El Camino project car

[FoMoJo]

You're gonna blow your manifolds at that rpm.

Likely put the pushrods into orbit as well .

[hotrodalex]

Lol that took me way too long to figure what you guys were going on about...

Anyway. Keep 3.36, swap to 3.55, or swap to 3.73 and be penalized on road trips?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Lol that took me way too long to figure what you guys were going on about...

Anyway. Keep 3.36, swap to 3.55, or swap to 3.73 and be penalized on road trips?

Keep ur damn rear gears. Either add more power, or swap in a T56.

[hotrodalex]

I just washed it and redlined it many times on the way home. I'm happy with these gears.

I'd just get a TKO500, not a T56. Easier swap, less hacking up the tunnel. But with a new cam + heads, 3.36 gears, and a posi, it should be good. Just needed to decide on gears before I get the posi installed.

[Secret Chimp]

Aren't TKO anythings huge $$$$$$

[hotrodalex]

Would probably be $3k all-in. I'm at the point where any upgrades I do are gonna be long-lasting and quality.

[hotrodalex]

Final numbers.

[Secret Chimp]

Your unladen rear wheels cannot handle

[68_427]

I have a 3.36 rear end at the moment. Should I get a higher numerical gear? Top gear is 1:1. I suppose eventually I could grab a 5 speed, but that won't happen until two summers from now at least. Would like to be able to cruise at ~75 while keeping revs under 3500 rpm. I think right now I can do 85 @ 3500 rpm.

4.86 gears.  Screw highways right?

[hotrodalex]

QA1 has front coil overs that will mount just like regular shocks. Might buy them. Have to do more research on rear options.

[hotrodalex]

Rear would require a bit of welding to change the top mount.

$1k overall in parts.

[hotrodalex]

Trying to figure out what to do with the front - looking like I'll get those coilovers and swap spindles while I'm at it. I want to get rid of the drop spindles. The lower control arm has a drop pocket in it, so combined with the drop spindles it's too much (right now I'm running close to stock height springs plus a 1/4" spacer). I'd probably be close to the upper limit of the coilovers' adjustable range. Raise the car up by 2" and then use the coils to drop it 1.5" sounds perfect.

I thought about getting tall spindles (instead of just the tall ball joint I have now), but I can't seem to find any that are tall + stock ride height.

I can install the fronts by myself, just need to borrow a real jack from someone. Then I can do the rears whenever I feel like driving up to SLC to have a friend weld in the mounts.

[hotrodalex]

Anyone have thoughts on single adjustable shocks vs. double?

[MrH]

Anyone have thoughts on single adjustable shocks vs. double?

Need brands and types of tech.  Companies do it different ways.

[hotrodalex]

QA1, monotube.

Since I only autocross it, I'm assuming single will be plenty.

http://www.dragzine.com/tech-stories/brakes-suspension/qa1-shock-comparison-which-to-choose-single-vs-double-adjustable/

[hotrodalex]

Rear would require a bit of welding to change the top mount.

$1k overall in parts.

$1125

Found a rear kit that is bolt-in.

I'm gonna be poor after this. Lol good thing I don't have a girlfriend.

[hotrodalex]

Was thinking about getting new upper control arms. I have tubular ones already, but they aren't specially made for the tall ball joints that I installed, so I can't get quite as much caster out of them as I'd like. (I think I'm at 3-4* now, would love to be at 7*...) I looked around real quick to see how much it'd cost just for the uppers and it's like $500+. :jawdrop: No thanks, I'll accept my current caster rate.

[280Z Turbo]

Was thinking about getting new upper control arms. I have tubular ones already, but they aren't specially made for the tall ball joints that I installed, so I can't get quite as much caster out of them as I'd like. (I think I'm at 3-4* now, would love to be at 7*...) I looked around real quick to see how much it'd cost just for the uppers and it's like $500+. :jawdrop: No thanks, I'll accept my current caster rate.

Yeah, corvette ones are super expensive too.

[hotrodalex]

Install Saturday.

[hotrodalex]

Fender-well rub and speed bumps mean that's about as low as it'll go.

~60 lb/in stiffer springs up front, ~50# in the rear. Single adjustable shocks, set on 3 of 18 at the moment. For autocross most guys go up to 9-12 clicks. It doesn't ride any stiffer, but feels more planted and controlled. Should have less body roll, too.

Started the job at 10:30 am, got all the tools put away around 1:30 am. Only had one major problem, which was the old rear lower shock mount studs. Had to run to Harbor Freight and buy a sawzall to cut it off, because it was torqued super tight and also probably rusted to the edge. And then there was a new bolt to install on the upper shock mount that involved using a magnetic screw driver to place the nut between the bed floor and upper mount, a space of about 1 cm. Had to crush my hand between them to hold the nut enough to start the threads. AKA I'm never messing with that mount ever again.

[r0tor]

Any shock dynos available?

[hotrodalex]

Can't find any for these specific ones.

[r0tor]

any for same model, different car?

[hotrodalex]

Found some upper control arms on eBay for $160-200. Might go with those...

[hotrodalex]

More caster and camber gain arriving sometime next week.

[hotrodalex]

Put the new upper control arms on yesterday. Pretty easy swap.



I put the same amount of alignment shims on, I think I'm running like -4* camber and 7+ degrees caster. Will get that sorted out on Tuesday with an alignment. Shooting for 1-1.5* camber, ~6 caster, 1/16" toe-in.

More fun pics:



Need to get rid of those drums ASAP.



Work warehouse/shop.

[FoMoJo]

Gotta swap out those drums for some Baer discs.

[hotrodalex]

Probably just going to get a kit to adapt the front rotors on the rear. Baer/Brembo/Wilwood kits are pretty, but for street driving and even autocross, I don't see much of an improvement to justify the price. I'm mainly switching to rear discs for easier maintenance, plus the option to use more aggressive pad compounds both front and rear.

[280Z Turbo]

Gotta swap out those drums for some Baer discs.

You always have the most expensive suggestions

[hotrodalex]

So from the chat thread, I took it in for an alignment on Tuesday, had like 10 degrees of caster. Decided that I put the control arms on the wrong sides, silly me. Swapped them later that day, took it back in this morning. All went well, sitting at -1.3 degrees camber, 4.9 degrees caster, 1/16" toe-in (1/8" total toe).