Cars, motorcycles, and other things that move

armyadarkness

Royal Corn
Reaction score
42,869
Points
24
Location
Atlantic City
Yep. F body. Said A didn’t I? None of those handled great stock. Mind is a bit off today 🤯
Yes, no A body handled well, but F bodies were arguably created to handle. I had a 79 Trans Am and it would swap ends at the drop of a dime. The 91 was MUCH better. My 305 TBI beat the pants off the 350 LT1's, but we already went there!

My 200 Trans Am handled like a slot car!

But my 2020 Grand Cherokee wouldve killed em all!
 

mktrat

Royal Corn
Premium Corn
Reaction score
22,701
Points
113
Location
The Mitten

Jim C

Royal Corn
Reaction score
13,861
Points
113
Location
Bethesda, MD
As they say at Fender America, el' zilcho senor
No wonder why we never saw that many GTO's at the track when we were young!
Even with good axles, C-clip eliminator, Pro gears, heavy duty posi unit, and rigid rear cover, we would still sell the used gear sets at Carlisle after every 150 passes or so. The housing assembly was just not strong enough to maintain proper gear clearance and alignment. This was with big slicks in a low 10's bracket car (66' Chevelle).
A few of our friends used Dana's and didn't have nearly as many issues.

Saw plenty of 10-bolts break way back when.
One time a guy sheared off all the lug nuts in a fast Nova at the launch and nearly took down the tree.
 

armyadarkness

Royal Corn
Reaction score
42,869
Points
24
Location
Atlantic City
No wonder why we never saw that many GTO's at the track when we were young!
Even with good axles, C-clip eliminator, Pro gears, heavy duty posi unit, and rigid rear cover, we would still sell the used gear sets at Carlisle after every 150 passes or so. The housing assembly was just not strong enough to maintain proper gear clearance and alignment. This was with big slicks in a low 10's bracket car (66' Chevelle).
A few of our friends used Dana's and didn't have nearly as many issues.

Saw plenty of 10-bolts break way back when.
One time a guy sheared off all the lug nuts in a fast Nova at the launch and nearly took down the tree.
Yep. The factory HP and Tq that a Ram Air GTO, 4 speed puts out, is more suited to a Dana 60.

12 bolts dropped in, but up until the end of the Judge they didnt use one
 

Jared

Royal Corn
Premium Corn
Reaction score
34,475
Points
113
Yes, no A body handled well, but F bodies were arguably created to handle. I had a 79 Trans Am and it would swap ends at the drop of a dime. The 91 was MUCH better. My 305 TBI beat the pants off the 350 LT1's, but we already went there!

My 200 Trans Am handled like a slot car!

But my 2020 Grand Cherokee wouldve killed em all!
Yep. A little work and the 305 could be fun. Mine had a quadrajet that I swapped out for an Eddy with a performer intake and headers. No major modifications to the engine other than pulling all the heavy emission and AC stuff off. Only did headers to get rid of the smog tubes coming out of the manifolds. Car would roast the tires for 2 city blocks without an issue.

Didn’t the 79 TA still have leaf springs in the rear?
 

ponchonlefty

Royal Corn
Reaction score
39,623
Points
113
Location
alabama
my 74 formula handled pretty well after the right tires and shocks i used the factory 1 1/4 front sway bar and 3/4 rear. got it handling pretty neutral. but this was on the street. a track would probably be a lot different. there is no perfect handling combo that's what the driver is for. on the street roads vary too much to really tell if the mods make a difference to justify the cost. learn to control the car first. then you will know what it needs.
 

Jim C

Royal Corn
Reaction score
13,861
Points
113
Location
Bethesda, MD
I only buy brake parts from Napa. The quality of the top tier is pretty good and very consistent. Prices might not be cheapest but a fair deal IMO.
One time they had 5 different rotors for my car.
Since they are so thin these days and no one wants to turn them, I get the second from the top model and they've worked great.

There is some total Chinese junk out there.
 

Jared

Royal Corn
Premium Corn
Reaction score
34,475
Points
113
I did a full brake job on the Mustang when I got it. I went with Powerstop for the pads and rotors and Centric for rebuilt calipers. Rayspestos for all the soft lines. Rotors seem decent. I’ll agree with Jim. Buy a decent name brand rotor or from a store with a good reputation. The kit you linked is probably ok. Cheep rotors are not worth the headache. My dad went that route last time and they were warped out of the box.

I’d be careful using coil overs on a daily driver. The wrong set can make a car extremely harsh.
 

mktrat

Royal Corn
Premium Corn
Reaction score
22,701
Points
113
Location
The Mitten
I did a full brake job on the Mustang when I got it. I went with Powerstop for the pads and rotors and Centric for rebuilt calipers. Rayspestos for all the soft lines. Rotors seem decent. I’ll agree with Jim. Buy a decent name brand rotor or from a store with a good reputation. The kit you linked is probably ok. Cheep rotors are not worth the headache. My dad went that route last time and they were warped out of the box.

I’d be careful using coil overs on a daily driver. The wrong set can make a car extremely harsh.
But I want a go cart!!!
Just a slightly larger one. It’s only a toy. Not really a daily, although I have been driving it a lot lately. I “can” drive my Vibe too.

I figured a kit might make it easier, possibly cheaper as a kit. I really just need new rear calipers. So maybe I’ll swap out all the rear stuff, and wait on the fronts til they actually need it.
Thanks for the suggestions. I can’t even remember the last time I bought a brake caliper, I’ve installed plenty, but haven’t actually bought them.
 

Jared

Royal Corn
Premium Corn
Reaction score
34,475
Points
113
But I want a go cart!!!
Just a slightly larger one. It’s only a toy. Not really a daily, although I have been driving it a lot lately. I “can” drive my Vibe too.
My kids Miata had coil overs on it when he got it. They were not that old and the car was stored indoors. Even so, The adjuster but was completely frozen on one of them. They were lower end parts. They were also extremely stiff which made the car very unpleasant to ride in. We ended up putting the stock ones back. With all this in mind, if you do go this route, put the best parts you can afford on it.
 
Top