Slow&Rusty's 48hour Coilover Conversion \ Suspension Refresh

[jimtweet]

this is taking way longer then 48 hours,...lets go i need some more pics!

[redridge]

^^^ +1

Bump for an update please!

[slow&rusty]

Ok Guys here it is...car is finally finished! It took waaay longer than 48hours..laughing, there is my optimism getting the best of me!

I cleaned up rack after removing the tie-rods (what a pain in the ass removing the tie rods were!)


the powder coating was too thick to fit the RSR bushings, so I had to remove it. Word of caution for any of you guys powder coating your parts and trying to place these bushings on, it is a total precision fit.


Then I mocked-up the RSR bushings and the control arms to check the "resistance" and fall of the control arms, to check how many shims (supplied by RSR) would be required between the underbody of the car and the top of the bushings. After chatting with Clint, about 5-ish lbs tied around the ball joint should make the control arms falls nice and smooth, no resistance, no binding is the key. Also the control arms should be in the same axial plane front to rear.









Conical male and female washers required sandwiching the front bushings plus one flat washer

[slow&rusty]

Weltmeister rack spacers installed in the back ground of this picture, after this was mocked up, I took the rack out of the car and installed the new Tie Rods (yes I enjoy doing everything twice!).




Suspension Techniques 22mm poly urethane sway bar bushings that I bent gently in a vice to match the bend on the factory mounting brackets


Part Number for you guys, for future reference:


Coming together!




Rennline twin bar strut tower brace also installed


I even had some time to re-polish my wheels, really needed!
Before:

Before


After:

[slow&rusty]

After the car was done I double, triple and quadruple checked the number of threads on the old tie rods that I removed and made sure that the new tie rods matched it, and with the car back on its wheels I pushed the car back and forth several feet with the front and rear control arm mounting bolts loose (VERY important) to ensure that the weight of the car settled on the new suspension, and then I torqued everything up with the car on the ground. I guess I must have done something right, as the car rolled very easily and freely and was very easy to push, there was no toe-in at all and just enough negative camber to improve handling.

This is the final ride height I settled on after playing with the adjustable collars on the coilovers. If I wanted I could go about 1inch lower (!!).








I have since put about 10miles on the car and it feels great, extremely well composed and very linear. The spring rating I chose with Clint's guidance is great for a street car and not too stiff.

Hope this is a good guide for you guys attempting something like this at home.
Be patient..it does take way more than 48hours! But so worth it.
Yasin

[sc_rufctr]

Great work... Those RSR bushings look SEXY!

[KarlCarrera]

Yasin, everything you do is studied, well done and first class. Your car looks great!

Except.....for your decision to work in that humidity...:>)

Does it ever cool off in Houston? :>)

Karl
88 Targa

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Great work... Those RSR bushings look SEXY!

Thanks!!

Originally Posted by KarlCarrera

Yasin, everything you do is studied, well done and first class. Your car looks great!

Except.....for your decision to work in that humidity...:>)

Does it ever cool off in Houston? :>)

Karl
88 Targa

Thanks Karl. I have acclimated to Houston, the summer is crazy hot (three months) but the rest of the year is very nice. How is retirement?

[slow&rusty]

I would like to give a plug to Clint at Rebel Racing, as he was awesome for his technical support, guidance and suggestions. I had numerous questions and he was wonderful. He truly makes great products and beautifully engineered.

Yasin

[GaryR]

Nice job! Did you reinforce the crossmember to handle the extra forces the coilover shocks will exert or does Clint feel it unnecessary? I would have an alignment/corner balance done just to get her spot on, but that's me.

[KarlCarrera]

Retirement is great. Still doing a few high voltage demo's, and a little training/consulting in Wyoming.

Give a call next time your in the Springs, we'll catch up over lunch and a cold beer!

Again the car is excellent! Hope the rest of the fleet is treating you well.

Thanks
Karl

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by GaryR

Nice job! Did you reinforce the crossmember to handle the extra forces the coilover shocks will exert or does Clint feel it unnecessary? I would have an alignment/corner balance done just to get her spot on, but that's me.

Right...Clint and I spoke at length about this, based on my less aggressive spring rate and the fact this is a 100% street car, re-inforcing the crossmember was not something I had to pursue.

Originally Posted by KarlCarrera

Retirement is great. Still doing a few high voltage demo's, and a little training/consulting in Wyoming.

Give a call next time your in the Springs, we'll catch up over lunch and a cold beer!

Again the car is excellent! Hope the rest of the fleet is treating you well.

Thanks
Karl

Will do for sure! Glad all is good in your camp, with all the $$ you have now, time to put a RARLY L8 exhaust and Steve Wong chip in your Targa.

[Cairo94507]

Just looked at this thread again.....damn, that is one beautiful car.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by Cairo94507

Just looked at this thread again.....damn, that is one beautiful car.

Thank-you! I appreciate it.

[1-ev.com]

What A Wheels, Wow!!!

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

I even had some time to re-polish my wheels, really needed!
Before:

Before


After:

[TWIN911]

What wheels are those? They look great!

[slow&rusty]

Thanks guys, they are HRE 545

[Porsche Head]

Nice work!

What was the total spring rate then for each, 450 # front and 300 # each rear?

Sounds like a good setup, is it still firm enough compared to TB?

Thanks,
Cliff

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by Porsche Head

Nice work!

What was the total spring rate then for each, 450 # front and 300 # each rear?

Sounds like a good setup, is it still firm enough compared to TB?

Thanks,
Cliff

Thanks!

Spring Rates are:
Front: 300#
Rear: 450#

Quite a bit firmer than the torsion bars and probably do not want to go any stiffer on a street driven car.
Regards - Yasin

[1-ev.com]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

Thanks!

Spring Rates are:
Front: 300#
Rear: 450#

Quite a bit firmer than the torsion bars and probably do not want to go any stiffer on a street driven car.
Regards - Yasin

Yasin,

Do you have a chance to put it on scales?

I was wondering what springs should I choose? You can see my thread about it

Rear Coilovers for '68 SWB

What do you think?
Regards,
-Youri