Total Suspension Build
- Thread starter Bent6
- Start date
Thanks Ronnie. We did some of the welding - I'm sure those were the ones you were referring to
- JK. I don't think the current engine can hurt this drivetrain setup so that will mean that I'll need MORE POWER soon! As far as the powdercoating, your's actually looks much better - not that the HR stuff is bad - yours just has a deeper and glossier black finish than the HR stuff. I'll have to send you some more stuff sometime to see what kind of job you can do when you can actually take your time!
The plan is to get this thing back on the ground Wednesday. Progressive pics will be coming. Stay tuned ...............................................
Couple of more...............................
Completed Rear End
Lowered Front on 16" wheels w/ 26" Tire
Couple of notes worth mentioning.
I did most of my homework on the front end before starting this project. Thankfully the front end turned out exactly as planned with no real issues. The rear suspension has been a sort of trial and error approach but so far the end result looks like I wanted. I can't begin to thank my bud John (jevans) enough for his collaboration with me on this project. He paved the way but I think we've both learned some stuff through my project. One of the biggest gearheads and coolest guys I've ever met!
One problem I ran into with the narrowed rear end was clearance between the rear calipers and the shocks. Fix for this was to flip the axle retainers/caliper mounts so the calipers ride on the front of the rotor. This caused another problem - with the car lowered the caliper bleeders were hitting the frame rail. Fix for this was to bleed the brakes and then remove the bleeders and replace with pipe plugs.
Another issue was the rear springs - pic above is with an Eibach spring which didn't get the back of the car as low as I wanted. Solution was a change to a Hotchkis F-body lowering spring - smaller diameter spring with the added benefit of freeing up some room for the exhaust over the rear end. I did a LOT of experimenting with various springs in an effort to lower the car WITHOUT cutting springs. One of the biggest issues most folks don't realize about lowering the rear of a G-body is the limited suspension travel - top of the UCA brackets on the rear end are only about 2" from the trunk floor with the car lowered. There won't be a lot of shock travel but it's looking like the rear will bottom out on the trunk floor before the shocks run out of travel - we'll see on that one. My hope is that as long as I can keep the LCAs close to horizontal and the pinion angle at about -3.5 deg it should still work at the track with a little shock tuning. Double adjustable shocks are extremely helpful in making a drag radial car work. We'll have to wait and see how it all works when it gets done.
On the 26" street tires the ride height is at 25" front and 25.5" rear. Waiting on the driveshaft and a killer new set of race wheels. When I can get it out of the shop and clean it up I'll post complete BEFORE and AFTER pics with the street wheels/tires and the big n skinnies. Should have everything hopefully next week.
Completed Rear End
Lowered Front on 16" wheels w/ 26" Tire
Couple of notes worth mentioning.
I did most of my homework on the front end before starting this project. Thankfully the front end turned out exactly as planned with no real issues. The rear suspension has been a sort of trial and error approach but so far the end result looks like I wanted. I can't begin to thank my bud John (jevans) enough for his collaboration with me on this project. He paved the way but I think we've both learned some stuff through my project. One of the biggest gearheads and coolest guys I've ever met!
One problem I ran into with the narrowed rear end was clearance between the rear calipers and the shocks. Fix for this was to flip the axle retainers/caliper mounts so the calipers ride on the front of the rotor. This caused another problem - with the car lowered the caliper bleeders were hitting the frame rail. Fix for this was to bleed the brakes and then remove the bleeders and replace with pipe plugs.
Another issue was the rear springs - pic above is with an Eibach spring which didn't get the back of the car as low as I wanted. Solution was a change to a Hotchkis F-body lowering spring - smaller diameter spring with the added benefit of freeing up some room for the exhaust over the rear end. I did a LOT of experimenting with various springs in an effort to lower the car WITHOUT cutting springs. One of the biggest issues most folks don't realize about lowering the rear of a G-body is the limited suspension travel - top of the UCA brackets on the rear end are only about 2" from the trunk floor with the car lowered. There won't be a lot of shock travel but it's looking like the rear will bottom out on the trunk floor before the shocks run out of travel - we'll see on that one. My hope is that as long as I can keep the LCAs close to horizontal and the pinion angle at about -3.5 deg it should still work at the track with a little shock tuning. Double adjustable shocks are extremely helpful in making a drag radial car work. We'll have to wait and see how it all works when it gets done.
On the 26" street tires the ride height is at 25" front and 25.5" rear. Waiting on the driveshaft and a killer new set of race wheels. When I can get it out of the shop and clean it up I'll post complete BEFORE and AFTER pics with the street wheels/tires and the big n skinnies. Should have everything hopefully next week.
Very clean and detailed Will, just the way I thought it would be. Looks as you have everything worked out. Just goes to show you that "bolt on" doesn't necessarily mean "bolt on"...Nice job getting all the suspension parts to work together. Can't wait to see it with the new wheels and tires, I'm sure it's gonna look killer. Nice working with you on your build, definitely enjoyed talking cars with someone who has the fever as bad as I do...John
One of the last pieces of the puzzle arrived today.
Custom 3.5" T6 Aluminum Driveshaft vs stock steel
1350 series Spicer u-joint vs wimpy stocker
I hope to have time tomorrow to get the rear gears broken-in and get it cleaned up for some before and after pics with the street wheels/tires. The new race wheels will be here hopefully by the end of the week.
Custom 3.5" T6 Aluminum Driveshaft vs stock steel
1350 series Spicer u-joint vs wimpy stocker
I hope to have time tomorrow to get the rear gears broken-in and get it cleaned up for some before and after pics with the street wheels/tires. The new race wheels will be here hopefully by the end of the week.
The guy in the brown truck rolled in today with the new race wheels.
Holeshot Polaris 15x8 and 15x4. Haven't actually scaled them but I can tell you that these are some of the lightest wheels I've ever encountered. Getting the wheels/tires mounted tomorrow.
Took the car out this morning on its maiden voyage with the new suspension. Didn't go very far but can tell that it stops MUCH better with the new brakes and I didn't get any rubbing. If the 275s work with no rubbing I'm good to go because she is LOW now! Finished pics to follow.
Holeshot Polaris 15x8 and 15x4. Haven't actually scaled them but I can tell you that these are some of the lightest wheels I've ever encountered. Getting the wheels/tires mounted tomorrow.
Took the car out this morning on its maiden voyage with the new suspension. Didn't go very far but can tell that it stops MUCH better with the new brakes and I didn't get any rubbing. If the 275s work with no rubbing I'm good to go because she is LOW now! Finished pics to follow.
Squid4life
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2004
Nice wheels! Love this project!
Thanks for the compliments guys.
Holeshot uses some strange offsets but they should work out close enough for this project. The backspacing is 3 7/8 on the back and 1 7/8 on the fronts.
Sneaky? More like indecisive. :biggrin: Have I told you lately the majority of this build is all your fault?
Holeshot uses some strange offsets but they should work out close enough for this project. The backspacing is 3 7/8 on the back and 1 7/8 on the fronts.
Sneaky? More like indecisive. :biggrin: Have I told you lately the majority of this build is all your fault?
Couple of more.......
The rear fenders were slightly rolled with a little "custom" contouring in a few areas but NOT cut and still retained the trim pieces. I did get to drive it around a little today and so far NO rubbing.
The front has settled in at about 24.5" with the rear at around 26.25". I may end up raising the front back up a 1/2" or so after everything has had time to settle in. With the street wheels and tires, it handles very differently - much more responsive to steering inputs and it naturally feels more planted to the road with the lowered stance. I'll post some updates once I've had a little more time to drive it around. I'm sure there will still be some "engineering opportunities" to address on down the road.
The rear fenders were slightly rolled with a little "custom" contouring in a few areas but NOT cut and still retained the trim pieces. I did get to drive it around a little today and so far NO rubbing.
The front has settled in at about 24.5" with the rear at around 26.25". I may end up raising the front back up a 1/2" or so after everything has had time to settle in. With the street wheels and tires, it handles very differently - much more responsive to steering inputs and it naturally feels more planted to the road with the lowered stance. I'll post some updates once I've had a little more time to drive it around. I'm sure there will still be some "engineering opportunities" to address on down the road.
