upgrades? ...!

Buzzmobile · #1 (**permalink**) 09-01-2011, 12:31 PM

well, I have been using ole 148 as a street car for some time now. It has new engine, tranny and rear end in her. But, I have been getting interested a little in tracking the car and we took her out a couple of times, and honestly...she is just scary.

I have done NOTHING to the suspension..not even a brake job or alignment. With the car this early, I am not even sure what components she has.... I just puttered around town with her and things have been fine.

So, I have been reading a lot on the forum about making the car handle well/safe and this is what I think is in order.

R/T shock mount kit and sway bars as well as ball joints. I am sure I need new coil overs, but not sure what type to buy. BRAKES ! (these are just dangerous on the track) I am not even sure what they are....never took them apart. Still running 15 inch wheels. I have the old 5 bolt wheels that came with it as well as a set of knock offs that I bought later...so I have both options. Thinking track tires with the bolt on wheels would be a good thing.

So any suggestions concerning pitfalls or options would be appreciated. The car floats, bounces, shimmies at 65 (SOP) and cannot stop in an aggressive stop to save my life. So, thanks for the help

Basically, if you were me and had a very early car...what would you do?

Buzz

jayscobras · #2 (**permalink**) 09-01-2011, 02:03 PM

Fix the loose nut behind the steering wheel.

Jay

xlr8or · #3 (**permalink**) 09-01-2011, 10:00 PM

I think you are on the right path with brake, ball joint and sway bar upgrades. Might need to check the steering rack for play as well. Olthoff has a nice Wilwood brake upgrade that works well.
Do the shock mount upgrade as a must have. It's a weak point that has failed on some cars.
With those complete the nut behind the wheel will have a much better chance.

D-CEL · #4 (**permalink**) 09-02-2011, 10:09 AM

Buzz,

It will be a great project! I love tearing into almost as old #239
If I were you…
Rebuild the suspension,
Like xlr8or said, Check the steering, universal/rag joint, steering rack, tie rod ends and ball joints.
Replace all the control arm bushings (front and rear)
Check all the pivot and shock mount bolts for wear/damage, replace as necessary

(I replace all the bolts/nuts I remove with SAE/NAS locking equiv.)
Do a coil-over and shock mount upgrade
Replace the Sway bar bushings, mounts and end links
Add a rear sway bar if you don’t have one
Take it to a good race shop near you and have it corner weighted, ride ht adjusted, ft and rr alignment and camber done

Brakes:
This is one of my big things. The early SPF brakes just plain suck.
Replacing the calipers and rotors with Wilwood parts is easy enough and will help, a little. However it’s the power booster/master cylinder combo and horrifically inadequate pedal ratio that really screws the pouch. And as far as I know, nobody makes a “kit” to correct it, everything has to be fabricated. It can be done, just takes a little time.
But that is where the big difference in brake performance comes from.

Id be happy to help you if you decide to go that way.

Jason

Buzzmobile · #5 (**permalink**) 09-02-2011, 11:07 AM

oh yeah...I want in on some of that brake rebuild action! That looks great! Can you give me some details on how you did that and parts used?

thanks
Buzz

D-CEL · #6 (**permalink**) 09-02-2011, 12:50 PM

Buzz,

Thank you,

The whole thing is detailed in this thread :
Brakes or rather Not..
The truth is, its still not what it could be, I want to build a new 8-1pedal and bracket that moves the M/C assy higher as I have a little angle in the operating rod.

I only had to fab 2 parts and the tubes for the reservoirs, the bracket I made from .125 stainless plate and the pedal clevis I made piece of 17-4 bar. The rest was out of the Wilwood catalogue.

Jason

Silverback51 · #7 (**permalink**) 09-02-2011, 05:26 PM

The best money I have spent so far on the car is with Randy at Cobra Valley.

Rear shock mounts.

QA1 shocks and springs.

Upgraded sway bar kit. Only change there was I machined up some solid frame mounts.

Got on it a little today in first and second gear from a stop sign. Squats a little, hooks up (no, I'm not crazy on the throttle) and goes straight. Not like the original factory setup.

Just need to work on the brakes now.

Forgot to mention, pictures of this are in my gallery.

Buzzmobile · #8 (**permalink**) 09-03-2011, 11:02 AM

D-Cel..

So if you were starting from scratch, how would you do it again? I read the tread you linked and my first thought was....is there a way to just change the pedal ratio without all the fabrication you did? Just keep the same stuff except pedal?

D-CEL · #9 (**permalink**) 02-01-2012, 12:30 PM

Buzz,

I’m so sorry, somehow I missed your last post and question many months ago. Again, my apologies.

No I would still do all of the upgrades as each has benefit. Unfortunately, raising the ratio by moving the clevis hole up is not an option. The operating rod for the M/C must be parallel with the centerline on the M/C. That means you have to raise the M/C up. The power booster is too big and will hit the underside of the fender. However I do believe there is an easier way. If you used a tandem M/C with remote reservoir (instead of duals with a balance bar) you could easily drill new clearance and mount holes at the correct height. and mount it directly to the foot-box like the factory booster.

Jason