- Home »
- Catalog »
- Suspension »
- 1964-1967 GTO GM A-Body
1964-1967 GTO GM A-Body
Pontiac V8 1964-1967 GTO GM A-Body
Systems, Not Shopping Lists — 1964-1967 GTO GM A-Body for Pontiac V8s
The 1964-1967 GTO rides on the early GM A-Body, coil sprung at both ends and built in an era when ride comfort outranked cornering. It responds well to a matched package and badly to a box of parts chosen one at a time, because spring rate, damping and front geometry all have to agree with each other.
Butler carries the RideTech early A-Body line: StreetGRIP for a bolt-in lowered restoration, a complete coil-over system, a full air ride system with ShockWaves and StrongArms, and the simpler CoolRide air spring kit that covers 1964-1972 GTO.
More About 1964-1967 GTO GM A-Body
1. Four ways to do an early A-Body
RideTech covers the 1964-1967 platform, which also takes in the LeMans, Tempest and Sportwagon, at four different depths.
| StreetGRIP | direct replacement for original style suspension. Dual-rate front and rear coil springs, HQ rebound-adjustable shocks, Delrin front control arm bushings, tall ball joints, larger sway bars with Delrin bushings, hardware and instructions. |
| Coil-over system | front upper and lower StrongArms, rear upper and lower StrongArms, tall spindles, front and rear MuscleBars and four HQ Series coil-overs. |
| Air ride system | the same control arm and spindle package with front and rear HQ Series ShockWaves, front and rear MuscleBars and rear StrongArms, for a low show stance that still drives. |
| CoolRide air spring kit | the budget route. Application-specific brackets let air springs bolt in where the coil springs were, matched with rebound-adjustable HQ shocks. This kit is cataloged for 1964-1972 GTO, so it carries across the model change. |
2. Look at your lower control arm bushings first
This is the one thing that stops an early A-Body StreetGRIP order at the counter, and it costs nothing to check before you buy.
| Round versus oval | StreetGRIP is designed for the ROUND lower control arm bushing. If your car has arms with oval bushings, those arms have to be replaced before the kit will go on. |
| The fix is also the upgrade | RideTech front lower StrongArms for the 1964-1972 A-Body accept stock style coil springs or the RideTech dual-rate springs, add self-lubricating Delrin bushings, increase caster and allow ride height adjustment. |
3. What the tall spindle and StrongArms change
These are the parts that separate a system from a spring-and-shock refresh, and it is worth knowing what each one is doing.
| Tall spindles | induce more negative camber gain to keep the tire contact patch planted through a corner, and offer a 2" pin drop that makes room for a longer shock and more travel. They work with brake kits designed for the stock disc brake spindle. |
| Upper StrongArms | corrected ball joint angles for the tall spindle, with the upper ball joint moved back for more caster and better high-speed stability. Offset slugs are available for more still. |
| Lower StrongArms | a double-shear lower mount for strength, a dropped lower shock mount for travel, and the lower ball joint moved forward to add caster while keeping the wheel centered in the opening. Injection molded Delrin bushings with 13% Teflon cut deflection and stiction. |
Tell us what the car is for when you order. A numbers-matching GTO that sees Sunday drives and a car being built for autocross use two very different ends of this catalog.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Email our tech team at tech@butlerperformance.com. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.