Suspension upgrade for the LeBARon

[fleckster]

I'm getting ready to do some work on my 1989 LeBaron GT Turbo Convertible, affectionately known as the "LeBAR-on", a name given to it at James Reeves wedding when numerous mixed adult beverages were mixed on the deck lid, making it the BAR for the evening.

I had purchased a still-new-in-the-box set of Mopar Performance Struts for the front and just bought a set of KYB Gas-A-Just shocks for the rear. Today, I went out digging in the shed and found the original springs from my old '87 Shelby Z. I think these should be a good starting point. Based on what I find when I get her up in the air, I will consider the next round of upgrades. I don't know if she has the performance 1.125" front anti-swaybar or not so I'll get out the calipers and check it. Also to be examined will be the bushings. I'm not wanting to spend too much as I really want to go all out on the suspension on my Spirit R/T later, if the bushings look bad, they will be replaced with Poly units. Last in the going-to-do list is the new wheels and tires. She is currently wearing the same American Eagle 225/50-16s that had a bunch of miles on them when I bought them on the Lace Wheels for Big Brodda Tim Doyle. I have picked up a set of factory 17" x 7" wheels from a totaled Stratus R/T sedan in a salvage yard.

http://www.turbododge.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=15852&d=1125714221

Now I need to decide what tires to put on them. I'm looking at 225/45-17s. Right now I'm leaning towards the Kumho 712s (like them on my Spirit R/T) or the new BFG Comp Sports. I'll try and get some pics along the way.

Thoughts, comments or suggestions?

[Silver_surfer]

Sup Fleck? Thanks for turning me on to this site. It rocks! Now for tires, the Kumho's are a little bit of a gamble. Many sites talk about how some people love them, and others have had questionible luck with them. The issue is quality. Some arrive new with tread issues.

Check out the BFG G-force sport tires. Cheap and it has a good name. My Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S tires were 129 each and at 25k still going pretty strong. Not to bad.

Also check out the Yokohama YK-420's. Bill put them on his Stratus Coupe RT and got 45k out of them! Pretty good performance and awesome year around traction.

[JDAWG]

I think you will finf the Stratus R/T has a bigger bolt pattern. It is a Mitsubishi built car and actuall is the same as an Eclipse, just has different body panels.

[fleckster]

I think you will finf the Stratus R/T has a bigger bolt pattern. It is a Mitsubishi built car and actuall is the same as an Eclipse, just has different body panels.

Actually, you didn't read close enough or check out the FAQ regarding bolt patterns that I wrote. The wheels are from a Stratus R/T SEDAN not coupe. There is nothing Mitsu about them and they are 5 x 100mm. The sedans were built at SHAP (Sterling Heights Assembly Plant) in the Detroit area and not at the DSM Plant in Normal, IL. If you look at the picture I posted, you will see that they are not the wheels from the coupe.

[JDAWG]

yea if its a 4dr you are correct

[BIGBRUDDA]

Kuhmo 712's is goooood tars!!:amen: Whacha gonna do wit dem 16" lace wheels Fleck?:eyebrows:

[fleckster]

Kuhmo 712's is goooood tars!!:amen: Whacha gonna do wit dem 16" lace wheels Fleck?:eyebrows:

They're mine, mine, all mine! You had your chance and you aren't getting them back! :evil: :ballchain:

[BIGBRUDDA]

What bout that thar blue NEEEEEEOON!! How long ya keepin it?:evil:

[fleckster]

What bout that thar blue NEEEEEEOON!! How long ya keepin it?:evil:

Nooooooooooooo....not my baby! :eek:

[BadFastGTC]

Put a REAL rear sway bar on the car and a smaller one up front.

Steve M.

[contraption22]

Hey Fleck, check out Avon TECHM500 tires. I put them on my SRT and freakin love em. Stick about as well as the BFG's but are quiet on the highway.

[fleckster]

Hey Fleck, check out Avon TECHM500 tires. I put them on my SRT and freakin love em. Stick about as well as the BFG's but are quiet on the highway.

Did you get them delivered by a woman in a pink car? lol

[fleckster]

Update:

I got the front springs and struts swapped on. I can tell the alignment's not right but I knew I wasn't going to be able to get it that close anyway. I had planned on getting the front aligned after everything was done. For the record, in free state, the Shelby Z springs were at least 3 inches shorter than the stock LeBaron GTs were. Of course, me being the tool that I am, I dove into the project so fast that I forgot to take the before ride height measurements so I can't tell how much if any the front end dropped. D-oh! I will measure the rear though. I did the front first because I knew it would be the harder of the two and because I had a buddy available to help. The front isn't really a solo job. The rear could be. He may be able to help later this week since we both work 2nd shift. The only real problems so far were, first my AL racing jack (ok so it is a cheapy Speedway model) appears to have spit a bunch of oil out on the ground. Looks like I wasted $75 on it! It never has worked very well. And second, the passenger side strut did not have a lower spring pad on the original strut so I didn't have one to put on the new strut either. I don't think it will make much difference, it just may be a bit noisey.

Coming soon: Rear springs and shocks! Stay tuned...

[fleckster]

Another update:

I got the rear done last night. It went pretty smooth and only took me about at hour. The pre-work height of the rear was 26 7/8th" measured at the top of the rear wheelwells. When I got the springs out and compared them to the Shelby Z spings, they were at least an 1 or so taller. Now that it's back together, the rear measurement is 26 15/16"! The car actually set a 1/16" higher. Now it hasn't been driven so there may be some settling. I'll remeasure after it gets driven. I have an appointment for the front end alignment tomorrow morning at 10am. I'm planning on pricing the tires today.

[LynX853]

dont get kum ho tires. they suck. period. their made to look agressive but dont stick worth a damn. youd be better off with BFG's

[fleckster]

I have the Kumhos on my Spirit R/T and I like them. I am able to cut consistant 2.3 short times with them, admittedly with suspension that needs improvement. I did decide to try the BFGs though. They are on order and should be in probably tomorrow. They were about $50 more expensive (for the set of 4) but they do seem to be a better tire on paper. (Higher treadwear rating, better numbers in surveys, better warrantee, etc.) They have to last a long time without dry rotting too since I don't put a lot of miles on my cars since I have so many. I'll let everyone know how they are and take pics soon!

[contraption22]

Perhaps the Lebaron sits higher with the Daytona springs because the Daytona's hatch weighs so much, and the springs are different to compensate.

[fleckster]

Mike, do you think the hatch on a Daytona is heavier than the top and extra bracing used in a LeBaron Convertible? I'm guessing the difference could just be variation in manufacturing or my originals could has had a 1/16" sag in them. I just thought it was cool that even though the springs were a bunch shorter, their stiffer spring rate makes them basically the same height. Chrysler just seems to have a things for plenty of ride height. (i.e. SRT-4 rear height measurement)

[fleckster]

Okay I got the tires and wheels on and was able to snap a few pictures since the weather is pretty nice. Check 'em out: (comments welcome!)

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/Picture_0011.jpg
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/Picture_002.jpg
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/Picture_0031.jpg
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/Picture_004.jpg
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/Picture_005.jpg
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/Picture_006.jpg

[contraption22]

That looks sweet.

[csxtra]

Is the trunk lid still level? I'd hate for the car to lose its name...

Seriously, the car looks great with those wheels, and the stance looks good (it doesn't have the p-body/CSX "launching hard" look).

[fleckster]

Is the trunk lid still level? I'd hate for the car to lose its name...


You can rest assured, Warren! It still checks out pretty good!

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/photopost/data/500/medium/Level.jpg

[SteveReject]

You can get a 95-99 neon strut tower bar on ebay for about $22 shipped and it will do wonders for your convertible lebaron. It makes the entire front end seem much more planted on the ground. Big difference in a car without a solid top.

-Steve S.

1997 Chevrolet Cavilier (the POS) (http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2211292)

1992 Chrysler Lebaron GTC (http://www.cardomain.com/ride/580902)
K&N Cold Air Intake, 15* Ignition Timing, 52mm Throttle Body, 2.5" catback, MSD Coil,Taylor 8mm wires, NGK Plugs, HD Trans Cooler, Aluminum Radiator, A-Spec Strut Tower Bar, Falken ZE-512 205/55/16