Make Your A-Body Hook - GM A-Body Suspension From DMR

Here is most of the DMR suspension...        read full caption Here is most of the DMR suspension just before being installed in the vehicle along with the Strange double-adjustable rear shock absorbers. The DMR suspension comes with rear coil springs and these stiffening brackets (arrows) to triangulate the upper mounts. The upper and lower links are adjustable in length via the spherical rod ends and jam nuts, which are used to locate the rearend squarely in the vehicle, to adjust the pinion angle, and to set any desired preload. The DMR link lengths were matched to the factory link lengths.	The lower DMR links are located...        read full caption The lower DMR links are located in the rearend brackets with two small bushings on each side. The spacers are chamfered on one side so the rod ends can pivot without hitting the spacer-make sure the chamfered end is touching the rod-end ball (arrow).	The rearend was then slid...        read full caption The rearend was then slid back under the vehicle on a floorjack with one person steadying the rearend and another pushing the floorjack. (Notice the radical drag cars in the background at Moran Motorsports.)
The DMR springs were set into...        read full caption The DMR springs were set into their frame brackets and the rearend jacked up into place to begin the actual install. Notice the spring spacer on the rearend spring bracket. This was required for full extension to keep the springs from coming loose (this is something Moran figured out and said is not pretty).	Installing the upper and lower...        read full caption Installing the upper and lower suspension links required some finagling of the rearend-at least a two-person job. The lower links were installed first, then the upper links (shown). Notice how the DMR bracket relocates the rearend housing mount upward.	Next, the driveshaft U-joint...        read full caption Next, the driveshaft U-joint was bolted back onto the pinion of the differential. When doing this, make sure to reinstall the U-joint in the same clock position as you removed it to avoid vibration issues.
The final step in installing...        read full caption The final step in installing the DMR rear suspension was to have the adjustable sway bar (arrow A) welded to the frame section and rearend housing tubes by BSM Technologies. BSM also welded the anchor for the diagonal track locator links that connect at the middle of the lower links (arrow B) to the rearend housing. These two links should be installed after the rearend is hanging on the DMR suspension pieces and the vehicle is set to "ride height"-they are a key element to limiting the lateral movement of the rearend under launch loads.	The suspension bolts were...        read full caption The suspension bolts were then torqued down, the brake lines reconnected, the disc brakes reinstalled, and the brakes bled of all air.

Scaling The Car
To start the improvement process, Moran asked the vehicle's owner, Mike Kunkle, to have the car weighed. Kunkle took his Buick to Wheel to Wheel Powertrain to have it put up on the electronic scales. Here are the results: As Moran suspected, the front-end percentage was brutal. This makes hooking up the rear tires at launch a real challenge. In a perfect world, he says, you'd want almost a 50/50 percent split front/rear with a suspension designed to take advantage of it.

Some of the additions to the vehicle after this weighing included the DMR suspension (10 pounds), seatbelts (10 pounds), and rollcage (80 pounds). While the car wasn't reweighed after these parts were added, we're confident the total weight was more than 3,700 pounds.