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I haven't been able to work on the car much lately cause of a bulged disc in my back but I am slowly getting better and have been picking at getting my front suspension torn apart.
I thought I was only going to replace front coils... nope.. with how crusty my old parts are and everything being worn out I want to just put all new fresh parts in now.
I know someone will have a comment that I should have done this or that but this is where I am at now..
I got QA1 control arms that have the delrin bushings, serviceable ball joints and also have the adapter buckets for coil springs. I also bought a fairly inexpensive disc brake kit for the front since most control arms note that they wont work with drum brakes. All this cost about $100 more than just the Hotchkis arms that I originally wanted plus the QA1 can quickly adapt to coil over shocks later.
As for the brakes, I will get a hydroboost master later but have read I can run my stock master for now.
So I am just about ready to start putting things back together. I still have to finish getting the upper control arms bolts out. Going to cut them flush to the mount with a grinder cut off wheel then tap them out the rest of the way. Once everything is clean I will start the reassembly process
Also... I did take the advice of not skimping on the shocks so I got the Hotchkis/ Fox shocks that are recommended for the springs so when everything is all installed is should be a pretty big difference!
I have most of the suspension installed and disc brakes on. I still have to tighten lower a-arm bolts, install new tie rods and do a ghetto alignment then I will be taking it for a test drive. I threw the wheels on last night so I could see how it sat before I threw it all back together and its still super low... oh well. Going to try and drive it this weekend to see if I like it.
As good as your videos are, I just don't have enough time to watch them end-to-end. Can you explain/summarize in text what's going on?
Ride height is set by springs, lower control arms, spindles and tire diameter. What are you using for each of those?
Basically I only gained 1/4" in height from where I was with worn out original suspension and heated springs. I started at a 23" from ground to fender lip and now I'm 23.25". I am running 3" drop coils and stock spindles so there must be some drop in the QA1 control arms. I called Hotchkis to see if the springs would settle cause if they do I will be lower than when I started. They said their springs would settle hardly any if none at all. If that's the case I may be ok. Going to finish putting it together and drive this weekend to see.
So my suspension setup is not going to work. Going to have to ditch the springs and shocks and get a QA1 coil over kit. They recommend a #400 spring rate on the QA1's. Some people said #350 and others said #450.. so it worked out that QA1 said #400... unless someone has some good experience?
Bump stops were a hair from hitting frame. Shock has about a 1" of travel. I cut the bumps in half and drove it. It was horrible. Rubbed like crazy!!! Its the exact height that my old suspension was but with the new angle of the arms there is lots of rubbing. So 3" lowering springs are a fail.(May have worked with stock arms but I will never know now). Hoping that the 2" lowering in the QA1 coil-overs will be enough to look lower and not ride too high. Love wasting money!!
On my car I used AFCO springs and adjusters so I would have the capability to change ride height. They aren't easy to change because you basically have to pull them out and adjust them, then reassemble, but at least I have the option and they weren't nearly as expensive as coilovers. I think I spent a total of about $200 for both springs and adjusters. If you are thinking of swapping to a coil spacer and different springs, this might be a good option for you, but the adjusters do require trimming and you'd have to figure out what length spring you would need to get a good starting point. There is some detail on my setup here: https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...l#post16228672
My springs have settled some and I may go back in and adjust the front back up some to help with my exhaust clearance problems. I am using 600lb-in springs and I really like the rate for a cruise & autocross car. It is not as cushy as the stock spring rate, but it works well when I'm driving the car hard. That's the same rate as the Hotchkis lowering springs
Front suspension - Was sitting really low.. almost bottomed out. I added a 3/8" coil spacer to top of coil and I gained about 3/4" in height so I am calling it good! I still scrape going out of my street.. but oh well.
After everything was all buttoned up I took it for a spin.. still have some minor rubbing but I am pretty sure once I remove that stupid fender liner bolt in top center it will fix my rubbing issues.. Still got a chance to do a little rip though!
Then it was time to take some stuff back apart again! This time to install my rear lowering springs. This changes my car from monoleafs in the rear to a multileaf spring pack. These are 3" lowering springs from Hotchkis and their version of Fox shocks in rear.
So now... the rear of my car sits even lower than before!!! How does a 3" drop (from factory height) make my car so stinking low.. oh well. but.. I am hoping to lift it up some in the rear.. another 1" would be nice but I am limited in my lifting options.. I either get new springs which would suck or I try a longer shackle. My current shackle length right now is 3.5" bolt center to bolt center. Can I get a longer shackle like 5" and get some lift without looking my my shackles are stupid long??
I havent pulled the car out of garage to see how much lower the rear is but here is where I am at now. On the last pic, those dimensions are from ground to fender lips.
This is going to be my ride height for a while. I thought it was sitting low in the back but its just an illusion cause I measured my rockers and the rear is at least a half inch higher. I took it for a drive this weekend and it did good. No rubbing, no issues so its time to move onto other things.
Final suspension setup (for now):
Front QA1 upper and lower tubular control arms.
Hotchkis 3" lowering springs with their FOX shocks. Ended up adding one 3/8" coil spacer on top of coil.
Rear 3" dropped multi-leaf spring pack from Hotchkis with matching FOX shocks.
Definitely more to come but at least I can leave the suspension alone for a little while.
I started work on the Big Block Heater Core upgrade. I figured now is a good time to have heat in the car
I ordered a new blower motor as preventative maintenance while its apart. So in the meantime I will clean everything up and get ready to put it all back together and then have the heater hoses in a much better location!
Finished up the big block heater core mod. Wasn't bad at all just a little tedious with cleaning and resealing everything. Got a little more clean up to do but its done and I could hook hoses to it now and have heat
I have been bouncing around doing different things here and there but I have a lot of stuff going on with this car right now!
Got the new brake master installed. I still need to do a full flush and bleed though. Was hoping I could use my motive power bleeder but the bleeder cap doesnt fit over the larger master
Hey Billy you have been getting a lot done. Thanks for posting that video on the HDX install, I've been wanting to get the HDX as well but funds are limited and haven't had much time to work on my Nova until this past week. Keep up the good work!!
Hey Billy you have been getting a lot done. Thanks for posting that video on the HDX install, I've been wanting to get the HDX as well but funds are limited and haven't had much time to work on my Nova until this past week. Keep up the good work!!
Thank you, I appreciate it! It's hard to stay motivated when its cold out but I will hate myself if its not ready by Spring!
10-08-2018, 10:18 AM
