greensport Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 (edited) I just wanted to introduce myself, I am the new owner of a 96 regal gran sport coupe with the l36 car has 85,000 miles and is super mint and just one previous owner question is I just had the struts replaced from the factory ones(both front and rear) and when I rotated the tires today I noticed the rear struts looked new but the fronts looked old and dirty, is there some type of metal sleeve that covers them? I afraid the shop did not replace them as the front suspension still has some bounce to it and does not looked touch another question, will the OEM seats from other w-bodies bolt up? The stock regal seats leave something to be desired lastly any mods you would recommend? not looking to do anything crazy but I might enjoy some simple modifications thanks Edited December 6, 2013 by greensport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Escobar Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 Welcome to the forum! No metal sleeve covers the front struts. It's a pretty standard spring and strut set up. If the strut looks the same as your old one, you got ripped off and you better find a way to get your money back. As far as seats, it's pretty subjective. You CAN make 2G W Body (2nd gen cars, 1997-2005) seats fit, or any other GM seat for that matter, BUT it's not plug and play. You either have to swap the brackets or make yourself new brackets for your car so you can mount the new seat. You have to stick with the seats from the 1G W body, which are from years 1988 to 1996, the thing is though, all of the 1G seats leave a lot to be desired. My Cutlass is one of those cars, it has so much more to be desired. In your case, a simple swap would be the AQ9 seats. Look them up. Also, if you want mod ideas, post pics of your car up so we know what you're working with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pshojo Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 The front strut shell would not have been replaced on the 96 regal, they have cartridge struts, so only the inner would have been. you could take front strut covers off and see if the strut, nut, are replaced. Typically i believe stock comes with Allen insert nut and most aftermarket are replaced with Torx insert nuts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Pshojo is right, the front struts are a cartridge style, the outer sleeve will be original to the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alec_b Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 Being a coupe, pretty much the only seats you're going to want are AQ9's out of a GP coupe. I think those are probably about the best stock seats what will work in a coupe. I had the sedan version of them out of a cutlass international in my '91 GS and loved them. They come in both cloth and leather. You'll notice they have air bladders to adjust the support on the seats. I didn't hook this up in mine as it was too complicated, but the plug for the power seat is the exact same so you still get the same adjustment as the factory seat. Also, if you have a power passenger seat you may have to settle for manual. My GS did not come with a power passenger seat and the AQ9 set I got was also not power. Here's a picture of said seats: http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/73642-For-Sale-Full-set-Graphite-Leather-AQ9-Seats-200 Those are the GP style AQ9's. I believe you can even convert the rear of your regal to buckets with the pieces from the GP as well, but a grand prix guy will chime in on that. http://s4.photobucket.com/user/alec_b/library/Regal%20GS?sort=3&page=1 That's my regal, you can see pics of the Oldsmobile version of the AQ9's that I installed. I don't believe these ever came in a coupe version though, you'd have to find a set from a 2dr Cutlass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted December 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 wow the grand prix seats look like exactly what I want, are the controls in the armrest? would that just bolt into my current center console? I might hit the huge junkyard by me tomorrow if its not freezing, any other choice w-body parts I should look for, I have been there before and they have maybe 20+ wbody cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Escobar Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 Those are the GP style AQ9's. I believe you can even convert the rear of your regal to buckets with the pieces from the GP as well, but a grand prix guy will chime in on that. All Gen 1 Seats (and 1.5 aka 95-99 Monte Carlo) Seat stuff interchange. It's the metal brackets that are in the center for the rear center console to bolt into that might be the tricky part, but everything else should be plug and play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 I would like to know what you payed for for the front suspension. it should be 2 strut cartridges, 2 mount kits, and 2 springs thats if you wanted the springs done. See the cartridge strut is designed to be able to replace the strut fairly easily, you dont even have to jack up the car to change them, but alot of people dont have the strut cartridge tool. When I did my cutlass I found both leaked in the spindle and when I pulled them out they were covered in their own oil. also I replaced my 60/40 in my cutlass with AQ9s, I loved them. It benefited in a couple ways. I got fold down back seats I had air controlled lumbar and 6 way power. Best of luck to you I had buckets. Very comfortable seats. Kind of hard to find though. Recaros are decent seats too but are rare and dont have the features of the AQ9s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Guz Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Welcome. If you are looking for some engine mods to give the car a little more pep, you could go with an HV3 insert and a set of ER rockers. You could also make an air intake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalRegal Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Front struts are inserts. On my current Ciera I just purchased moog complete struts. I have yet to install them (waiting for the weather to warm up). For $56 a piece on Amazon I couldnt go wrong! Complete struts are the way to go in terms of cost and changing out everything at once. They are more $, but you more than make up for the cost on installation and you get new mounts and springs and bellows to boot! The only issue might be if you have factory upgraded suspension (for A body it's code FE2 and FE3), the spring rates might be lower on the complete strut spring as opposed to the OEM one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buick666 Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Pics?? I Have a '96 Regal sedan too with the Series II 3800! They are pretty rare i might say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted January 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 took some pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted January 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I posted some pictures but for some reason there not showing up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Yeah that's funny it did that to me one time when I posted pictures too. I waited a couple days and tried again and it took. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 if anyone wants to take a look here is a photobucket link http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt67/mjfraasch/PICT0003_zps45308733.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9RegalGS2 Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 regal coupes ftw:) nice score Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Just caught this: When I did my cutlass I found both leaked in the spindle and when I pulled them out they were covered in their own oil. The struts are supposed to be bathing in oil, the instructions say to put a measured amount of oil in first. In fact my biggest question was what kind of oil? Had a 1/2 bottle of hydraulic oil so that's what's in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted January 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 looks like the pictures finally went through lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted February 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Car is running strong! had to replace a coolant level sensor but other than that the car is mint I have been looking around the junkyards for the front strut tower brace and a larger rear sway bar(my stock one is tiny) but have not had any luck, anyone have a spare? or be willing to pull them for me, I would be willing to pay Edited February 12, 2014 by greensport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Where are you located? I can keep an eye out. I saw one last fall and let it go because I already had one. That was a dickhead maneuver, I should've got it and brought it to a meet this year but wasn't thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted February 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Im in Northern California Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Yikes, that's some shipping! I'm in Erie PA. Cutlass convertible cars will have one you can bolt in (drill 2 holes each side) If you look at my album you can see what I did before I passed on the 'vert STB, mine is out of a '99 Regal and is fairly common in that era. I weld like shit but it's solid and no holes in the towers, just replace the caps if I ever want it gone. If you do this just be sure to cover the windshield before you tack it or do any grinding it so it doesn't put little pits in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensport Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 anyone know if I can run a 225/55R16 tire on my stock 16x6.5(stock size is 225/60R16)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 They're a little smaller than factory and your speedo will be off a couple ticks: http://1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator/225-60R16/225-55R16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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