Suspension Systems

Looks like I have settled on the <a href="http://www.magnumforce.com/magnumstore/shop/item.aspx?itemid=2">front suspension that will go under the Six-Pack 318 one of these days.  One of the problems with my car is the torsion bar system that came from the factory.  Instead of coil springs, it has long, heavy torsion bars and it does not handle very well.  This resto-mod is for a good handling street car, not a vehicle that restores bad assemblies to their original badness.

What sold me was watching installation videos for their system vs. others.  This one bolts in, literally, and replaces an assembly that unbolts, literally, from the vehicle.  Others required cutting and trimming of existing pieces or drilling extra holes.  With the options I want, it is a little less expensive than most of their competition too.  Less expensive is not the primary factor either, but it is a factor.  That was the last thing I looked at when making this selection.

Something others should know, a good place to start for your suspension selection is at your header/exhaust manifold selection.  Those parts take up a lot of room under your hood and could collide with the wrong suspension system.  A stock exhaust is less of an issue, but as soon as you decide you are going with something different you need to start checking other things.

I was in luck, since TTI offers headers of a style I like, with a finish I want too.  The plan is using their headers with bungs installed at ports 1 and 8 (farthest forward exhaust tube on driver's side, farthest back on the passenger side) for exhaust gas temperature readings.  Ceramic unpolished outer coating that, to me, has a stainless steel look, and an internal thermal coating.  I would prefer they were made of stainless to begin with and add the other coatings, maybe I'll find some others like that.

The lucky part is TTI lists some suspension systems that their headers will clear, and that is where I started evaluating those combinations.  They also inform their customers that steering and starter modifications need to be made to accommodate their product.

For the exhaust, that will be all stainless, ceramic and thermal barrier coated, all the way to the tips.  Might add a bung at the X pipe to pull O2 readings, even though it is not used by the carburation system.