirrelly to them...

I can take a bus if the job takes a day longer than expected, but my bus situation is poor enough that I won't use it for 4 or 5 days in a row.

So, back to the core question...which is SAFER to upgrade first? The car must behave differently with overly taut front vs rear or vice versa. Would one produce lots of understeer (which should be safer on normal roads at normal speeds)?

I would expect the front to be easier and quicker. I plan on taking a third weekend to learn corner balancing and apply it myself. If things go poorly, I have a decent shop literally 5 blocks away to get the CB done.

[wgirardot]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

Sure, I'd love to just do it all at once, and had originally planned on taking a week off to do that, but such plans have gone the way of Murphy

Practically, 99% of the driving would be 35 mph drives to work and back. I could even stay off of the highway completely if necessary. As for squirrelly driving...my stock rubbing rusting t-bars and beat to death bushings already have quite a bit of squirrelly to them...

I can take a bus if the job takes a day longer than expected, but my bus situation is poor enough that I won't use it for 4 or 5 days in a row.

So, back to the core question...which is SAFER to upgrade first? The car must behave differently with overly taut front vs rear or vice versa. Would one produce lots of understeer (which should be safer on normal roads at normal speeds)?

I would expect the front to be easier and quicker. I plan on taking a third weekend to learn corner balancing and apply it myself. If things go poorly, I have a decent shop literally 5 blocks away to get the CB done.

ok, since you are begging for permission to drive a crippled care, then go ahead

[mikesride]

Front first.

[wildcat077]

If you have the front arms with the bushings already installed,i would say do the front because it will be easier ...
The rears could be a LITTLE more time consuming if you want to index your new bars and have the adjusters in a neutral position !

Cheers !
Phil

[Grady Clay]

It probably doesn’t make any difference but front is easier.
Do the front first.
That will get you fired up.

You might consider ‘braking loose’ each nut and bolt first.
You can simply lube them and re-tighten.
This way, if you have a fastener that fights you, it won’t interfere with your weekend project.

There are a few (ball joint wedge pin comes to mind) that you will need to leave for the weekend.
Those you should replace with new.

Are you ready with wheel bearing grease, new wheel bearing seals and O-rings?
How about the loc-tabs on the steering shaft?
There are more.

Best,
Grady

[RWebb]

Front 1st - affects ride more, I'd say

Mike, FWIW...

Yet Another Boring Rgruppe Car – Part II, Suspension

[Pazuzu]

Thank you everyone, I'll do the front first.

The car has always been a dry weather Southern car, never had issues with rust. I've found that any work so far has been a piece of cake mechanically, so I'm not too worried about this.

Got my ball joint wedge bolts (real honest to goodness factory ones!), new ball joints, etc. Pretty much all of the wear items under there (except for turbo tie rods, PO put those in a few years ago). Rebuilt the calipers, replaced the brake lines and replaced the rotors 2 years ago, so no reason to open them up.

Grady...I'll consider "breaking loose" those bolts, but I ain't gonna "brake" them loose

[GH85Carrera]

When I did my suspension refresh I did the front first. I even drove it at an autocross with just the front end new. I did not push real hard but it was a total non event. I would never go run a high speed track day like that but just some common sense driving is just fine with just one end done.

Now that it is all done I really enjoy the result of the time and expense of doing it.