Modern suspension technology has far surpassed that of our vintage Pontiacs, and retrofitting today's technology to yesterday's cars can make the entire experience much more enjoyable.
Hobbyists typically accept the fact that most vintage performance cars were built to accelerate and handle well. When it comes to ride quality, some would rather venture across the country in a lumber wagon than take their musclecar on an extended cruise.
Since its introduction in 1967 through final production in 2002, the Pontiac Firebird has always been one of America's premier handling cars. Sharing its chassis with the Camaro, the Firebird and its F-body platform incorporated unibody construction in which rear framerails were integrated into the body shell with a separate front subframe isolated from the body by rubber bushings.
Without full-length framerails running front-to-rear, lateral body flexing was inevitable, creating a reduction in overall structural integrity. Additionally, road imperfections could not be dampened as effectively, allowing the smallest anomalies in the road's surface to be transmitted to the passenger compartment. As the rubber subframe bushings deteriorated with age, more lateral movement led to many problems, including lack of steering response and body flex.
Competition Engineering (CE)...
Competition Engineering (CE) bolt-in subframe connectors for '67-69 Firebirds, PN 3112, include all items shown and are made to fit only hardtop models. With retail pricing just over $100 and availability through most mail order speed shops, CE's connectors come powdercoated black and can be modified to fit the First-Gen convertible chassis, reducing body flex, improving handling, and greatly improving ride quality.
Unlike hardtop models, First-Gen...
Unlike hardtop models, First-Gen convertibles have an extra reinforcing brace that runs the width of the underbody to increase structural integrity. Installing subframe connectors on these models requires cutting either the reinforcing bar or the connectors for proper fit. Since cutting the body is far more permanent than modifying the subframe connectors, many owners, like us, who are reluctant to modify the body can still install bolt-in subframe connectors without such permanent results.
Bolt-in-style subframe connectors...
Bolt-in-style subframe connectors typically fit under the rear of the front subframe and under the front perch of the rear leaf springs. The lower half of the body bushing and the bolt must be removed along with all three leaf spring mounting bolts. The spring perch must be pried down to slide the connector into place. An extra pair of hands may be necessary to help with the installation. Use extreme caution when prying on or working in the spring perch area as severe injury can result should the pry bar slip and the springs snap back.
We started by aligning the...
We started by aligning the front and rear mounting points and then marked where we planned to make our cuts. Using a high-speed grinding tool and a quality cutoff disc, our first cut was approximately 4 inches wide and 1-1/8 inches deep.
As hoped, our initial cut...
As hoped, our initial cut cleared the underbody bracing but, to our dismay, would not clear the floorpan near the drain plug. We marked the additional area that would need to be removed, increasing the length of our cut to a total of 10 inches. The larger cut cleared all obstructions and allowed the connector to be test-fit.