So what is the best bang for the buck to improve the handling on the GN? Not looking to race or autocross, just want the car to handle a little LESS like something that is 35 years old.
I tried doing a search on Hotchkis to see what of people thought of their front control arms and springs, but most of what comes up is people SELLING the stuff, so it must have not produced the desired results.
Hoping to spend 500 to 700 bucks.
Thanks
You're not going to get it done for $700, but you can do it for under $1000
Since you're not racing, don't overthink it. Get it back to where it should be and make a few strategic improvements, and you can get almost all of it from AutoZone or O'Reilly:
1) Body bushing kit - $~190
2) Springs and shocks, Moog 5660 front and CC651 Rear springs, with the Bilstein shocks, ~$400-$450
3) Front poly Control arm bushings: $90
4) Rear rubber control arm bushings: $50
5) Tall upper ball joints, $80 -
AFCO 20032-2LF Low Friction Upper Ball Joint, Extended Length
6) A good alignment, $70-100
That's going to make it ride and handle like a modern car for a shade under a grand. New steering components could add $150 or so (tie rods, idler, etc).
If the car's not rusty and the body bolts come out, and you get a ball joint press and the tool for pressing the old bushings out of the rear end, you can do all of this over a weekend with a lift. Without a lift, the front springs can be a bear. Autozone also sells fully assembled front control arms with new bushings and ball joints already installed. They'd be a HUGE time saver if you don't want to mess with the poly.