Make Your GM A-Body a Handling Monster with UMI Performance Pro Touring Suspension Components

GM’s 1964-72 A-body intermediate cars—Chevy Chevelle/Malibu, Buick Skylark/GS, Olds Cutlass/442, and Pontiac Tempest/LeMans/GTO—were good handling cars from the factory by the standards of their day. But with a little elbow grease and UMI Performance Pro-Touring suspension components, you can make your A-body handle like a modern musclecar—if not a little better.

The UMI Handling Kits and Rear Control Arm Kits feature UMI’s Roto-Joint. Designed to work like a spherical rod end while maintaining the ride quality of a softer bushing. A Roto-Joint allows 28 degrees of total rotation and unrestricted movement throughout the vehicle’s suspension travel without binding. A chromoly, hard chrome plated spherical ball rotates in a CNC machined Delrin bushing, which is contoured for the spherical ball to allow unrestricted movement as the ball rotates. Since the installed delrin race does not deflect like softer bushings, there is an improvement in traction and a significant reduction in wheel hop. Cool beans.

Summit Racing carries these UMI Pro-Touring pieces:

Stage 3.5 Handling Kits
UMI’s Stage 3.5 Handling Kit gives you better handling in a box. Ideal for street-driven cars that also see some autocross or road course time, the kit features one inch lowering springs with carefully tuned rates to eliminate the factory setup’s “floating” feeling. The tubular front A-arms have Derlin bushings to improve steering response. The upper A-arms are caster-corrected, and feature 1/2 inch taller ball joints to help improve camber. The rear control arms have Roto-joints and polyurethane bushings to improve handling without a jarring ride. The upper control arms can be adjusted to fine-tune driveline pinion angle. Other components include:
• 4 Ridetech HQ monotube shocks with rebound adjustment
• Heavy-duty 1.25 inch front sway bar with new bushings and end links
• Adjustable 1 inch rear sway bar
• Tubular frame braces with hardware
• Replacement rear axle housing bushings

Pro Touring Rear Suspension Kits
UMI Performance says these control arm kits provide handling rivaling a full Heim joint race suspension plus a decent ride on the street. The lower control arms feature Roto-Joints on each end for bind-free articulation, plus TIG welded sway bar sleeves. The upper control arms have Roto-Joints on one end and are fully adjustable to set pinion angle and lateral location. Finishing the kits are Roto-Joints to replace the rear axle housing bushings. The kits are designed for 1965-72 vehicles as the Roto-Joints will not fit 1964 rear axles.

Pro Touring Front A-Arm Kits
Made from strong DOM steel tubing, these fully assembled A-arms add 1.4 inches of spindle height by using a 0.9 inch taller upper and a half-inch taller lower ball joint. That provides addition camber for improved handling while retaining the factory spindle. The lower A-arms have polyurethane spring isolators for ride comfort and greaseable Delrin bushings for improved handling, plus an angled ball joint mount that offers additional tire clearance for lowered cars. The upper A-arms feature spherical rod ends, billet chromoly cross shafts, and relocated mounting pads to increase caster.

The UMI Pro Touring A-Arm Kits will work with factory springs, lowering springs, and coil-over kits. UMI includes recommended alignment specs for best handling and tire life.

Pro Touring Coil Springs
Designed in conjunction with a leading Sprint Cup chassis engineer, UMI’s coil springs have a linear rate that provides consistent handling characteristics, and are stiffer than factory springs to reduce body roll and prevent the “floating” feeling so common with A-body cars. The springs are engineered to provide a one or two inch reduction in ride height for cars with a small block Chevy, GM LS, and either a big block Chevy or Pontiac V8 with aluminum heads and intake. If you have an all-iron big block, you will get about a quarter-inch more drop for that popular nose-down rake.

SEE ALL UMI PRO TOURING SUSPENSION FOR 1964-72 GM A-BODY AT SUMMIT RACING