Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
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builtnotbought
bracketchev1221
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Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
I can't wait to see how the suspension package works.
I bought the Speed Tech Road Assault front kit but they didn't have a kit for the rear although I think their coilover kit for the 96' Impalla will bolt in.
The QA1 rear kit is less expensive too.
I agree with the pricing you found on that kit. It pisses me off when a company sells stuff for more on their site than on second party sites. In my mind they are basically saying, "We are ripping you off and charging you more that we need to on these parts." If they can sell them to Jegs for less and still make money then they must be sticking it to us on their own website.
I bought the Speed Tech Road Assault front kit but they didn't have a kit for the rear although I think their coilover kit for the 96' Impalla will bolt in.
The QA1 rear kit is less expensive too.
I agree with the pricing you found on that kit. It pisses me off when a company sells stuff for more on their site than on second party sites. In my mind they are basically saying, "We are ripping you off and charging you more that we need to on these parts." If they can sell them to Jegs for less and still make money then they must be sticking it to us on their own website.
mikidymac- G3GM Member
- Street Cred : 0
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
mikidymac wrote:It pisses me off when a company sells stuff for more on their site than on second party sites. In my mind they are basically saying, "We are ripping you off and charging you more that we need to on these parts." If they can sell them to Jegs for less and still make money then they must be sticking it to us on their own website.
Their intent is not to rip anybody off. They do that so they don't undercut their distributors like Jegs and Summit -- those guys will move a lot more of their product for them than they ever would just through their own website. If they sold it for less (or even the same amount), people have no reason to buy from Jegs or Summit, and they will stop selling the product. They'd effectively shoot themselves in the foot. This is the whole concept behind MSRP -- the manufacturer's price is artificially high so the distributors can mark it down to do the actual selling.
thatfnthing- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 65
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
mikidymac wrote:I can't wait to see how the suspension package works.
I bought the Speed Tech Road Assault front kit but they didn't have a kit for the rear although I think their coilover kit for the 96' Impalla will bolt in.
The QA1 rear kit is less expensive too.
I agree with the pricing you found on that kit. It pisses me off when a company sells stuff for more on their site than on second party sites. In my mind they are basically saying, "We are ripping you off and charging you more that we need to on these parts." If they can sell them to Jegs for less and still make money then they must be sticking it to us on their own website.
There's still a lot of work to do, but I'll let you know how it rides on the coilovers. Jegs didn't ask for a spring rate, so I'm hoping I get the chance to specify before they ship it. It takes about a week to ship and comes straight from QA1.
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
thatfnthing wrote:mikidymac wrote:It pisses me off when a company sells stuff for more on their site than on second party sites. In my mind they are basically saying, "We are ripping you off and charging you more that we need to on these parts." If they can sell them to Jegs for less and still make money then they must be sticking it to us on their own website.
Their intent is not to rip anybody off. They do that so they don't undercut their distributors like Jegs and Summit -- those guys will move a lot more of their product for them than they ever would just through their own website. If they sold it for less (or even the same amount), people have no reason to buy from Jegs or Summit, and they will stop selling the product. They'd effectively shoot themselves in the foot. This is the whole concept behind MSRP -- the manufacturer's price is artificially high so the distributors can mark it down to do the actual selling.
That makes sense. I guess it wouldn't hurt to call them directly and see if they have any "special" pricing to order direct.
mikidymac- G3GM Member
- Street Cred : 0
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
mikidymac wrote:
That makes sense. I guess it wouldn't hurt to call them directly and see if they have any "special" pricing to order direct.
That's definitely worth a shot. Sometimes all it takes is getting the right guy on the phone and he'll hook you up on the sly.

thatfnthing- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 65
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"




Some slight hood modification to let the monster breathe!! At first I wanted to do the 70-72 cowl induction, but never found a donor for the right price. This one turned out really nice.









A few different looks at the brakes and suspension.



Checking out the new wheels and stance. Excuse the wire wheels, they were the only things big enough at the shop to fit with the 12/13 inch disc brakes.
It's at the exhaust shop getting the Borla mufflers put on and 3 inch H-pipe. Unfortunately, we couldn't bend 3 in tail pipes so we got some pre fab 2.5 in pipes.
Last thing before it's parked in the home garage is the paint. she'll be coming home for Christmas.
I'll post all the cruise night and car show pictures on my instagram page 73_malibu_454 if you care follow.
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
Everything that's done so far:
QA1 Level 3 suspension kit
CPP big brake kit
Boze Clutch 18x9s wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sports
Rebuilt 454 w/ Holley double pumper, Edlbrock RPM Air Gap intake, and comp cam nostalgia plus kit
TH400
Dougs headers
Borla Exhaust
3.42 richmond gears spinning the posi rearend
And tons more little things with a long way to go!
QA1 Level 3 suspension kit
CPP big brake kit
Boze Clutch 18x9s wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sports
Rebuilt 454 w/ Holley double pumper, Edlbrock RPM Air Gap intake, and comp cam nostalgia plus kit
TH400
Dougs headers
Borla Exhaust
3.42 richmond gears spinning the posi rearend
And tons more little things with a long way to go!
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
A quick open header video while testing the new electric fans.
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
sounds good BUT Tell me about that sway bar ??
___________________________________________
1977 Chevelle SE x2
One Mild original
one Wild NON original
Anthony
Limey SE- Management
- Street Cred : 97
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
It looks pretty sweet under there huh...😀😀😀
1in, solid steel, direct bolt on.
She hasn't been driving yet to learn what adjustments need to happen so there's more updates to come.
1in, solid steel, direct bolt on.
She hasn't been driving yet to learn what adjustments need to happen so there's more updates to come.
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
Showtime73 wrote:It looks pretty sweet under there huh...😀😀😀
1in, solid steel, direct bolt on.
But shaped way way diff than the Impala one I have whats the difference being so Snug in there
___________________________________________
1977 Chevelle SE x2
One Mild original
one Wild NON original
Anthony
Limey SE- Management
- Street Cred : 97
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"

I know you had shown a shot of what your's looks like Limey, and here's mine. Mine is the 1" Impala SS bar and you can see how tight it fits to my rear end. Not sure what's different about yours.
fasrnur- G3GM Enthusiast
- Street Cred : 9
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
this is the 9C1 police package I have for the rear


___________________________________________
1977 Chevelle SE x2
One Mild original
one Wild NON original
Anthony
Limey SE- Management
- Street Cred : 97
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
mayb it fits different on the Cutlass then a Chevelle ??
___________________________________________
1977 Chevelle SE x2
One Mild original
one Wild NON original
Anthony
Limey SE- Management
- Street Cred : 97
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
The height of the rear suspension will change how the sway bar tucks up to the axle. When a larger spring is placed in the rear it pushes the axle down away from the body. The axle does rotate a couple degrees but nothing noticeable. But the lower control arm angle where its bolted to the rear changes alot. And since the sway bar is bolted to the lower control arm, it rotates and "moves away" from the rear. Its just more noticeable with higher than stock suspensions. The sway bar gets less of a tucked look the more you raise the rear suspension away from stock specs.
Joe73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 80
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
Thanks Joe, I'm sure I couldn't have answered it that well. It's a slightly different shape and the car is sitting about 6 inches off the ground right now.

Here's another look at it.

Here's another look at it.
Last edited by Showtime73 on Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
Joe73 wrote:The height of the rear suspension will change how the sway bar tucks up to the axle. When a larger spring is placed in the rear it pushes the axle down away from the body.
yea i see what ya mean


___________________________________________
1977 Chevelle SE x2
One Mild original
one Wild NON original
Anthony
Limey SE- Management
- Street Cred : 97
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"

Here's a picture of the old one, the angle is different. So along with ride height, I think we all have different sway bars.
If anyone needs OEM suspension parts let me know. My car is not an SS, but as far as I can tell the only difference is factory A/C.
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
Showtime73 wrote:
Headed to the paint booth!!![]()
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Do you know anyone that has used those coil over shocks? I'm not crazy about holding the car up on the shock mount. That little bracket on the rear was never designed to hold car weight.
bracketchev1221- G3GM Enthusiast
- Street Cred : 15
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
I'm sure I'm not the first, but that would be cool.
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
Looking at the QA1 bracket and how it mounts to the strut bracket, it seems pretty stable. Once all the kinks are worked out, I'll let you know if there's any trouble.
Showtime73- Donating Member
- Street Cred : 1
Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"
bracketchev1221 wrote:Showtime73 wrote:
Headed to the paint booth!!![]()
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Do you know anyone that has used those coil over shocks? I'm not crazy about holding the car up on the shock mount. That little bracket on the rear was never designed to hold car weight.
I asked the same question to Ridetech guys but only about front suspension because I found several forum threads where some cars got cracks in the welds of upper shock mounts. And question also included lower a-arms shock mounts.
As for the rear it is much lighter so I think it will be ok, but front...
Ridetech answered - don't worry steel is thick


But anyway it's a very important and interesting question.
builtnotbought- G3GM Member
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