I'm well on my way with the same project, 78 SC Targa. Gathering parts and researching. I plan to start installing parts mid-October.
How low is your car? Mines 25.5" front 25.0 rear at fender lip (yea, I know that's not the 'correct' way to measure). If your much lower you may want to look into having your front spindle raised on the strut.
I decided on 20f/27r torsion bars with the logic that I want less understeer than stock and I may add an adjustable front through the body sway bar to adjust under/over steer.
I also picked up a used set of Bilstein HD strut inserts and shocks that I plan to send to Elephant to have valved specifically for my weight and spring size. Sort-of expensive ($750) bit I 'think' this is the secret sauce to make the suspension work well together. Other opinions are that Bilstein HD's are already valved pretty good for this setup
The rear spring plates are not a wear item, I just re-plated mine. Reinforcing the rear tbar mount? Probably overkill for a lightly sprung street car, my opinion...
I'll mark-up your list below with my specs -
Quote:
Originally Posted by AFB24911S
Hello Friends,
After extensive forum reading and Elephant Racing website research, I'm feeling just about ready to refurbish the suspension on my 1977 911S Targa. But, always good to consult experts when possible.
It has 207k miles of LA and Long Beach driving (think: potholes) on the clock and, according to the extremely extensive service history, has never had any suspension work. At all. The rear wheels are at 1.5 degrees of camber (ride height is pretty low, I think the torsion bars and shocks are giving up), and the front camber isn't much better; it also rides pretty hard.
So, I'm DIY'ing the redux with the parts list below:
Front:
Stock ball joints & hardware - Same
Poly-Bronze control arm bearings - Same
Camber plate bushings - I have some Elephant Quick Change camber plates that I'll try, if harsh, back to stock rubber
Swaybar bushings - Same
Turbo tie rods - I have new OE tie rods installed for now
Torsion bars (20mm) - Same
Bump steer kit - Don't think it's needed at my height
New HD shocks - Rebuilt/re-valved HD shocks
Rear:
Poly-bronze bearings - Elephant Rubber, already installed
New HD shocks - Rebuilt/re-valved HD shocks
new rear swaybar (18mm) - Stock rear sway, 16mm I think?
Torsion bars (26mm) - 27mm
Rubber trailing arm bushings - Same
Spring plate hardware
Swaybar bushings - Same
I'm also getting Elephant Racing's split bushing removal tool and their trailing arm bushing installation tool.
Here are my big questions: are the spring plates a wear item that would need to be replaced, and how seriously should I consider doing a reinforcement plate on the rear torsion bar mounts? More info: the doors close normally no matter how I lift the car and it's a Targa, which leads me to think the body isn't beat to death.
Am I missing a "gotcha" part I'll need? Is there anything you did that made a big difference on your car I haven't listed? The plan is to keep this vehicle pretty close to stock: ideally after I finish this project, fix oil leaks, repaint it, and replace all the window trim the car will become my daily driver by next summer.
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