zmandan

Black wheel wells are a must, semi gloss on plastic and flat on chasse
let your car settle.. a few quick stops might help.

LOL

dan z

Jadz928

Rob said his suspension is settled, and it is. I've seen it, and that is the way it is based on his LT motor and the change in front weight.

Options: upgrade to adj spring perches, or cut the springs.

Rob,
I would go w/satin black in the wells. Nice job on the paint!

bcdavis

Red in the wells, looks like someone oversprayed the body.
Go with black.
And yes, I'd upgrade to the adjustable perches.
That way you can adjust the height as you see fit.
Maybe just find an s4 front suspension from a parts car.
Get the suspension, brakes, etc, and just swap it all out.
At the same time, you can repaint the s4 suspension parts!

One thing to consider when doing the beading, is to put some between the rear
bumper and the rear hatch. Most cars do not have any, and it makes a big gap
that looks strange... Also, you can get beading cheaply from a VW place.
It's the stuff they use for old beetles, and it's pretty cheap...

Randy V

Just an FYI - retrofitting the front spring perches/adjusters won't help this car until the springs are first cut down.

Rob M Budd

Randy, you make a good point.
I asked Jim from 928 Int'l about the height & he said the early models usually are a bit high with new springs and shocks. And if the adjustable perches are added, it can go up but not down.
The answer is shorter springs.
It hasn't been driven in over a month and the more I think about it, its possible the body guy could have it jacked up when he sprayed it. As far as the height, I'm going to wait and see what happens after all the glass and stuff is back and I drive it for a while.

Jim,
You saw it before the new springs and shocks. It’s even higher now.
The pic below is prior to the new springs & shocks.

I did a search of the archives and found a reference to stainless staples. So they're out there, I just have to find some.
Thanks for all the responses.
I'm thinking another alternative for the wheel wells is a dark red.

Here's a before & after new springs and shocks and paint.

Randy V

Rob, you can get stainless steel staples (that fit a standard staple gun) at Home Depot.

They're actually a nickle-moly alloy, but they don't rust. I've used 'em on the topside upholstery of my boat with good results after several years.

Re. the wheelwell colour - unless you plan on fitting some neon glow tubes in there, they really should be black - the same colour as the plastic fender liners that you still need to install.

Beth

I vote for black

jpitman2

My 83 , even with M474 Bilsteins, didnt have front adjusters. New Bilsteins come with adjuster now. Stainless staples are used in medicine - SWMBO has her tummy stapled with them some 20+ years, no rust visible :-()
jp 83 Euro S AT 47k

bcdavis

Paint in the fenderwells looks like someone made a mistake, and did not mask it...
Makes it look like one of those $99.95 paint jobs...

Rez

Oh man. That's brillant. Underneath and in the wheel wells. watch out ricers, here I come.

Sueden

Rob,Maybe if the ride height dosn't settle you could maybe up grade your wheels to some 20 or 22's! Theres a place down on 8 mile that rents rims and tires.

------------
Dennis
82 weissach

G Man

Rob. I just did the beading on my 81. I ordered the beading from the local porsche dealer. It was cheap and looks really good. I have seen the VW stuff refered to earlier and I think the bead is a smaller diameter than the porsche. I used a heavy duty staple gun and 1/4" staples. I would have prefered a little shorter staple but could not find any. I think an air powered stapler would be the way to go if you can find one to rent or borrow. I found that the spring powered staplers don't have quite enough power to fully drive the staple in. That plastic is tough stuff. An auto body shop may have the proper tools to install the beading if you want to explore that avenue.

heinrich

Talk to AdamB .. he ran this ride height a good 3 years .... I could never help but smile as we went on drives, and he would ooze by, head held high ... eyes firmly fixed on the horizon