86 WH1 restomod

[Mike E]

Lots of progress lately. I got the upper and lower control arm mounts tacked in place. I have to test the fitment under the car before I completely burn them in. I'll measure for placement of the spring jacks while the rear is under the car.

I also swapped the output shafts in my trans turning it from a th375 to a th400. While I had it apart, I cut it for the JW bellhousing.

And I sold my production head topend parts and replaced them with some stage 2 parts.

 

[gn4u2c]

Nice work.. You got all the right tools. This is one of my favorite build threads

 

[The_Six]

Mike looking awsome.

 

[Mike E]

The buick finally saw daylight for the first time in a long time. I finished the rearend and bolted it up under the car. I need to swap the 14" rear springs for some 12" and put the engine and trans in and it should get the car down to where I want it. But getting the car rolling was a major goal that I've been trying to meet for quite a while.

 

[charlief1]

Nice Mike. Looks like you moved the spring mounts foward some on the axle.

 

[Mike E]

Yes, the spring mounts are offset 3/4" forward. This just keeps the spring straight up and down. One the rearends that have the spring mount centered, the springs are usually bent or s shaped when the rear is at ride height. The s-shape of the springs is more noticeable with a 2 1/2" coilover spring like I have in mine.

 

[charlief1]

There's an interesting side effect when you do this Mike. With the spring foward it has a habit of lifting the rear of the car if everything else is set right. Glad to see someone else is doing it as well.

 

[joey316g]

Love that color combo....hope youre keepin it that color...you hardly see them anymore.....keep up the good work!!

 

[IrvJr]

Very nice work. Makes me want to do that to my WH1. Mostly the frame mods. I want a nice sturdy base for my car.

 

[Mike E]

I finished the adjustable shock/ coilover mounts:

The rearend under the car:

The new springs should be in tomorrow and hopefully it will sit like this:

 

[DCVING 6]

Are you planning on building some sort of an anti roll bar?

 

[Mike E]

I haven't decided whether to build one or buy an H&R anti roll bar. If I build one, it will probably go inside the trunk, so I still have room for a tailpipe.

 

[Esasky's85GN]

Holy hell!

All I can say is that your fab skills are freakin amazing! Cant wait to see the finished product! Good job and best of luck on the build!

Nice to see someone making their own suspension parts!

Chris

 

[carkicker]

im new to the tb site , and i just found out about the door hinge issue on the 80,000 mile , suposedly "mint condish" gn i bought last year. i've found all sorts of hidden little suprises . another member suggested i check out your remedy . im glad i found this site . thanks for posting all the pics . it helps alot . i've been a tool & die maker for @20 years , and you definetly have a skill set all your own . very nice

 

[turbobuick]

Very nice build Mike, car looks really good. What are you considering for a cage?

 

[jlat]

hello; You fab skills are right up there and it looks like you've done this before. Is your adjusable shock/coilover mount proven? Have you done that setup before?
can't wait to see it go down the track.
IBBY

 

[Mike E]

im new to the tb site , and i just found out about the door hinge issue on the 80,000 mile , suposedly "mint condish" gn i bought last year. i've found all sorts of hidden little suprises . another member suggested i check out your remedy . im glad i found this site . thanks for posting all the pics . it helps alot . i've been a tool & die maker for @20 years , and you definetly have a skill set all your own . very nice

Thanks. I don't call myself a machinist. I never had any formal machine shop training, but I did learn a lot from a couple older machinists I worked with in the past. I like to think I do high precision fabrication.

Very nice build Mike, car looks really good. What are you considering for a cage?

I'm still trying to decide, but I'm leaning towards a 25.3 cage to match the potential of the rest of the car.

hello; You fab skills are right up there and it looks like you've done this before. Is your adjusable shock/coilover mount proven? Have you done that setup before?
can't wait to see it go down the track.
IBBY

The shock mount is not something I've done before on a stock suspension car, but there are similar designs being sold. Some quick stress calculations of the bolts show that it should be more than strong enough. Yes, I have built a few other fast cars in the past, mostly mustangs.

 

[carkicker]

i'll go along with that . i had similar experience in the apprenticship with those old machinist guys passing knowledge , & god knows what else . anyway , im trying to keep the car i have , as close to stock , in appearance as possible .my son and i are working on it for something to do before he goes off to school , and the car will most likely be sold to finance that . as usual . just once , i'd like to be able to keep one , and this would be the one to keep , i see why everyone that gets one , gets so attached to them . this thing is a blast to drive , it spools up so quik , and rides like a dream . i dont have the heart to chop this one up . its too nice for that still , but , one thats a little rougher , i could live with that . let me know if u ever take yours to norwalk raceway ,ohio . i'd love to see that . im looking for stuff to fix my headlights , like bezels , and the springs , screws , & any assembly pics. , turn signal lenses , etc.. , let me kno what u want to sell .thanks

 

[Mike E]

I'm working on mounting the rack and pinion and building the steering shaft next. To properly position the rack, I needed the motor in the car. This morning I put the mock up motor and trans in the car and built a quick trans mount on the stock crossmember for the th400.

 

[Mike E]

Rack and pinion install is done. I need one more universal joint to finish the steering shaft, but at least I can roll it around easily now. I think I'm going to have to put dropped spindles on it to go as low as I want in the front. I won't be able to tell for sure until I get more weight in the front. It's actually going to go into storage for a few weeks while I work on another car for someone.

I had just pushed everything out of my 70 degree garage into 90 degrees and 100% humidity. So everything immediately fogged up.