My suspension plans (edit/comment where necessary)

[Silver Fox]

jack up the front of your car, put jackstands on both sides. Put your jack under the lower control arm and jack it up to load the suspension. Take out the cotter pin on the ball joint, loosen the bolt about 1", and slowly lower the jack. The spring will do the work separating your ball joint. when you undo the two splined bolts attaching the uppers to the frame, make sure you don't strip the splines, it'll be a pain to reinstall. Also make sure you take the shims and remember where they were and in what order. A zip tie works well to secure them together if you are going to take a while. Then, just bolt on the upper arm, put in the shims, attach the ball joint, and put the cotter pin back in. Piece of cake. Oh yeah, don't forget to take the wheels off...

Thanks for the tips. I will probably just replace the splined studs with some grade eight bolts (per this month's PHR and advice from SC&C where I bought the UCAs from).

I am also going to throw on some Baer brakes I have had lying around the garage, and I will also be replacing my lower ball joints, lower control arm bushings, and my idler arm.

Thanks again,

Rob

 

[Silver Fox]

Nero,

I spent about six hours today and still am not even half way done. The old bushings/ball joints were very stubborn on my passenger side lower control arm, so I spent an inordinate amount of time on that alone.

I got the new SC&C upper control arm/Howe ball joints/Baer brakes on the passenger side, and will tackle the rest tomorrow/Sunday. I'll be taking the driver's side lower control arm to a shop and let somebody else mess with that.

I'll post some pics tomorrow or Sunday, depending how much I get done.

My front fender measurement above the tire to the floor was 27 inches on both sides before I started...I'll let you know how much it lowers when I get everything bolted back together.

Rob

 

[nero]

Sounds good to me, Rob!!! AWESOME!!! Can't wait to get mine rolling!!!!

Thanks for the updates

 

[Silver Fox]

Nero,

I pretty much finished up today, but won't be able to get the car to the alignment shop until Monday or Tuesday.

The entire job took me longer than I had planned. If you are planning on doing it yourelf, make sure you have a spring compressor and tools to get your lower control arm bushing out and in (if you plan on replacing them) and to remove and replace your lower ball joint (or allocate time and money to have a machine shop do it).

Here are a few pics of the SC&C arms and Baer Brakes I had on a previous project car that I just installed:

 

[Silver Fox]

Nero,

My car sits 3/4 inch lower in the front, which looks pretty good. I drove the car home from the alignment shop yesterday, but it was in stop and go traffic, so I can't tell you too much about it yet. I plan on driving the car Saturday morning, so I will let you know more then.

Rob

 

[nero]

Awesome!!! Can't wait to hear more results and see more pix!

 

[Silver Fox]

Nero,

Here is finally a picture of the car. I left the stock springs on the car, and the SC&C Stage 1 kit still dropped the front more than an inch when the springs finally settled. My tires slightly rub on the very outer edge if I hit a good bump. I will probably drop down to 235s and see if that will give me the clearance I need.

The car drives pretty nice with the arms/ball joints on it, although I still get slight wandering at low speeds. I think it just may be due to the Bridgestones I have on it. It is extremely stable at higher speeds though, which is a significant improvement over how it was.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[nero]

That is a thing of beauty!! The stance, the color, the wheels!!! GREAT! Thanks for the updates! :biggrin:

 

[Toady]

What he said!

I just redid my car with mostly stock parts, and I'm REALLY envious!

Looks awesome...are those Simmons wheels?

 

[nero]

Yeah check his sig.. looks like the same Simmons RobIron has!!! Those would be the SEX on my car ;-)

 

[SVT F15O]

Nero, I pretty much finished up today, but won't be able to get the car to the alignment shop until Monday or Tuesday.

Hey, that rotor in this picture is on the wrong side. Just hope you know that.

 

[Silver Fox]

Hey, that rotor in this picture is on the wrong side. Just hope you know that.

Baer put a directional arrow on the rotor and I faced it that way (the arrow going in the direction of rotation. You can barely see the arrow at the bottom of the one photo). I guess I need to call Baer.

I had these things laying around since 2004, so it is likely I forgot which way they faced.

 

[SVT F15O]

Baer out a directional arrow on the rotor and I faced it that way. I guess I need to call Baer. Thanks.

Your welcome. Basically what you want is the slot to enter the pad on the inside of the rotor during normal rotation. This pushes the air out of the slot towards the outer edge of the rotor helping with cooling. Hope what I just typed makes sense! :biggrin: -Mat-

 

[Silver Fox]

Your welcome. Basically what you want is the slot to enter the pad on the inside of the rotor during normal rotation. This pushes the air out of the slot towards the outer edge of the rotor helping with cooling. Hope what I just typed makes sense! :biggrin: -Mat-

Yea, it makes sense, but I was following the arrow on the rotor. I just checked the Baer website, and they have an explanation on which way to face rotors in their FAQ section which says see photo, followed by "insert photo here." I tried to call them, but they are closed for the day.

So, did I misinterpret the arrow, or do you think they are stamped wrong?

Well besides needing to install Razors Alky system, putting on a Dutt neck intercooler, wiring up my oil pressure gauge, etc, it looks like I may need to swap my rotors around. Oh well, as least it looks nice sitting in the garage.

 

[Silver Fox]

Mat,

I actually found a photo of the car I originally installed the brakes (as assembled by Baer) on:

Here is my current install:

It looks like I installed them the same as Baer had them. I will call them tomorrow for clarification.

I wish the brakes still looked that nice, and I still had that THDP you can see in the photo on the other car.

Rob

 

[Silver Fox]

I just redid my car with mostly stock parts, and I'm REALLY envious!

Looks awesome...are those Simmons wheels?

Thanks, and yes they are Simmons. Oh yes, I am heading to Hawaii on the 31st for a few days.

 

[Silver Fox]

Hey, that rotor in this picture is on the wrong side. Just hope you know that.

I called Baer today...according to them they are in the right direction.

 

[Toady]

Thanks, and yes they are Simmons. Oh yes, I am heading to Hawaii on the 31st for a few days.

I would have seen that if I just looked at your sig...

Have fun on your trip! Also, you might try posting in the Hawaii regional section if you'd like to get a TR fix while you're there. Super nice bunch of guys.

 

[Robbie-87plz]

Silver pm me when you get here, if you're going to be on Oahu. Will show you around...on the weekends. Enjoy the trip if you won't be on Oahu!


Nice car btw. And for some reason...the rotor slots do look a little 'off'...
Nice car again!

 

[SVT F15O]

I called Baer today...according to them they are in the right direction.

Hmm, Baer made them so I guess listen to them. I know I wouldn't have them on my vehicle like that. They stop the car right>??? :biggrin: