ecotec swap (Page 58/98)
wftb DEC 08, 11:08 PM
got the bumpsteer kit done on the drivers side and all assembled ready to go on the passenger side .but i have had a degraded CV boot on the axle on that side for a while now so i ordered a new axle assembly and it should be here monday .overall i am happy with the HT motorsports bumpsteer kit .there are some minor things i dont like :
1 .the assembly could be made lighter .16lbs per side vs about 8 lbs for my old RCC stuff .dont know how it weighs compared to a stock set up , i threw all those parts out .
2 .the rod ends could be better .i have been looking at some QA-1 rod ends that are sealed and self lubricating .when these wear out , that is what i will install .
3 .the bolt supplied to attach the toe link to the arm is about 1/4" too short , the nylock barely engages .
on the plus side , the welds and powder coating are awesome , bends are perfect and a very strong looking assembly .as you will see in the pics i am rough setting the allignment and it is easy to set everything .overall well worth the price and i will be really surprised if it is not a big improvement .
on the assembly side you should get a 1/2" fine thread tap to clear out the powder coating from the spindle adapter .i almost ruined one side when i got it cross threaded .cleaning the threads out with the tap worked wonders .and for some reason my mac would not print the pictures with the assembly instructions .so i managed to get the arms reversed on my first attempt .a lot of running to the computer to figure out my screw up .some pics :







i substituted some 90 degree grease fittings for the straight ones supplied .you cant get a grease gun on the straight fitting once the arms are installed .
wftb DEC 20, 04:10 PM
i now have both sides of the rear of the car ready for a quicky allignment and then off to the allignment shop in the spring . i thought i was done working on the front end but i kept looking and measuring and jacking it up and down and i finally decided i needed more upward travel on the shock .i had less than 1 3/4" of travel to the stop .that meant hitting a bump big enough to drive the tire up 3.25 inches or so would bottom out the shock .so i raised the upper perch by cutting it and then welding it back together .now i have 2 1/4" of travel to the bumpstop .total travel on this shock is 4" and yes i have lost some rebound travel but it will not affect anything as the sway bar prevents full extension under rebound .on this setup 2" of wheel travel = about 1 1/8" of shock travel .also i braced up my hockey stick E brake brackets so hopefully i can get that working again .
bracket that mounts to strut to hold Ebrake caliper cable :

cut and tack welded one side , checking fit

clamped and bolted to old shock for welding

a bracket was added to each side to make up for lost strength and then some paint and back together

you can see a slight up slope to the ball joint on the upper arm .i can still go lower on the ride height now , before i was limited in how low i could go .

it is hard to get good pic of the suspension with the wheels on and sitting on the dollies .
wftb JAN 06, 11:50 AM
took off the old damaged rear clip and the rear deck lid .then i took the wing off and took the deck lid and clip to the body shop to see how much for paint .1138.00 including tax .i was hoping for around 600 , so now i dont know what i will do .i just ordered new saddle bags for my bike .a do it myself paint job might be in the cards for me .paying to have the whole car painted would end up at around 5000+ .the car just is not worth putting that kind of money into .

most of the things i wanted to do are done now .so i have a month or two to make up my mind on what to do .i think i will take the parts down to the basement and see if i can prep them myself .but i really dont like body work .
doublec4 JAN 06, 04:02 PM
I think you should get another quote on the decklid/rear clip. Seems kind of high...
wftb JAN 06, 06:44 PM
there are not that many body shops around here now , that is one reason .i took the clip in the basement today .i am going to try to at least prep it myself .should get the quote down a little .
doublec4 JAN 07, 12:32 PM
That should help with lowering the quote. I wish I knew more people in the bodywork business. Always helps to have a friend or two that can give you a majorly discounted price. I have a custom hood that I was working on, but its been on hold for a long time now because I can't justify the cost of having it finished. I would rather do engine upgrades etc. Hopefully you can get the price down and get that piece of the project buttoned up.

Great work with the suspension too. A lot of nice custom work you've done there!
wftb JAN 14, 02:00 AM
thanks for the comments .i would much rather spend money on performance upgrades than paint jobs .so i found some rustoleum spray bombs at canadian tire and i think i can do a decent job with them .i have two colours ,arctic grey and cardinal red that i got on sale .the red is discontinued so i only found 6 cans .might be enough to do the top half of the car and i can get more from home hardware at a higher price .i sprayed the new to me rear clip with the grey as it will make a good base for the red and it doesnt look bad either .i need to wet sand before i put on the final colour coat and i think it will look good enough for me .



this should save me more than enough money to buy a new headlight mod i have my eye on ...
wftb JAN 27, 11:13 PM
willwood brake upgrades :
wftb JAN 27, 11:19 PM
installed one side

[This message has been edited by wftb (edited 01-29-2012).]

wftb FEB 01, 09:32 AM
got both sides done now .the bore of the piston is .380 larger on these over the cast iron calipers i was using , so i may have to do the S10 booster upgade or a different master cylinder .but i will drive it first and decide .the main advantge of these calipers is over 2 lbs reduction in unsprung weight per side.i dont expect better braking , the old brakes worked really well as they were .i may get a set of these for the back and then put on spot calipers for a parking brake .the rear calipers with the built in parking brake i have now are not working out .every time i use the pb , i have to manually back them off .still a problem even with the better cable mounts i made .i will post a picture later , cant get pip to work right now .these calipers are sumitt racing part # 120-7197 .not for year round use , they do not have dust boots .

[This message has been edited by wftb (edited 02-01-2012).]