|
Boaz MacPhereson posted:Not the end of the world if it doesn't, but I won't have a horn. Or better still, it breaks in a way that closes the contact: all horn all day! You'll be like this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wDw5Lk6VL4
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2015 22:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 09:42 |
|
|
Halloween Saturday. Might as well keep tradition alive and spend some time in the garage. At least I wasn't stuck on candy duty like the last two years. I've had these springs sitting around for a while so I figured what better time than the present. BMR claims a 2" drop. Looks like a lot more than that while they're relaxed, but the new ones are obviously a bit beefier.  FSM's got kind of an interesting way to pull the springs. Spindle stays connected. - Drop the shock - Disconnect sway bar - Attach your fancy-rear end $200+ GM tool to your floor jack and place under the control arm bushings - Realize there's no loving way in poo poo that you're dropping that kind of money on a one-purpose tool and use a length of 2x4 - Control arm bolts out - SLOWLY drop your jack and pray the spring doesn't get a small taste of freedom and make a break for it - Yank that fucker out - Installation is reverse blah blah blah I left the shock out and the sway disconnected for now. I quite literally just realized I have one of the new front shocks sitting in the garage so I'll jam that up in there tomorrow when I do the other spring. Time kinda got away from me so I cleaned up with one spring installed.  The contrast between the old crusty poo poo and the shiny new goodies is pretty stark. Getting there. Anybody want a 2 stage temp sensor and harness from a VW? 
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2015 06:57
|
|
|
Looks like you need a bigger sway bar, that thing is tiny.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2015 07:26
|
|
|
leica posted:Looks like you need a bigger sway bar, that thing is tiny. It is in fact hilariously tiny. The one I plan on picking up is 1.125" so it should be a nice upgrade.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2015 17:32
|
|
|
Pulled the passenger shock and sway bar end link out yesterday. Got the nuts off the control arm bolts, but didn't manage to get the bolts out before I was so rudely interrupted by work. On-call is a bitch. I should be able to get the spring swapped out this weekend.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2015 14:59
|
|
|
Last weekend washed out. poo poo happens. Got the other front shock today so that's a pretty good motivator to get those loving A-arm bolts knocked out and that spring swapped. Fresh approach might help get those fuckers worked out. Wish I could find some replacement j-nuts for the shock mounts, but I think I'm going to just have to suck it up and deal with what I got. Should have some nice colorful pictures for you guys come tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 04:44
|
|
|
Front springs and shocks are done. Took a bit of weasling, but I think a fresh head went far for getting the passenger arm bolts out. Little pry, little wiggle, little pull, and out they came. Swapped the passenger spring without even taking off the wheel. Pretty cool. Anyway, shot of reassembled driver side:  Great shot of the nasty old bumpstop. And the best shot I could get showing both sides.  Man, I wish I would have painted those hubs. Still can, I suppose. I can't wait until I get the new bar and control arms. The arms I'm looking at actually come in black or silver. Thoughts from the audience? That's the end of new parts for now. Kinda shot myself in the dick by putting a bunch of poo poo on holiday wish lists. I mean, maybe I'll get lucky and score some parts, but it kinda prevents me from buying them in the meantime. Blew the garage out when I finished up today. Couldn't believe all the crap that had collected. Leaves and gravel and dirt and whatnot. drat near choked myself out with all the poo poo I put in the air. Oops. Might be slow on updates (not that I'm fast with them) in the immediate future since I don't really have any immediate goals. Need to work on the rear wheel wells, but that's about it. Maybe tomorrow, who knows. Thus conclude my ramblings for the day.
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 22:55
|
|
|
I'm sure a guy like you can come up with all kinds of new parts you want that you didn't put on the holiday wish lists. Or tools.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 05:10
|
|
|
Don't get me wrong, I got a pile of poo poo that I can go get, but the wife's contract is still tentative so we're still kind of waiting on that to come down. I have been wanting one of the HF tool carts though. Coupon's good through the end of the month...
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 06:33
|
|
|
The tool carts are literally one of the best things HF sells. I can't rave about mine enough and after four years of heavy shop use it still is going strong
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 17:30
|
|
|
The red 5 drawer? It's drat tempting at $170.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 20:36
|
|
|
I'm talking about the black five drawer. But I've had friends with the red five drawer and they love it. Good quality and the locks are nice.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 23:50
|
|
|
Woo-hoo!  Should be here next week. Their shipping tends to be drat fast.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2015 21:10
|
|
|
It's next week. Did it arrive? 
|
|
#
?
Dec 18, 2015 21:51
|
|
|
It did! I've been sick as a motherfucker the past two days though. I'm going to try to get out in the garage on Sunday. Doing some presents tonight so maybe I'll get lucky and score some more poo poo to put on. Stay tuned. Edit: Superior German presents. 
Boaz MacPhereson fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Dec 19, 2015 |
|
#
?
Dec 19, 2015 00:24
|
|
|
Just burned through this thread in one sitting. It was a good read, thank you.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2015 19:37
|
|
|
TheNothingNew posted:Just burned through this thread in one sitting. It was a good read, thank you. Thanks for looking. I'm not much of an AI celeb, but I try to keep this thing at least somewhat moving. So my new shocks came with superior German washers and nuts but no bolts. Was zum ficken? Now I gotta go buy 2 new bolts because even if I wanted to use my crusty originals (I don't), they're too small. 7/16" vs 1/2". Ah well. I'll probably go pick them up on Wednesday, but parts probably won't go in for a while yet, unfortunately. I feel better, but not good enough to where I want to go crawling around in a cold garage. I'll be out of town from Thursday til Sunday, so shocks and bar will probably have to wait until the next weekend. Ugh.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2015 21:20
|
|
|
So I run out today to do a bunch of poo poo before leaving town for the holiday and swing by the hardware store to pick up a couple bolts for these shocks. Nylocks provided by Bilstein are 1/2-20 so I pick up a couple 2-1/2 inchers. Go about the rest of my errands (including catching SW:TFA), get home, go to poke the bolts through the shocks so I don't lose the drat things and find that they don't fit. They're too loving big. The stock 7/16" bolt fits like a dream. WHAT THE gently caress IS THIS NUT FOR, BILSTEIN?!  Ugh. Well I guess I'll be picking up some new 7/16" bolts, nuts, and lock washers. I mean, I could use the old poo poo, but some of the threads are a little chewed up and why not spend a few bucks to have hardware that might be 40+ years old? In the meantime, I've created a list of goals. A master plan. More for personal reference than anything, but here's what I got: poo poo To Do posted:1. Install rear shocks Piece of cake, right? 
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2015 07:10
|
|
|
Oohoo baby, I got some parts for the weekend. Rear shocks (with new bolts to match, ugh), rear swaybar, front swaybar, and subframe connectors. It's gonna be cold as hell this weekend so it won't be very pleasant, but I figure I'll get at least half of that poo poo installed. This will completely finish the rear end and leave me with just control arms to finish the suspension entirely. They'll be spendy, but the money's in the budget. It'll feel good to turn some wrenches again. Feels like forever since I've been out there. Expect another update on Sunday or so. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2015 02:56
|
|
|
Boaz MacPhereson posted:In the meantime, I've created a list of goals. A master plan. More for personal reference than anything, but here's what I got: That's a really good list, because you've got multiple periods where you drive the car and get to remind yourself why you're doing all this. Good luck and take it steady, you've already achieved a lot.
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2015 16:12
|
|
|
A cold garage on a long weekend makes me not wanna do poo poo. Did it anyway, though. Let my little heater crank for a while before I went out there. Garage door leaks heat like it's going out of style, but the heater plus the coveralls kept me pretty warm. To recap: new parts available are rear shocks, front and rear swaybars, and subframe connectors. I'm shooting for two out of four, but we'll see what happens. Rear shocks up first. Three bolts come out, three bolts go in. Easy stuff back here, folks. Reused the top bolts. Might end up picking up some new ones eventually just to do it. Old shock on left (obviously). I could compress it all the way down with just my hands. Trash.   With those out of the way, I moved up front to do the new swaybar up there. It's all nuts and bolts. No cutting or drilling or anything silly so I figured it wouldn't be too bad. It wasn't. Leica pointed out that the factory front swaybar is tiny. It is.  7/8" I think? New bar is 1 1/8" so that should tighten things up nicely. Old bar was a bit of a bitch to get out of there so I figured the new one would be a nightmare with the added diameter. I had to pull the bump stop off the passenger lower control arm, but that's it. Couldn't believe how easily it went in. New end links with poly bushings too. New subframe brackets and poly bushings there as well. Can't tell since the sleeves are on the old ones (left, again obviously), but the new end link bolts are bigger, too. Good stuff. Reused the bolts for the frame brackets (as directed), but might replace those eventually too. We'll see.  Drop the front end on some ramps and torque everything down. Front suspension is almost all new. Those new arms are going to look sweet. Reminder to self: torque control arm bolts.  It was still early and I was feeling sassy, so I figured I'd tackle the subframe connectors next. Now for anyone not in the know, Novas (along with F-bodies and Mustangs and lots of other poo poo) are unibody cars. The rear frame rails are integrated into the body shell and the front suspension is all connected to a subframe. The only thing between the front suspension and the rear suspension is the floor pan and body of the car. Add in some hard drag launches or road course abuse and things tend to get a bit pretzel-y. Enter subframe connectors. They help tie the two ends of the car together by directly connecting the front subframe to the rear suspension (front leaf mounts in this case). Some are bolt-in and some are weld-in. I went with bolt-ins since I lack both the knowhow and equipment to weld anything. Had to notch a couple holes out and knock a little length off the passenger side connector, but both went in without too much of a fuss. Picture's a bit garbage, but you can see one at the very top of the picture and the other at the far end of the floor pan.  By the time the connectors were finished up, I was tired of crawling around on the cold floor and I was getting hungry. drat near time for dinner by the time I got everything cleaned up and put away. So, three out of four. Didn't get the rear swaybar in, but I didn't feel like dicking around with the drill and all that at the time. Next Saturday's supposed to hit like 40, so I'll probably try to get it done then. Once that happens, there's only one piece of the suspension puzzle left:  Soon... That's all for now. Keep on truckin'. Boaz MacPhereson fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Jan 4, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jan 4, 2016 03:55
|
|
|
Boaz MacPhereson posted:It was still early and I was feeling sassy, so I figured I'd tackle the subframe connectors next. Now for anyone not in the know, Novas (along with F-bodies and Mustangs and lots of other poo poo) are unibody cars. The rear frame rails are integrated into the body shell and the front suspension is all connected to a subframe. The only thing between the front suspension and the rear suspension is the floor pan and body of the car. Add in some hard drag launches or road course abuse and things tend to get a bit pretzel-y. Enter subframe connectors. Friend of mine learned this the hard way on his 73 Nova. Went from a 6 cylinder grandma car to a V8 that ran mid 12s. Doors didn't line up anymore after a year or so, and that was with only occasionally stomping it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 4, 2016 05:46
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:Friend of mine learned this the hard way on his 73 Nova. Went from a 6 cylinder grandma car to a V8 that ran mid 12s. Yeah but that's just GM door hinge pins
|
|
#
?
Jan 4, 2016 15:02
|
|
|
What's it like having actual space in your garage to work on things? I hope to find out some day  Also: Seat Safety Switch posted:Yeah but that's just GM I kid, I kid.
|
|
#
?
Jan 4, 2016 22:37
|
|
|
Seat Safety Switch posted:Yeah but that's just GM door hinge pins Luckily, I got short-rear end doors. Sedan supremacy . Slung Blade posted:What's it like having actual space in your garage to work on things? I'll admit, it's pretty nice being able to work on both sides of the car. It's tight on the passenger side, but I have enough room to sit and work. Luckily, there's a lot of room in front of the car(s) for all your everyday garage poo poo, too. Storage, deep freeze, workbench, etc. Should have enough room for an engine rebuild, too  .
|
|
#
?
Jan 4, 2016 23:07
|
|
|
Seat Safety Switch posted:Yeah but that's just GM door hinge pins I didn't think hinge pins would make one door move up to the point that you had to push down on it to close it
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2016 01:55
|
|
|
Didn't get out there last weekend for the rear sway bar. I was still pretty stiff from Friday and the last thing I wanted was to crawl around on a cold garage floor. January is starting off as being pretty expensive for us so I think the last piece of the suspension puzzle (control arms) may end up waiting for a while. Renewing the license and getting insurance rolling may be put off a bit as well so I may start pulling the interior apart once I get it back on the ground. I'll try to keep progress going at least somewhat regularly while keeping expenses to a bare minimum. I won't be dropping the coin on POR-15 for the floor, but I figure a couple good coats of Rustoleum after some love from a wire wheel should get the job done. 2016's been a bit fucky so far. I'm ready for February.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2016 18:22
|
|
|
Well it was just "warm" enough today to have the garage door open and not freeze my balls off, so out I went. Had one last part that needed to get put on. It was a little awkward at first getting it wrestled up there with only one pair of hands, but I got it handled easily enough. Drilling the holes for the end link mounts looked like it was going to be a real bitch between my dull bits and a drill that seems to be going fucky. Luckily, the old Horrible Freight step bit was up to the challenge and managed to survive all four holes. Where once there was nothing, now lives a bar:  Cleaned up my mess back there and then went to clean off my bench. It's been steadily acquiring crap for the past month or so, but it looks pretty good now. I was putting some paperwork in the glovebox and saw all the old stuff that was in there. I gave it a once over when I bought the car but never really looked through it. There's some pretty neat poo poo. First off was a nice pouch of stuff from the AAA Club of Southern California.  Contents of the pouch:  Now the maps are copyright 1975, but the guide on the left of the picture is copyright 1983. Not real sure when the car made the journey down to Chino, but it was some time in the 70s or 80s. Here's the good stuff. Original documentation (minus window sticker, unfortunately) from 1971 including the receipt from Roy Robinson Chevy (still exists, btw).  Based on all the other paperwork in the car (not posted due to personal info and whatnots), here's what I figure happened over the course of the car's life: - Car was manufactured at the Willow Run plant in Michigan. Late 1970 or early 1971. - Car was transported to Roy Robinson Chevy in Marysville Washington where it was then purchased by a woman from Everett Washington in March 1971 for $2978.60. - Car eventually made its way down to Chino California some time in the 70s or 80s - New tape deck was installed in May of 1993 - New tires were purchased (14") in September of 2003 in Ontario California - Car somehow made its way to Minnesota where a title was issued in October 2010 - Car was registered in Iowa in September 2010 - Car re-registered to new owner also in Iowa in February 2012 - Car eventually makes its way to Roscoe Illinois where it is purchased by yours truly. Quite the trip.  And I just realized that I've got a handful of fasteners that all need torqued out there so I'm going to head back out and take care of that. As always, thanks for looking. Edit: Life Pro Tip: don't drop torquewrenches on your face. Ugh. Anyway, LCA bolts and rear shackle bolts are all torqued. Boaz MacPhereson fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Jan 31, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2016 22:27
|
|
|
That's a cool AAA packet. I'm in LA and do a fair amount of yard sale/flea market/antique store hunting. I can never resist searching thru a box of paper goods and it is amazing the sheer amount of AAA maps, flyers and pamphlets I see. They really put a lot out there. I found a AAA 1920s map of the obscure valley my family used to own land in and framed it for my dad. I've noticed prices going up a bit on that sort of ephemera - all those $1 maps are $5+ now, fuckin' "vintage" craze.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2016 22:37
|
|
|
Boaz MacPhereson posted:Edit: 2 minute PS hackjob: Ended up getting pretty close. Happy with the height. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2016 23:50
|
|
|
Boaz MacPhereson posted:Ended up getting pretty close. Happy with the height. Looks good. You also might get another inch or so once you have the hood and everything back on, and the springs settle.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2016 01:37
|
|
|
Raluek posted:Looks good. You also might get another inch or so once you have the hood and everything back on, and the springs settle. Yeah, I bounced the hell out of it once I got all the front suspension back together to make sure the springs are seated but I might pick up another inch or so once they settle in a bit. I might get a little bit from the hood, but it wouldn't be much.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2016 02:34
|
|
|
I hope to one day see this beauty in person. Soft eights are my favorite rim of all time. And that green with the black rim just really go well together.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2016 04:56
|
|
|
SouthsideSaint posted:I hope to one day see this beauty in person. Soft eights are my favorite rim of all time. And that green with the black rim just really go well together. It's not on the road just quite yet, but if you ever make it up to Lake County, give me a shout.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2016 17:42
|
|
|
 She's on the ground. Been a long loving time since I've had all four tires on the concrete. Wasn't even really planning on getting that done yesterday; it just sort of happened. Hacked out a little bit of the inner wheel wells and did a little ghetto-fabulous metal moving, but everything seems to be groovy. We'll see if they want to rub on bigger bumps and stuff but I bounced the hell out of it and it seems cool for now. Next immediate step will be getting the wife to help me get the hood back on, but that shouldn't be too bad. The ideal next step would be to get the front control arms replaced, but that's going to be a bit spendy and so far 2016 has been pretty expensive for us. Maybe they'll happen around my birthday in April. Fingers crossed. In reality, the next step will probably be pulling the seats and the carpet out and attacking the floor. It's all solid as far as I can tell, but I want to see what's going on under the carpet and get some paint and insulation in there. I think I'll try out the Frost King self-adhesive stuff. Seems to be pretty popular for a cheaper alternative to Dynamat. Any of you guys have any experience with it? Thing is, eventually, I'm going to have to cut up the tunnel a bit for the trans swap and the carpet will be getting replaced with new black carpet (current carpet is jade green). I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and reinstall the old carpet when I finish with the floor since I don't really want to drive it with the naked insulation. Weather's scheduled to be cold as gently caress for the next week so there probably won't be any updates until the 20th or so. Maybe I'll go out there this weekend, who knows. Probably pull the seats and carpet out and see what awaits.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2016 17:25
|
|
|
drat that looks good. Nice work Boaz.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2016 20:36
|
|
|
Indeed, looks awesome. I kinda wish 18" Soft 8s were a thing, I have to go to 18" wheels on my truck to get some proper sticky summer rubber in a tire that's more than 25-26" tall.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2016 21:07
|
|
|
Thanks guys. IOC, surely there's some DudeBro brand that makes a Soft 8 knockoff in 18", no? The tires on here are 25.7" so yeah, that'd probably look a bit goofy under your truck. What size are you running now? Edit: Dear god, Summit's selection of 18" truck wheels are loving hideous. 
Boaz MacPhereson fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Feb 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2016 21:45
|
|
|
God drat those wheels look real fuckin good on your Nova!
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2016 22:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 09:42 |
|
|
Boaz MacPhereson posted:Thanks guys. 245/60R15 front (26.6" tall) and 275/60R15 rear (28" tall). I'd like to get the front and rears closer to the same height. Current bolt pattern is 6x5.5" but since most of the wheels that are available in that size are particularly hideous, I'll switch to 5x5"... eventually. Doing so makes rear discs much easier too. nonedit: Ha, the BFG Radial T/A is the only tire TireRack even lists in 245/60R15 anymore. They used to have a bitchin' Yokohama Avid S/T in that size 10+ years ago, but because the old fucks who buy tires in this size are scared of change, they still keep buying the same old BFGs. Actual edit: Huh, Discount has some 255/50R17 and 275/50R17 tires that might actually work out. TireRack doesn't even list either of those sizes. IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Feb 8, 2016 |
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2016 22:51
|
|