Tired car, need help with suspension components.
 

My friend has an '86 FC sport with something like 160k miles on the odo.

I can't help but feel the entire collection of rubber bits in the suspension are rotted out. He has new (under 10k miles young) Koni SA's, which although helped a ton, only seem to make the play in the suspension all the more noticeable.

My questions deal with which bushings should be inspected and replaced and what are some good aftermarket solutions? Since he is building the car for ST2 competition in the SCCA, it is necessary to keep the rubber/metal percentage in the bushings as stock as possible. No spherical bearing type bushings are applicable. Powerflex poly type bushings are more then allowed.

Also, the steering seems slack and communicates nothing, which seems completely out of character for a car that was known as an enthusiast beacon (at least the FB was, I don't know how much of that fanaticism the FC enjoyed...?). Should the tie rods be replaced? Is the rack probably worn down? Which FC has the fastest steering? I've heard the manual steering equipped cars, although they have slower steering, have better feel... is it worth it to find a rebuilt manual rack to replace the power rack?

I also know that the rear suspension has a huge bit of compliance and a nearly rear-wheel steering side affect, but this can be cured with stiff bushings.

Also, can anyone recommend a good set of high-rate aftermarket springs for this car? I'd prefer linear, but a good set of progressive wouldn't be terrible.

I know this is a lot of questions, but hopefully you guys can help me out. This guy is getting kind of bored with his car, and I know that all that can be fixed with a little suspension TLC. I know it restored my faith (and then some) in my car.

Thanks!
Steve

www.mazdatrix.com has some good polyurethane bushings which I'd assume would still keep you in the stock class. is he just racing or will he be street driving as well? if he's just racing I'd get some coilovers. you really should ask this in the suspension forum, the people that are regulars in there know their stuff.

there is a master bushing kit you can get for like 90 to 100 bucks on suspension.com.

Thanks for the advice. I'll cross-post this in the suspension forum. The car will be autocross/street driven, but coilovers don't always mean the end of a streetable car! And we're still young enough to get away with an unstreetable street driven car!

Steve