engine or suspension first?

cptkirk32 · 06-21-05, 07:50 AM

Hey Everyone,
Thanks for the info about the engine. I've been reading about things I should do to my car and am wondering what to do first. Get the engine or do all suspension work (trailing arms, diff. etc) first to be able to handle the new motor. From what I remember when I looked at the car it looks like nothing has been done to it and I am worried that if I put a new motor in it'll just rip everything apart. So my question is what would you do first??
Thanks for the help.
SGT Kirk(76 days short!)

Grizzly · 06-21-05, 08:04 AM

I'm all for the ground up, tires, brakes, suspension in that order. Motor is one of the last things I would consider. I you're handy, most everything until you get to the paint and the motor you can do in your driveway.

Have fun.....................

L48 · 06-21-05, 12:09 PM

Tough question. I would work on the "weak link" first. If the engine is old and tired it would get done first. If the suspension is worse I would start there. If both are in good shape I would start with the engine first, since I would say the stock suspension is probably more than adequate for the stock engine. Besides you can always lay off the throttle if you think the suspension is not up to the task.

maxrevs85 · 06-21-05, 08:12 PM

If your going to do it all , pull the motor and drive train first and then work on the suspension. More room to work and you can be doing that while your waiting for the motor. Thats how I did mine.

fine69 · 06-22-05, 10:15 PM

I pulled my engine and tranny out, and am currently restoring all the suspension and steering components while the engine is at the machine shop.
With everything out of the way, I've been able to access the chasis, treat it with POR-15 and topcoat it with "BlackCote" -- not to mention the firewall, vents, linkage...

One day I hope to do a complete frame-off resto, but for now I think doing it this way is the next best thing way to get things crystal clean - and give the engine a new life at the same time.

BarryK · 06-23-05, 06:18 AM

I agree with Grizzly - definately do the suspension work first, especially if it hasn't been touched in a long time (if ever) including his order of priority (tires, brakes, suspension). Those componets are a key aspect of the safety of the vehicle and should always take priority over all else.
The motor work should be last once you know all parts of the rolling chassis have been gone over and redone as needed.

Are you planning on redoing your motor as stock or are you going higher performance? If you are going higher performance make sure the rest of the drivetrain can handle whatever power you are planning on. The old original tires were not as sticky as todays modern tires, especially if you are also going with wider rubber, and won't break free as easily. This causes a lot more strain on items such as your rear yokes, halfshafts, and driveshaft. If these items are in good condition and you are planning a motor of stock configuration or slightly more power than they should be fine, but if you are planning a MUCH higher powered performance motor upgrade than carefully plan on that power when redoing the rear end to make sure everything can handle the stress - the last thing you want is one of those items to let go at the wrong time. Having a halfshaft come flying up through the floor while you are "getting on it" would not be a pleasant experience.

ALWAYS do safety related items first than worry about other upgrades afterwards.

80convertible · 06-23-05, 08:41 AM

I asked myself this same question a few years ago. My engine could use a rebuild, but it runs nicely. I decided to fix what needed to be fixed first. I did the brakes first followed by misc. things that needed to be fixed. Now I'm in the middle of a complete tear down and resto of the rear suspension. I should mention that it gets expensive real quick. I'm glad I did this before adding power to my engine as I have discovered many issues in the rear suspension that I never noticed before. Adding power could have compromised safety had I done the engine first.

mrvette · 06-24-05, 09:23 AM

I totally agree with most of the guys above, in doing the complete suspension and brakes and rear hubs ....consider what you want in tires, especially in the rear, for mods to the t-arms via tire clearances....wheel changes...if any.... and of course fixing/upgrading the brakes which can be tricky ....
also consider if you want better steering, with moder wide tires I found the old antiquated steering to be just that, and so did a rack/pinion install, which yeilded a modern car in response now....that last one is a totally subjective thing based on how you drive, what roads are like in your town, what variety of roads you drive mostly...

after all the above, I would of course redo the engine as desired, tranny also, may want to consider an overdrive...cheapest/best being the 2004r automatic....

but the very FIRST thing to consider is RUST, frame, birdcage, another field entirely...

GENE