I am building the Cutlass up to be a driver but can hold its own on on the freeway cloverleafs as well as the stop light to stop light.  Nowhere near a race car but needs some semblence of a "G-machine".  I have the rear in out of the car getting upgraded with3:55s and posi.   While its out I working on the rest of the rear suspension. Adding rear stabilizer bar from a '73 Monte Carlo as well as all new brakes from the wheel cylinders to the drums.  Anyways the shock are kaput but I want to upgrade to something a bit more performance oriented and am asking the afrcom crew what has worked for them. Trying to get  an idea of my options I got out my Summit catalog and found these:KYB gas adjust, Koni, and Edelbrock. I believe I want to steer away from the QA1s and the coil overs due to the fact that I do not believe I want/need anything "full race". So what is ya'lls recomendation and/or experience?
this is the car BTW:

I strongly advice you check out Year One; they have some awesome part for Muscle cars; they were featured on 2 Fast 2 Furious (remember the "Yenko" Camaro and the Challenger?)

Anyway, they have tons of parts for your Cutlass; give them a call at 1-800-932-7663 or visit them online at http://www.yearone.com .

Love to see pics of the Cutlass once is done.

go bilstein adjustable coilovers.... you cant go wrong. problem is they are about 2 grand a set of 2

Almost anything you do to improve drag strip performance will ruin cornering, and most things you can do to improve handling will be detrimental to coming off the line in a drag race. That's not to say you can't strike a balance that's good enough for your purposes, just that it will be a big comprimise.  A big heavy car like a Cutlass isn't going to handle like a go-kart nor launch like a pro-stocker no matter what you do anyway.  The main thing is to use quality parts that won't break when you drive it hard, and above all, HAVE FUN!!

That is a good looking Cutlass, BTW.

Nice car !

Not the same car, but still 'the same' essentially.....  My buddy has a 71 Buick GS.

There's kits out there that let you use front end parts from that same era Trans Am's ON the big bombers like you and he have.  Supposedly they make a WICKED difference in the twisties.  You swap out the control arms, bushings, bigger brakes and all that mess with the T/A parts and other ass't aftermarket bits.  

I think I remember something like .87 G's lateral they were measuring in one article I saw.

Pretty damned awesome, for a big sled that size.  

Not sure WHO makes it, but it's pretty popular.  Shouldnt be too hard to find.

i/m not really familiar with GM products but i doubt if you're going to notice much difference with going to high$ shocks (or dampers as the british rightly call them).  Shocks like Konis really come into their own when paired with appropriate rate springs which usually require suspension mods which entail body stiffeners etc etc.  You'd probably do better to get a good wheel/tire combo for the street and swap to slicks for track use.

NICE CAR!

I've used KYB's on a good number of GM A bodies over the years with excellent results, they will work well                            for your Olds.

Quoted: Nice car ! Not the same car, but still 'the same' essentially.....  My buddy has a 71 Buick GS. There's kits out there that let you use front end parts from that same era Trans Am's ON the big bombers like you and he have.  Supposedly they make a WICKED difference in the twisties.  You swap out the control arms, bushings, bigger brakes and all that mess with the T/A parts and other ass't aftermarket bits.   I think I remember something like .87 G's lateral they were measuring in one article I saw. Pretty damned awesome, for a big sled that size.   Not sure WHO makes it, but it's pretty popular.  Shouldnt be too hard to find.

I'm planning on upgrading both the front and rear upper and lower control arms to aftermarket tubular pieces. I then will add the largest diameter brake for my wheel.  I've already added larger front and rear stabilizer bars.  Shocks and springs are what I'm looking for  right now. I've contacted Mondello performance and am waiting to here what they have to say.

Quoted: I've used KYB's on a good number of GM A bodies over the years with excellent results, they will work well                            for your Olds.

+1

KYB's have to be the best bang for the buck out there. I've had them on every car I'ved owned. If you want a slightly more aggressive than stock shock, go with the GR2s.....the gas adjust will be a lot stiffer ( and are great for a "g machine" ) but ride quality will suffer.
Build the car for where it will spend 90% of the time, if that is on the street, go all out to improve the handling. If it's at the strip, do what is needed to hook up and go straight.