What the best torsion bar and leaf spring combo?
The frame connectors and big sway bars will be the biggest improvements to handling.
If the car has to much bounce in the front, then a thicker T-bar is needed.
If your rear wheels hop on acceleration, you need springs.
Sorry, but they ALL need torsion bars. None of the stock bars are even close to the right spring rate for half decent handling. Maybe the .92" bars, but only for a small block car. You can have a nice cruiser with smaller bars than that, but it won't REALLY handle.
Tires are probably the single biggest improvement. Sway bars and subframe connectors are important, but you won't use them to half their potential without a set of decent tires. (NOT BFG T/A's!).
if ya really wanna go nuts, use the Hotchkis TVS kit.
That's a really well matched kit. And honestly, you can do it cheaper if you really pay attention, but if you replicate that kit piecemeal you're going to spend a ton of money. Maybe not as much as the kit costs, but close enough to make the kit worthwhile.
Big savings over the TVS kit is not replacing some of the stuff included, like the tubular UCA's and tie rods. Stock UCA's with offset bushings, and even stock tie rods are fine for a car that doesn't get track time. You can also buy solid tie rod adjusters for a lot less, and that takes the flex out of them. Then you're down to torsion bars, rear springs, sway bars and adjustable strut rods, all of which I would keep. But you can get 1" to 1.03" bars for around $200, XHD's for $230, sway bars from around 350 up to 600 (addco up to hotchkis), and adjustable strut rods from Dillinger for $155.
Even with the Hotchkis sway bars you're at ~$1200. Then add a set of subframe connectors (which aren't in the TVS kit, I don't know why), LCA boxing plates and a set of modern tires on 17x8's and you've got one sweet handling ride.
The other thing about the TVS kit is the rear springs. They're awesome handing springs, but they sit the car a lot lower than I think most people want. Yes, the lower car will handle better, but even an XHD sprung car will handle pretty darn well with the rest of those components. Same with the hollow Hotchkis sway bars. Yup, they're better than a set of solid Addco's, but unless you REALLY push the car you probably won't notice.
