What I have.

71 sat 440 with air grabber has all original 318 torsion bars/springs, never had any sway bars has 4 wheel drums.

I put a pst polygraphite kit in it after it was taken off the road in 94with 0 miles on it so new ball joints /control arm bushings tie rods and sleeves.

Right now I'm set towards the doctor diff brembo style front and cobra style rear brakes.

Will these eliminate any type of sway bar choices?

Sway bars, my lower control arms have no mounting brackets, does anyone sell the brackets so i can weld them on or am I just better off finding a set with them and rebuilding them?

Or do they have aftermarket set ups that bolt on differently?

Torsion bars and springs, as much as I love cars that handle I also love the nostalgic muscle car look.

Not really keen on the idea that hotchkis springs lower the back an inch.

Wheel rates how hard is it going to be to match a good set between the front torsion bars and rear springs?

Steering, not real fond of the factory box and would like something a bit more responsive.

What are your suggestions.

I'm not too familiar with B Bodies... But you say you like the nostalgic muscle car look. What size wheels do you plan on running on your Satellite? I know for a fact I could not fit 17" wheels with the Brembo-style brakes on my Dart.

Torsion bars shouldn't be an issue for looks as you can adjust the ride height to your choosing. I'm sure there are plenty of other options for leaf springs to give you better handling and a similar ride height.

Hotchkis isn't your only option for sway bars. I'd also look into Hellwig or Firmfeel. Some kits may offer the mounting brackets and I think Hotchkis might sell them.

For steering, your better upgrade is the Borgeson power steering box; however it's pretty expensive and some people have had difficulties with instillation.

I'd also invest in a good pair of shocks. Minimum, Bilstein's from PST (I believe they sell them) or get Hotchkis's non-adjustable ones.

I was going to use 17 inch mustang rims I had sitting around.

I was gona go with the brembo style because I have the cobra brakes (on a mustang) and while they are nice I kinda wanted an upgrade.

Do they have wheel rates listed for springs and if so how should a front wheel rate compare to a back one?

I'm running the complete Firm Feel suspension on my 71RR airgrabber car. I considered a brake upgrade along with 17" wheels and tires. Dick at Firm Feel told me it wouldn't be a problem.

You are asking a lot of very basic questions so you might want to start off with the book I wrote on B-body performance upgrades. You can get it at Amazon. It will answer most of the basic questions and it has photos of parts and contact info for vendors.

, this book is a good starting point, and then you can ask for second opinions, and make your own informed choices.

If'n I was you...

I'd do some research...

For a frame of reference my current daily driver is.

2002 Mustang
Maximum motorsports
Caster camber plates
tubular K frame
Tubular control arms
Adjustable aluminum rack bushings
Adjustable tie rods (bumpsteer kit) with spindles drilled for bolt through instead of taperd studs.
Full length frame connectors
pan hard bar
converted to torque arm so I could ditch rear upper control arms.
Rear tubular lower control arms
Rear solid cobra swaybar
Shorter front poly sway bar links

MM custom valved Bilsteins shocks and struts.
375# front coil over springs so wheel rate is 337.5
225# rear coil over springs so wheel rate of 245.5
Lowered 1.25 inches front between 3/4-1 inch back sacrificing a little bit of handling for a subtle rake.

2004 cobra brake upgrade


My 2 complaints about that car are

1. While the cobra brakes are good I would like to stop a little better.
2. If I had to do it again I would probably go a little softer and use regular bilstein HDs instead of the custom valved so I could back a few pounds off on the springs. Car corners great but could do a little better on comfort.

I would like the 71sat to be more comfortable.
I have no intention of trying to be competitive with the 71 sat.
My goal is a precise feel, no slop, corners well while still being comfortable and future serviceability.
I think I 'm having the most trouble because every time I try to find a set up its.

XXX only works with XXX mounted calipers.

Caliper XXX won't work with XXXX sway bar.

Steering box a won't work with coupler b. etc

Places give wheel rates for torsion bars, but just generic listings for leafs (stock,hd) making it hard to match front to back.

For the brakes, consider pressure and booster requirements. I run the Cobra style on a '70E with EBC yellowstuff pads... works great and needed a double 8" booster and 15/16" master for adequate line pressure. I don't know piston area on the Brembos. It all fits under 17" wheels.

As far as rear springs, in round numbers stock low po are 120#/inch, MOPAR XHD are 140#/inch and XHD+full added leaf are 170#/in. I'm running the XHD+1 leaf. The added leaf corrected the sag as the springs aged and got the rate where I wanted it.

[quote=71sat440]

Right now I'm set towards the doctor diff brembo style front and cobra style rear brakes.

I had dr diff old 13" kit and I had to go to 18" rims


Will these eliminate any type of sway bar choices.

No


Sway bars, my lower control arms have no mounting brackets, does anyone sell the brackets so i can weld them on or am I just better off finding a set with them and rebuilding them?



I believe firm feel and hotchkis sell these



Or do they have aftermarket set ups that bolt on different?


Same



Wheel rates how hard is it going to be to match a good set between the front torsion bars and rear springs?

Companies like firm feel and hotchkis and xv ect. Have done this testing already so u dont have to.



Steering, not real fond of the factory box and would like something a bit more responsive.

What are your suggestions.


Firm feel stage 3. The boregson is a hit or miss right now and a expensive one at that.

Also pick up andys book mopar bbody performance upgrade 1962-79
[\quote]

As Dangina said, we have spent a lot of time developing our system to balance sway rates, spring rates and our valved shocks to produce the most competitive system on the market for Mopars right now. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or check us out! www.hotchkis.net

Which book is that?

Those Mustang wheels aren't going to work. That's what I used for my mock-up wheel and they were rubbing the calipers.

I beleive he's talking about this one. http://smile.amazon.com/B-Body-Performan...y+f+b+body+book

Thanks for the heads up, might go with just the cobra upgrade after all.
I'm familiar with the system, parts availability is wide.

Might just keep it simple with a firm feel 3 box, re informed k member. 1.12 t bars and springs with blisters and doctor diff cobra brakes front and back and some frame connectors.

Who has some good connectors? I see the ones that follow the floor pans on both UScartool and XV but I remember some drama for both on moparts.

Also does anyone know if firm feel brings stuff to carlisle so you can save on shipping and core charges?

That's one of the books I have.
It's a good read.

Just as an FYI, we've been running some pretty good show specials this year. 25% off list price/no tax/free shipping if you buy at the show and we'll be at Carlisle... Just saying...

I haven't seen Firm Feel in years at Carlisle. It would be a long round trip for them. i also understand Mancini has dropped out of attending, which I don't understand, but if they have enough money, great.

This^^^^^, great business technique, get out and meet people,show your junk, sell it and help cover the costs of playing all at the same time. Good stuff!