Grandpa: Spohn Suspension Upgrade Part 1

We knew that dropping a big power plant into our car would be a simple fix for the “go juice” for our wagon. However, the part that concerned us was the suspension. We knew that we wanted to go with Ridetech for their air springs, but what about the rest of the system? Thankfully, we got in touch with Spohn Performance who helped set us up with everything to make this car go from driving like a cloud to a lighting bolt!

Upgrading the Steering and Suspension on Our B-Body

Our wagon is big, old, and worn out. We wanted to build a strong foundation for this car to ride on, so the suspension is where we decided to start. We’ll begin with the basics in this article, and then we’ll revisit the suspension again a little later on down the road.

We tapped our friends at Spohn Suspension for the parts to upgrade this old B-Body. Spohn is best known for kick ass F-Body suspension, but they make amazing muscle car hardware, as well as.. well, eccentric upgrades like our B-Body. We also got with Energy Suspension to help with some of the worn out bushings on our ride as well.

Here is a quick overview of what we installed:

• Spohn Performance Adjustable Upper Control Arms
• Spohn Performance Lower Control Arms
• Spohn Performance GM Ball Joints
• Spohn Performance Upper Control Arm Shafts
• Spohn Performance Steering Rebuild Kit
• Spohn Performance Front Sway Bar
• Energy Suspension Lower Control Arm Bushings

With the above mentioned upgrades, our vehicle will have a better foundation to build the rest of the car on. With so many different uses planned for this car, we need components that will serve well in a multitude of areas. We spoke with Jeff Bonnett of Energy Suspenson and Steve Spohn of Spohn Performance to get the low down on how we would be able to do what’s best for our wagon.


Ugly, huh?

Front End Rebuild

Let’s start in the front of the car, beginning with the removal of the stock components. With out trusty ball joint separator in hand, we popped both the left and right side spindles off and set them aside. To get to the upper control arm shaft, we needed to remove the entire upper control arm. Keep track of the spacers that shim the correct amount of toe angle into each wheel.


The stock ball joints had expired long ago. Spohn makes quality replacement ball joints for just about every GM vehicle including our B-Body. The new ones are not only stronger, but they even include a nurrled exterior to really bite into the control arm.

These new ball joints pressed in just like every other ball joint we have ever worked with. Spohn includes all new hardware to go with these. Just make sure that you pump the right amount of grease into them before driving your vehicle.


Once off the car, we found that the best way to remove the two pressed-in bushings that hold the shaft in place was to use an air chisel. We didn’t have to worry about damaging the old bushings as Spohn includes new ones with the shafts.


With the shaft removed, we used part of a ball joint press and a vice to press out the other remaining bushing on the upper control arm.


Disassembly of the upper control arm continued with the removal of the upper ball joint. This was simple with the help of a drill and die grinder to remove the back sides of the rivets and pop out the ball joint. Our new Spohn ball joints are held on with grade 8 hardware, but they still use the stock rivet holes which makes this a simple bolt in job.


Because we were reusing the stock control arms, we took advantage of having them completely disassembled and spent some time with them in the sand blasting cabinet. A quick coat of paint had these 20+ year old control arms looking brand new again.

A quick search online revealed a number of DIY ways to press in the new bushings on GM control arms. We thought it was best, though, to let a professional do the work. When it came down to it, it was only a few extra bucks to ensure that it was done right and without damaging our parts.


Next, we bolted in the upper control arm ball joints from Spohn, and we pressed in the ones on the lowers. Anytime you change the ball joints on your ride, make sure that you grease the joint before you go out and drive the vehicle. Not doing so can damage the part.

We also swapped out the lower control arm bushings for a set of new polyurethane bushings from Energy Suspension. The OE bushings were in bad shape, and they were in dire need of replacement. “Worn or torn bushings will throw off the vehicle’s suspension and steering geometry causing the car or truck to lose its front or rear end alignment which may lead to costly shop visits if not corrected,” explained Jeff Bonnet of Energy Suspension.

“Audible squeaking is usually the first indication of bushing failure, which means that the bushing has separated from the metal sleeve it was originally bonded to and is now rotating inside the sleeve allowing the bushing to slowly deteriorate due to friction,” he added. Our car had all of the above.


“Polyurethane is impervious to oils, gases, road salts, or atmospheric conditions including freezing temperatures and desert heat,” Jeff Bonnet explained to us. The bushings we found all over this car weren’t showing such resistance and had definitely seen better days.



Our Wagon’s Steering Upgrades

Up next was the steering and sway bar. This was simply a task of pulling out the old and bolting up the new. We started with the sway bar. After unbolting the end links and the two clamps that held it to the frame, the old bar fell right out of the car and into the dumpster.


The new Spohn sway bar included all new hardware and end links with polyurethane bushings for a stiffer ride. “The bigger bar increases the roll stiffness and lets the rest of the suspension start working better,” said Steve Spohn of Spohn Performance.


The stock steering on this car should have been replaced over a decade ago by the looks of it. In fact, we didn’t even have to use a press or a pickle fork to remove anything since it just all came right apart! “These are wear items on these cars,” explained Spohn. “After so much time, it just needs to be replaced.” Again, Spohn provides all the hardware you need to complete the swap all the way down to the cotter pins for all the joints. Even the idler arm is replaced with brand new metal.


To keep the geometry of the steering the same, we bench assembled the entire new steering system to check the lengths of each arm to the stock. Then, we bolted it all up in the car according to the instructions provided.


The 1-5/16 sway bar bolted right up and we were ready to move onto the rear.


We decided that the stock steering box will have to do for now. We are looking into other GM steering boxes that will be able to bolt up to this frame and give us a quicker ratio for out on the autocross track. For drag racing, though, this will be fine for now.

Installing The Spohn Rear Suspension on Our Wagon

For mass production purposes, GM built this car, as with all cars, with stamped steel control arms. “Switching to a tubular or boxed control arm means your suspension will be stiffer,” said Spohn. “That means the car can hit the tire harder and transfer more power to the ground.” In addition, the new control arms are a tad bit lighter and look way better. This car definitely needed improvements in both of those categories.


We opted for Spohn’s adjustable upper control arms for our wagon. “Switching to an adjustable control arm lets you dial in the pinion angle you want. I always recommend them to any custom swapping out of the suspension because if you change things like ride height or tire size, you can set it perfectly,” said Spohn.

What a great advantage to be fitting out our wagon with air suspension from Ridetech. We can change the pinion to different angles that best suit the different types of driving this car will be subjected to such as street, strip, and autocross.


Spohn sells these control arms for a number of different applications, all coming pre-greased with all of the fittings already installed.


In order to install the rear suspension, the first thing we did was unbolt everything and drop the rear end out. Be careful here, as there might be more than you think bolted up to the housing. Look out for brake lines, parking brake cables, and other small components that may hinder you from removing the rear end.


For those of you that are new to GM suspension mods, the front bolts on the rear lower control arms are through the frame.

Once the stock components were out of the way, it was time to unbox the new stuff! We laid out the parts for some quick photos and really got a chance to admire the craftsmanship of these control arms.


Before you get too excited and just run under the car to get started as quickly as possible, make sure you take the time to measure the control arms first if you are switching to adjustable. We measured the length of the stock upper control arms, and then we adjusted the new Spohn control arms to match. Once we install the rest of the suspension, we will go back and set the pinion angle to our liking.


The lowers were just a hair easier. These bolted into the stock locations using new hardware. One thing to keep in mind when installing control arms, be it upper or lower, is that it’s good practice to keep all the bolts facing toward the center of the car. The only place we couldn’t do this was where the lower control arms bolted to the rear end because of the length of bolt not being able to fit in that direction. No big deal, just a good thing to keep in mind.

Putting It All Together

 

Finally, we reattached the brakes and lowered our wagon back down. I can tell you from personal experience that just doing the few things we mentioned above made a considerable difference already in the ride of the car. Although we don’t yet have our Ridetech air suspension dialed in and ready to go, we decided to do a little driving with the stock shocks and springs to get an idea of the improvements we made.

First off, the entire rear of the car felt immediately stiffer and the car tracked straighter. Steering was somewhat more precious, and it seems body roll was decreased. That being said – with the stock shocks and springs it still feels a little bit like a cloud, but it is definitely a much thicker cloud now!

Thanks to Spohn and Energy Suspension, we kicked off part 1 of our wagon series. Next up is a heaping of air suspension courtesy of Ride tech, and a new 9-inch Ford rear end thanks for Currie and Eaton.

Make sure to follow along, because our wagon is gonna take us on a wild, wild ride!


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