Thoughts on Bilstein Shocks on Front End

[64Rivvy]

All,

 

About to start rebuilding my 64 front end suspension soon and wanted some opinions on shocks.  I've heard that people seem pretty happy with Bilstein's on the front and that they are stiffer and more responsive than stock, but still a nice soft OEM like ride.  I don't want to lose that feeling like I'm driving on a marshmallow, which is what I love about these old big cars but a little improvement over stock would be good. 

 

Any opinions or things to look out for with the Bilstein shocks?  I'm looking at getting them from PST. 

 

Thanks.

[RivNut]

I'm stuck on the Monroe Sensa-Tracs built expressly to the 63 - 65 Rivieras.  No adapters, or modifications needed.  They're firm enough to eliminate any jounce but they still give you that boulevard ride.  Part numbers 5759 and 5960.  Rock Auto sells them for $16.54 each.  Not a bad deal.

 

After looking at the online, I notice that they're now called OESpectrum.  Same part number as when they were Sensa_tracs. ????? 

Edited November 4, 2015 by RivNut (see edit history)

[RoadShark]

I put the Bilsteins on my '67 since they did such a great job on my '68 Biscayne.  They bolted right up and the ride is really nice now.

Edited November 4, 2015 by RoadShark (see edit history)

[70rivme]

I put Monroes on the front of my '70  and they are a great improvement over the originals that were on there when I bought it. More recently I discovered that Bilsteins are available for the '70 so I purchased a set of rears from opgi when I did the rear differential swap a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, when the car comes out of storage in the spring I will be removing and selling them. Now the car rides like it has wooden blocks in the rear as the suspension. The rear springs are original so I don't know if that has any contribution to it, but it rode pretty good previous to me replacing the original rear shocks. I would have thought that the Bilsteins ride way better than that! I'm hesitant to waste the $ on the fronts to find out they ride the same. If you do go with them on the front, let me know how well they turn out for you. Good luck with whichever shock you go with!

[msdminc]

On my 1965 I replaced the Shocks all the way around with Bilstein's, as well as putting Coil Spring Specialties stock springs all the way around.  The original springs were shot.  Now the ride height is factory and the feel is perfect.  Although Ed gives a great and less expensive proposition with the Monroe's as replacement shocks at <$17 each.  I didn't shop enough when I was going through the replacement process and hadn't found this forum yet..

 

BTW I didn't have to make any modifications to use the Bilstein's.

 

Rock On

 

gord

[64Rivvy]

Thanks guys. I found the Monroe shocks,on rock auto. I'm going to try those out.

[RivNut]

I've been mulling this deal about shocks over for a while and I remembered reading some time ago about how to get a nice ride and still get some performance handling out of your car.  In the article that I read, it was suggested that you not control sway with shocks but rather use a shock that would give you the ride that you want and control the sway with sway bars.  I know that Tony (Fat Buick) from down under has come up with a firmer than OE front sway bar and has also developed a rear sway bar for the first generation Rivieras.  Perhaps he can share his experiences with us.

 

I'm also aware that Addco makes larger sway bars for the front and offers a rear kit for the 1st generation Riviera.  Their rear kit bolts on rather crudely but there's a separate listing for the Wildcat / Electra that might work as well.  Has anyone had any experience with any of these products?

 

Ed

[RoadShark]

I just put the Addco front on my car.  Definitely made a big difference.  I'm going to do the rear too, but it looks like I'll have to  make some brackets.  I've seen pictures of it mounted down low - and it's just too low for the roads around here.  1BadRiv had his mounted up higher.

 

The only issue I know of when running soft springs and shocks, and big sway bars is bumps.  If you hit a bump on one side only, the big bar doesn't twist the way the stocker would and you feel it more.  Bumps in a hard corner might get interesting too.

[fatbuick]

The Addco rear bar is too low and creates unnessary stress on the rear control arms. The arms are also weakened by having to drill them to mount brackets. Very crude in my opinion.

I had a better one designed here which mounts beautifully and works well in conjunction with an increased front bar dia.

Read all about them here with a link to an installation gallery. Hardly any mods needed.

http://www.mako.com.au/?content_destination=/ibm_bin/common/product_list_display.cfm&product_groupID=10

 

To save costs due to shipping from Australia I would buy the Addco front bar and our rear kit. Due to the favourable exchange rate for Americans you effectively get about a 40% discount. I will need to get a shipping quote for you.

 

I installed Bilsteins from George Hussey and they improve the handling enormously by removing the floating feeling at higher speeds. What can I say, you get what you pay for

[60FlatTop]

What are you guys doing with your cars? When I was around 15 years old I read an article about professional drivers and how they could drive with a full glass of water on the dash without spilling a drop. From that point I have driven in that manner; fast and smooth, maybe too fast a few times.

 

I have a friend who drives his Rolls-Royce cars in what might be considered an aggressive manner. The first time my wife and I went out to dinner when he drove, she said "Gee, those Rolls-Royce cars don't ride as smooth as your Buicks."

 

I have Delco shocks, replaced springs, good ball joints, and fresh bushings. Oh, and biased tires.

 

It's like:

 

Bernie

[RoadShark]

The Addco rear bar is too low and creates unnessary stress on the rear control arms. The arms are also weakened by having to drill them to mount brackets. Very crude in my opinion.

I had a better one designed here which mounts beautifully and works well in conjunction with an increased front bar dia.

Read all about them here with a link to an installation gallery. Hardly any mods needed.

http://www.mako.com.au/?content_destination=/ibm_bin/common/product_list_display.cfm&product_groupID=10

 

To save costs due to shipping from Australia I would buy the Addco front bar and our rear kit. Due to the favourable exchange rate for Americans you effectively get about a 40% discount. I will need to get a shipping quote for you.

 

I installed Bilsteins from George Hussey and they improve the handling enormously by removing the floating feeling at higher speeds. What can I say, you get what you pay for

Any plans for a '66-'70 Riviera rear bar?

[fatbuick]

We should do one. It would be so similar and I have a guy here who wants one as well so we could check the differences on his 66. I'll keep you posted.

[64Rivvy]

I bought the Monroe shocks all around, full front end rebuild kit from PST, and track bar bushing kit from nailhead buicks. Plan to install it all soon so I'll let you know how it works out.

In the meantime, I've heard references to new/better alignment specs for radial tires. Anyone have those or can point me to them? I can take those with me when I get the alignment after rebuilding the front end.

Thanks.

[RivNut]

I typed caster into the search box and limited the search to the Riviera forum.  Came up with this thread.

 

http://forums.aaca.org/topic/249248-63-suspension-kits/?hl=caster#entry1320903

 

Look at post #4.

[Mass9192]

Hi there, I'm a newbee here and was looking around and saw this post witch i was trying to get info on replacing my shocks for my 63 Rivi. I bought my springs from Jamco suspension and heard good reviews. Going to lower the front 2in and 1in in the back so will see how it turns out. A lil late response to 64Rivvy not sure if you found out about your alignment specs but that place you mentioned nailheadbuicks where you got your bushings from provide great info on there web site just look it up. they are very helpful and provide great info on a lot of things since they specialize on buicks only. Hope that helps. By the way this is my very first response with my new Rivi Family Ha! I posted some pics of my 63 riviera so you guys can check them out. Working progress but getting will post pics once done with paint job and put back together. 

[telriv]

And where do you think that most of that info came from. I have an Addco rear bar & raised it by mounting the plates under the coil springs, on TOP of the control arms. I ALSO didn't like how low it hanged. This was ALL done back in the late 70's.

[RivNut]

3 hours ago, telriv said:

And where do you think that most of that info came from. I have an Addco rear bar & raised it by mounting the plates under the coil springs, on TOP of the control arms. I ALSO didn't like how low it hanged. This was ALL done back in the late 70's.

Tom,

I've done a little research on the Addco bar that's recommended for the Riviera and another Addco bar that's specified for the Wildcat and Electra.  Both have hardware that sticks down below the lower control arm.  If you cross reference that 934 bar, it shows that it also fits the 1958 - 1964 Chevy Impala.  If you look for a 1958 - 1964 rear bar from Hellwig, you'll find one that bolts on to the sides of the lower control arm and also runs through a couple of bushings that are mounted to the rear axle.  Much more like the bar that Fat Buick down under has come up with.  Nothing hanging down, no U bolts, but you do have to drill some new holes in the lower control arm. 

 

Ed

[fatbuick]

Hi guys, I thought you would have seen my previous post with a link to the Rear Kit we make which is far superior to the Addco version and does not hang down below the diff or require any drilling of control arms.

Read all about them here with a link to an installation gallery. Hardly any mods needed.

http://www.mako.com.au/?content_destination=/ibm_bin/common/product_list_display.cfm&product_groupID=10

 

[telriv]

I needed NO MODS when I installed the bar ABOVE the control arms UNDER the springs. Had NO holes to drill in the control arms. Only ONE additional hole in the mounting plate for the bolt that holds the spring in place. NO weakening of the control arm by drilling additional holes. I used the MOST structural part of the control arm so there in NO twisting. And, since it's mounted solid there's NO bushings to wear out or replace. There is NO rattling or rough riding that is associated with the bar being installed this way.

Tony, I'm NOT bashing you for the design you have come up with, but just mentioning what I did when I ran into the same problem many moons ago. Parts were not available or people willing to take the time to engineer something. I have been coming up with ideas because I didn't like the way things were so I wanted to make them better. I've been in the "restore" process since I bought my Riv. in 1964. Much of the stuff that's available today is because I took the time with diff. manufacturers to get what is available today. I DON'T want ANY MENTION for any of this as I was just trying to get MY CAR to do what I wanted at the time. Others have profited from this & I'm glad it has helped others. I also DIDN'T LIKE the way the bar hung down so low. You have done a GREAT job in offering some of these parts you have designed & offered.

 

 

Tom T.

 

 

[telriv]

As a further ado, The way I mounted my Addco sway bar it actually sits higher, almost in the middle of the rear housing, than the one available from Tony. Right under, but not touching the axle tubes.

[RoadShark]

26 minutes ago, telriv said:

As a further ado, The way I mounted my Addco sway bar it actually sits higher, almost in the middle of the rear housing, than the one available from Tony. Right under, but not touching the axle tubes.

Any pictures?

[telriv]

The next time I have the rear of my Riv. up in the air I will take pictures, Don't know when that may happen though.

[Mass9192]

On 11/14/2015 at 1:19 PM, RoadShark said:

I just put the Addco front on my car.  Definitely made a big difference.  I'm going to do the rear too, but it looks like I'll have to  make some brackets.  I've seen pictures of it mounted down low - and it's just too low for the roads around here.  1BadRiv had his mounted up higher.

 

The only issue I know of when running soft springs and shocks, and big sway bars is bumps.  If you hit a bump on one side only, the big bar doesn't twist the way the stocker would and you feel it more.  Bumps in a hard corner might get interesting too.

Question for you roadshark, I just had someone install my Addco front sway bar on my 63 Rivi and does not look right. He said he had to remove the plates that where holding up the original one. Can you post pictures of yours so I can see how it turned out would really appreciate that thanks. 

[fatbuick]

Bolt-in, no cutting or welding 22mm in dia. includes all mounting hardware required. Prices shown are in AU$ so you'll need to take about 25% off what's shown.
Drive after about one hour installation. (see detailed online instructions)

[RoadShark]

18 hours ago, Mass9192 said:

Question for you roadshark, I just had someone install my Addco front sway bar on my 63 Rivi and does not look right. He said he had to remove the plates that where holding up the original one. Can you post pictures of yours so I can see how it turned out would really appreciate that thanks. 

I'll post some pics later this week.

 

[Mass9192]

4 minutes ago, RoadShark said:

I'll post some pics later this week.

 

Thank you very much, appreciate that. I just want to make sure the guys that installed it in my did it right because it just looks like a sloppy job to me. Thanks again ??

[RoadShark]

No problem, but remember that mine is a '67 so there may be some differences.

[Mass9192]

57 minutes ago, RoadShark said:

No problem, but remember that mine is a '67 so there may be some differences.

Ok good to know thanks. 

[RoadShark]

Here you go.  Two things to keep in mind:

 

1.  The car is on the lift with the front tires hanging.  

2.  I put very short bushings in my end links to try and stiffen-up the assembly.  This seems to be causing the end of the bar to contact the spindle.  I may have to put longer bushings in.

 

On my '67 everything bolted right up.  I used the existing end link holes in the lower arm.

 

[Mass9192]

1 hour ago, RoadShark said:

Here you go.  Two things to keep in mind:

 

1.  The car is on the lift with the front tires hanging.  

2.  I put very short bushings in my end links to try and stiffen-up the assembly.  This seems to be causing the end of the bar to contact the spindle.  I may have to put longer bushings in.

 

On my '67 everything bolted right up.  I used the existing end link holes in the lower arm.

 

I see, it does look different from my set up. But I will have to take pics of my car once I get it back and post some and see how it turned out. This helps and gives me an idea how it should turn out. Thanks again really appreciate the pics! ??