I am thinking about installing some coil over shocks on my 69 firebird.I was wondering if anybody has used coil over shocks on your firebirds.I am looking for any information on what has worked good.Thanks Robert
I have the QA1 coil overs up front on my bird. Not their "R" racing system or the "Economy" system. Just the regular ones. I was mostly persuaded by the bad luck others have had with replacement springs having undesirable ride height and/or uneven ride height. That, and I wanted to be able to adjust my ride height when necessary (add a/c, swap cast iron heads or intake for aluminum, change rear springs, ect). Also, the shocks are adjustable too. No regrets so far, the ride is comfortable, shocks set the middle setting.
I can't give any feedback as my car is not on the road but I also have the single adjustable QA1 shocks up front. I think the springs are 450#. Adjusting the ride height and being able to control the ride feel will be nice. I know QA1 suggested the 450's but I think the 550's might work a little better if everything is still stcok.
I've always wondered if it's a good idea to support the weight of the front end on the shock mounts. Are you thinking of just replacing the stock shocks with coilovers or going with tubular control arms that are made for coilovers?
I think you have to replace your lower control arms to install the coilovers
I had the same concern though as a long time ago I heard about others welding in extra material in their original arms but I do not have any first hand info on exactly what coilovers they were installing. I searched the web for any negative feedback and talked to their tech dept and they assured me that it's no problem for the stock arms. Not that I completely take their word for it but I just couldn't find any real info about a control arm failure due to these.
