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  #871  
Old 03-25-2018, 08:56 PM
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Jack 1957 Jack 1957 is offline
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This is taking some time but there are about a dozen systems that all need to either be mounted in this area or plumbed and wired through this area. I managed to get the radiator and condenser mounting tabs fabricated and installed. ABS manifold, trans cooler, P/S cooler, fuse box, and ECM all need to be stuffed in here somewhere. One step at a time.

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  #872  
Old 03-27-2018, 09:57 PM
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Air Bags. I prefer them to any other system. Like anything else, if you set them up right you won't have any problems. The only drawback is that they take up some space so you need to watch clearances all through the suspension travel and steering travel. These are 7" diameter bags and are rated at 2650 lbs each. More than adequate even for this sled. The bag on the right is compressed and tied for shipping. The one on the left is released and at its natural relaxed height. This is about half way between its fully inflated and fully deflated lengths so its the height that you use to set up mounting plates at.It should be the length of the bag at ride height.
You could also set it up from its fully compressed height but I don't have a frame bench or a large flat area of the floor. The way you would do it is to lay the frame on shims from the deck up. If you want a laid down height of 2", put 2" shims under the frame rails and set up your bag mounts with the bags fully compressed.

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Setting up the mounting plates. If you notice the lower control arm bolts, and look at the angle that the bags are set in at, you can see that the bags are mounted so they follow as closely as possible along the arc made when the lower control arm swings on its pivot points. I tacked in and I checked the full steering range through the full suspension travel. Everything is good. Weld it up.

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All welded on the left side. I need to shop for some short shock absorbers. I'll get the left side done next.

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  #873  
Old 03-28-2018, 06:24 PM
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Left side done. Same process as the right side.

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  #874  
Old 03-29-2018, 04:06 AM
Oldnek Oldnek is offline
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Hey Jack,
Can I ask a question. (Not being rude and don't take this the wrong way)
Why did you go down the path of Air bags when you mounted the Shock/Spring Strut mounting to the front end. You may of been able to get Air bagged Struts for the same front end for the doner, and the work you have done so far would not be necessary.

Cheers John
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  #875  
Old 03-29-2018, 09:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldnek View Post
Hey Jack,
Can I ask a question. (Not being rude and don't take this the wrong way)
Why did you go down the path of Air bags when you mounted the Shock/Spring Strut mounting to the front end. You may of been able to get Air bagged Struts for the same front end for the doner, and the work you have done so far would not be necessary.

Cheers John

I'm not sure I understand the question but the reason I kept the CTS suspension is because I want to retain the ride that it was designed to deliver. I think part of the confusion might be that I keep referring to the towers as "strut" towers when actually they aren't. this suspension is not a strut suspension, it's an unequal length parallel control arm. It has an upper control arm up at the top of the tower. There originally was a long coil over shock that held the body weight but it was not a strut in that there is a separate knuckle and spindle. I could have used air sleeves, designed to slide over the shock to replace the spring but they were only rated at 1,000 pounds each. This car will be a little over 4,000 pounds so the sleeves would not cut it. The towers need to be where they are because the upper control arms are mounted to them. This setup is much better for my needs than the more common short version. The ride is more stable, cornering is better, and the big advantage for me is that the camber angle doesn't change nearly as much as the standard setup when the car is being raised or dropped. If you've ever noticed that when a bagged car is parked and dropped, the front wheels are cambered in (Negative) a lot. That's just a result of the standard control arms being so close together, only about 12" apart. On this system, the upper and lower control arm pivot points are over 20 inches apart so 6 or 8 inches of travel have far less effect on camber.
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  #876  
Old 03-31-2018, 03:43 PM
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I got as much done up front as I can right now. I need my wheels and I need to install the engine before I can check castor, make engine mounts and finish closing off the area behind the wheel openings. I got some epoxy primer on the work that's already done. I painted the back side of both fenders with chassis saver rust converter. I'll mount them when everything is dry and move on to the rear suspension.
I have very limited space so I can't have too much disassembled at a time. I just don't have the room to store parts. If I were doing this at work, I would have 4 stalls dedicated to this job.

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  #877  
Old 03-31-2018, 08:04 PM
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The front end came together really nice. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with in the back.
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  #878  
Old 03-31-2018, 08:48 PM
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Dane, the rear should be much easier than the front. It won't need to be narrowed and other than the shocks, it's a completely self contained bolt-in unit.
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  #879  
Old 04-02-2018, 07:21 PM
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I did a little more finish work on the front end then got busy in back. The 49 rear fought me gallantly but this old dude was relentless and ultimately prevailed. I still need to get the gas tank and shocks out.

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The CTS rear was an easy removal. Drive shaft, a couple wiring plugs, shocks and 4 bolts.

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  #880  
Old 04-03-2018, 10:15 AM
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Awesome project. Is that an electric parking brake actuator?
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