joblo1978

iTrader: (14)

I spent the better part of the past week or so getting these parts in. It was time to get serious about getting the car to work on the track. With everything I have learned here over the years, this better get the job done!

My previous best before lots of interior weight reduction and these mods was 12.40 at 114 with a 1.84. Before you rag on my times keep in mind I'm in Colorado. Worst DA in the country over here. Here's some footage of my last outing last year.

View Video on FQuick

So here's what went it, by myself, in my garage, and with handtools.

-Strange S60 with 4.10's and truetrac
-UMI drag bar
-UMI torque relocation crossmember
-ABS delete
-UMI upper and lower A-arms with new ball joints
-Strange drag shocks with 300 lb. springs
-PST driveshaft
-!swaybar

I'll probably get my k-member in next week or so too, get it aligned and start getting things where I want them for a baseline. Then the car goes back into storage for the winter.

I can't believe how tall and soft these springs are. I haven't gotten out of the garage with the front end because I'm waiting on a used brake master cylinder to come in because I damaged some threads on the original. But it appears it's going to store alot of energy for the hit now. I have gotten the rear suspension and gears all broken in the car drives totally awesome on the street. The power is there when you need it shift after shift. No more transmission whipping around under WOT and hard shifting, and the drag bar is very streetable. Hopefully I'll be well into the 11's up here in Colorado. I'm shooting for under 3400 raceweight. Hopefully this won't be too hard, but I do have approx. 100 lbs. in supercharger and A2W, not to mention the heavy S60. Probably going to go with some Weld racestars and Hoosier QTP's. I won't decide on a size until I see how it goes with these MT's. Probably 26's though.

If I get kicked off the track for not having a 6 point I'll be happy.

New parts ready for install

Old Bilsteins with ground control 440's

UMI turnbuckles on drag bar

Torque arm relocation

PST driveshaft u joint

New lower a-arms

New front suspension installed, POR15 on spindles looks good

Springs are cranked way up there, good ride height!


ABS delete turned out ok, but not great. First time ever doing any brake line blumbing. It's a PITA!

S60 is finally in. Painted in POR15 also. Man was it a beast to get in!




The wife scored me a nice Halguard, I threw in some LED interior lighting as well.


UMI k-member still needing to be installed


I'll throw up some more pics of the k-member install. Won't get any new times until next year though.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

Looks good, don't bother aligning the front until you get the K member in.

Tip on the K member:

Get some 1/8th inch thick steel washers, and a little longer grand 8 bolt to put in to hold the lower control arms in. Grind the powedercoat off the outside of the k member, and put the washers on the bare metal. Get the car aligned, and once that's done, weld the washers onto the K member all the way around, so there's no more slot for the arm to move in. This, will stop the car from getting whacked out of alignment from street driving, wheelie's, and the like.

You can thank me 2 years from now, when the alignment that you just paid for is perfect and hasn't changed at all.

custm2500

iTrader: (11)

Just feel the need to point out that if this makes it so you can't adjust them anymore then i would reccomend tacking in the washers so you can cut them easily if you get it aligned again. Many things can bend or change and your alignment will not be perfect in 2 years.

Hopefully you won't need to get it aligned again but I wouldn't lock it in with heavy welds. The tacks will hold it.

airfix

iTrader: (30)

Good idea, thanks!

96onele

Hey JL....do you have any pictures you can post of what you're talking about?

Thanks,
Jim

03 BUSA

iTrader: (25)

Looks great. I have one dumb question though. Why did you install all that pretty stuff on the old k member when you have a nice new one sitting right there next to it? LOL. Just bustin your *****. Just need some drag brakes to finish it off and you are done. Let me know how the k goes in with the motor in the car. Getting ready to do this setup myself and looking for some good tips on k member swap while the motor is still in the car.

joblo1978

iTrader: (14)

Well, I had planned to do the k and lowers at once at the lift I have access to on post, but I have to pay by the hour. I refuse to do the k-member on the ground. I was going to do just the shocks, springs, and uppers, paint the spindles and do the rest on a lift. But when I went to put my spindles back on I noticed I had trashed the lower ball joint on the passenger side. I bent the **** out of the stud and couldn't get the castle nut to thread back on. At that point I just said to hell with it and did them both.

POR15 akes awhile to dry and I didn't want to leave the car overnight there. Plus the wife will be able to give me a hand with the K-member too. I'm on leave and she's still been working.

Basically I did it that way because it's a two day job.

joblo1978

iTrader: (14)

So are you basically just saying tack weld the teardrop washers to the k member?

I've heard of this before and considered. I hope to do some wheelstands after this round of mods. It's definitely worth looking into.

joblo1978

iTrader: (14)

Did you guys notice the spacers inbetween the stock k-member and subframes? Those are to accomodate the size of my roots blower. I think I'll be one of the first to install a tubular k member with setup. I hope it goes ok.

The alignment dowels on the aftermarket k are a bit longer, so hopefully this will give me a better fit.

joblo1978

iTrader: (14)

Oh, what's a good setting for the Strange SA's for the street? When the ***** on the shocks are rotated fully counterclockwise and out is that the max compression setting?

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

If your a arms are adjustable, which they look to be, you don't tack weld anything. You put a foll weld bead on that washer. You have to get a good 1/8th inch thick minimum, hardened steel washer, put them on the outside of both the top and bottom, and weld them in 100% once the alignment is done.

As long as you have the a arm adjustment to use in the event that the car does need another alignment, you're fine. But honestly, once you do this you won't have a problem. That k member with the double cross bars isn't going to bend, and if it does, you probably have other problems.

Put it this way, Burkhart's race front end (which I have) and the racecraft one, both just have a hole for attaching the a arms, there are no slots. Takes a TON more time to align it right, but once it's done it's done and it does't move. What I'm telling you to do is essentially getting rid of the slot and turning it into a hole... but you get to do it after you did the alignment, making that a little easier.

Putting the k member in on the ground isn't that bad. Take a piece of square tubing, put it across the shock towers, or if you have a strut tower brace, here's the one good use for it: Get a ratcheting strap, and put it around the oil pan and attach it to the strut tower brace, and just hold the motor in with that... works prety good.

And no, I don't have a picture. Just look at any picture of a K member, where the a arms are attached and in a slot. Now just imagine a big THICK heavy duty washer on the top, welded to the k member. Pretty simple.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

Fquick a no, no at work, but will look at pics when I get home.

SScam68

iTrader: (20)

where did you get the aluminum plates for the shock mounts?

armyboyatc

iTrader: (29)

Im not tryin to hijack but when youre holding the motor up with that rachet strap, how do you get the motor lined back up with the motor mounts. I have heard what a big pain in the *** that is. Also you think that a STB can hold the weight of a motor? That is crazy but It would make my life simple when I go to do this. I never woulda thought of that.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

The strut tower brace will hold it up yes. I've used a simple 2x2 piece of square tubing to hold the motor up that was resting across the shock towers, a strut tower brace can'e be much weaker then that.

As for getting the motor mounts lined back up, one side is gonna be easy, 2nd side, not so much.

Another way this can be done, is with the car up on jackstands, put a chain across the heads (with the holes in the front of the heads with a good bolt in them attaching the chain) and use an engine hoist to hold the motor up, just lift on the motor so that it's held in place, drop the k member out by unbolting the motor mount pedestals, so the mounts stay on the motor, then get the new k member in place, use a screwdriver to line the holes up with the motor mounts, get everything bolted back in place, etc.

If you have stock motor mounts it's not too bad, poly ones like to fight alot more from my experiences. Solid ones, it's hit or miss.

armyboyatc

iTrader: (29)

Ok man thanks. You always seem to help out with little hints and tricks. Its always appreciated.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

No problem. Just trying to make sure people are safe, and can get stuff done with the least amount of headache possible.

I had a guy try to tell me the other day that you can't take an ls engine out of a 4th gen thru the top..... and that you had to do it thru the bottom.

I wish I had some pictures of one of the 20+ times I've helped, or pulled/installed a motor thru the top in one of these cars.

armyboyatc

iTrader: (29)

Ive given up on telling people that they cant do something because everytime I turn around someone is doing something that I thought couldnt be done.

custm2500

iTrader: (11)

It seems like it would be much easier to drop it out the bottom. Don't you have to pull the core support and radiator to pull it out the top?

BADD SS

iTrader: (4)

Considering how easy it is to pull a radiator vs dropping a k member...... top is easier. While my support is cut now, it wasnt when I removed the engine out the top. But with a cut support I can put the motor and trans in as one....easily.