'78 SC Elephant Racing Suspension Rebuild

[arrivederci]

Originally Posted by Qcurtis88

Got the car back today and hit the canyon. Car feels incredibly darty and unstable during weight transfers. I was on a straight, heavy on the gas. Got onto the brakes (still going straight) and the car got super unstable, swaying left and right (very sketchy / white knuckle moment).

Leads me to believe even more that the struts are bound and not allowing the front to load / rebound properly, hence the darty/squirelly feeling.

Real shame as its taken so much time and $ to get these on, aligned, corner balanced, etc just to find they're bent and a new set need to be made and put on. Not to mention the car was an absolute dream to drive 2 weeks ago.. Classic 1 step forward 3 steps back.

Another thing to consider with the instability under braking - imbalance between front and rear with not enough rebound in the rear. Had that happen to me when putting in new konis years ago on my '72. Fortunately I was able to dial in more rebound and solve that.

[Qcurtis88]

Originally Posted by arrivederci

Another thing to consider with the instability under braking - imbalance between front and rear with not enough rebound in the rear. Had that happen to me when putting in new konis years ago on my '72. Fortunately I was able to dial in more rebound and solve that.

Interesting thought I'll keep in mind. Only reason I don't think this is the issue is because the the car drove beautifully before, and the only change has been on the front struts. Rear hasn't been touched and the rebound is 10x better on the rear than the front (due to the bent struts).

[Qcurtis88]

Quick video of the issue

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/osC346g7wTI

[PeteKz]

Yeah, the strut(s) are clearly sticking. Next step, I would lift the car and pull the top of the struts out of the inner fenders on both sides, then with my weight, compress the tops of the shock rods while they are in the strut tubes. Feel for any sticking, and then move the struts around to check for any binding. Move the A-arms up and down too. You may have to detach the sway bar to feel for the binding.

And while you're in there, get the measurements for Bill V.

[Qcurtis88]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

Yeah, the strut(s) are clearly sticking. Next step, I would lift the car and pull the top of the struts out of the inner fenders on both sides, then with my weight, compress the tops of the shock rods while they are in the strut tubes. Feel for any sticking, and then move the struts around to check for any binding. Move the A-arms up and down too. You may have to detach the sway bar to feel for the binding.

And while you're in there, get the measurements for Bill V.

Good points - I've got another set of raised spindles being built now so when we get them back we're going to test all of these things. We're also going to look into the ball join where the strut connects to the control arm to see if theres any friction there.

This has been a real pain haha

[safe]

What kind of bushings do you have in the a-arms? Not sure if you written that.

[Qcurtis88]

Originally Posted by safe

What kind of bushings do you have in the a-arms? Not sure if you written that.

Elephant racing bushings. These were on the car prior to the spindle changes and the car drove beautifully so Im less concerned this is where the issue is coming from but maybeee? Also keep in mind the wheels droop perfectly fine when the car is lifted.

Its almost as if the binding is only happening at ride height and below. Also note that the insert took a TON of hammering/force to get into the strut housing itself. Had to smooth the edge of the shaft and bring out a bigger hammer just to get the shaft through the hole where the pin sets

[mikesarge]

Originally Posted by Qcurtis88

Also note that the insert took a TON of hammering/force to get into the strut housing itself. Had to smooth the edge of the shaft and bring out a bigger hammer just to get the shaft through the hole where the pin sets

I feel like this points back to your bent strut housing theory. Just one data point, but I did HD inserts on my car last month and they slipped right into place with zero force, and the pin went in with a couple light taps. No forcing anything. It makes sense it’d bind worse towards the bottom of the travel in that case too.

[Qcurtis88]

Had my original set of Boges raised by ER and just got them back in the mail (they look fantastic! Support gussets and everything). Pray to god this fixes the problem... Slid the inserts in and unlike my Bilsteins, they dropped right in with zero force needed.

Will report back later this week with an update.

[Craig_D]

Ohhh, that sounds promising! I hope you're about to solve this! haha

- Craig_D

[Qcurtis88]

Me too **nervous laugh**

[Qcurtis88]

Good news to everyone following along this saga... swapped out the Bilsteins to the original Boges (+ raised 19mm by ER) and wouldnt ya know it.... I have suspension again!

So it has finally be confirmed, bilsteins were bent ever so slightly causing the bind. Car feels 100x better.

Costly mistake, but shes at least back + has some nice fancy raised spindles that work properly now

[silverlock]

I’m a BIG believer in bump steer correction on these cars now — the raised spindles will be very nice.

My own car was never slammed (just sensibly lowered) but the difference before/after bump steer correction was/is huge. Hit a bump mid corner or an uneven transition on the highway? No longer does it pull the wheel. Using the RSR adjustable kit but could see myself going to raised spindles in the future.

[safe]

Did you get the raised Bilsteins used or did you have someone raise them?

[nickelplated5s]

Boge struts raised by ER per Qcurtis above.