I picked an 86SE with a running 4.9 motor in it with the intentions of putting it in my 87GT that I started restoring last summer. I was told it had a front suspension package and brakes but when I took the front wheel off to take a look I was surprised to see this:
1. I believe those are Archie brakes? 2. It looks to be Held Slalom Suspension package. I was not expecting to see front coilovers. Anyone know much about them? Doing a little research says the shocks are rebuild-able?
That is a Held now Arraut sport front end. Those shocks are Carrera, now owned by QA1 I think. If they need rebuilding QA1 will do it for you. Nice find!
Quite a nice find. All those extra accessories cost the original owner some big bucks but it looks like he used the car well. If the car has Archie brakes, chances are that those brakes are on all four wheels. With Archie brakes the car would also have a larger master cylinder. If the brakes are on four wheels make sure that you use them as a matched set.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
Yes I was told they are Archie brakes and should be a complete package. Quick question, do the Archie brakes work with the emegerncy brake? This car doesnt have them hooked up and wasnt sure if that was the reason for it?
Yes I was told they are Archie brakes and should be a complete package. Quick question, do the Archie brakes work with the emegerncy brake? This car doesnt have them hooked up and wasn't sure if that was the reason for it?
Don't believe that the Archie brakes had a provision for the eBrake . Those look like refitted LeBaron Brakes. The improved larger calipers that some Fiero owners use that retain the eBrake in the rear are Corvette C4/C5 or Cadillac Seville . Both require adapter brackets.. In any case they should offer a huge improvement over stock. Fiero brakes may be adequate for a stock car but as soon as you start adding the performance stuff, at the very least you'll need the S10 master cylinder.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
In case anyone was curious these where indeed "Carrera" coil over shocks. I contacted a company that rebuilds shocks for QA1 but was informed that these are bad and not rebuildable. Plus side is they have a shock that will work (QA1) and is better than what I took off.
[This message has been edited by Spadesluck (edited 09-17-2017).]
It's been said before, but it looks like you have the Held Motorsports 'sport' front suspension package. The brakes appear to be LeBaron rotors with GM metric calipers.
Edit to add: the adapter brackets for the rear calipers were probably made by PFF member dpwood. The adapters for the front calipers might be from V8Archie.
Side note: there are several variations of GM metric brake calipers. The locations of the bleeder valves and hydraulic hose connections can change, depending on the car. IIRC, the calipers (front and rear) from the 1980-85 Cadillac Seville are the easiest to install in a Fiero. You can also find aftermarket calipers that are drop-in replacements for the GM metric ones. For example, Wilwood offers aluminum calipers with single or dual pistons.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 09-17-2017).]
Thank you Blacktree. The previous owner did tell me he used the Archie brakes so that is what I have been going off of. For now I am sticking with the LeBaron stuff as I already have them being powdercoated. Maybe later down the road I will swap them out with Willwoods. I do believe the car will stop pretty well with what I got now though. ha
I did grind on the front brackets so that I can use my GT Lave wheels if I want to. I like the look of the GT wheels, but I do have some Berretta rims as well.
It would also be a good idea to grab the master cylinder from the donor car. Chances are, it has the Blazer master cylinder, which will work better with those bigger calipers. It might also have a bigger brake booster. If it does, then snag that too.
I asked Archie about the bigger booster and he thinks it is uneeded. His system does have a bigger master cylinder and I already purchased a brand new one to use. I will just leave the booster alone for now.
Once I get the car back on the road I will decide if I want to go that rout with the bigger booster. I am used to heavy brakes and clutches so it may not even phase me any.
My brake kit was originally built by RCC (no longer in business). Pretty much identical to the Archie kit. I did not get a different MC or bigger booster with the kit and have found that they are not necessary. Pedal travel is about the same as stock and effort is in line with most modern day cars. The only thing I am using from my original kit is the brackets that hold the front calipers. I never did get the parking brake to work even after I made reinforced brackets to hold the cables. I have willwood front calipers and I installed completely rebuilt stock rear brakes. You cannot use QA-1 coilovers with your sport front end without modifications, for details go to my thread in the construction zone "ecotec swap".around page 14 I think. The Carrera shocks you have need minimum 10" long 350 lb springs or they will bottom out and break. From my experience a 450 lb 10" spring would be a good choice. The powder coating looks great, keep up the good work.
I changed my mind on the booster, will be sticking with the stock one. I went with the MC that Archie suggested, I asked him and he was kind enough to let me know.
Wftb, thank you for the kind words. Also thank you for the advice.
[This message has been edited by Spadesluck (edited 10-07-2017).]
Looking at the way you have your UCA it is upside down compared to mine. I really do not know which way is proper as I can't find the original install instructions and mine were not marked R or L . Looking at the earlier as found pics I see that is the way yours were installed on the doner car makes me wonder if mine are backwards. I have never had any problems though
[This message has been edited by wftb (edited 10-07-2017).]
I think you have them swapped side to side. It doesn't look like there is much caster with the way they are installed. You want the upper ball joint to be further to the rear than the lower one.
Thanks for the heads up. I will move them around and put some pictures up when I do.
A thought, there are spacers on the upper control arms that I could also use to push the arm back as well. But from the looks of it I should probably flip them upside down to give positive caster.
[This message has been edited by Spadesluck (edited 10-08-2017).]
The spacers are to adjust castor.I have 1 thick one and one narrow one in the space towards the back of the car. if I could find my allignment specs i could tell you what that works out to but it is roughly 5 degrees.
The spacers are to adjust castor.I have 1 thick one and one narrow one in the space towards the back of the car. if I could find my allignment specs i could tell you what that works out to but it is roughly 5 degrees.
Is there any way I can get a picture of your setup? I may end flipping my control arms upside down and spacing them out a bit different.
Right now I am doing further mods on my UCArms.I have cut off the original bushings and welded delrin bushings on. Only one side done so far. These arms are a bit too long to get any more than about 1/2 degree negative camber. I want to be able to dial in up to -3 degrees for track days. I shortened the arms 1/4"while I was putting the new bushings on. Previously I slotted the mount holes on the arms and I use slotted ball joints but I still could not get enough - camber. This has done the trick.I will try to post a pic of the adjuster washers and where they go later on tonight
[This message has been edited by wftb (edited 10-08-2017).]
After looking at your pics again and looking at my setup I have concluded that the way my arms are installed is the correct way to do it. here is a pic showing the spacers as they were on the drivers side of the car: You should note that there are no fat washers on this side.That is because the arms are not exactly the same width wise and I could not replicate spacer positioning as it was with the stock arms. The large washers are cupped and these are what was used with the stock rubber bushings and are needed to keep your poly bushings in place. I just took this arm off and noticed that it moved up and down very freely, a sign that the poly is getting worn.Here is a pic of the passenger side with the delrin bushings installed: The big problem with the spacer system is to get it right takes a few trips to your allignment shop and gets expensive. But the upside is that the acceptable range is fairly broad and mine have had over a degree of difference side to side and it is not noticeable driving down the road. So get it as close as you can and don't waste your money getting it perfect.
The tierod mounting boss should be perpendicular to the centerline between the upper and lower ball joints, so you can put and angle finder on it to measure castor directly. That is how I do my alignments at home, but on an 88.
I changed up the upper control arms. All I did was flip them upside down, to the actual correct orientation. I do believe this is the way they were meant to be installed. Both picures are of the passenger side but slightly different angles.
Wow what a find ! It looks amazing getting them cleaned up and powder coated. Congrats on a great win !
Appreciate it. I bought the car for the sole intention of just the running 4.9 swap that was done by Ed Parks. The suspension was just a bonus. haha I got the car for $500, spent 400 getting it home. So I would say it was a great deal overall.
Got my new QA1 shocks in today to replace the worn out Carreras. Cant wait to get these installed tomorrow. Only thing I was waiting on to finish up the front suspension.
I put my nice powerdercoated springs on them just to see what to expect. I think they look fantastic. Additionally I do not need to worry about bushings on the top or bottom of the shocks wearing out because these have heim joints instead.
