I am in the planning stages of a significant overhaul of the brakes and suspension on my '73 Spitfire. Some of the items to be addressed are: New master cylinder Rebuilt calipers Stainless braided brake hoses Slotted and cross drilled rotors Ceramic brake pads Polyurethane bushings for all of the front suspension New front trunions Sway bar bushings and end links New adjustable shocks and springs front & rear Differential bushings I bought the car about 5 years ago and made some necessary repairs, so some items are not in need of repair at this time. It got all new rear brakes (wheel cylinders, shoes and springs), rear trunnions rebuilt, one new rear wheel bearing and half shaft u-joint and trailing arm bushings. All the other rear suspension parts were inspected and were nice and tight including all the other u-joints and bushings. The rear spring does have the usual sag but is otherwise undamaged. There are a few things I haven't made up my mind on and thought I'd ask what others with more experience in this type of work think about some of the choices yet to be made. I am currently planning on using the Moss red lowering springs up front. My original thought was to use Spax adjustable shocks all around with the ride height adjustable ones up front. Lately I've been moving toward using Koni's for their legendary performance even though I'd sacrifice the height adjustment. I do like the idea of saving a few bucks there also that can be used elsewhere in the project. Does anyone have experience with both that could provide info about the difference in handling/ride between the two brands? For the rear spring, I am planning on using the heavy duty spring from British Parts Northwest. I was mostly hoping to prolong the time before it sags horrendously again. Has anyone used this spring that can compare it's stiffness to the stock spring? Will it make the car significantly stiffer? I want the car to handle well, but don't really want to make it overly harsh. I used polyurethane bushings in the suspension on my '64 Chevelle and really liked the way they tightened things up, so I have been planning to put those in the suspension. I am not so sure about the differential mounts though. Seems like that is a location that could really transmit some vibration to the car. Anyone have any input on that one? Any impressions or advice about any of this or suggestions of anything I may be overlooking would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to make the car handle better while retaining some level of comfort. The car is mostly used just for fun, but I do occasionally use it for commuting (it gets better mileage than anything else I have), so I'm not willing to give up all ride quality for handling prowess. Thanks, Joe Frakes '73 Spit 1500 '68 VW Westfalia Bus
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