Hey guys just figured I would give you all an update on the steel up A-arms, and hypercoil setup from Carl.

First the upper A arms,
watch installing the studs through his arms as they are only meant to go through one way.
The fit and finish of them is great, though I would prefer to see a dust boot on the top, and have the lower dustboot modified slightly as it likes to kick out and a small change to the molding of it would fix this.
The turn in is alot faster and sharper, I really like the extra feel that I do seem to have with them.

For installation you no not need to remove anything but the upper a arm it self.

All you must do is remove the nuts from the inside, the lower shock bolt and of course the upper ball joint. Once this is done the arm pulls right out of the frame rail with a good hard pull. You just then pull the shock out at the bottom and the a arm can be manuvered out from the bottom. It is a very fast job, esp for me as the only accesory I have on my engine is the altenator. (Yes thats right no PS, air, or AC)

The Hypercoil setup from Carl sure does look nice, easy to put together and install.
I went with the 1000/500lbs spring assemblies. I prefer a harder ride, if I was living or traveling to Seattle on the I5 all the time I dont think I would have gotten it as even with the bilstein eibach setup I had before I thought I had flat tires on some of the sections of highway. Up here is BC though the roads for the most part are good enough that it isnt an issue.
We are working on a height issue, mainly for the fronts but I am sure that Carl will resolve the issue and work with me on it.
I do notice that the Konis dont have enough dampening, though I need to confirm this first and due to the time of the year I recieved these I didnt really have time to push the car at all. the height adjusters are nice, though to adjust them at all you really need to disconnect the swaybar and unload them, esp with the higher spring rates.

After both upgrades I find that I can hold alot more speed through corners, though it isnt *as* forgiving as the bilstein eibach setup, requires abit more throttle modulation.

Now for the fun part pics.


before starting.


Showing the two nuts on the inside of the firewall needing to be removed in order to get the arm out. Again AC compressor and Air pump would normally make getting at these alot harder.


The upper ball joint nut is removed and made 100% sure it is FINGER tight.


Showing how to use a 3/4" drive T handle breaker bar (or pipe) to break the taper of the upper ball joint free.


Showing how to grab it, then give a hard pull outwards to remove the arm.
Once pulled out it can be slid under the bottom of the shock once the lower shock mounting bolt has been removed.


How to hold the arm in a vice and pound the studs in.


The arm with the studs in, to the close observer you will see the studs are in the wrong side, this makes them interfere with the chassis slightly. This is also the reason I know you can get them out with leaving the shock in.


Installing the arm into the chassis.


Positioning the bottom of the shock so that it will all bolt back together.

After it was all done I put a large blob of water repelant grease on top of the upper ball joint to hopefully seal most of the water and just out from getting worked into the arm. I plan on having to clean most of the grease out every few thousand miles and replacing it with fresh stuff.

Overall the products are good and Carl is willing to make good on any issues should you happen to run into any.

 

you need to clean up those wheel wells with all that new stuff

What is different about the a-arm that would give you a different steering feel? Is the geometry different? Or is the difference simply from the elimination of the bushings that the factory used to locate the arm?

 

The difference is from the fact there is no play from rubber or poly etc in there.

The need to clean the wheel wells, naw. not at this time of year anyways. lots of crap on the roads around here and I do actually drive my car hard.
Function, and working #1. This isnt a concourse car, this is a go fast, mod as you like, who cares what happens type of car. IMO the best type of car.

 

Man, Lizard, you really have some exposure to the elements up there in BC. Those rotors are crusty! The frequent grease glop may help the balljoint, but what about the metal bushings?

 

Lizard,

Want to sell the old upper arms? Ball joint still good?

 

Bill, I dont even know how old those rotors are, probably in the neighbourhood of 6 + years, they were still just within spec when I put them on about 3 years ago. I put them on with new pads on all 4 corners, now I need new pads on all 4 and will be replacing the pads with something that doesnt fade as much, new rotors as well.

John,
the uppers arms do not have the studs in them obviously, one of them definetly should be rebuilt the other one has alittle life left, but who knows how long it would last.

I plan on checking them on my 87 when I do rotors and pads on it at the same time as the 81, and if they are in need of replacement I would swap that one in and get a couple of rebuilt arms from 928 intl,

I will have to think if I am willing to sell them at this time. send me an email with an offer and I will decide from there.

Cheers guys.