1985 Monte Carlo SS known as Barney
 

This has been my 6 year long build, that has been finished a couple of times already...but has recently gone back under the knife once again.

My current list of accomplishments and mods are as follows:

Completely restored everything but the top sides of the frame rails and the paint
GMPP HT383 fed by the stock CCC Q-jet and Carb, 402 ft lbs, 284 hp to the rear tires
T56 out of a 1999 Camaro
Custom 3.5" drivershaft
Quick Performance 9" with disc brakes, 3:50 gear
All suspension pivot points are delrin, front UCAs DSE, LCAs Ridetech, Rear Control arms all UMI with roto joints
36mm F-body sway bar up front, 1" Hotchkiss LCA mounted rear sway bar
Ridetech TQ coilover shocks, 3.6" travel up front, 6.9" travel out back
Hypercoil springs, 8" 600# front, 12" 162# rear
Street rims are Billet Specialties Reallys 17x8, 17x9.5, rubber will end up being Rivals once BFG makes some wide enough
Track rims are 16x8 ZQ8s with Hoosier A6s
Interior mods include Dakota Dash VHX gauges, Retrosound head unit, 2005 GTO seats, sound deadening and new carpet

I'm sure I've forgot some things as well, but that's pretty much the car as it currently sits.

Overall it's a great driving car, wouldn't be afraid to take it on a long road trip at all. It's very comfortable and the suspension tweaks done on it for autocross competing have only helped it's street manners. I am trying to strike a fine balance between a street car and a track car. This has held me up a bit on track days in the near future as I'm concerned about the 28 year old stock restraint system in place with the speeds it will now obtain on the big tracks. I'm still undecided what to do in that area. Don't really want to cage the car, but might consider a 4 point bar and a harness or maybe even some door bars in the future.

Only other really pressing need is replacement body bushings. The stock rubber bushings still appear okay, but let the frame flex WAY too much for the spirited driving the car sees. This will be my main winter project, along with upgrading the front brake package.

I have a ton of pictures of the car, if there are any mods you'd like to see pictures of, just ask.

Here's a pic of me throwing the car around the autocross course a month or so ago just because...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q...o/DSC03718.JPG

Lance, sounds like you've done alot to the car. Keep us posted. Also, more pics too.

I've always love these car's & GN's too.Can't wait too see more.

Here is the car on the chassis dyno back in March

http://youtu.be/3pPVd_peuuA

Here's the readout.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E...03-13-2013.jpg

It detonated about 4250 RPM and the ECM pulled out some timing and that affected the numbers. I have since tuned on the secondaries on the carb to fatten it up and that stopped the pinging, but haven't put it back on the dyno since to see what it would do now.

Test run after fiddling with the hanger and rods and the air valve opened up some more.

http://youtu.be/3KT10XdoBJg

I don't think that's too shabby considering it's got a CCC Q-jet and distributor from a 1985 180 hp 305 feeding it. This engine setup is the perfect match for the T56 to me. It builds a ton of torque down low and never skips, misses, stumbles or hesitates...when you ask for it, it's there...every time. In fact, they had to put traction aide on the tires after the first dyno pull because it spun the tires on the dyno wheels. Video... http://youtu.be/dgBGSwuDXjc

Yet you can cruise down the highway at 65 MPH, turning 1650 RPM in 6th and get almost 20 mpg.

EFI, we don't need no stinking EFI... :mock:

and here are the autocross runs from my first time out with Ron Sutton's Stage 1 setup under the car. I just kept running it harder and harder on each run, and it just kept getting faster.

http://youtu.be/N3ggkP3P_tE

I can't wait to see how it does this Sunday with Stage 2 under it.

Nice to see something different running hard.

Good luck tomorrow Lance

Can't wait to see how stage II works out. :thumbsup:

:cheers:

Dec 3rd, and the second day in a row that I've driven my MCSS to work.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...082542_509.jpg

Probably be the last day for a while though as winter is supposed to reappear tomorrow.

Checked the odometer today and have put about 1900 miles on the car since the T56 install last December. Pretty good year. A LOT of those miles were put on 50 seconds at a time competing in autocross events, I think 11-12 total events...need to go back and add them up. Plus a two day track day event at Heartland Park for about 180 miles or so.

I'm still tweaking a just bit on the Ridetech shocks to find the ultimate street ride settings. I've got them pretty close though...man this thing is fun to drive on the street...and I wouldn't hesitate to take it on a long road trip either now, it's just that comfortable. Still handles off ramps and twisty roads pretty well in street mode as well.

So glad to have a car so driveable yet so fun to drive at the same time. Even had someone pass me on the highway, slow back down...and hang a camera out the window to take a picture of the car rolling down the highway on the way into work today.

Plans for the off season include but are not limited to:

Body Bushing replacement
Front brake replacement\upgrade
Power steering system overhaul\upgrade
(2) 17x9.5 rims to match the rears and (4) new 200 TW tires for them
Final remeasure on all of the suspension points and tweaks to fine tune them after

and then just some piddly stuff like adding a day\night comp\temp mirror, some fit and trim pieces inside, some cosmetic work under the hood to cover up wear and tear and a good overall cleaning.

Should keep me busy through the long cold winter don't ya think?

cool. nice work Lance.

sounds like a good plan to me!

Body Bushing Replacement Project has commenced...

Since I knew that I'd need the frame sitting on the wheels to get the bushings all trimmed to fit properly and I knew that I needed to do some work on my billet wheels too, I broke out the stockers.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...115040_881.jpg

Old School... Still looks good too, IMHO...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n...115135_941.jpg

Crib stands work like a champ.

Here is what the core support bushings look like with the weight of the car on the tires.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...115351_387.jpg

And with the frame lifted in between the wheels...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...111456_644.jpg

I'm hoping to tighten that up with new bushings in place.

I set the car on the stands and started loosening body bolts starting at the #1 position. They all came out pretty easily, if they'd start to tighten up and get stiff I'd reverse the wrench a couple of turns then continue loosening the bolt. All of them came out real well until I got to #6 driver side. A half of a turn with the wrench is all it took...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...123931_237.jpg

I was a bit discouraged but went ahead and took the other 3 bolts behind the rear tires out. #6 passenger side was the second worse, but it came out whole. Here's the old vs new pic...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4...135834_478.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x...140020_485.jpg

Thankfully I think there is enough of the broken bolt sticking down out of the nut that I should be able to get a hold of it with something once I get the body lifted off the frame.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V...141730_906.jpg

I'm pretty sure that's the only spot on the frame that will need a repair as well. The rest look pretty good.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...135101_370.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...134948_293.jpg

Well, maybe not good but...hopefully good enough.


I've got the front fenderwells out, and I've loosened the front and rear bumpers...and all of the body bolts out. I'm trying to decide exactly how far I need to lift the body and what else I'll need to take loose depends on that.

Main thing I don't really want to take loose is the radiator hoses...taking the master cylinder loose isn't that big of a deal.

Other than that, I'm done for the day. Need to order some body bolts and some rust converter and paint...

Looking good Lance.

Keep us updated & share your great "how to" photos.

So Plan A to remove the broken bolt was a bust. I raised the body about 5 inches above the frame but it is still pretty tight to get in the area. Frame on the bottom side, covered by the fender hanging down on the outside, and the gas tank on the inside. Can only really get to one side of the bolt through the rear tire area.

I cleaned the bolt the best I could with a wire wheel and tried to get a nut on it. The threads are completely gone and of the nuts I had on hand, one wouldn't get started and the other slid all the way up to the cage nut. I was able to get the smaller one half way force threaded onto the bolt and attempted to weld it to the bolt. This is where I ran into trouble, I could not get the ground clamp anywhere on the body where the ground would conduct to the bolt. I ended up just holding the ground clamp up against the nut on the back side while trying to attempt to weld them together from the front. After a couple of attempts I thought I had them bonded...but just a little bit of pressure on the wrench broke the nut free again.

With the nut on the bolt, just a very little tip of the bolt is sticking through and there isn't enough room above the nut to stitch a weld there either. And with the ground clamp just up against the nut, the nut gets red hot very fast and starts burning but it doesn't appear as if the penetration is getting to the bolt at all. I'm assuming this is either because of the ground situation, corrosion on the bolt or just my lack of welding skill. I gave up for the night...

The only thought I had to try before going with the "cut the bolt off and drill it out method" is to make a small piece of rectangular shaped 3/16s steel and drill a hole in it just large enough to fit over the bolt. This way I could slide it up over the bolt and have a larger area of bolt to weld to the piece of steel. I could then either try to turn the steel or slide a larger nut over the bolt and weld it to the steel plate and then turn them both with a wrench. The idea of the steel is it's thinner which will give me more of the broken bolt below it to get a better weld on. Does anyone think that is worth a shot?

If that doesn't work, then I'll have to pull the rear bumper cover and possibly the front bumper cover, radiator hoses, brake and master clutch cylinder assemblies and the engine wire harness and go ahead and lift the body up off of the frame to get better access to the area to start the drilling out process.

Aren't cars fun...

Just finished shopping...

4 frame repair washers ordered from Kirban
8 body bolts ordered from Fastenal
2 Eastwood Internal Frame Coating w/Spray Nozzle
3 Rust Encapsulator Black 15 oz.aerosol
3 Extreme Chassis Black Satin 14 Ounce Aerosol

With any luck at all I'll have all of that at home before next weekend.

Now all I gotta do is get that damn bolt out...

There is a reason why I put this job off for so many years. :_paranoid

My worst fear about it didn't materialize...pretty happy that I don't have to pull the interior to cut holes in the body to get to the back side of the cage nuts on positions 2-4.

And it looks like most of my frame holes might be okay. Not Great...but okay. If I end up pulling the bumper covers, I'll probably go ahead and fix them right...but if I can get that bolt out without pulling the covers, I'll probably just make them due as is.

Pulling the body might make it much easier to home grow some chassis stiffeners at the same time though. :unibrow:

Plan B


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0...114757_745.jpg

Titan Stud Extractor... $19.50
WD 40 Rust Penetrant... $6.99

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-d...114809_104.jpg

10 minutes later...after a little heat, a little penetrant, a little bit of torque, a little more heat...then some more spray...then one more time with the extractor and BOOM!!!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5...123147_610.jpg


Lance wins!!!


I then removed all of the factory rubber bushings and slid the body portions of the Poly Graphite bushings between the frame and body and set the body down on them, then set the weight of the body and frame on the wheels...and checked the tightness of all of the bushings. They all fit real well...only the #3 bushing on each side is a bit loose. Looks like one washer from the old bushings should be just about right to snug it up tight with all of the rest of them.

The passenger side is sitting at almost exactly the same height as it was above the frame with the factory bushings and the driver side is up about .015" from before. I think I'm gonna call it good. The passenger #1 bushing was a bit loose then I discovered that one shim was still stuck to the bottom of the factory bushing. Once it was slid into place...snug like all the rest. I'm gonna call it good.

Here is the worst of the frame holes... #6 driver (behind rear tire) with the new bushing sitting in place.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9...o/DSC03982.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...o/DSC03981.JPG

Here is the second worst...#2 passenger side (behind the front tire) with the new bushing in place.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y...o/DSC03985.JPG

Here is #2 Driver side...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H...o/DSC03986.JPG

And here is #6 passenger side

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M...o/DSC03976.JPG

I think I'm alright with just cleaning them up and coating them to protect them from getting any worse.

All of the rest of them are almost perfect...as are all of the body locations and cage nuts. It's amazing really...check these out.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3...o/DSC03970.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-N...o/DSC03975.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-J...o/DSC03980.JPG

Lance is very VERY happy to have this part of the job past him. Just a little bit more cleaning up and coating, tapping out the nuts, lubing everything up and installing the rest of the new bushings and the new bolts, lining up the body and cranking everything down.

I'll probably drive it like that for a bit then if I think it's necessary I'll cut up a delrin puck for the #s 1 and 2 positions to really snug things up. I can also plan ahead on a frame repair later on if necessary as well. I think I'd like to wait until I get a mig welder before I do that though. The flux core wire welder just makes too much of a mess.

Oh yeah...the brown truck stopped by yesterday as well.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3...160900_777.jpg


Merry Christmas to me!!!

Wow ... you had to go hardcore, old school on it.

I had no doubt you'd win. :)

Good work Lance....


Another old skool trick is to heat the busted stud or nut and just use a candle and let the wax pull into the threads... Works like a charm.


Don't ya just love old cars!! LOL

Thanks guys. My Dad was out in the shop watching me when I broke it loose and I had to explain to him why that was about the best Christmas present I could get. :D

I watched a bunch of videos the other night of guys welding nuts onto studs to get them out and I know now what I was doing wrong, or what my trouble was anyway. They were all using either mig or tig welders and being real neat and tidy with the puddle once it was formed and my old flux core wire feed welder just splatters all over the place instead of letting you create a nice puddle to work with. I decided then that a mig welder is on my shopping list. It might just be how I reward myself for getting this far on this job so quickly.

Anyway, this $19.00 stud extractor is the shiznit. As you crank it tight with a ratchet (counterclockwise) it tightens down clamping onto the stud. Once it won't tighten anymore, it puts all of the force into turning it loose out of the hole. It never even slipped on the old corroded up stub of a bolt it had to grab onto.

It is now Lance approved for sure...

So even though I was feeling less than 100% yesterday, I headed out to the shop about 1 pm and settled in to repair my #2R body bushing frame hole. I was lucky that there was still enough of the existing hole left to let me use the bushing to mark where the repair washer was going to go.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6...o/DSC04065.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e...o/DSC04066.JPG

Cutting the frame parts out was a challenge. There just isn't enough room to get the proper tools in there. I used a carbide bit on a right angle die grinder first then a light duty plasma cutter that I borrowed. Both were a bit under sized to do a good job once I got into the good steel of the frame. I then decided to start whittling down on the washer to fine tune the fit. Plus this way I could bevel the edge of the washer with the grinder to get it to fit down inside the frame without falling through the hole. Here's as good as I could get it.


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w...o/DSC04068.JPG


Time to break out the new MillerMatic 211 and get to welding. I used the gauge to determine that the washer thickness was in between 14 gauge and 1/8" thick so I set the wire speed and voltage settings halfway between those two based on the chart, clamped the ground on the frame ans tried to tack the washer in...no spark. Spent about 5 minutes chasing it down, even hit a quick bead on a piece of scrap steel which worked...finally figured out it wasn't getting a good ground. I ended up putting a C clamp on the frame close to the repair site, clamping it down tight and then clamping the welder ground on it. The tack welds went pretty good, so I started laying down a bead around the back side of the washer. That went pretty well, then as I got to the engine side...I started burning through the frame. I tried again on the fender side and after a bit started burning through as well. The welds were plenty hot and laying down nicely but I was blowing away the frame as I went along. I ended up turning the volts down just a bit and moved slower which filled the void but also built up the welds higher than I would have liked.

This was after a wire wheel and a little bit of dressing.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-B...o/DSC04073.JPG


Had it been out in the open it wouldn't have been a big deal, hit them with a flap wheel to dress them up and call it good. Bit of a different story here though, I cleaned them up the best I could while test fitting the bushing. I finally got it where it sat pretty well and called it good. Most of the high welds are just outside the bushing and I'm sure the Poly Graphite bushing will pull down around the humps and bumps left. If I decide to go with a solid aluminum or delrin bushing I'll have to clean them up a bit better though.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...o/DSC04075.JPG

I also had to clean up the underside where the welds blew through so the bottom bushing would sit flat. Thankfully I could get a die grinder up in there with a cut off wheel on it to dress them up.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...o/DSC04079.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b...o/DSC04085.JPG

I then hit all of the areas of the frame and body I could get to with a coat of Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator and after it setup two coats of Extreme Chassis Black.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a...o/DSC04088.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p...o/DSC04089.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t...o/DSC04095.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...o/DSC04096.JPG

This is #6R which is still in real good shape thankfully.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E...o/DSC04097.JPG

I left the body suspended on the lift to let the paint set up. Next time out in the shop I'll set the passenger side back down on the bushings and lift the driver side to start the repair on #6L. Hopefully it'll go a bit smoother (and I won't be nearly as hungover).

The 4" grinder with a new wheel did the trick...It would just fit in between the body and frame and make quick work of my ugly welds.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9...115009_465.jpg

I even welded back up the little blow through hole that was left over from before then test fit the bushings once again.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K...120301_007.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...120322_238.jpg

Much better...

I then put a couple of coats of Extreme Chassis Black on the repaired area to coat it up.

While that was setting up I grabbed a can of Eastwood Internal Frame coating and got busy coating the whole inside of the passenger side of the frame.

http://www.eastwood.com/media/catalo...e95/p39175.jpg

http://www.eastwood.com/internal-fra...ay-nozzle.html

I used air to blow anything loose out of the frame first paying special attention to the areas behind the tires. A BUNCH of crap come out of the rear frame rails. Once nothing else was coming out, I starting sticking the spray nozzle inside holes and spraying. It took a bit to get used to how it sprayed out, but I figured it out pretty quick. It can be a bit messy, but I was more concerned about getting it all completely coated than being tidy. I used one whole can on the passenger side and got to all of the enclosed areas of the frame. I even stuck the nozzle up inside the cage body nut areas to coat up inside them.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3...122914_611.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F...122932_757.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...123033_385.jpg

One more quick coat of Extreme Chassis Black to cover the frame coating mess back up and it all looks good again.

I used a die to chase the threads on all of my body bolts, even the new zinc coated ones...as I don't want ANY issues when it comes time to re-install the bolts. I then tried to run a tap into the cage nuts and didn't like the way it felt going into the first one. Not being able to securely hold the tap straight as I was starting it because of the frame being in the way was hampering my effort and I did NOT want to screw a nut up at this point. I ended up just grabbing one of the cleaned up bolts, coating it with rust penetrant and using a socket and a long extension to run it up into each body nut and back out again to make sure the threads were good and clean.

Then it was time to let all of the passenger side frame paint cure...and come inside to watch the Chiefs game!

Tomorrow I'll start on #6L.

Nice job Lance!!!

Now I'm learning something. Great photos & posts Lance !

What is it about frame repair days and hangovers...

Headed out to the shop this morning after plowing the 3' snow drift off the driveway in -15 degree wind chills... Set the passenger side down on the newly painted frame rails and set about raising the driver side as high as I could get it. No matter what I did, I could only get about 3.5" of room above the frame rail to work with. First sign that it was gonna fight me.

Borrowed a body saw and with 5 new blades, set about cutting out the bad stuff and making room for the repair washer.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y...no/14+-+10.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z...-no/14+-+9.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-M...-no/14+-+8.jpg

Got a much better fit with this one

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-p...-no/14+-+7.jpg

Turned the welder up just a touch and practiced a stitch or pulse weld method to burn the weld in good without blowing through the frame. It worked pretty well really...until my hand got trapped against the body with my finger on the trigger and blew through an area about the size of a dime!!

I then had to turn the welder down and plug that area back up again. I was going to get away without having to do a lot of grinding until that happened.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...-no/14+-+6.jpg

Still turned out better than the last one, just takes practice I guess. Cleaning up was a bear, just no way to get any sort of grinder in that tight area. Tool of choice ended up being a die grinder with a cut off wheel on it stuck in from the side.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-z...-no/14+-+3.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V...-no/14+-+5.jpg

Then on to the same process, coat the inside of the frame with the Internal Frame Coat then rust encasulator and extreme chassis black on the whole driver side of the frame.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b...-no/14+-+2.jpg

Be nice to button this part of the job up next time I'm out in the shop. Need to shim up the #3 bushings, get all of the bolts started, then try to figure out how to move the back of the body to the passenger side to line if back up square with the frame.

Since the repairs were complete and the frame was coated and painted inside and out, I set about putting the PST PolyGraphite bushings in place and buttoning up the project.

The body sat down on all of the bushing washers at just about the same time except #3. I had a couple of washers on hand with a big enough hole in them to put between the top bushing washer and the body which filled the gap perfectly. A quick coat of paint on them and in they went. While the paint on those and the #1 shims was drying, I set about squaring the rear of the body up with the chassis.

It was 5/8s of an inch to the driver side at the axle centerline...so the body needed to move to the passenger side 5/16s of an inch. Ratchet straps did the trick.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1...122725_052.jpg

I then tried to get the #6 and #7 bolts started...which proved to be a challenge. The factory bolts are 79mm long and pointed on the thread end, the new bolts I bought from Fastenal are 75mm long and square ended. I didn't think that 4mm would make a difference, but in many cases...it did. The trick I finally learned was to use a longer old factory bolt (cleaned up and threads chased) to line the bushing, sleeve, washers, and cage nut up...then back it out and then put the shorter new bolt in its place. In some cases the body had to be sitting on the bushings to get these bolts started. I finally got all of the new bolts in every place but one, which I had to use a painted old bolt that was still in good shape but had I to do this job again, I'd buy 79mm or even a bit longer bolts for sure.

I got the 4 back ones started and had to squeeze the body back square a bit more with the straps and then started getting the rest of the bolts in. Even with the lift it's a bear to get the #3 stub from the body down into the washers and bushing...especially by myself. I finally got my Dad out there to help me...he'd raise and lower the lift that was lifting the body while I'd line things up and get the bolts started. Once a bolt was started I'd move on to the next one. It went pretty quick after that.

Once all bushings, washers and bolts were in place and started, I checked the squareness of the body again and both the front and the back needed a bit more of a tweak. Again a ratchet strap hooked to the body on one side and the frame on the other proved to be the easiest way to nudge it over. Once square I set the body down on the bushings one last time and tightened all of the bolts up starting at the back working my way forward in a crisscross pattern.

I then reattached all of the cleaned up and painted bumper hardware and tailpipe hangers and called it a day. Still haven't put the front inner fenders back in but I have a couple other jobs planned that will be easier with them out.

I checked the fender ride heights with the car snugged down and back on the tires and all 4 corners are within an 1/8" of where they were before I started. If I bounce the front up and down and measure, the fronts are an 1/8" down and the rears an 1/8" up. If I bounce the rear of the car and measure, the rear is down an 1/8" and the front is up an 1/8". I'd say it's right on where it was before, just a bunch more secure in place and square.

Here's some pics of the snugged down bushings...

#7 Left

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...152354_172.jpg

Think this is #4 Right

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...152553_382.jpg

#3 Right

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q...152619_354.jpg

#2 Right

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...152653_443.jpg

#1 Right

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--...152716_504.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...152731_556.jpg

#1 Left

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...152759_613.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...153152_503.jpg

BTW, remember this picture of #1 left when the car is lifted on the lift and the front end of the frame sags under the weight of the engine?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...111456_644.jpg

This picture was taken of the same spot with the car lifted on the lift but new tighter bushings holding the frame up and in place.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...153152_503.jpg

Problem solved...

Good job Lance and good thinking using the old bolts --- those beveled points are on there for a reason!! HAHAHAHA


It always feels great to complete a project and to have done it well... no matter what it is!

Thanks Greg.

Three weeks total, start to finish...and most of that was over the holidays as well.

I'm at the point with this car where I don't want to take it off the road for any long term projects. I like to plan them out well enough in advance and have everything I need in place before I start. There were some unknowns with this project, and that's why I put it off for so long. But even with the hiccups, it still went pretty quick and turned out as well as it could have been planned for.

To go back and swap #s 1 and 2 for solid aluminum if I want to would be no big deal now. Figure I'll try it out like this and see what a difference it makes then decide from there.

Ever since the first time I tried to do a "performance" alignment on my car, I ran into an issue getting all of the negative camber I wanted because my upper control arm bolts weren't long enough. Yesterday I remedied that situation.

Here's what the passenger side looked like with 0.6 degrees of negative camber...

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-V...195741_556.jpg

See the back bolt there has no threads sticking out of the nut...we even took the washer out between the nut and the control arm to get every last bit we could out of it.

I took the control arm loose and used a C-clamp to press the bolt out of the frame. Here is the factory bolt and it's new replacement side by side. The new bolt is a class 10.9 12mm x 1.75 70mm long, about 15mm longer than the stock bolt.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o...o/DSC04104.JPG

The rest of the parts for the day

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a...o/DSC04105.JPG

I had the inner fenders out because of my body bushing swap project so I figured it was the easiest time to do this as well but I'm not ready to do a new alignment at the time, so my plan was to just put shims back in place to set the alignment back where it was for now.

I put the bolts in the frame and then ran nuts down and snugged the bolts up tight. I ordered bolts fully threaded because I wanted to be able to use nuts to hold the bolts in place. I then put a couple of washers on the bolts and a shim or two to get the thickness that matched the stack of shims I took out.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j...o/DSC04106.JPG

It took some finagling to get everything in place as I had to hold the UCA in place (still attached to the spindle), run the bolts in, start the nuts and run them down as they drew the bolts through the cross bar. The cross bar would not go over the bolts once they there bolted to the frame first due to the headers.

Lots of thread available now for any adjustment I might need...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t...o/DSC04109.JPG

Snugged up tight

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o...o/DSC04111.JPG

Before I put the inner fenders back in, I went ahead and did the driver side as well. I've never ran out of threads on this side, but figured just in case...might as well do it now.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6...o/DSC04113.JPG

On the back bolt, there weren't enough shims to make up the thickness of the nut so I left it out. When it comes time to align it like it needs to be, if there is room then for a nut I'll put one in.

Nice job Lance. That will last a long while.

Looking good Lance. You just keep on making improvements. Did you decide on tires ?

Pretty much ever since I have had this Quick Performance 9" rear axle, I have fought the passenger side axle seal (or the lack thereof) leaking rear end gear oil. QP uses a Moser Billet Torino style (big Ford) axle end and Moser axles with sealed bearings pressed on them. Their thought is the sealed bearing will stop the gear oil from leaking...it doesn't.

I finally learned that there is a step down inside the end that a National part #473229 seal fits into so I picked a couple of them up last week. Here is what the axle end looks like.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ps5d4bc414.jpg

and here is what it looks like with the seal pressed into place.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...o/DSC04114.JPG

ID of the seal is 1.5" which matches the axle. Sure hope it works...

I cleaned a LOT of leaked gear oil up today. And I just LOVE the smell of gear oil.

Also put a new E-brake cable on the passenger side and test drove the car.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-a...173349_422.jpg

Everything feels pretty good but it was hard to make a comparison with those old stock size tires on the car, need to get my new rims cleaned up and sealed and some new rubber on them then really take it for a shake down run.

Thanks Ron, just working on a list of little things that haven't stopped me from driving the car but need taken care of. That's what winter in the Midwest is for.

I've picked up 2 more 17"x9.5" rims that match my rears and I'm gonna run Falken 615ks 275/40/17s on all four corners. I'm waiting for the weather to get a bit better before ordering the tires. I'll keep my 8" rims with the almost new Rivals on them and run those on the fronts for regular street driving.

that wierd, you'd think they would have installed a seal even with a sealed bearing.

What lubes the bearings if the seal is keeping the lube from getting to them?

The Ford 9" I've always done had the seal installed "ahead/to the outside" of the bearing - so it was the last thing that went inside the housing and was held in by the retainer plate. I always had to put the retainer on the axle - then the seal - then the bearing and press the bearing on... then put the race in the housing and then slide that whole works home...

Well, good question Greg... I'm assuming they had wheel bearing grease inside them when they were initially put together.

The last time I took them out, the silicone I put on the inside of the bearing trying to seal it to the end stuck the seal itself to the housing and when I pulled the axle, I got to see what the inside of the bearing looked like. I just put my thinking cap on and filled the bearing back up with wheel bearing grease and pressed the seal back into place.

Same thing happened this time only this time the entire bearing was full of gear oil because so much of it was getting past the "seal" and into the bearing. I packed it full of grease again and cleaned all of the silicone off of the seal and put it back in place...again.

The bearing feels great, and it's seen some abuse over the years...but I'll keep an eye on it for sure.

Here's what the axle and bearing look like:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-U...o/P6300923.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...o/P6300924.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...o/P6300925.JPG

I think I took those pictures the 3rd or 4th time I had them out trying to seal them up.

This is the best picture I have of the setup that holds this axle in place.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...S/P7210604.jpg

Basically the brake baking plate is set in place on the T studs, inside the housing is the axle seal, then the bearing, then a little 1/8" spacer, then the retaining place it placed over the T bolts and you put nuts on it through the hole in the end of the axle hub.

Moser themselves is who gave me the seal part number. Apparently they use it all of the time with their ends, bearing and axles.

Not sure why QP refuses to even admit the seals are needed. EVERYONE I know with a QP 9" fights this issue.

Maybe your Ford 9" is different than all the others I've ever worked on...






http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...ions_adder.jpg

Well mine is basically a Moser setup, and they are the ones that gave me the seal number to use. They make the ends, and their axles come with the sealed bearings pressed on them.

I think the difference is in whether is a sealed bearing setup or a old school setup.

Yeah -- I wasn't saying you're not doing it right --- it was more a "thinking" post.