I like the way the car sits and rides, but its a little scary on the highway to say the least. Almost lost control of the car through a construction zone on the highway last summer so i gotta do something. Figured starting with springs and shocks are a no brainer after having the rear end launch like it was on a bungee cord. Im willing to sacrifice the ride for better handling. Please, no air ride. I refuse to go that route. Id like to keep things fairly simple. I thought about these since they are about the same price as new replacements. https://www.ebay.com/itm/58-64-Chevy-Full-Size-Car-2-5-Inch-Rear-1-Inch-Front-Drop-Lowering-Coil-Springs/381280392327?fits=Year:1964|Model:Impala&hash=item58c6151487:g:eSoAAOSwl8NVbH-f Dont know what to do for shocks though. I may also upgrade the rest of the suspension along the way since the bushings are bad. View attachment 4144471 View attachment 4144471 View attachment 4144472 View attachment 4144471 View attachment 4144472 View attachment 4144473
Damn those wheels are ugly when you put them on that car. As long as you plan to lower it an inch those springs should work.. I don't think your problem is springs though as the car looks like it sets pretty good unless someone screwed with the springs. Shocks, good quality gas shocks but don't go overboard on the heavy duty part. Back in the pre gas shock days I sold a lot of Monroe shocks and about half the guys who bought those yellow Monroe Magnums ended up complaining that they rode too stiff. The guys with heavy cars that drove hard loved them though. Check all of the bushings on both ends and pay close attention to the rear sway bar/ panhard rod. Check the ball joints and everything in the steering linkage. It does have the correct front sway bar? Some Ricky racer types removed them in the 60's and 70's so the front end would lift more when drag racing. Didn't handle worth a damn but they got more lift. I had a 62 Hartop and a 63 Ragtop and both wallowed around going down the road. I put shocks on the 62 and did some other work before I sold it I just pulled the engine out of the 63 and sold the body to some guy who thought he needed it a lot more than I did but didn't want the 350 I had in it. I think that car is in BC Canada now. Last check where the rear suspension links mount to the frame especially the upper control arm where it bolts to the frame. I've worked on a few of them that had issues there over the years.
LOL wheels aren't staying but I had to get the other off because of two bent wheels and 20 year old tires. I plan on putting original wheels and hubcaps on when I find them. I will admit though, the aluminum wheels make it easier to turn with manual steering. Shocks with the correct length and mounts are far and few between. I put new monroe shocks on before we went to goodguys and to be honest they are garbage. They are so weak the car bounces when I close the trunk. I don't know if the springs have been messed with. It's doubtful since the previous owner had no business around old cars. It does still have the original front sway bar but I need to put new bushings on sometime. I'm also considering a rear sway bar from cpp.
Make sure the springs are installed okay and are in good shape. If not then just replace with lowered stock, urethane bushings and a general gas shock like Monroe matic (KYB gas adjust are too stiff). Aftermarket swaybars IF you want to try to corner better........but these are boats remember. Also make sure where the torque arm mounts to isn't cracked. On the wheels I would go with a steel 15" and a stock small hubcap, the stock 14's look small.
The car sits even so I don't think the springs are bad. It very well could be more of a matter of the shocks themselves. I got the monroes on and even though they are the closest aftermarket shock to being correct, they are garbage.
They're a very soft shock. You could try the KYB gas adjust (the white ones) but they are stiff. I put Energy Suspension bushings in 2 out of 3 X frame cars I had, never a squeak and handled better. What exactly did the car do, bounce too much over uneven pavement, get pitched to one side or the other?
In my 61 Belair 4 door I changed all the suspension bushes, rubber only not poly, including front and rear control arms an panhard. New King Springs (Australian company) lowered 2” all round. New KYB shocks, not gas. Also changed every body mount bush to new rubber. And finally changed to 15” rims from 14”. Car rides well, is quiet, handles well for a car it’s size looks pretty cool IMO. Hope this helps. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
you can bet if the springs are original, they are shot. I replaced the springs in my 59 ElCamino with stock Wagon/Elcamino rear springs, and Big block/ ElCamino/wagon front springs(forgive me, I don't remember what they were listed as exactly)all readily available. I cut 1 coil off the fronts, and left the rear stock. It sits a bit high. I bought monroes for the front, but they were junk, and now have bilstiens which made a big difference. Next for me are front and rear sway bars.
Chances are that is the primary cause of your problem. You also stated 20 year old tires. Were they bias or radial? could have been an issue also. I would do the suspension bushings first then go from there.
The car bounces. It's not like a basketball, but more like a launch. It's been so bad a few times it's been at full length travel. I can't believe it didn't shell the hanger bearing.
How did you install the kyb shocks on the front? DO you just double up the bushings? They seemed too short when I tried to put them on and they wren't even close to the originals.
What part number bilstein did you use? I've looked at the ones for the g body, they look close in length.
I didn’t have any trouble with the front shocks at all. The previous Monroe’s actually were a pain to fit. I’ll see if I can find the part number of the KYB’s and I’ll post it up. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I've had 59 elCamino for 25 years. 1st thing is to rebuild suspension.(bushings).With that said. i bought another 59 that has the urethane? bushing in rear, A good front and rear sway bar.Car rides 2 times as good as my other. But its time to change out the 1st elkys rubber bushings. Really , your car should drive like a dream unless something is broke.Get it on a rack, check where upper rear control arm attaches. then check where rear shocks attach. they are notorious for rounding out the slot that holds shock mount.Just look for cracks around lower control arms.Check the rubber bushings for cracks, distortion. There are a lot of folks who make suspension parts for your car.And some late model caprice shocks will bolt into place on your car, but they are.....maybe a couple inches short on travel. It will make ride like crap. Keep us posted.
I bought mine at OReillys, I cant remember the part nos. Go to Summit Racing, they have a wide selection of shocks and other suspension parts
Hello again, sorry for the delay. Below is the picture of the KYB I installed. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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