My entire suspension system is shot according to my father and fellow more seasoned car-buddies.

What would you all estimate re-doing the entire suspension on a 89 firebird formula would cost me with a) brand new parts by getting it done at a shop or b) at home by myself with overseeing

 

A fully rebuilt suspension front and back can run you several hundred dollars at least. The cheap way is to find a complete rebuild kit with bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, endlinks, ect. to freshen up all of the factory components aka:control arms, sway bars ect. On top of that a good set of shocks front and back will improve handling and overall feel of the vehicle but all of this more so comes down to how much you can spend.

 

The entire suspension is shot? What does that mean? There are a lot of parts that make up the suspension of a 4th gen. Some parts are fairly easy to replace yourself with the right tools, some are not. I'd be looking for a more detailed diagnosis. After that, reading up on replacement procedures in a repair manual would be a good way to help you decide what you can do yourself.

 

as u can see he said its a 3rd gen, but ur point still stands
there are alot of components in the suspension system
to simply say the suspension is shot is a very vague statement

most common ailments to a suspension are bad ball joints (tie rod ends, pitman and idler arm included) bad shocks and struts and bad bushings

in your 3rd gen there are 2 bushings on each a-arm, 2 on each lower control arm, 2 on your panhard bar, theres a torque arm bushing

as for ball joints u have two on your centerlink where they connect to your pitman arm and idler arm, u have two inner tie rod ends and two outer tie rod ends, and u have to lower ball joints on the control arm

you have 2 sway bar bushings up front and two in the rear

and 2 endlinks up front and two in the rear

if a suspension component is bent or damaged, then that component needs replacing

then theres bearings


so really, to say the entire suspension is shot is not always entirely true

alot of people get scared about suspension work because they're afarid of the car falling on them, or they'll mess something up, orthe spring will hit them right in the face

i feel, if u can see what forces are acting where on the car, you will see there are a few basic precautions to take to avoid injury

and as always if u take something off, either put it back when ur done or replace it, and you'll be fine