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Big update this weekend.
Sam bought a nice set of parts for the suspension, and we went to work on the suspension this weekend. Whole front end rebuild kit from Spohn, Tie Rods, Ball Joints,etc...UMI rear control arms both upper and lower, Energy Suspension Sway Bar Endlinks, and Control Arm Bushings, BMR Lowering Springs, Belltech 2" drop Spindles, KYB Shocks and POR-15.
---2-13-10---
We started working on it around noon on Saturday, and worked till about 10 at night.
BMR A-body lowering springs vs. stock rear springs.
Unbolted the upper control arms from the rear end, unbolted the shocks from the body.
New vs. old. Rear shocks
The end of the stock shock - bushing was actually in fairly decent condition, considering these are absolutely original.
Shocks are out
Upper control arms removed entirely.
Stock upper control arm vs. UMI tubular upper control arm. Quite a difference!
Sprayed down the swaybar bolts (found out these won't even budge, but that was today
)
40,000 BTU Kerosene heater kept it pretty nice in the garage
Just for Brian...Metal Ready is the surface prep for POR-15.
After cleaning the surface with Marine Clean (undiluted, to boot), we coated the surface with Metal Ready (via, a brush)
The drum covers, ready to get coated with POR-15
Sam sawzawlling away at one of the bolts connecting the steering linkage to the steering box arm. He really wanted an excuse to use it...
Stock steering linkage removed
Oooh...shiny...
Comparing the stock steering parts to the new Spohn stuff
All connected, should give us wheels that are at least straight.
One down, one to go.
While I worked on the brake drums, Sam started applying the POR-15 to the area above the rear end.
Sam started working on the front suspension while I finished up POR-15ing under the car
All done painting!
Drums look much better.
Grinding the top bolt off the shock. Sparks!
This had to be the hardest part of the night. We got the spindle unbolted from the ball joints just fine, and went to lower the a-arm down with a jack...but it just stayed. So we ended up compressing the spring, and smacking the a-arm down with a hammer, expecting the spring to come flying out (because it still was compressed a little bit). It didn't.
Basically, what happened was this. Somewhere along the process of going to knock the whole a-arm down, the spring managed to get wedged towards the outside of the car - which meant that the shock absorber couldn't drop out the hole in the bottom of the a-arm. And since the shock was still in there, we couldn't get the spring out! It was a complete *****, and we were trying everything. Anything. After like an hour of struggling, we ended up unbolting the a-arm from the frame. Just beat it out with a mallet, and it fell to the ground.
The spring stayed in, but we just pulled out out with some force. Thank god!
Pulling off the compressors
The whole lower a-arm and spindle assembly. This thing still won't come apart...
Look! Automatic lowering coils. That half a coil had basically rusted off by itself...
Stock upper a-arm is still in.
God...what a *****
Nicely laid out for the next day.
---2-14-10---
New springs and shocks are installed
New UMI tubular LCAs vs stock LCAs...
Stock rear sway bar off.
Painting the stock sway bar red, to match all the other new shiny stuff. He plans on running this for the time being, at least. Lots of guys autocross on the stock swaybar.
Upper/Lower control arms installed. Looks sweet under there!
Put the tires back on the car and set it back on the ground. There's like an inch or two drop from how it sat before - and keep in mind, those are 14" wheels, there's no gas tank in the car, and the front is on stands and sits higher than it would at rest.
So, we got quite a lot done this weekend. Had a good time doing that - really, really sore - haven't worked this hard in a long, long time. Well worth it though!
Sam bought a nice set of parts for the suspension, and we went to work on the suspension this weekend. Whole front end rebuild kit from Spohn, Tie Rods, Ball Joints,etc...UMI rear control arms both upper and lower, Energy Suspension Sway Bar Endlinks, and Control Arm Bushings, BMR Lowering Springs, Belltech 2" drop Spindles, KYB Shocks and POR-15.
---2-13-10---
We started working on it around noon on Saturday, and worked till about 10 at night.
BMR A-body lowering springs vs. stock rear springs.
Unbolted the upper control arms from the rear end, unbolted the shocks from the body.
New vs. old. Rear shocks
The end of the stock shock - bushing was actually in fairly decent condition, considering these are absolutely original.
Shocks are out
Upper control arms removed entirely.
Stock upper control arm vs. UMI tubular upper control arm. Quite a difference!
Sprayed down the swaybar bolts (found out these won't even budge, but that was today
)40,000 BTU Kerosene heater kept it pretty nice in the garage
Just for Brian...Metal Ready is the surface prep for POR-15.
After cleaning the surface with Marine Clean (undiluted, to boot
), we coated the surface with Metal Ready (via, a brush)The drum covers, ready to get coated with POR-15
Sam sawzawlling away at one of the bolts connecting the steering linkage to the steering box arm. He really wanted an excuse to use it...
Stock steering linkage removed
Oooh...shiny...
Comparing the stock steering parts to the new Spohn stuff
All connected, should give us wheels that are at least straight.
One down, one to go.
While I worked on the brake drums, Sam started applying the POR-15 to the area above the rear end.
Sam started working on the front suspension while I finished up POR-15ing under the car
All done painting!
Drums look much better.
Grinding the top bolt off the shock. Sparks!
This had to be the hardest part of the night. We got the spindle unbolted from the ball joints just fine, and went to lower the a-arm down with a jack...but it just stayed. So we ended up compressing the spring, and smacking the a-arm down with a hammer, expecting the spring to come flying out (because it still was compressed a little bit). It didn't.
Basically, what happened was this. Somewhere along the process of going to knock the whole a-arm down, the spring managed to get wedged towards the outside of the car - which meant that the shock absorber couldn't drop out the hole in the bottom of the a-arm. And since the shock was still in there, we couldn't get the spring out! It was a complete *****, and we were trying everything. Anything. After like an hour of struggling, we ended up unbolting the a-arm from the frame. Just beat it out with a mallet, and it fell to the ground.
The spring stayed in, but we just pulled out out with some force. Thank god!
Pulling off the compressors
The whole lower a-arm and spindle assembly. This thing still won't come apart...
Look! Automatic lowering coils. That half a coil had basically rusted off by itself...
Stock upper a-arm is still in.
God...what a *****
Nicely laid out for the next day.
---2-14-10---
New springs and shocks are installed
New UMI tubular LCAs vs stock LCAs...
Stock rear sway bar off.
Painting the stock sway bar red, to match all the other new shiny stuff. He plans on running this for the time being, at least. Lots of guys autocross on the stock swaybar.
Upper/Lower control arms installed. Looks sweet under there!
Put the tires back on the car and set it back on the ground. There's like an inch or two drop from how it sat before - and keep in mind, those are 14" wheels, there's no gas tank in the car, and the front is on stands and sits higher than it would at rest.
So, we got quite a lot done this weekend. Had a good time doing that - really, really sore - haven't worked this hard in a long, long time. Well worth it though!
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