When I bought this car 14 years ago,it had,at that time,unknown front & rear sway bars and coil springs,along with Koni shock absorbers all the way around.It handled pretty good with the Mark IV 454 Big Block Chevy engine up front,although the front shocks and some of the sway bar end links were worn out.I have since found out that the sway bars and coil springs were from Rancho,and were probably for the GM "A" Body line of cars,ie: Chevelles,Cutlass,etc..Rancho doesent have any information on this product,I believe they make mostly truck suspension parts these days.But,I would have to say that back in the day,the sway bars were probably a pretty advanced design.They use Heim joints for end links and 3 hole brackets for adjustability.The rear bars have the bracket on the body and the fronts have it on the LCA.The front bars are 1 1/4 inch diameter and the rear is 1 inch.When I first got the Monte,I put new Heim joints all around and KYB shocks up front,along with Energy Suspension poly bushings all around.Then I put extra braces on,starting with Pontiac Grand Prix upper rad support to inner fender braces,rad core "X" brace and the "Jounce" bars under the front end that tie in with the OEM V brace and helps to triangulate the front end.All these helped to tighten the front up considerably.I also made a rear seat "X" brace from aluminum flat bar and a rear frame bar that ties the end of the frame together.
The Pontiac Grad Prix braces made a big difference,the Monte felt tighter and less rattles & squeaks after putting them on.I also put a set of Hotchkis rear trailing arm braces on to help reinforce the rear control arm brackets.New Bilstein shocks found their way on the front,the rear Koni's were still good.I put a Jeep intermediate steering shaft on to eliminate the slop from the original rag joint.I also got a lightweight chrome moly transmission crossmember from Iceman Racing to replace the OEM one .
A couple of years ago I put all new graphite impreginated polyurethane body bushings from PST and a new front end kit from SC&C on.The front end pieces consisted of SPC adjustable tubular upper control arms,Howe X Tra tall upper ball joints and Tall lower ball joints,along with Global West Delrin bushings in the lower control arms.This kit,the SC&C Stage 2 Plus,with the greasable Delrin bushings,which I got with the help of Mark Savitske @ SC&C made a huge difference in the way the Monte handled,she sure takes the corners a whole lot better.The directions included alignment settings and I used the "Street" setting.It also lowered the front a bit,approximately 1 1/2 inches,and it already sat a bit lower than stock.I had the opportunity to measure a bone stock '86 that was sitting beside mine and there was a 4 inch difference in the front end ride height.In the spring of 2014,I put new double adjustable Viking shock absorbers all around,along with a Lee 670 steering box and UMI upper & lower rear control arms,which have their greasable Delrin lined Roto Joints on one end and Poly bushings on the other end,the uppers are adjustable in order to set the pinion angle.
My friend Rick Rood,of Rick Rood's Transmission,was kind enough to let me put the Monte on his drive on ramp hoist,and check the pinion angle for me.The upper arms came pre-set to factory length,which I checked against the stock ones,and the pinion angle was near perfect "as is" at almost - 2 degrees,so we left them at that setting.As per Mark Savitske,I used the proper lube for the poly pieces and made sure not to overtighten them,and after putting a couple of thousand miles on,they remain squeak free.
Here are some pictures;
All these upgrades made a huge difference in the way the Monte handles,and it still rides pretty good too.My wife & I have put a couple of thousand miles on it,and I havent heard one single complaint from her on the ride being uncomfortable.The Scat Procar seats I installed in 2013 help in the comfort department,they offer way more support than the originals,and they are comfy even after a long drive.
Tires also play a key role in good handling.In the summer of 2014 I put a new set of BFGoodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 tires on the Monte.These seem to be an excellent street tire,they handle and ride good and have pretty good traction as well.
In 2015 I installed a set of Eibach rear lowering springs and these brought the rear down by app 1 1/2 inches. The Eibach's are on the bottom.
Here's a before shot;
Here's how it looks now;
Here's a side by side that I put together to show the difference;
I'm not sure that this made any difference in the handling,any improvement was marginal,but it does look better.
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