Dragging my aZZ

[WAYNES WORLD]

View attachment 150261View attachment 150262View attachment 150263View attachment 150265

- - - Updated - - -

When I purchased my car I didn’t really know what the long term plan was but I knew the current stance was not what I wanted. It was too much of a tail dragger for me and it handled poorly. In fact my 99 Jeep Cherokee would spank it on the windy road and it has over 200K on the meter.
I know I could smack down a bunch of clams and just order up a full kit but right now I’m trying to stay on a tight budget. I knew I needed to bump up the rear so I got a pair of HD springs from Mancini. I was very disappointed in these. They didn’t ride very well and they only raised the rear about 1/2 “so I made a nice pair of shackles to get another ¾”. The other problem is the car was tilted, a bit higher on the right side by 5/8”. So I added a pair of air shocks in an attempt to cure the tilt. I plumbed the shocks separately to mitigate the dreaded air transfer swaying. Took the car out for a ride, it rode like crap and handled worse than ever. Sold the air shock sand listed the springs on Cl in hopes of recouping some of my money.
I ripped it all down and purchased a pair of add-a-leaf http://www.summitracing.com/parts/exp-13120/overview/ for less than $40. Added the extra leaf to the original spring pack and added a set of KYB shocks. The ride was much better than the HD springs and handled better too. Since the front was too soft even with new KYB’s I added new 1.0 dia torsion bars.
The car now has front and rear sway bars with Moog offset bushings giving me 3 deg positive caster. I have readjusted the ride height to my liking and even though I know I could make the car handle better by lowering it I prefer the taller raked look. Here are some before and after pictures. The after pictures are a bit skewed due to the slope of my driveway but I think you can get the idea.
I welcome your feedback.
Wayne

 

[benno440]

lower is always better as it lowers the centre of gravity and shifts roll weight lower to the ground. if you really want it to handle better get some bigger wheels and fatter tires

 

[WAYNES WORLD]

lower is always better as it lowers the centre of gravity and shifts roll weight lower to the ground. if you really want it to handle better get some bigger wheels and fatter tires

True, but I wanted the car to look a certain way (Somewhat stock)and still handle better than it did. I was able to find a good compromise and if I would have not purchased the HD springs and air shocks I would have come in under my budget.
Wayne

 

[69RRGTX]

Your Coronet look great, I was going to suggest taking your stock springs and having them re-arched a little. This might give you an inch or so with a good ride too.

Good luck,
Mark