Thanks!
Updates- I have had this week off for spring break and I'm going through withdrawal symptoms for not being able to work on my car.
I am taking this time to get caught up on a bunch of client's car renderings though so it's been a good thing.
I did make a little progress on the car, sort of. The rest of my parts finally arrived from SC&C. I got the first shipment last week, in this photo you can see the Spohn adjustable rear upper control arms I ordered from them. I could have gotten them direct from Spohn but Marc assured me that when I buy from him it's a full package- not only do I get parts but I get tuning instruction / coaching. He encouraged me to set it all up, beat on it, call him and get some feedback and fine tuning instructions, and then repeat process until the car is doing what I want it too. We chatted for 2.5 hours on the first phone call and he filled me with knowledge and advice so I wouldn't doubt he meant that he'll be there to help dial the car in. You can't beat that type of customer service so I feel good about sending the $ his way. Spohn is still selling parts so it looks like a 3 way win here.
This week my front upper control arms arrived, they're the Stage 2 Plus kit, SPC adjustable arms with tall screw in upper ball joints and tall lower ball joints. These, besides the wheels and tires combined, have been my most spendy expense, over twice what I paid for the car itself, lol! They also weren't what I had wanted to buy when I called Marcus but after talking to him he obviously knows more about my car than I do so I eagerly accepted his suggestions. According to him these arms should bring my old lousy geometry pretty close to a new Vette, Camaro or Mustang. At this point I'm leaning more and more to make this thing a serious contender on the track rather than just a mild P-T car so as thrifty (read cheap and empty pocketed) as I am I'm feeling like the expense was worth it. At the very least I won't be spending more later on to upgrade from the less expensive upper arms I originally wanted.
I also ordered a pair of these progressive rate control arm bumpers. As you guys know I first lowered my car about 3-3.5" by cutting springs. Eventually they sagged and they were resting on the now squashed rubber bumpers. Every decent bump in the road the car would rebound and bounce upwards. Marc said these absorb the bumps rather than rebounding and making the suspension bounce. The way it drove before got a little scary at speed so really that was a major factor in deciding on tearing everything down and starting fresh on the wagon rather than finishing my street-strip Nova.
I'm really excited about this project. I've had fast cars in the past but never have I done a build to this caliber. I think the day I parked the car in the shop at school, even then I didn't realize just how bad this car will be when I'm done. Recently I got a call from a friend that owns his own design agency and mentioned he had another friend that needs a graphic designer for his agency and asked if I was interested. I told him about school, my car project, and going to work for Joe at Bulldawg in a couple months. All he could say was, "wow, you're living the dream." I think it really hit me then how much my life has changed since last August and I got a real feel for what the future holds. Yeah, to say I'm stoked is an understatement.