Install time!

This weekend I blocked off some time for my major suspension overhaul. I had a set of Bilstein HDs, a sway bar from a convertible e30, an e36 steering rack, and a set of brand new control arms I found at the junkyard!In this shot you can see that i've removed the entire front sub-frame including the control arms and steering rack. A shot of my work space. This is a power steering delete I designed, and my father made for me. You remove the stock hoses, and bolt this in place with the stock banjo bolts and copper washers. It allows the fluid to travel from one chamber to the other without any pressure buildup. In this shot i've assembled the subframe with the new-used control-arms and swaybar. once i Had that installed, I moved on to the suspension. I bought some universal ebay coilover sleeves meant to fit a honda civic. In order for them to fit the bilsteins correctly I had to enlarge the center hole and carve in a concave shape. I also cut the stock spring perches off of the strut housing. I had to cut the aluminum sleeves by about 1.5 inches in order for them to clear the threaded shock cap. THis is what i thought was an assembles shock until I realized i was missing the upper spring perch. If i had kept it like this, the car would have a very difficult time turning because the upper spring support would be rubbing the shock tower mount. Here is a pic of them correctly assembled. And installed! FOr the time bieng i installed the rear shocks wit the stock springs. Here are a couple pics of how the car currently sits. The front coilovers are set on their lowest setting. I have a nother set of 550lb springs that are 1" shorter than these. I'll install them as soon as i get motivated to take everythig apart again!

More Used Parts!

I was able to scavenge some more used parts At my local junkyard. I found a set of locks to replace the ones currently on the car. The Ignition cylinder was destroyed by someone trying to steal the car from the previous owner. I wanted a full set so 1 key opens everything. I know its more work to replace everything, but it will be worth it in the long run.Here is what the old lock cylinder housing looked like. I also found a replacement at the junkyard for cheap. I also was able to pick up a set of used Bilstein HDs on e30tech.com for cheap! $120 for the full set! I found an e36 steering rack(pictured below) and a larger diameter front sway bar from a convertible e30. The rack is in great shape. While at the yard I was able to replace the tie-rods with some from an e30. The shocks pictured are some spares i picked up for $4 each! I love u-pull-it prices! A few months back I had picked up a set of Civic coil-over sleeves in the hopes of at some point installing them on the other project(www.dirte30.blogspot.com). I don't really kow how they will work, or what i will need to do to get them installed correctly, but they were only $40, and i can get 2.5" springs of different stiffness's easily on eBay.

On the road!

I'm glad to say ive been driving the little bugger for about a week and a half now. I got it registered & insured last monday. I drove it for a day before realizing how necessary some new ball joints were. I went to the yard and picked up 2 Lower front controll arms for $36, and swapped them out. THe car is much more solid now. It does have completely blown suspension on it currently. I found 2 used struts at the yard and paid a littlle under $7 for both! Now i just need to find the fronts. I'm looking for a set of used springs on the forums. I already found a set of keys and cylinders to replace the missing ignition cylinder, and i'm waiting on the piece that goes on the end of the steering column to arrive.