A little progress on my Chevelle

[hoover]

nice ride tom. is that primer finish? how long do those finishes usually last without the top coat? or is it finished in matte grey paint?

[Tom.A]

Originally Posted by hoover

nice ride tom. is that primer finish? how long do those finishes usually last without the top coat? or is it finished in matte grey paint?

It is just primer (UPOL I think). It has been on over a year however the car only has about 900 miles on it so needless to say it has spent very little time in the sun.
It does not stain that bad like the primer they made years ago. I wash it with a little squirt of simple green to remove the grease . Some day I will get some color but it sure is nice not to worry about nice paint.

[Tom.A]

I had fun with the car last week at the Socal Challenge. I put about 20 hours the week prior just looking for loose bolts. I was looking for any issues etc and noticed the driver side coil over was blown out.
The threads ripped out of the lower body

I never felt there was any travel from day one. I have no idea how long it was like this as the car was always firm. I have SPC arms which have a built in drop which made the already short shock shorter. I used 650LB springs at the time. These Varishocks were going to be changed down the road as I already purchased Ridetech rear coil overs so this just moved the fronts up on the priority list. I called Ridetech in the middle of the week and they shipped me a set front single adjustables the same day via Fedex. I went with 700LB spring at their suggestion (225 rear). What was really nice is they have options that will extend the shock. I was not sure which one I needed so I bought both the standard height and the extended. I tried the standard first and needed to raise the car more.

Mike @ Ridetech advised that I would need to use a little heat from a torch and some wood to keep from crushing the shaft.

They use thread lock on these and for a while I was loosing this battle. I am sure it is easy with the fixture they use.

[Tom.A]

This picture shows my old and new (with standard height before I changed) coilover. The Ridetech shock is far superior in feel quality. The other brand looked and felt like junk imo. I am really please with the ride and performance.

Here is how the stance is currently. The Factory Five Cobra is my brother in laws
*Edit my photobucket won't let me upload so I am trying Flickr

Here are a few installed pictures front and rear.

[Tom.A]

Front:


For the price I think these are some of the best shocks

Not only did my ride improve but I picked 2-3 seconds at the Adams AMP track from last March. Shocks and tire pressure were the only things that I changed. I still don't have and id do any shock adjustments yet. This is the main reason I went with single adjustable as it will be a learning curve for me.

[Tom.A]

I am going over the car again getting ready for Return to the Coast event.


I was pleased when I compared my times with some of the others at the track and while I would run one lap good I would be drifting another. This is a pic I borrowed from TCI

Not my fastest lap
I made a call to Tobin @ KORE3 for some Hawk pads he suggested. I also felt I might be cooking the DOT 3 brake fluid so he suggested I move to DOT4.



Tobin is great to deal with and when I reach another level of driving I will be upgrading again with KORE3

[Tom.A]

I put the pads on Today and drained the fluid. As always something simple as bleeding the brakes turns into a pain

So I changed out a bleeder and was using my pressure bleeder which works good with one person.............that is until the hose springs a leak at the front and you see brake fluid spraying while behind on your back under the rear

I called it a evening and will tackle it this weekend

[coolwelder62]

Tom,The chevelle just keep's getting better.Did you order the shocks from RideTech.If I'm lucky enough to come out to RTTC next we must hook up.

[Ron in SoCal]

Great post Tom! Glad times are dropping and the car is improving. I really dig your car

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

Originally Posted by Tom.A

Not my fastest lap

yyyyyyyeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!