Well the first shipment of parts for upgrading my iroc have just arrived.

What I have already :
1985 iroc-z, J65 4 wheels discs, 3.73posi, 5speed manual, 350ci out of 79 camaro, msd hei stock upgraded ignition, new accell wires, flowtech headers & 3" exhaust, torkerII intake, holley 4160 600cfm, with k&n high flow filter.

What I'm aiming for is a good reliable car, which is great on twisty country roads, and the occasional fun at Knockhill racing circuit for track days. In the process I'm fixing a few bits that were broke. Also trying to improve the efficiency of the engine a bit, and get the think to brake a lot better than it does at the moment.

What I'm fitting :
Spohn SFCs, Spohn 13" pro series brake kit for the front, adj. proportioning valve and new brake lines throughout, PA racing K member and A arms in mild steel, Spohn sway bar set, Edelbrock STB, solid tie rod adjusters, -6an stainless steel braided fuel hose with earl filter and vdo pressure guage, holley 4160 to 4150 conversion and tuned jets for efficiency on idle and primary and max power on secondaries. prothane motor mounts, k&n oil filter, mobil 1 0w40, beefier battery power cables.

Have I missed anything obvious?

Si.

ps. Here's the first lot of parts :

 

Very nice Iroc-Si.There are 2 things I can think of which won't break the bank and make a big difference in handling.
Sub-frame connectors.weld in not bolt in they're a waste of time.
Replace all the bushes with polyurethane/polygraphite ones.The bushes are going to be less than £100 and will make a big difference.I'm stunned by the amount of people who slate American iron because it doesn't handle but are driving around on original rubber crap.Theres a bloke near me who owns a Yank scrapyard who's got a 71 Charger and moans it doesn't handle.I looked underneath and it still has the original bushes,which are now almost non-existant!A rollbar/cage is maybe the next thing but is not for everybody.Mines basically going to be a 2-seater because of it.Always good to see people using these cars in anger instead of parking it in a field and saying umm look at this.


ooops,I forgot struts and springs.The Koni front struts aren't cheap £420 a pair!The Eibach springs are a lot cheaper at something like £100 a set (maybe more I can't recall)

 

Yeah, I'm about to fit the Spohn Sub Frame Connectors, and with the sway bar kits from spohn I get a heap of poly bushing, plus the prothane motor mounts I'm most of the way to moving to poly bushing!

As for the rollcage, I'm still thinking about it. I would want, full rollcage, new seats, harnesses, electric cutoff, and extinguisher system, or nothing. Before that I probably need to spend $1,350 on a new exhaust system....)

I think before I get there I need a set of koni yellows, eibach pro spings, billet strut tower mounts.....

Gotta temper the imagination as the bank balance doesn't have the same enthusiasm!

Si. :lala:

 

Si,
its a pity you dont know of somebody who has a perfect set of Koni Yellows for £100
Oh yeah its me.I paid £431.00 for them and theyve covered 9000 miles.I toom them off last year as i had a knocking noise which i thought was the suspension.I changed everything including all the bushes and ball joints only to find out the knock was a loose transmission cross member!!!!
Let me know if u r interested

PM

 

Si, those mods will make a power of difference! Grab those KONI yellows off powermite as well- great deal!

Keep us updated!

Felix

 

Is that £100 for a set of 4 Konis?

 

no sorry.just the fronts

PM

 

Next lot have arrived. The sway bars are heavier than I thought, and the SFCs are very solid. I like the look of the PA racing k-member and a-arms.

First task is to find someone capable/willing to weld on my SFCs. Should be fun....

Si. :lala:

 

WOW! That thing is going to handle so good! I just put a panhard, LCA's and Strut brace on mine, but left the soggy springs on, and was still amazed. Get some install pics!

 

Si
Ive been fancying those A armsmyself.Let me know how they fit and what they feel like

cheers
PM

 

Yes, the panhard rod and brace (or, as the factory calls them, the "track bar" and "track bar brace") should be reinforced along their length (or replaced), and they need to be made fully adjustable and strengthened at the adjustment points.

 

I welded my SFCs on a few years ago and proof that they work is that,if i jack up the car from just behind the front wheel,the rear lifts up too and the car raises as if it were being jacked up in the middle!!
PM

 

What effect does a stronger panhard rod and brace have on the car?

The SFCs get welded on Tuesday morning.... By a bunch called Dunwell Coachworks.... Here's hoping that they do a decent job. probably can't be worse than my own welding!

Si.

 

Dunwell did-well!

The SFCs are in. £80 was what it cost, and the job was fairly well done. The Spohn SFCs fitted fairly well, though we couldn't get welds everywhere that I'd like them, but certainly enough to make a huge difference. I actually noticed the difference on a very leisurely drive back in that the tail was even more loose than usual (due to missing front sway bar), and when jacking the car it was very much less creaks and groans....well fro the car anyway!

Si.

 

Glad to hear of all your progress Iroc-Si. I look forwards to seeing the car in person - perhaps a meet up at Crail or Knockhill in the next year would be good? A few questions follow:-

Where did you get the PA racing K member and A arms from? Are they for stock style spring and motor mounts etc? Let me know how the install goes.

Where can I find Dunwell Coachworks? Could you give me a phone number and address please?

Theres plenty of info about upgrading the panhard rod over on the Suspension forum.

I would strongly recommend the Spohn (Alloy Specialties) Billet strut mounts - fantastic product IMHO.

Best of luck with the rest of your project!

 

Hi Dr G,

I got my PA racing K member and A-arms direct from pa racing. I managed a great deal where they got shipped to a mate of mine who was moving from usa to edinburgh and had a little space in his container....... ie. 40quid shipment and not duty/vat

Dunwell coachworks :
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/CEC/City...oachworks.html

Yeah the pa racing parts are stock replacements. So they have motor mounts and stock spring perches. I'll let you know how they go.

So far the SFCs from spohn went in well, and now I have 2 coats of primer on them and 1 coat so far of underseal.

As for the billet strut tower mounts....well as for now I can't justify that amount of cash.

Si.

 

Spohn's 13" brake kit, and other bits :

I finally got my brake kit today.... I'm not entirely impressed. I got the cross drilled version.... which are not like my bro's ap racing discs in that they really are drilled and not just cast wth holes..... so could suffer form stress fractures, though they are of such good quality / size that I don't think that will be an issue. Unlike my bro I ain't looking to race too much.

But that ain't the issue, the problem is that not all the holes are drilled right the way through!!!!

Having paid $1600 for the kit I kinda expected slightly better. I realise that I'm comparing a kit that is £1,700 with $1,600 but hmmm. I'm going to have to drill out those holes myself, which I would rather not have done.

enough of the whingeing, they are a great looking kit, and certainly look up to the job.

Simon.

 

Yeah,
Stop whinging/The baer kit is the best thing ive done to my car.It makes such a difference.
PM

 

Fair enough! I am happy with the kit it looks awesome! and in the great scheme of things the defects are minor, but for $1,600 I expected slightly better. I'm sure when I get them on they will be fantastic.

I certainly can't complain about Spohn's stuff. The first thing I noticed was the packaging was brilliant, giving good support to everything. Compared to PA racing who didn't even package things enough to go from one state to the next!!! If you order from them demand better packaging as the trip to dallas left huge holes in the boxes.... let alone any trip abroad!

I've been working on rust removal/painting/undersealling etc which has been fun...... cha!

Hopefully at the weekend I'll get the car up on jacks properly so I don't have to fight for space with an ultima each night.... Then the real fun begins!

Si,

 

Hi Si.
You have got some work ahead of you there! Just be careful when you take out those front springs.
That K member looks very interesting. Is there any chance of some more, closer photos of it? The upper spring perch and the lower control arms for instance? I have something in mind!
Don't put yourself out though.

Are you doing all the work outside?

Andy.

 

Thanks for getting back to me Si. Sorry for not replying earlier, I thought I had already done so!

I'm tempted by the K-member and A-arms myself, but as you know from one of my other posts I have other things to attend to first!

I'll let you know how I get on with the SFC's. BTW if you ever can justify the money for the billet strut tower mounts, I'm sure you won't be dissapointed.

 

I'll try and get some more pictures of the k member and a arm tomorrow. I got the existing k member out and it seems that the chassis may not be bent as I feared and its just a bent k member and a arms.

One thing though... The pa racing/everyone else I've sen don't have the front traingular bracket mounting holes etc. Basically in front of the k meber there is a triangular bracket that goes from near the engine mounts over to the chassis. There is no provision whatsoever on the pa racing k member for this bracket. it would not have taken them much to have included mounts for this but.....

Today I got the k member off, and with the help of the angle grinder I got the shocks off.....

Where can I get grade 10.9 bolts? places like RS and screwfix don't go beyond 8.8. help!!!???!!!

As for the spings, I picked up a ampro spring compressor when I was over in texas a few months back, which works great on those 706lb/inch springs I have (moog 5662) Taking apart the springs was real easy once I figured out how to use it and added 5" of spacers.

At the moment my engine is supported by a trolley jack while I get the bolts and the engine mounts sorted. I put a scissot jack in there too just in case the jack's seals fail.

I'm even managing to use up only one half of the garage at my parents house so my bro's ultima can get put back in each night. keeps him happy.

Si.

ps. £200 for strut tower mounts just ain't gonna happen soon. I think the money can be spent better elsewhere. I really need to find a good exhaist place..... or spend leads dosh on a full system...... hmmmm

 

I can't picture this bit in my head right now... is it required? What for? Will you have to fabricate one?

For the bolts, you could try calling a place called 'Bills Tool Store' in Glasgow. They always seem to have literally everything you could ever wish for.

Does your brother drive his Ultimo every day?

Keep us posted!

Gordon

 

I guess I could try Bill's but every place I've tried in edinburgh runs out at grade 8.8. I need soooo many grade 10.9 bolts now its not funny!!!!

I don't want to weaken the car.... more like strengthen it so missing out this triangulation piece seems daft. can't think why nobody has found this before??? wonder if its just an iroc thing?

Si.

ps. nah my bro just takes his ultima very occasionally as even in the dry its scary power, and he cycles a fair bit too.

 

Thanks Si. Much appreciated.

DR G. The triangular braces he mentions are in this attached picture connecting the sides of the chassis rails to the front of the k member (the chromed bits).
This is my sport coupe, so it is definitely not just an iroc thing.

Andy.

 

10.9s are not a common grade of bolt except in the automotive industry.Its worth remembering though that Allen Bolts (or socket head cap screws as they are called in the industry)are 12.9s so are even stronger than what you are looking for.

cheers

PM

 

Some serious money you're throwing at your Camaro there Iroc-Si. I'm thinking of some inmprovements soon.

 

Got my bolts! Lex vauxhall would actually be able to get the real proper bolts....but wanted 168quid for the set of bolts I was after!!! I think the main reason for this is that they are metric bolts with UNF heads, bit strange but thats what our cars have.

But I got them to search for standard grade 10.9 M12 bolts and they found them on various vauxhalls, which works. bit expensive still at about 2quid per bolt/self locking(not nyloc!) pair.

Boydee: yeah I feel the amount of cash going into this project all too well. But the only extravagence is the brakes. pretty much all the rest is just fixing bent parts. I confirmed when I took of the parts that the a arm and k member were both bent but the chassis isn't.

I could probably have gotten away without getting the sway bars but needed the endlinks to replace the ones that sheared....

Given that I picked the car up for just £2,500, I think that this money isn't wasted its just geting the car back up to its real value?

Si.

ps. got the k member in with its new poly motor mounts. I'll get the pictures up sometime. This job just keeps getting bigger as I found a 2" hole in one of the wheel arches.... need to practice my mig welding skills..... or lack thereof! I'm also replacing the ducting that used to house some of the air con as it has huge holes that were letting in CO when my headers leaked.... Also having great fun figuring out the brake fitting sizes.....usual case of a nice mixture!

 

Here's a pic of the underside of the pa racing spring perch a arms.

 

Andy : are these the sort of pictures you want? I can get you bigger closeups and also ones with the bits fitted if you want? I've mostly been using my bro's camera for taking pictures so I don't have them to hand.

I managed on saturday to get the spring and a arm fitted on one side. It was a bit scary fitting the spring even using the sping compressor I could only compress it 2" (706lb/inch springs) and then used a trolley jack on the a arm to push it up the rest of the way. It all seemed to fit in fairly well, though I'm not 100% happy with the fit of the pa racing a arm to k member joints. They are okay, and I assume their slightly odd fit was due to both parts being stock replacements and not only meant to fit one another.

having got both a arms on, I did a simple check of what the alignment is liely to be (front to back wheel position) and they look good (within 1mm) This is a major relief as while I knew the k member and a arm was bent on the front left side I didn't knwo if the damage went as far as the chassis! luckily it doesn't, so hopfully after I get it back on its wheels it should be possible to get it aligned and driving in a straight line.....

Si. :lala:

ps. if there is a particular picture any of you guys would like taken of the work/parts then just ask as I'm taking a lot of pictures (like 100+ 1.7Mb pictures) so I can't publish it all!!!

 

I'm fairly certain those are 18mm hex heads (HWH). Not a "standard" hex size, but metric, nonetheless. Lot's of that size are used at Fisher Body for some reason.

 

Making some progress....but with some issues :

# The reason the spohn/alloy cross drilled discs weren't drilled right through in places was because the wall thickness of the disc varied from 6.5mm to 9mm. overall thickness of the disc looks constant but the position of the vented bit changes as you rotate the disc.

# The spohn sway bar doesn't fit my 85 iroc. firstly it hits the wonderbar. 1/4" plate steel spacer is required to space it away. Spohn had never tried their bars with stock wonderbars, and their design of wonderbar is different and can accomodate their sway bar design. But the main problem is that the bar is too wide. 43mm wider than my iroc bar and this causes it to hit the shocks on full lock. So the old iroc bar has to go back on....

But all in all its coming together.

Si.

 

Its on the road again!!!!!!!

Well I took it for a shakedown run round the block. I still need to do a full front end alignment, but so far it seems ok. The brakes are wow wow wow!!!

Just a shame that my holidays are now over and I start my new job tomorrow. Ah well. Hopefully the final bits for the fuel pipe between the pump and the carb arrive this week so I can complete the carb overhaul (Holley 4160 to 4150 conversion and tune the jetting)

I'm so glad I managed to get it on its wheels before I had to go back to work, but there's still plenty to do: Alignment, STB, fuel pipes and carb tune, brake bias tune-up.

Hey ho, at least it was good to hear the rumble again after 4 weeks sitting up on chassis stands.

Si. :lala:

 

Nice job done there. Thanks for the photos by the way. I may have to invest in one of those K members.
Where do you jack it up now by the way?

Good luck with the new job.
Andy.

 

Cheers Andy,

I still jack it up in the centre of the K member. Its plenty strong enough for that. Always put a rubber matt on top of the jack so it doesn't destroy the powder coating.

Si.:lala:

 

Anymore progress Si?
I am looking forward to hearing how this car now feels.

Andy.

 

Well I'm slowly starting to push the car a bit more to see how it feels. So far its pretty good, though there is a bit of a creak which I think is just the joints between the a arms and k member. I'm sure they'll get used to each other shortly.

I discovered a slight fuel leak in the bit I haven't replaced yet due to hose equip not delivering everything yet....

The brakes are fantastic. I have a bit more work to get the bias set properly, but so far it really stands on its nose. Its so effective that I may have an issue with oil pressure during long heavy stops, so will probably have to get an acusump at some point if I'm going to try a track day at knockhill.

I still have to get the stb fitted, and the fuel pump to carb pipe/gauge and holley conversion kit, but apart from that it's almost there.....

At least the worst of the rattles is gone..... it was the clip at the top of the transmission tunnel (over the gearbox) which holds the fuel pipes.... it was very loose, and was a devil to tighten!

Si.