The Project Pad

pilihp2 wrote:

PRY4SNO wrote:Someone on here modded a set of pliers to roll a bead into the piping too, but I'd hesitate to name them for fear of getting it wrong. Pretty handy trick, actually. Hope he "pipes" up!

I'm pretty sure it was DE80q - Dave.

Yeah, I have a pair that I made up, works well, but its hell on your hand after a while. It is far from my idea though, I read about it in oilme's thread on motorgeek.

lucidmatt wrote:taking a break from the car for the week. My plans last weekend changed abruptly and drastically. All is well but it's made me realize the true things worth caring about in life. I dont want to share too many details, but I hope everyone can look at those closest to them, those that support your dreams, and quirks, and crazy car habits, and tell those people how much they mean to you all. Everything can change in an instant. I'm lucky things didn't change for the worse. more car updates when I dust myself off and find my head right to get back to the build.

I know all to well what you mean. I'm glad glad to hear things ended up not changing too drastically for you. Get your head and heart straight, then get back to work.

Life first, cars second.

That is why it has taken me months to get to where I am with my project and I still have months to go.

Hang in there. Nothing wrong with taking a break. Helps one prioritize in a good way, for sure. If you need some assistance with Ellie, I'm not far off the beaten path HMU. Always happy to lend a hand.

Thanks for the well wishes, y'all. The longest week in the world is coming to a close, and I am looking forward to getting back to the old mindset of this project car. Finding joy in it, and looking at it as a riddle versus an insurmountable PITA. (it is a bit of both, admittedly!) I'll be glad to spend this weekend focusing on the car with the mindset of solving puzzles versus fighting against an adversary. its all about getting your mind right.

Indeed!

A break was exactly what I needed (no pun intended) after days of freaking out over a brake interference issue and almost destroying all my progress earlier this week, I was able to solve it after this rest, with only a couple hours worth of carefully considered steps to undo some earlier mistakes and everything is smooth as butter now. Pending any unforeseen hangups, I should have rubber on the ground tomorrow night. I feel like a kid before Christmas!

oh yes. The bumper fits!

Rubber side down buddy

woah. thats weird. on my mac its right side up. my work computer its upside down. I'll fk with it when I'm home and drafting the BIGGEST UPDATE YET....

I really want to spoil everything with a simple video. mwahahah.

Sounds like good news!

themagellan wrote:I really want to spoil everything with a simple video. mwahahah.

you even got to meet my personal patron saint of repairs/mechanical muse who literally just randomly appeared to save me in my time of need. 'twas a magical Sunday.

So the weekend found me working the car over with a bunch of friends, got the car started, every bolt tightened (I hope!) and I'm scheduled for an alignment tomorrow However, I'm not out of the woods yet. I have either a harness or ECU issue, because my intermittent Cam Position Sensor short to +12 is still present, even after clearing codes after installing the brand new CPS. (the old one's wires pulled free from the connector upon removal, so at least my hunch that the CPS needed replacing wasn't entirely wrong)

I also have learned the hard way that the 6" 350lb spring is too short and soft for the c4 chassis. even with the spring seat collars dialed up to max ride height, i'm bottoming the suspension out over uneven pavement (the car hasn't even left my neighborhood yet) If you want that soft of a spring rate, get at least 8", or if you want that short of a spring, you need something stiffer than 350. back to the drawing board for me and my spring rates. I'm seriously considering Eibach's 550 lb main springs with their 175-550 progressive rate tender springs in the front, and 550 mains with 250-550 progressive rate tenders in the rear. This might be the time for me to also send the Sports out for a revalve, since sneaking by with 350s is obviously out of the question. at least I have the old bilsteins to swap in while my new ones get sent out for the revalve.The Saga continues!

p.s. the solid subrame mounts coupled with the Track Density Trans mounts has made transmission noise LOUD. like, youd think I had straight cut gears loud.... not for the faint of heart!

Your plan sounds solid. Revalve for 550 springs in 6" length and you should be good to go. Hope to see this at Carlisle.

It is never ending!

Springs on the way?

I've got some on audifans, make a better deal for you of course.

I just checked and I have a pair of 8" 380 lb Eibach barrel springs for the fronts. I went with 430 lb.

Thanks Dan, I am getting the car aligned today just for DD duties, then I think I am going to take the weekend, drive it, make some spring rate calculations, hopefully hear back from Eibach and Bilstein, then make a decision for a "final" spring setup probably next week, Do you think the 380 will make that large of a difference over the 350s? Even though its the most expensive option, I am leaning more towards the progressive setup, mostly because the ride currently is as stiff as I'd enjoy daily driving it, but I want extra rate to ramp up before bottoming anything mechanically...

I also have to do the rears ASAP. Can you say Squattro??? This weekend I'll actually compose a picture post of what I've done as well, its been one wild ride for sure!

I loved my ride quality and handling with 250lb tender springs and 430lb 7" primary springs, FWIW. The tender springs are pricey though.

I have no first hand experience as of yet. My car is still on stands. Eds setup sounded good though. Those springs I have fs are from a 2b coilover setup.

I'm gonna keep driving it, after a quick rip post-alignment (Factory specs versus hairy eyeball "ok, it tracks straight, send it!" alignment) the springs seem to be taking much more of the load before bottoming. After going through some scenarios, I realize that while common wisdom says more caster=good, more caster also puts more energy in line with the shock travel, relating to the vehicles forward motion. Factory caster allows the strut to take the forward motion energy at a much more perpendicular angle, leaving the spring and strut to fight mainly the forces of gravity and weight transfer. This has been one hell of a learning curve!!!!

TL;DR: the more caster you dial in, the more suspension travel you'll need, all else being equal.

Nice. I'm such a noob when it comes to suspension.

chaloux wrote:Nice. I'm such a noob when it comes to suspension.

Me too.

I am too, but I have always learned best by doing, and I figure the learning experiences are not utilized to their fullest if I don't share! I'll keep updating as I get some highway time on her. I knew that once I dove into the suspension overhaul (and later the HX40 install) I'd be playing guinea pig. Part of the fun is this discovery process!

Valid points all around. Glad you are driving, I'd like to hear your feedback on driveability and see the pics!

So I've had the nostalgic pleasure of actually driving my old girl without fear of death, and I've been loving it. I finally got around to taking some photos of how she sits and exactly how tight the squeeze is to fit that FMIC. Drivability is comfortable but firm. Still some bottoming out "issues" that I put into quotes because its mainly because the roads here are unforgivably horrible. The car is pulling super strong, no more CEL's, 25 PSI all day. She is running well, handling well, and has me feeling as good as she has since I bought her. That is why I feel it is a perfect time to step away from the automotive projects to focus on something bigger.... literally. It's in the background of one of the photos below, wrapped up in plastic! (Maybe I'll start a separate project thread for it:hide: )