Would an extra crossmember toward the rear help that much with the handling? I was thinking of putting an X member in. I read that the motecarlo sway bars help but what else? If you could only do 3 things to help your elky handle better what would they be?

It's hard to pick just three, but I would say sway bars, lowering springs, and stiffer shocks. The sway bars are probably the biggest improvement. They can help body roll significantly. Lowering springs help by dropping your center of gravity and usually come with an increased spring rate. The shocks can be had with stiffer valving and shorter travel to compliment the dropped springs.

If you want to go further, you can have your rear control arms boxed or buy them ready to bolt in. These really help rearend sway, especially when used with a rear bar.

As far as tying the frame together, I would say go for it. Anything you can do to tie it all together can only help. I have been thinking of boxing my frame and installing a cage.

I have a 3"X3" angle iron piece that connects the rear frame together. It's part of the mounting for my trailer hitch and not a performance add on but if I didn't have a trailer hitch on mine, I would still have something to connect the two. When I built new rear frame rails for my '78 I took the hitch off while I was building and I noticed extra vibrations that I hadn't noticed before, like if I was going over rough streets or over speed bumps that are at an angle. When I got the frame built and the hitch and bumper put back on, the difference in turning corners and going over the same terrain was amazing!
There's really more than just three things to get the car to handle good, but the top two things that really made a difference was putting on a 22mm rear sway bar and adding jounce bars - the ones that connect the front of the frame to the crossmember. I've added polygraphite control arm, front swaybar bushings and am going to add rear arm bushings and box the lower control arms in. I had Malibu wagon rear springs in but changed them a few weeks ago for a softer spring (the back sat up too high for my taste). I use air shocks in the back but alot of guys use the air bags and a performance shock instead. It depends on what you want to do with the car is to how you want the ride and setup. I don't drag race or street race anymore so I'm not as concerned with "hookup" as some are. I like a good ride and good cornering without having too harsh of a suspension. Hope I helped. There's probably some other stuff that I missed and I KNOW you'll get more input. Good luck!

I know there are several things centered around better handling. In a few weeks im taking the body off to cover the chassis in por 15. Before i did that though i wanted to have everythingi was going to use for suspinsion modification in case i wanted to paint that also. I plan on boxing the control arms, font and rear swaybar and some poly bushings while im under there. I also may weld in an X member toward the rear of the chassis before i paint it. If i end up getting used sway bars then i can paint them if they look rough while im painting the chassis. I will also be putting jounce bars on. Thats the main things i would like to get done while im painting. Shocks and spring arent hard at all so they cn be put on later. What sway bars are most people finding to help better (what brand or off what car)

Thanx for the help.

Any rear sway bar off of a G-body car will help. I'm running PST ( Performance Suspension Technologies) front and rear bars. The front is a 1 1/4" hollow and the rear is a 7/8" solid. The front also came with polygraphite bushings.

If you are going to have the frame off, have you considered using different body mounts. PST offers polygraphite mounts for around $100, I think. I haven't got around to these yet, but plan on using them myself.

Check out http://www.hotchkis.net/secure_index.html for preformance suspension. I think I'm going to get ;

GM A/G Body 1978 to 1987
Total Vehicle Systems

Hotchkis TVS kits offer a complete tuned package for your vehicle. All components have been tuned and tested as a system to offer the highest level of performance possible. No longer do you need to mix and match components from different manufacturers. Hotchkis has it all included in the TVS.
What's Included:
Heavy Duty Tie Rod Adjusting Sleeves
1" Lowered Performance Coil Spring Set (4)
1 3/8" Lightweight Hollow Front Sway Bar w/Endlinks, HD Brackets & Greasable Bushings
1" Solid Rear Sway Bar w/ Grade 10.9 Hardware
Boxed Construction Lower Trailing Arms w/Greasable Poly-Graphite Bushings & Grade 10.9 Hardware
Adjustable Upper Trailing Arms w/Greasable Poly-Graphite Bushings
Adjustable Trailing Arm Mount Braces & Grade 10.9 Hardware
10% Savings Over Individual Parts!
GM A/G-Body
Grand National, El Camino, Regal, Malibu Etc
Part #
Years
Motor
Items Included
Price
80009
78-88
Small Block
1601,1802A,1902,2201
$1279.95
Vehicles using aluminum heads & manifold on a BB may want to use the small block application.http://www.hotchkis.net/images/tvs_images/G-Body-TVS.gif

Wow! that looks awesome, but kinda pricey. I have been accumulating parts for my 79 EC to max the suspension on a tight budget. I have some extra parts I can hook you up with a 32 mm (1 1/4") or 34 mm (1 1/3") front sway bar w/frame brackets, a 22 mm (7/8") rear bar (with mounting hardware) and a '85 MC SS F-41 steering box w/pitman arm, I also have an extra set of the "jounce" bars from the same '85 MC SS (these mount on the lower front part of the frame rails and attach to the pad welded to the engine cradle. (all used of course) for $225 + shipping if you have an interest.

That Hotchkiss kit is nice but expensive. I got ST lowering springs from Jegs for less than $200.00. Got a used rear antisway bar for $35.00. I got front and rear poly bushings/sway bar links from Jegs about $80.00. I boxed the lower rear control arms myself and bought upper adjustable control arms used on EBay for about $150.00. In addition I bought Edelbrock IAS shocks, about $70.00 each and I made my own jounce bars and fender/radiator support brackets. Low profile Nitto tires/17" wheels and my 1979's handling improved 100%+. Shop around and you will be able to get everything you need for a lot less than the Hotchkiss kit.

79ec you have a PM.

If I was filthy rich i wouldnt mind buying the Hitchkins kit, but lady luck hasent came my way when it comes to wining the lottery. Im more the type to get a part off this car, and one off that car. Im taking my time on this project and trying to do everything. Ill keep my eye out for other suspension stuff. When i get the frame out ill box in my control arms. Im puttin a hold on all the body modification for now though so i can get this chassis done.

Anybody know a good place to get a set of SS brake lines for a good price?

Try www.ziptiemotorsports.8k.com he's got some precut pieces (cheap) to box the lower control arms...you do the welding. He also has some other items worth taking a look at.

I think finding the different parts to make it all work together, part of the fun. I am lucky to have buddies in the metal shop at the base I am stationed at to do the welding for me.