Hi, new to the forum, just purchased a 1967 Parisienne Convertible project, looking to upgrade the ride a bit and change out the worn suspension, (upper and lower control arms front and rear, coils etc...) , spoke to a number of suppliers and some retailers and most say the impala parts will fit but no one can confirm if the convertible has some unique dimensions. was looking at QA1 suspension systems. it will be used as a cruiser, with a built 383. Any information on fit and / or suggested manufacturers would be appreciated.
Yes, your chassis is identical in every way to a 1967 Impala when it comes to ordering parts. Definitely use Impala for ordering to avoid getting US Pontiac chassis parts which are completely different.
We love pictures of projects!
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
I've gone through all of this on my 67. And while at the time my mindset was to stiffen everything up, I am now of the complete opposite opinion.... in my old age I just go with the stock rubber which is just fine.
But that being said, a few wins during the conversion were the addition of a pair of Vi-King adjustable front hybrid coilover shocks along with the requisite tubular lower control arms. I used Global West. The hybrid shock places the spring over the shock on a torrington bearing collar, and allows for easy adjustments in ride height, and the elimination of that age old hassle of finding a suitable spring. You must use a tubular lower arm in concert with the hybrid as the entire weight of the front end will now bear on the lower arm shock mount. The stock stamped arm is no where near strong enough to support this change. The aftermarket arm is heavily gusseted in this area.
Along with the tubular lower arms, I also went with Global west strut rods, which replace the stock rubber bushing with a heavy rod end, easing adjustability, lessening deflection and improving articulation.
Lastly, I used a Hotchkis frame linked rear stabilizer bar, which offers some adjustability and better axle articulation than the stock F41 bar. The rear springs were Eaton Detroit, HD, stock sedan.
I could mention that I used custom make Spohn Performance adjustable rear upper and lower arms with Johnny Joints at the front mounts and poly at the axle. The track bar is a UMI adjustable, poly. The front upper A arms are Global West with hard Del-A-Lum bushings. All in all, stiffer, maybe harshened up, but way better motion and control. Moog ball joints. The rear shocks are Ridetech RQ single adjustable which are quite nice. The problem with all this hard stuff...it kind of exceeds what your old body mounts can handle in a big car, read; body shake. Expect to replace all of them, which I was too lazy to do.
Whatever you choose to do, it's all a lot of fun adding all that nice stuff onto your ride. Even redoing it all in stock, cleaning it all up and making it tight again is always satisfying.
Cheers.
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65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience, looking forward to being to do the same as I learn and move through the project. I briefly looked at a coil over setup, i may reconsider now knowing it worked well
thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience, looking forward to being to do the same as I learn and move through the project. I briefly looked at a coil over setup, i may reconsider now knowing it worked well
Great looking project, nice!
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
thank you all, going to put my shopping list together over the next couple of weeks, and will post pics as it progresses. did notice the rear suspension only had one upper control arm on the passenger side, some kits have one others provide 2. anyone have experience with just one, should i install a 2nd on the drivers side ,
Yes, the cars ordered with F40 HD suspension have 2 upper arms. If you are just building the car as a cruiser one upper arm is fine. If you plan to give it some spirited workouts you could always add the 2nd arm.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
