Another suspension project...
 

Having completed the 3.6 transplant project and put the car into storage in Finland before the move over in January, my attention turned to planning the next project and giving myself and the car a nice Christmas present :)

With the additional power I decided it was time to focus on the suspension (again), and after a lot of discussions with Chuck, he is now putting together a top of the range Elephant Racing coilover solution for me.

I will post more as I get pictures and details - more to come SmileWavy

I think you will have a good Christmas, Pål :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1291708918.jpg

wow that looks like an great setup,...... def want some pics of the braces being welded in and any other changes u need to run this stuff.

Gee thanks Chuck... now I have to clean up the drool off the desk...

-Michael

So where does all the bracing go?

Chuck, will this coilover system replace the torsion bars or will it supplement them?
Can you give an indication of the cost (for an 86 cab)?

Probably to strengthen the rear shock towers.

Thank you Chuck, I think I will as well :D It is just a shame those sexy components will be hidden away once installed...

I would have posted earlier today and replied to some of the questions, but our two year old managed to chip two bones in his left foot, so I have spent most of the day in A&E followed by a number of other departments and weighting rooms!

Chuck sent me over some additional pictures during the day that I thought I would share with you all - I just can not stop looking at this stuff, I hope it does not take to long to get here...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1291746704.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1291746728.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1291746758.jpg

I will leave it for Chuck to give some technical details on the set-up, but it is based on the Elephant Racing Level 3 configuration.

To answer some of the questions, this set-up will replace the torsion bars completely. As for the cost - have a quick look on the ER site, or Pelican. If you are in Europe, then Chuck has some good partners that can help...

The bracing goes at the top of the rear shock towers to give additional support. Removing the torsion bars and installing coilover struts moves the loads and therefore additional bracing is recommended, as in these picture (from the ER web site).

http://www.elephantracing.com/suspen...ng-both640.jpg

http://www.elephantracing.com/suspen...ing-one500.jpg

Pål's pictures show the rear shock mount reinforcement pretty well. The rear shock mounts were not designed to support the loads of coilovers. Specifically the crossmember is poorly attached to the chassis, it is attached with some spot welds and some seam welding depending on year.

The reinforcements strengthen the area and couple the loads into the box sections and chassis.

Chuck, you fancy posting some technical details on the above pictured set-up?

Here is the list of stocking stuffers:

- Von Street rear coilovers, external rebound adjustable, level 3
- Modified bilstein struts with +30mm raised spindle
- Racing adjustable bump steer kit
- Coilover sleeve conversion kit
- Von Street inserts, level 3
- Brake line support kit
- QuickChange Camber plates
- Rear shock tower reinforcement kit


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1291746758.jpg

The picture above shows detail on some of the cool bits.

The spindles on the struts have been raised. Pål's car is fairly low and will benefit from the improved suspension travel and geometry of the repositioned spindles.

You can see the racing bump steer kit. With the raised spindles, you have compensate for the height at the tie rod end or else you will have profound bump steer. This kit has the second steering knuckle attached to the strut beneath the tie rod end. This eliminates flex and makes the assembly very strong. Fully adjustable for tie rod end height.

Coilover threade sleeve conversion kits are fit. This is an easy way to fit full coilovers. They are provisoned with main and helper springs.

One problem with coilovers - the hard brake line support has to be removed from the strut. So we fit our brake line support kit. That's the stainless bit you see near the lower spring perch.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1291746704.jpg

Above is nice detail on the QuickChange Camber plates. This lets you adjust camber independantly of caster. You do this by loosening that big hex nut and sliding that center carrier to the desired camber position. A scale is provided with marks for every .1 degree. So you can experiment with different camber settings, and return to your original position if desired.

It's also a good shot of the extended upper spring perch. The perch is much smaller diameter than the spring, and is long enough to position the spring down below the area of chassis interference. This lets you adjust for maximum negative camber, without the spring interfering with the chassis. Without that your camber range gets limited by the coil OD.

I want, I want!

Happy Christmas to me :)

My lovely Christmas gift from Chuck was delivered this morning. Now I just wish the car was not parked in a garage in Finland far away from me at the moment - I so want to get stuck in and install these babies ;)

these things look so good I just want to hang them on the wall as art.

If I have some good luck and can manage the family properly, then I should be able to consider installing these during the spring in preparation for getting a full alignment done once the snow has melted...

I am holding for some recommendations from Chuck on alignment settings that will work best for my car.

I will post back once the installation work starts, with lots of pictures and feedback...

you could install them, then hang the car on the wall as art

I think the wall would fall down if I did that :D

then you OBVIOUSLY need a new wall

and.... that means a new garage

Practicing his left-foot braking, no doubt! :)

Dale

By using the RSR Adjustable bump Steer kit.... I'm thinking you would no longer need a Turbo Tie Rod... is that correct?

The bump steer kit is mounted on the Turbo tie rods. I do not know if the kit includes the Turbo tie rods, but either way you still want them.

Thanks, Flieger.