bentgrill

i cut the front springs like two coils. the first coil is very flat, i cut it on the second. straight down from the end of the spring (720 degrees.) the spring was a little loose in the strut until i got some weight on it. this means no off road. i don't want to drop a spring off the top perch. i plan on fitting some coil-overs or making some or something, i have until the front shocks are shot to figure that out. result was a 2.5" 3" drop from stock. its a little bouncy but for no money, not bad. my car is FWD (sad) so the rear end is super simple. four bolts to drop the torsion bar tube, three bolts a side for the spring plates and the two retainer bolts that hold in the torsion bar bushing. i held the tube off the brake lines and put a puller on the axle. warning the outer set of splines is different from the inner set, if you remove your torsion bars mark the torsion bar, the spring plate and the tube!!! so i wanted 3" drop in the rear. the outer set of splines number 34. one spline is roughly 10.6 degrees. a quick measure from the middle of the torsion bar to the center of the wheel hub. about 15". 10.6 degrees over 15" is about what i was looking for. i applied a lot of pressure a lot of heat from a propane torch and a small sledge against an aluminum drift and pulled off the spring plate. installation is the reverse of removal. the front end stiffened considerably because of the shortened springs but the rear is still compliant because spring is just re-clocked a few degrees up. makes for an interesting ride. any one know how to get my engine to decelerate more quickly? i push in the clutch and the slowly creeps down. its like my old toyota.

dropped it 3 inches, fresh shocks, new driving lights, fresh axles, fresh ball joints, new brakes, new clutch. ummm... spark plugs, new spark plugs!! 275000 miles runs fine, probably throwing down fifty horse to the wheels. i think this car is the slowest i have ever owned but its cool. this is how i got it. here it is after a little work not bad for a beater. i think i want to stretch the wheels 2" and swap in a 2.5 na and leave the body just like it is. what do you think?