Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #75 – April 11, 2016, 08:12:39 PM Looking good. Ride height is nice as well. I wouldn't go any lower. Mine sits about 1/2" higher. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #76 – April 12, 2016, 09:24:50 AM Thanks! I thought it was pretty awesome that we set it on the ground for the first time and it was already right at the ride height I was aiming for. There's some fine tuning to do, but I like that it both looks good and won't undermine the car's usability on the street. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #77 – April 12, 2016, 12:00:57 PM What front springs on your coilover setup did you end up with14" 175#??? Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #78 – April 12, 2016, 12:05:50 PM You don't want to go too low or you'll worry about bottoming out over bumps. I think your car sits about perfect right now.Have you tried bouncing the car with the new suspension yet? When I installed the Maximum Motorsports rear control arms and 98 Mustang GT springs the rear on my car barely moves if I try to bounce it up and down. I push the rear down and it bounces back up with no jiggle. Side to side movement is gone as well. You would think the rear would ride much too firm but it's actually quite nice. The rear is planted firmly and the ride actually improved. I think you'll be very impressed when you drive the car. Your front end setup is better than mine. I've just got Moog 8598 springs and 04 Cobra front a-arms. The rest of the front is stock replacement parts. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #79 – April 12, 2016, 03:06:53 PM Quote from: bigbada1;454793What front springs on your coilover setup did you end up with14" 175#???They're 12" 275lb springs. From what I've read, this seems to be a good middle ground front spring rate. After weeks of discussion with Jack Hidley at Maximum Motorsports about the plans for the car, the setup I ordered is what he recommended.http://www.maximummotorsports.com/Hypercoil-Coil-Over-Spring-275-lbin-12-2-12-dia-12B0275-P240.aspxQuote from: thunderjet302;454794You don't want to go too low or you'll worry about bottoming out over bumps. I think your car sits about perfect right now.Have you tried bouncing the car with the new suspension yet? When I installed the Maximum Motorsports rear control arms and 98 Mustang GT springs the rear on my car barely moves if I try to bounce it up and down. I push the rear down and it bounces back up with no jiggle. Side to side movement is gone as well. You would think the rear would ride much too firm but it's actually quite nice. The rear is planted firmly and the ride actually improved. I think you'll be very impressed when you drive the car. Your front end setup is better than mine. I've just got Moog 8598 springs and 04 Cobra front a-arms. The rest of the front is stock replacement parts.Agreed on the ride height. I've also ordered some tools for doing a DIY alignment, so once I get a feel for it, I may even run a different configuration for the track vs the street.Yeah we did a bounce test and holy is it way stiffer on both ends of the car! I'm really excited to take the car out this weekend and see how it handles, especially after your feedback on the rear control arms. All of that along with everything else done to the car should make it quite the capable corner carver. I'll certainly be posting feedback next week on the setup. The following weekend after that may entail a 200mi road trip through some mountainy roads :) Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #80 – April 12, 2016, 05:34:13 PM After the drive report back. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the difference all the suspension work has made. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #81 – April 13, 2016, 05:29:26 PM Quote from: thunderjet302;454803After the drive report back. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the difference all the suspension work has made.Haha yeah, I'm chomping at the bit to finally get to drive it haha. Also, there's a slim, but certainly possible chance that I'll get to run it at an autocross on the 24th. Fingers crossed! Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #82 – April 13, 2016, 10:00:04 PM Wow amazing build so far! Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #83 – April 19, 2016, 06:37:49 PM Well...this is the big update you've all been waiting for...We spent the weekend buttoning things up; installed the new TC steering wheel, centered it with the new steering rack, buttoned up the console area etc.So, I want to stop here real quick and give some attention to a mostly overlooked part of the project, but one that is not to be underestimated in its impact (more on that later). Obviously, the TC steering wheel is a major upgrade in terms of comfort and grip, but in that top picture, see how there's an OEM lower shift boot fitting nicely over the shifter? Well this was one of the reasons I bought the new shifter. See, when the T5 swap was originally done like 8 years ago, the T5 I got came with an aftermarket shifter on it that had a huge ring on top for shift stops; it also had a large, bulky connection where the shifter handle was bolted to the shifter. These two characteristics caused major issues when it came to properly sealing the interior from the hot air underneath the car, so on nice days with the windows down, hot air would come blowing through the console despite our best efforts to seal it. The shifter was also so large that it would push up against the plastic shift bezel, which made an annoying creaking sound. These are both somewhat small things, but as you all know, it's exactly these types of things that prove to be the most annoying. So when we were going through this project, I decided that I wanted to work out all these types of issues I've had with the car. I shopped for shifters and found one that didn't have the bulky shifter handle connection nor the bulky shift stop ring. Old/new comparison:With the new shifter, we were able to use a completely unmodified OEM lower shift boot to properly seal the interior from the hot air underneath the car.Anyways, moving on...we hit a stumbling block on Saturday when we were unable to fix a leak in the passenger side rear brake line; turned out that the brand new rubber line had a badly machined inner where it connects to the steel brake line. And obviously, auto parts stores don't exactly keep TC-specific parts in stock. Luckily, we were able to find a local store that could get us one by Sunday at 4:30pm; not ideal, but better than the other two stores. One of them wanted 10 days, the other wanted 3. Since I can only work on the car on the weekends since I live an hour and a half away, that was a big break for us.Late Sunday night, at around 8pm, we finally pull the car out of the garage and went on the first test drive (no alignment or anything yet ). Within 20 yards of leaving the driveway, we get stopped by a very shady, likely drug-addicted person wanting to pay us $20 for a ride about 30 minutes away. I reply, truthfully, "I don't even know if this car is safe to take around the block right now, much less 30 minutes away." The person says some derogatory comment and I drive off, glad to be away from that. The ride goes without issue, aside from the alignment being way off.After such a long weekend, I was exhausted and ended up taking yesterday off to run some errands. I first got the car inspected, then took it to get aligned. I was concerned about taking it somewhere to get aligned with the specialized suspension setup, but figured that if I could get it done, it would save us a lot of time. So I take it to a local shop with the measurements I want; the guy puts the car up on a lift, looks around, then comes to me and says "Sorry man, I can only adjust toe. There doesn't appear to be caster or camber adjustment on here." In my head, I'm thinking "Oh jeez...this isn't going well." I tell him that the car does have such adjustments, but they're under the hood. So he lowers the car and I show him the caster/camber plates and how they work (maybe I should have been more clear before they pulled the car in, but things moved quickly and I didn't have a chance to pull anyone aside. I mentioned the car's C/C plates at the counter, but they probably didn't notice or something). Thankfully, the mechanic ended up being very patient and did a great job getting the alignment to the specs I wanted and the car drove great afterwards.After that fun time, I "accidentally" made a few wrong turns around town and ended up doing several loops. The first things that became really apparent were: "Wow this steering is sensitive!" and "Holy this transmission has NEVER shifted this smoothly!" The transmission has never shifted great for as long as I've had it, but now with the new shifter and Royal Purple fluid, it feels fantastic. I did stop by the paint & body shop that had worked on the car back in January; I figured they would really like to see their work now that the car is in a more complete form, and one of the guys who put a lot of work into it didn't get to see the finished product the day I picked it up.I didn't really put the car through its paces yet though; I wanted to wait for my dad to get off work so he could enjoy the car's first real run with me. That's really where the fun began. Dad gets home from work, we eat dinner, then leave out at around 6pm to go find some twisty mountain roads. We're both happy to find that the lower shift boot is properly sealing now and the car is driving great. We make a quick driver change right before getting to the good stuff:We make it to the twisties and the suspension work really shows up. The car is riding very nicely; it's firm, but certainly not rough or jarring in any way. It's very eager to dive into a corner - you move the wheel and the car follows your input with an alarming quickness (it actually took some getting used to, after all those years of sloppy steering). Body roll is a thing of the past. Grip through the corners seems to get better the more you push it; it feels like it just wants to dig into the pavement and not let go (and this is with the Konis all on soft settings). I honestly didn't expect the car to seemingly handle as good, if not better than my GTI; the GTI seems to want to understeer when you really romp on it, but I didn't get that feeling at all with the Tbird. The brakes were certainly a huge difference as well. I remember driving my GTI around all day, then switching into the Tbird and feeling almost scared of the awful brake distances. Granted, the brakes are obviously still not as good as on the GTI, but they definitely feel up to the task now. Overall feel is MUCH better and I'm actually confident going into a corner or even dealing with unexpected traffic movements. I get to the end of the twisties, turn around, and dad takes a shot at it, loving all the same things that I mentioned. On our way back, we stop by an old friends house and chat for a while. We take a ride in his 67 Chevelle SS with its freshly installed 427 big block, then return the favor with a ride in the Tbird.After that, we stop by my uncles house for a few minutes and get home.....aaaaaaaaaaaaand it's 9pm. Ooops. :D . What a way to end my extended weekend! I'm extremely pleased with the car and absolutely cannot wait to take it out on a track and see what that suspension really has in store. Next weekend we're going to tackle the Megasquirt ECU and hopefully iron out a couple of kinks with the engine before going on a roadtrip to Tennessee if the weather holds out. Stay tuned!TL;DR - New shifter was an overlooked upgrade, but a huge one nonetheless. Had a few....interesting....encounters along the way. MM suspension is absolutely incredible. 4 wheel disc brakes FTW. Car looks fantastic (though I may be biased). Next weekend is going to be Megasquirt ECU and hopefully a Tennesee road trip. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #84 – April 19, 2016, 07:48:34 PM I'm glad all your hard work paid off and you are elated about how well it turned out! Ive been kind of bored with my car but following your thread here has helped snap me out of my funk. It makes me want to tear into my car and finally build a stout motor for it! Thanks for the inspiration. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #85 – April 19, 2016, 08:09:57 PM Quote from: 50tbrd88;454927I'm glad all your hard work paid off and you are elated about how well it turned out! Ive been kind of bored with my car but following your thread here has helped snap me out of my funk. It makes me want to tear into my car and finally build a stout motor for it! Thanks for the inspiration.Man, I completely understand that feeling. Before this project, it had been about 5 years since the last real change to the car was made (the 306 build). As I partly eluded to in my previous post, the car was littered with small annoyances and it got to the point where I wasn't excited to drive it any more. Then, with me living in an apartment, it just sat outside under a car cover and I couldn't really work on it and clean it constantly like I used to. Especially after it got hit in the parking lot, I was done. I hadn't even checked this forum in ages at that point. After a few months, I started feeling terrible about the whole situation and wanted to make it right. Seriously, go back to the first post in this thread and look at the pics of the car when I dropped it off at the body shop. The car just looked sad :( . So I made it a goal back in January to rid the car of all the annoyances and finally build it the way I had always wanted to back in high school and college, but never had the money for. It rejuvenated me and was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. The last couple of months, I've spent my weekdays planning and daydreaming about the build (well, when I wasn't at work, of course hehe); it's been a lot of fun. It even had nice side effects like bringing me back closer to the family, especially with my baby niece having just been born in December (not that I wasn't close to my family, I just hadn't been visiting as often). I'm glad that I've been able to pass that inspiration along and I look forward to the build thread (....you're gonna do a build thread, right? ). I also think this has given my dad the bug to hop on the bandwagon and get some work done on his Chevelle for the first time in many years. We'll see :D . Next winter, I plan to do a similar process with the Turbo Coupe and get it back to tip top shape as well. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #86 – April 19, 2016, 09:27:42 PM Awesome build thread. Car turned out great. I guess now it will be on the streets more and under the car cover less Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #87 – April 19, 2016, 10:23:47 PM Quote from: ISTLCRUZ;454933Awesome build thread. Car turned out great. I guess now it will be on the streets more and under the car cover less Thanks! And hopefully it won't only be seeing time on the streets, but on the track (or autocross course) as well :) Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #88 – April 19, 2016, 11:44:27 PM Very nice. Looking forward to hearing some track stories, or vids even. Quote Selected
Stella 2.0 - Major Overhaul time Reply #89 – April 20, 2016, 07:49:22 PM Quote from: kingcars;454930Man, I completely understand that feeling. Before this project, it had been about 5 years since the last real change to the car was made (the 306 build). As I partly eluded to in my previous post, the car was littered with small annoyances and it got to the point where I wasn't excited to drive it any more. Then, with me living in an apartment, it just sat outside under a car cover and I couldn't really work on it and clean it constantly like I used to. Especially after it got hit in the parking lot, I was done. I hadn't even checked this forum in ages at that point. After a few months, I started feeling terrible about the whole situation and wanted to make it right. Seriously, go back to the first post in this thread and look at the pics of the car when I dropped it off at the body shop. The car just looked sad :( . So I made it a goal back in January to rid the car of all the annoyances and finally build it the way I had always wanted to back in high school and college, but never had the money for. It rejuvenated me and was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. The last couple of months, I've spent my weekdays planning and daydreaming about the build (well, when I wasn't at work, of course hehe); it's been a lot of fun. It even had nice side effects like bringing me back closer to the family, especially with my baby niece having just been born in December (not that I wasn't close to my family, I just hadn't been visiting as often). I'm glad that I've been able to pass that inspiration along and I look forward to the build thread (....you're gonna do a build thread, right? ). I also think this has given my dad the bug to hop on the bandwagon and get some work done on his Chevelle for the first time in many years. We'll see :D . Next winter, I plan to do a similar process with the Turbo Coupe and get it back to tip top shape as well.I think we have a lot in common! I dreamed about building my car up in HS/college and never had the money either. I've slowly modded my suspension, driveline, etc as time and money allow since around 2004 (see sig). About the only thing left is to build the motor and get new upholstery/carpet (interior is actually nice though for 19x,xxx miles). I actually just sold a tractor project of mine for a tidy profit and have been really considering a mild build with the cash.My Dad also has a Chevelle ('72) that he lost interest in when I was a little kid. Other than a short stint where I got it on the road when I was in high school until about 2004, it's sat in his garage. I wish something would pique his interest but after this long, I doubt it. He had a '69 with a built SBC and 4 speed that he has always regretted selling. The '72 just never could satisfy him, lol. Quote Selected
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