15-sep-2001 : 16-sep-2001
- Finally got the disk brakes put in. The car stops like a dream now. It took us a bit longer then we expected (probably about 12 hours in total where we had guessed about 5 or so), so we didn't finish everything. Here's a list of what we did put in:
- Old spindles from the used setup - This way we didn't have to machine the original drum spindles and maybe mess it up.
- Old rotors from the used setup - They were a bit rusty, but after a dip in Varsol, they looked brand new.
- Old pads from the used setup - Absolutely no wear on these things; they were nearly brand new.
- New calipers - The ones that came with the kit were siezed.
- New brake lines - For the price, we decided to just replace these instead of figuring out if the old ones were any good.
- New bushings - We replaced all the bushings and ball joints in the front end. Again, for the price, it wasn't worth the effort required to make the choice.
- The brakes themselves were fairly easy to change over. Since we had a direct bolt in, there was no hidden tricks. We simply took off the A-frames, replaced all the bushings, and reassembled them with the disk setup. I would really recommend this method to anyone who is considering the conversion (allthough I realize that the parts are not always available, I would look as hard as you can...it's worth the effort!). The hardest part was replacing the bushings in the A-frames. Nothing technical about it, only that it is a pain in the ass unless you have a hydraulic press (and even then...).
- While we were doing the brakes, we decided to change the shocks and springs at the same time (since the A-frames would be off). This was also fairly straight-forward. One little trick we had to do, though, is weld some nuts on the inside of the lower A-frame to connect the bolts to the shock mounts. It was easier then leaving it until the springs were in and trying to get a tightening wrench through the spring. The front springs were slightly harder to replace, since with the car jacked up, it was hard to get enough downward pressure on them so that the ball joint and the spindle would meet (make sure you have a lot of ballast ;) ). The rear springs were really easy...we kinda cheated by jacking the car up and lowering the diff/axle by its own wieght. We then pryed it down a bit more, took the old springs out, and placed the new ones in. Once we put the new shocks on, we brough the car back down and bolted the new shocks back to the axle. It's awesome how high the car rides now...there's no more dipping when I turn the car or anything.
- I also took this time to put on the little parts that I had gathered for the car:
- New battery tray - The tray that was in there didn't even match the car and was only being held in with one bolt. The new one fits perfect and has absolutely no rust.
- New side mirror - It looks really good with the new (proper) rectangular mirror. And hey...it's legal now with a working mirror!
- As I mentioned above, because it took us a bit longer than we had thought, we had to leave some stuff out:
- Power brakes - Right now the setup is manual disk brakes. The kit came with a power booster and master cylinder, as well as a combination valve, so all we have to do is hook it up.
- U-joints - We'll put these in when we hook up the power brakes (hopefully some time next week).
29-sep-2001
- Got around to putting the power booster and new master cylinder in . Pretty easy to put in, with the only snag being the vacuum line for the booster. We discovered that the line that would usually go to the PCV system was not even hooked up, and that port wasn't being used. We're using it temporarily for just the power brakes, and hopefully will be able to hook up both systems soon.
- Didn't get around to doing the U-joints, and now a few more things popped up that are on the next-to-do list:
- Replace the original combination valve that was on there with the one designed for front disk brakes that came with the kit.
- Use a T-plug and send the vacuum line to both the booster and the PCV system.
- Get a filter to put inline with the vacuum to the brake booster.
- Put the new U-joints on.
- Swap the old drum shoes that were in the front with the ones that are currently on the back (the ones we took off from the front were in way better shape).
- This should keep us busy for a while...
Click here for the pictures taken during this month
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