New Knees

20. Lube and assemble the lower control arm and the new ball joint. Johns uses Clear-Glide, which is preferred by electricians to draw wires through a tight bundle. It's made by Ideal Industries (www.idealindustries.com).

21. Compress the new PST spring and get ready for the installation. Apply the compressor to "bend" the spring at the same C-pitch angle it will be when installed. Don't forget to align the ends of the spring with the locating holes in the perches.

22a-b. Situate the PST spindle on the lower ball-joint stud and hoist the assembly with the floor jack. Push the ball-joint stud through the hole in the spindle. Install the castle nut and cotter pin. Repeat the process for the top ball-joint stud. Attach the tie-rod end with a castle nut and cotter pin.

22b.

23a-b. Bolt on the new bumpstop rubber and the lower stabilizer-bar link.

23b.

24. Slip the Edelbrock shock through the opening on the control arm, attach the stud to the chassis, and fasten it to the control arm.

25. Install the new idler arm on the passenger side of the frame and at the centerlink. Reconnect the sway bar end links and reinstall the front rotor and caliper.

26. Here's a graphic illustration of how the 2-inch drop is achieved. Notice the distance from the bottom of the upright to the position of the spindle (the OE spindle is on the left). Lowering a vehicle in this manner maintains stock geometry, suspension travel, and ride quality.

27. PST's marketing is based on Polygraphite-impregnated bushings that exhibit minimal deflection under pressure. Are they noisy? We'll see.

28. The PST spring (right) is about one inch shorter than the stock coil and has a wire diameter of 0.782 inch (compared to 0.755 inch for the OE piece).

29. The difference between the Edelbrock IAS fluid-filled shock absorber and the parts store weenie is evident.

30. Unless the supplied tie-wrap is installed on the Edelbrock shock, the dust bellows is likely to slip off the cartridge and expose the piston to nasty road grit.