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Jensen Healey
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I see the Superpro cross member lower bushing is available at the Club Store. Is the upper mounting available or should I call Delta?

I'm gathering parts for winter projects.

Kurt

Greg Fletcher
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I have those (part# 91281), but they are not hot sellers, mainly because they tend to last forever. I rarely see cars that need this part renewed. Those are $86.72 each.

Jensen Healey
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I replaced all of the other bushings front and rear and still feel a bit of sloppyness in the ride.

Greg Fletcher
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Did you take them out and look at them earlier? Worn top subframe bushings would look pretty beat up. What kind of shocks do you have?

Jensen Healey
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I have never removed the subframe. It's good to know the bushings are available if needed.

The shocks are KYB from Delta. I was going to install the Konis I acquired from Ron Earp but I'm worried the car won't clear the berm at the curb.

I have noticed a lot of wear on the swaybar bushings so I got some delrin and will try to fabricate some.

Kurt

Greg Fletcher
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The KYBs are not a performance shock and are a lot like the original factory shocks that are still on my car (ugh). Which is fine if you're looking for that Land Yacht style ride of yesteryear. The Konis provide an extremely firm ride, but that would be a better way to go than what you have now, I wouldn't hesitate to put those on. Your ride height should be where it originally was.

Jensen Healey
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The KYB gas should be an upgrade from the Woodhead shocks that were on the car.

The Konis are non-gas so the ride height will be lower. My spoiler already drags on the berm and the tailpipe drags on the street while exiting the driveway so non-gas may not be an option.

Anyone want to trade a pair of Bilsteins for my uprated/ rebuilt Konis?

Kurt

Last edited on 11-23-2008 11:41 pm by Jensen Healey

Jensenman
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I don't have any Bilsteins, but I do have a pair of the front KONIs and if you (or anyone else on the board) would be willing to part with a pair of rear KONIs I'd be interested.

Jensen Healey
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The KYB shocks from Delta are a high pressure monotube shock similar in design to the Bilsteins. They are a definite improvement over the stock Girling shocks. The materials and valving are certainly different from the Bilstein design but KYB is not a "crap" product. When the shock heats up the gas expands causing a firmer ride. The Gas Adjust is their midline product and carries a lifetime warranty.

Delta sells the KYB KG5552 from the '79-'85 Celica for the rear and a modified KG5501 from the '82 Corvette (rear shock) for the front. They are not specifically valved for the JH as far as I know. I use Koni rear shocks from the 1985 Celica. They are a bit firm on the soft setting but I have no issues with keeping the rear in control. The gas pushes the rear end higher which corrects the droopy butt feeling while driving the JH.

I have no doubt the stock Girling shocks were never originally intended for the JH. It would be prudent to purchase a shock specifically valved for the JH like the Bilsteins sold in the Club Store.

Kurt

Last edited on 11-24-2008 02:22 am by Jensen Healey

Greg Fletcher
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Sorry, I wasn't trying to be snotty about the KYB shocks, I'm sure they work fine. They will change the ride height in the back by raising it up, which I'm not crazy about. The "droopy butt" you describe – my thinking is that's a weight distribution problem with that car, not an inherent suspension issue. I've noticed that simply putting a 50lb bag of sand in the trunk will transform the handling characteristics.

I had Konis on my old car for a number of years, I don't remember that the ride height was any different from original. These were Konis when they made them to fit the JH, which have not been made for some time. I'll dig those out and compare them to the Girlings sometime.

The original Girling shocks are not bad, they are serviceable, just softer than what I think would be ideal. I have no idea what else those fit back in the day. I'll have to do some digging around, that would be interesting to find out.

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The twin tube Konis and the Girling are hydraulic shocks and have no effect on the ride height. The KYB and other gas shocks do.

The Konis I have in the rear are gas shocks.

The droop butt feeling is just that, a feeling while driving the car. I felt like I couldn't see over the bonnet, like it was going uphill.



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