Garcia Family Type 65 Coupe Build - Front Suspension

[Jeff Kleiner]

A shock for everybody! Did each of the four Garcias check the rebound adjustment on their shock before assembly?

Jeff

[JTG]

A shock for everybody! Did each of the four Garcias check the rebound adjustment on their shock before assembly?

Jeff

We did not... I was under the impression (which judging by your comment, I may have been misguided), that the rebound was already adjusted for their application in FFR cars.
Should I pull the front shocks and check that?

[Jeff Kleiner]

They should be set on full soft for all four but there's no guarantee. I've pulled them out of the boxes and found them set otherwise from Koni so it's best to check.

Jeff

[JTG]

They should be set on full soft for all four but there's no guarantee. I've pulled them out of the boxes and found them set otherwise from Koni so it's best to check.

Jeff

Thanks for the heads up Jeff, I'll add that to our list!

[JTG]

Here's some more progress on the front suspension, which all went more as less as expected with only a few notes.

1) The upper castle nut needs a washer to properly align with the hole. Otherwise the cotter pin would sit above the castle nut and not through it.

2) The ball joints and upper control arms are technically identical, but when we tried to thread the ball joints in they wouldn't seat all the way. Just for grins we swapped them and then they easily threaded in place. So while there really isn't a left and a right, we had a left and a right...

3) Much like everyone else, we swapped out the stock blue booties, for some Energy Suspension booties. My daughter was disappointed by this, she thought we were getting Uggs or something fun.

[Namrups]

Check the bolts holding your steering rack in. Not real clear in the pics but the bolts should be installed so that the nuts are in front. If the bolts are installed from the front you may not be able to remove them after your radiator panel is installed.

Scott

[JTG]

Check the bolts holding your steering rack in. Not real clear in the pics but the bolts should be installed so that the nuts are in front. If the bolts are installed from the front you may not be able to remove them after your radiator panel is installed.

Scott

Thanks Scott, good advice.

I originally had them installed with the nuts towards the back but then we had to pull the steering rack out and made the correction at that point. We noticed we didn't have the right bushing sleeves for the rear diff, and in a forehead slap moment realized that we installed the sleeves for the rear diff in the steering rack. They're close enough that nothing seemed out of place at the time.

Now if we have to replace the rack for any reason we won't be cursing our past selves. I do appreciate the tips which is a big reason for posting progress, so keep it coming!

Jon

[Ejzajac]

Check the bolts holding your steering rack in. Not real clear in the pics but the bolts should be installed so that the nuts are in front. If the bolts are installed from the front you may not be able to remove them after your radiator panel is installed.

Scott

I assume you must be referring to the front Lower Control Arm. Thanks for your keen eye. It was not too long ago I made the same mistake, but plenty of time to correct.
Ed Z

[Papa]

I assume you must be referring to the front Lower Control Arm. Thanks for your keen eye. It was not too long ago I made the same mistake, but plenty of time to correct.
Ed Z

Ed,

The radiator cowl aluminum on the Coupe is only about three inches from the steering rack bolts. Scott is correct that with the aluminum in place, you won't be able to get them out, trapping the rack in place. He caught this on a picture I posted in another thread and today I flipped those bolts around.

Before:



After:



But dang it! Now I need to take a look at the LCA bolts, too.

Dave

[460.465USMC]

Fun progress is being made. Suspension buildup is a lot of fun. Nice work, Jon and family.

Since we're looking at your steering rack from the front...if I had to do it over, I would hold off on the final install of the radiator tunnel. Especially the rear panels. Mock-up and drill, of course, but no need to finalize until after the drivetrain is installed. It would have been so handy to be able to slip my hands through there. It's possible to work around it, but not as much fun.

[JTG]

Fun progress is being made. Suspension buildup is a lot of fun. Nice work, Jon and family.

Since we're looking at your steering rack from the front...if I had to do it over, I would hold off on the final install of the radiator tunnel. Especially the rear panels. Mock-up and drill, of course, but no need to finalize until after the drivetrain is installed. It would have been so handy to be able to slip my hands through there. It's possible to work around it, but not as much fun.

That seems like really good advice, we probably would have riveted that in place and then regretted it later. Now I think we'll hold off on that. Thanks!

[JTG]

Ed,



But dang it! Now I need to take a look at the LCA bolts, too.

Dave

Dave, looking at your picture I also see the sway bar installed. Would now be a good time to install that or is there any reason to hold off until later?

Thanks,
Jon

[Papa]

Dave, looking at your picture I also see the sway bar installed. Would now be a good time to install that or is there any reason to hold off until later?

Thanks,
Jon

I can't think of any reason to wait.

[JTG]

A little more progress, we assembled the front rotors and started adding safety wires. I will probably have to finish that later on my own since my son had zero interest in helping. He liked the spinning twisting part, but feeding the wire through the head of the bolts was too fiddly for him.




We also pressed the studs out of the rear hubs using the bench vise with a notched piece of pipe method. Thanks to whoever came up with that idea!! It worked great.
We still need to grind flats into the new studs before installing, and we'll probably get around to that this weekend.

[PNWTim]

A little more progress, we assembled the front rotors and started adding safety wires. I will probably have to finish that later on my own since my son had zero interest in helping. He liked the spinning twisting part, but feeding the wire through the head of the bolts was too fiddly for him.




We also pressed the studs out of the rear hubs using the bench vise with a notched piece of pipe method. Thanks to whoever came up with that idea!! It worked great.
We still need to grind flats into the new studs before installing, and we'll probably get around to that this weekend.

I know I have seen some builders grinding those flats you refer to but I did not need to that on my build. I'm not sure what the difference is be my studs cleared the hub of the hub easily.

[JTG]

I know I have seen some builders grinding those flats you refer to but I did not need to that on my build. I'm not sure what the difference is be my studs cleared the hub of the hub easily.

Thanks Tim, that's good to know. I'll look at it a little more closely tonight. Maybe you just saved us a step!

[Sea Hut]

I installed the first one before remembering that others have gone with the flat grind. With only a couple millimeters of space, I opted to go flat. With a bench grinder, you can do all ten in less than 10 minutes or so.

[JTG]

I installed the first one before remembering that others have gone with the flat grind. With only a couple millimeters of space, I opted to go flat. With a bench grinder, you can do all ten in less than 10 minutes or so.

After looking at this more closely I'm in agreement that the clearance is really tight and we'd feel better grinding flats into the studs. You're right, it won't take very long.