Restoring Suspension - what mods should I consider?

[dtsol]

‘87 Carrera, torsion bar bushings are totally shot, looks like none of the rubber has been refreshed. I’m going to take it to Elephant Racing—they’re only an hour from where I live.

Question is: If I’m redoing all the basic wear items, are there any other ”low-hanging fruit” things that would make a significant difference I should consider? I bought the car to drive, not to show, so I’m not a purist, but also not planning to track it or looking to do anything extreme. I mostly drive mountain twisties (many are pretty bumpy), coastal highway, around town. Thoughts?

[ramonesfreak]

I’ll be doing the same with ER rubber. At the same time, adding new ball joints, turbo tie rods, and shock inserts. All my suspension is original. Interestingly, my Porsche mechanic drove my car a week ago and said it feels like a new car. I’m doing it anyway.

[chrismorse]

What Ramona said +

Pack/replace front wheel bearings, ss brake flex hoses, pads, caliper overhaul, (PMB), steering rack service.
Rear wheel bearings, parking brake, pads &caliper overhaul, Bilstein HDs, anti roll bar bushings, (possible upgrade to Carreras bar option).
Corner weight the car and align.

Brake work could be delayed if in good shape, but I'd still do the ss lines - they will be disconnected and you are going to bleed the brakes anyway.

Beware the slippery slope: replating hardware, monoball hardware,strut brace, bigger hollow t bars, adjustable spring plates, blasting and painting parts.

Cheers

[911 Rod]

https://www.elephantracing.com/911-suspension-builder/

Not my money (this time). lol

[piscator]

What Chris said +

I 'm just finishing this up and absolutely agree on the slippery slope. There are lots of good threads on this topic for you to search for and you might even check out one or two of mine. Particularly regarding Bead Blasting and DIY plating.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn, I posted those threads because one of the challenges I found was deciding how to refinish various parts. The 'gold standard' is to have everything plated or powder-coated. That get's expensive and moreover, it's time-consuming. My answer was to plate some things myself and not powder coat anything.

I think it's much easier to beadblast and coat parts as part of the work-flow. Rattle can paint and products like POR15 are so good these days that I've been perfectly happy using those. Here's a couple of specifics.

Semco Products are really terrific, but you'll need to go to a body shop paint supplier to find them. I''ve used both POR15 and Semco's Rust treatment and the Semco product is a definite improvement. Unlike POR15, Semco Rust Treatment can be applied to bare metal without having to acid etch. It's great on freshly bead- blasted components. And it can be used as a VERY tough primer. Just scuff it with a Scotch-brite pad and spray with rattle can paint.

Semco's 'Satin Trim Black' is my favorite rattle can paint and it dries very quickly. So does their 'High Build Primer." The Rustoleum and Krylon products are also great, but the Semco stuff seems just a bit better.

Plating. I enjoyed learning about and doing my own zinc plating because it fit in with my work flow the way the paints do. But it did require experimentation and some investment. For a one-time project it's better to send stuff out.

Fasteners. A good and varied supply of nuts, bolts, washers, (particularly Schnoor and Nordlock), locknuts, cotter pins, etc. has been indispensable to my project. It's such an annoyance to stop because you don't have a certain 6mm bolt. Do a search for Belmetric, a family owned company that does a stellar job.

Brakes. Don't even think about it, send them to PMB in Salt Lake City. I plated and rebuilt my own because I wanted to learn more. But I'll never do it again. By the time I'd futzed around cleaning and plating those big calipers, ordering parts, making plates to release the stuck pistons, etc. -- it took more time and it cost more than if I'd sent them to PMB.

That's the penalty for being a hardcore DIY'er with a stubborn streak!

[Cory M]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

I’ll be doing the same with ER rubber. At the same time, adding new ball joints, turbo tie rods, and shock inserts. .....

Solid advice.

If your brake lines are old and crusty this would be a good time to replace them and flush the fluid too.

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by Cory M

Solid advice.

If your brake lines are old and crusty this would be a good time to replace them and flush the fluid too.

Did pads, rotors and lines (rubber) 2 weeks ago. Rotors and lines were original to car!

[ramonesfreak]

I also repacked front wheel bearings

I didn’t mention these things because they are things that should be done regardless of whether or not someone Is refreshing suspension

[ramonesfreak]

Ramona? WHAT????????

:-) Joey Johnny dee dee marky tommy Richie & CJ forgive you

Originally Posted by chrismorse

What Ramona said +

[mickey356]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

ramona? What????????

:-) joey johnny dee dee marky tommy richie & cj forgive you