[rohrt]

Awesome stuff. What rims are those?

[stobin]

Modulare Wheels. They are the C1 concave design. I love the way the concave profile looks on the car. A friend of mine from way back that had originally measured my car in 2001 for the 18" HRE wheels I had previously is a co-owner. I sold the HRE's to a fellow GA owner in order to step up to some wider wheels. I went with 19's because the tire selection works out better. I need a tall rear tire. The rears are 19x11's with 305/35/19 Nitto NT05's. The fronts are 19x9.5's with 275/35/19 Nitto NT05's. Bob measured the car, and I still have more room in the back to go wider, but I don't like the steamroller look. I want the front/rear to be close enough not to induce understeer issues. The centers are a textured gunmetal. Has a rougher finish.

[stobin]

So one of the projects I was not able to afford to due in the past was upgrading the rear suspension to coil overs. Since I had the opportunity to make the improvements, I went forward with it. This was designed by one of the technicians at Cambra Speed. He designed an adjustable link system that will give me a choice of 3 positions for the height of the shock mounting, and 3 positions to set the angle of the shocks. Doug Norrdin at Global West recommended keeping the shock angles at no more than 15 degrees, so that was designed into the system. I purchased QA1 double adjustable shocks for the rear to match the front coil over set up. Spring rates in the front are 600 lbs., rears are 200 lbs. A rear crossmember was welded into the frame to mount the coil over system for added strength.

[stobin]

A few more shots of the rear set up. A cross brace was built in for extra strength as well.

[stobin]

So at the same time I was in the process of reworking the frame, I started to plan out the rest of the improvements I would like to make. I had installed a TKO 5-speed in the GA in 2008 which transformed the car. I decided that I would sell the 5-speed in order to afford a new Tremec T-56 six speed box. The majority of the upgrades I make to this car can only be performed by selling the parts I have in order to make it realistic to spend the money on the new components. I was able to sell the TKO for a very good price. The other way to afford these items is to work extra shifts. I am very fortunate to have a job that allows me to work extra shifts if needed. I work 12 hour shifts as a Registered Nurse, so when I need extra cash, I pick up extra shifts. The insurance settlement did help with the upgrades as well, but not as much as I decided I wanted to improve the car. The transmission crossmember needed to be remade. This one is much beefier than the one it replaces, especially after realizing the old one did have some flex in it. So as with the other frame upgrades, this piece is very overbuilt.

[stobin]