Front Suspension Refurb - good value options?

[82DMC12]

Hi guys,

Looking at doing a full rebuild of my front suspension this spring. Then, probably rear suspension next spring.

I have all original arms, bushings, and ball joints all around, and while I could probably get them cleaned up and refurbished, I kind of want to just replace them so I know it's all good for another 20 years haha.

Already done many years ago - Grady rebuilt steering rack, front lowering springs, Tinnerstedt steering linkage, Monroe shocks from Marty Maier.

What do I want? Goals - make it look like new, no more reliability worry, stiffen up the front end

I know there are stainless steel options but I don't think I want to spend that much for the ultimate on all the parts. I'm more interested in good value.

Looking at DeLorean GO....
AVO shock set $649.99
D-Arm aluminium LCA's with new ball joints and bushings installed - $1283 for the pair
Poly ARB to LCA bushings - $47
Upper Arm - probably do stainless from DPI, includes upper ball joints - $695
Steering knuckle, spindle, and roll bar - can get refinished locally
Brakes - brake pad kit from one of the vendors, Pretty sure my rotors are good (no brake pulsing), I can rebuild the calipers etc no problem

Also considering the crossbrace that goes in the trunk as well as the LCA braces....

Any comments on this approach? Anything better out there for the $$$? I don't do racing or track, it's just my fun weekend car and this thing is about 40 years old. Time to put a few bucks into it again, I think.

Oh and what kind of spring compressor do I need to borrow?

[CFI]

Also considering the crossbrace that goes in the trunk

I highly recommend that crossbrace. It gives the car a solid feeling during hard turns.

[82DMC12]

I highly recommend that crossbrace. It gives the car a solid feeling during hard turns.

Any particular version of the brace you recommend? Which vendor?

[CFI]

Any particular version of the brace you recommend? Which vendor?

I got mine from DGo.

[Riley88]

DeLorean prts Northwest also has a different designed brace thats non instrusive and goes under the carpet, and does not require cutting your carpet or the board

[CFI]

DeLorean prts Northwest also has a different designed brace thats non instrusive and goes under the carpet, and does not require cutting your carpet or the board

No carpet cutting required for the DGo unit. It will leave a small hump in the carpet, but it’s barely noticeable.

[white out]

Since you are looking for value in stiffening up the DMC, I'd do the entire car at once and leave the ancillary parts for later upgrades instead of doing the front, then the rear of the car.

Change out all the suspension bushings.
- add polyurethane at all the swaybar connections to firm up the front end movement

Change out the ball joints and tie rods.

Go with polyurethane or fabricate solid steering rack mounts.

Run a coilover suspension to replace the springs/shocks as they provide adjustability in ride height and stiffness. Which will make a significant improvement in the handling department and reducing slop.

The upper control arm is a decent design and can be modified to add some negative camber for better front end grip. The lower control arm can be boxed in for more rigidity. Both of these can be performed by a competent fabricator.

This will transform the grip and feel of the car while not breaking the bank.

The aluminum LCAs look beautiful and the LCA stiffeners and cross-brace all look to be very nice pieces, all of which add to cleaning up the flex of the front suspension. But I wouldn’t consider them to be a necessity when there is a budget in mind.

[Nate88]

Hi guys,

Looking at doing a full rebuild of my front suspension this spring. Then, probably rear suspension next spring.

I have all original arms, bushings, and ball joints all around, and while I could probably get them cleaned up and refurbished, I kind of want to just replace them so I know it's all good for another 20 years haha.

Already done many years ago - Grady rebuilt steering rack, front lowering springs, Tinnerstedt steering linkage, Monroe shocks from Marty Maier.

What do I want? Goals - make it look like new, no more reliability worry, stiffen up the front end

I know there are stainless steel options but I don't think I want to spend that much for the ultimate on all the parts. I'm more interested in good value.

Looking at DeLorean GO....
AVO shock set $649.99
D-Arm aluminium LCA's with new ball joints and bushings installed - $1283 for the pair
Poly ARB to LCA bushings - $47
Upper Arm - probably do stainless from DPI, includes upper ball joints - $695
Steering knuckle, spindle, and roll bar - can get refinished locally
Brakes - brake pad kit from one of the vendors, Pretty sure my rotors are good (no brake pulsing), I can rebuild the calipers etc no problem

Also considering the crossbrace that goes in the trunk as well as the LCA braces....

Any comments on this approach? Anything better out there for the $$$? I don't do racing or track, it's just my fun weekend car and this thing is about 40 years old. Time to put a few bucks into it again, I think.

Oh and what kind of spring compressor do I need to borrow?


I just replaced my front and rear suspension with DPI's coil-over kit. Very happy with it, both front and rear are height adjustable for ride and they have 18 settings for softness/stiffness. The kit included new aluminum LCA's and additional hardware and bushings. DPI offers a coil-over set just for the front as well. DPI also offers just the LCA's for $995. The kit is pricey, but is well made.

I was originally going to go with the AVO shocks, but decided on the adjustability of the coil-overs. One nice benefit (but ultimately not the reason why I chose them) is that once you get the front springs out, you don't have to worry about compressing the new ones to install nor do you need a spring compressor if you have to take anything apart in the future.

[82DMC12]

Hey Nate, thanks for that recommendation, in fact I was just reading an older thread where I saw a link to the DPI front coilover kit. That does look like a really good option and I think I'll do that this spring and then the rears in the fall or next spring. I know it would be best to do it all at once but I'm trying to budget this and spread it out a bit.

[Delorean Industries]

Let us know if you have any questions on our product offerings. We do offer the split up option to purchase the front and rear prorated at a later date if required.

[Josh]

With the options out there now for coilovers on our cars I think the time has passed for aftermarket separate spring/shock setups. The cost difference isnt even that great either.

I will also comment on the UCAs, for the average owner replacing the bushings in the stock A arm would be more than adequate in my opinion.

[kryton]

Anyone know how to remove the front suspension when the body is off the frame ?
When there is no weight on the springs they are in an arc and jammed against the upper control arm with not enough space to get spring compressors in there.
I can only get the spring compressors over 3 coils and they won't close up any more. They also want to slide around to the short side of the spring.
I have the frame upside down to weld a new plate on the front cross member.
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=63835&d=1590765357&thumb=1&stc=1

[82DMC12]

Anyone know how to remove the front suspension when the body is off the frame ?
When there is no weight on the springs they are in an arc and jammed against the upper control arm with not enough space to get spring compressors in there.
I can only get the spring compressors over 3 coils and they won't close up any more. They also want to slide around to the short side of the spring.
I have the frame upside down to weld a new plate on the front cross member.
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=63835&d=1590765357&thumb=1&stc=1

Did you ever figure this one out? Sorry I didn't get a notification that there was a new message in this thread. Not sure how to help you but I'll probably be in the same boat eventually.

[Delorean Industries]

We built a factory configuration spring compressor. This mounts to the two lowest exposed coils and has a hat feature that goes over the shock tower. When used it pulls the spring up to the frame and allows the lower arm to be installed. Then the shock and the task is complete.

[white out]

If you don't care about retaining the springs you can cut them. Make sure the shock is still in place so they don't fly out and kill you. :8ball:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48027230992_00d44360ac_c.jpg