[daven1256]

I am rebuilding the front suspension and steering components on my 68. I'll be replacing the following items.

Control arms
Ball joints
Spindles (maybe)
Tie rod ends
Tie rod adjusting sleeves
Pitman arm
Idler arm
Rotors
Wheel bearings

Other items necessary to replace such as bushings, I am going to ask about in a seperate post.

My question is where to buy these items from. I have looked at all of them in the major part catalogs (Classic Ind, Ricks, NPD, etc.). Some parts price out pretty much the same between the catalogs. Others can differ in price quite a bit. None of them say anything about who the manufacturer is. I wouldn't have a clue as to what is good quality or what isn't. I want to make sure I am getting quality parts that fit right, do the job, and hold up.

Are there any manufacturers who are recomended for these parts?............and where can I find their products?

Also, my rotors are the two piece kind. Is it recomended to stay with the two piece or are the one piece replacements just as good?

Thanks..............Dave

[77thor]

I bought from Rock Auto. I would recommend Moog suspension parts.

[DT]

X2 on Rock Auto. Tough to beat. I just replaced everying you listed. I went with the "correct" pieces where ever possible made by Classic Suspension. I ordered them from HeartBeat City, which has 15% off now until the 31st. If your not concerned with the OEM appearance, go with Rock Auto.

[daven1256]

Fred and Donny, thanks for you info.

Donny, is there a company out there called Classic Suspension? I couln't find a website for them. I looked on Heartbeat's site and found suspension and steering items but no mention of Classic Suspension. I did see where they advertised their parts as being correct in appearance and "manufactured by a QS9000 and ISO/TS16-944 certified OE supplier."
Are these the parts you got and are they as good or better quality than the Moog ?

[z28rich]

Originally Posted by daven1256

Fred and Donny, thanks for you info.

Donny, is there a company out there called Classic Suspension? I couln't find a website for them. I looked on Heartbeat's site and found suspension and steering items but no mention of Classic Suspension. I did see where they advertised their parts as being correct in appearance and "manufactured by a QS9000 and ISO/TS16-944 certified OE supplier."
Are these the parts you got and are they as good or better quality than the Moog ?

QS900/ ISO cert=== CHINA check the CHQ website for the idler arm.go with moog and you'll sleep better. X3 for rockauto.sometime your stuff will come in 2-4 different places and the shipping gets kinda high. but Summit will price match

[novaderrik]

your locally owned parts store.. if they like you, they will come pretty close to matching the best prices you find online and if there is a problem returns are a breeze..

plus your money is staying local and helping out the economy where you live and work..

[DT]

Originally Posted by daven1256

Fred and Donny, thanks for you info.

Donny, is there a company out there called Classic Suspension? I couln't find a website for them. I looked on Heartbeat's site and found suspension and steering items but no mention of Classic Suspension. I did see where they advertised their parts as being correct in appearance and "manufactured by a QS9000 and ISO/TS16-944 certified OE supplier."
Are these the parts you got and are they as good or better quality than the Moog ?

Yes they are the manufacturer. They are made overseas, but so is everything else. I compared them to the Moog, I'm happy with the quality.

Here is a Corvette link regarding Moog. Is it made in the US or not?? http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/foru...d.php?t=146655

[Joe Harrison]

Originally Posted by novaderrik

your locally owned parts store.. if they like you, they will come pretty close to matching the best prices you find online and if there is a problem returns are a breeze..

plus your money is staying local and helping out the economy where you live and work..

Agreed and most have a lifetime warranty on the parts. I bought all my moog parts from O Riely a number of years ago. When putting the car back together I had some parts that got rusted due to being about for while. Took them back and got new stuff no questions asked. Also just had zerk issue and parts bought from them in Arkansas...just returned for new upper ball joint in Arizona a few weeks ago. Again no questions asked..

[JAYARTER]

My wife, BJ, works for locally owned parts store here in Tucson, They stocked about 90% of parts needed when I did the 67 GTO few months ago, If you are staying with same brake system, you shouldn't need spindles......very rare that they go bad, and wheel bearings can be repacked if they look ok when you clean them. I use MOOG front end parts, and Temkin wheel bearings, I can't tell you the number of times I've seen those cheap made in china parts fail in a short amount of time. j

[z28rich]

Originally Posted by JAYARTER

My wife, BJ, works for locally owned parts store here in Tucson, They stocked about 90% of parts needed when I did the 67 GTO few months ago, If you are staying with same brake system, you shouldn't need spindles......very rare that they go bad, and wheel bearings can be repacked if they look ok when you clean them. I use MOOG front end parts, and Temkin wheel bearings, I can't tell you the number of times I've seen those cheap made in china parts fail in a short amount of time. j

no china parts

[novaderrik]

Originally Posted by z28rich

no china parts

some Moog stuff is made there now.. gotta look at the label on the box..

[daven1256]

I am just gettin back to this thread I started about three weeks ago.......thanks for all the input so far. I had asked about the best place to buy the following parts for my '68.
　
Ball joints
Spindles (maybe)
Tie rod ends
Tie rod adjusting sleeves
Pitman arm
Idler arm
Rotors
Wheel bearings

I posted this question on CRG as well. There were alot of different ideas given. From all the responses (and I know not everyone agreed) it seems the majority of people felt that...........

Moog, if made in the USA, is the best quality but do not look like the originals.

Rock Auto is the best place to buy Moog made in the USA parts.

Moog parts that are not made in the USA will be lesser quality than those that are.

Anything coming out of China will be poor quality.

When I see QS900 / ISO cert stuff in the description, that means made in China.

Anything that is correct in orignal appearance is made in China
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Looking through the parts catalogs, it seems that anything that is stated to be correct in original appearance is made in China.
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I would like to have original looking parts but not at the expense of durability or safety.

So my question now are.........Has anyone bought original looking off shore parts that failed on them? Does "China" automatically equate to poor quality?

Does anyone know of original looking parts that are USA made and good quality?


Thanks........Dave

[r_w]

Originally Posted by daven1256

When I see QS900 / ISO cert stuff in the description, that means made in China.

That is not true. QS9000 is an automotive quality system standard, it has been replaced by TS16949. These systems are required to supply Ford/GM/Chrysler or any of there Tier 1's. My company is based in Tennessee and we are TS16949 / ISO 9000.

ISO cert is for a company that does not supply Ford/GM/Chrysler but wants a similar type certification.

Many Chinese companies advertise the cert to basically say, "see, we're certified we must be good." Just because you are certified, it doesn't necessarily mean you have good quality, it means you have a lot of paperwork to document what you do, and you had $5K to spend to get audited....

I know most won't care, but thought I would clear it up.

[arocars]

Originally Posted by 77thor

I bought from Rock Auto. I would recommend Moog suspension parts.

I totally agree with that.

[Joe Harrison]

I would still look locally and hold the parts, ask questions and see what you come up with.