Grocery Getter
It’s working!
The front suspension stuff is done! Well, mostly done. I don’t think anything will ever be completely done.
The coilovers slid in without any fuss and the proper-sized sway bar end links made all the difference there. I’ll probably have to tweak things slightly – I think the front end could go down half an inch and it might still be a little too firm, but things are pretty good right now. I also replaced my steering box with one from an 80’s IROC Camaro to give it a faster turn ratio and give it a heavier feel. The original could be turned with barely any pressure, which makes highway driving kind of exhausting. I hope to never have to change that out again – they are freaking heavy. It took me longer just to get the power steering box bolted in than it took to change out the springs, even with my complex floor jack and ropes over the fender method. But oh, so worth it! Based on how loose the steering has been in this car since I’ve had her, I always assumed I’d eventually fit a rack and pinion system of some kind into her, but now I don’t think so. She feels SO GOOD!
Of course, with all the changes, an alignment was necessary. As with most of my experiences with services in this town, my attempts at getting alignments have ended in frustration. Even the Midas chain up here with their fancy laser rack system could only do the front wheels on Sandra, a 2004 MX-5, because they “couldn’t figure out how to adjust the rears.” That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, especially when my baby is concerned. So the obvious solution is to use my vast expertise in automotive alignment and do it myself! Note that my dad and I DID actually try to do this on a car many, many years ago. Every bump threw the car into oncoming traffic. It was terrifying. However, this time I bought a tool to do it consisting of a couple of metal plates, tape measures marked in 1/32″ increments, and a digital level. The turn plates were a couple of pieces of cardboard with axle grease between them. This was a tedious process.
But two evenings later (I had it almost dialed in the first night, but turned an adjuster the wrong way trying to straighten the steering wheel, got lost and had to start over). Roughly 73 billion short test drives later, the steering wheel is straight, I have about 1/16″ toe in, about -0.5deg camber and 6deg caster. She doesn’t pull, doesn’t do anything strange over bumps and highway gouges, and basically just drives nice.
I did find that the tires DO actually rub. At full turn, they rub against the frame a bit. The control arms I bought didn’t include any kind of steering stop, which is now something I wish I’d considered. I’ll have to modify them – either drill and tap a hole or weld on a threaded bung or something. But it isn’t super urgent. I never hit the locks unless I’m parking sometimes – it wasn’t an issue during our grocery run. It would just be nice to not worry about it when other people drive her.
There’s also something going on with the rear brakes. Sometimes they seem to lock up really easily. I’ve also noticed that the parking brake pedal doesn’t always return all the way when released. The front brake hardware, minus the master cylinder, has been completely replaced, but the rears were just disassembled and cleaned. But that’s not critical right now, either. At least now she can be moved around easily over the winter.
Wifey didn’t get a chance to drive her on last night’s grocery run, so I need to make that up to her. The weather is still beautiful here and I could do with another drive!