[Nicks67GTO]

Well some parts started to finally come in. Warning: If you intend to order chassis parts, be prepared for a long wait. Its been almost 6 weeks and stuff is finally coming in. I called SC&C a couple times and Marc basically told me that its standard for a lot of chassis parts to be back ordered. After asking around and reading forums this seems to be the case. Most of these guys are not Summit and Jegs. I guess iv'e gotten spoiled with a 3 days turnaround from those guys. That said ill be ordering my SPC upper and lower A arms. I found a supplier for backstocked USA made tie rods and center links etc for our GTO's, and i'm also going to order SPC springs and a front end alignment tool from Marc. I'm thinking about keeping the Bilstien shocks for a while until Ridetech gets their new HQ shock out and some guys review it. Its fully adjustable, its in line with the Varishock stuff i'm considering and I love the idea of a 1,000,000 mile warranty on their stuff. That speaks volumes to me. Plus anyone who is winning auto X stuff is using ridetech parts right now.....Well heres a few shots of my new swaybar stuff. Im hoping to see the currectrac stuff soon.

This is the rear bar. It is a chassis mounted piece. It allows for full articulation and eliminates binding in tight corners that is associated with the stock rear swaybar that is mounted to the LCA's. It also has 3 adjustments. Dragrace, Street and Roadrace. That's what the 3 holes are for on the bar ends. Its also a hollow bar and weighs almost nothing and has a nice hammertone powdercoat finish! Ill do some picture taking when I install it. Hopefully this weekend!





Here is the front bar. Nothing fancy here. Just a hollow front bar to complement the rear bar. Its featherweight as well, hammertone powdercoated and comes with very nice hardware. The end links I got are specifically for the SPC A arms Ill be ordering soon so I'm just going to reuse my energy suspension pieces for the rest of the summer.

[Nicks67GTO]

I also have a new 31 spline Eaton Trutrac coming in the mail for my 9" Ill be changing out to 2.75 gears when I swap it. I got the gears for $50 bucks and picked up the trutrac brand new for $360 from a guy who decided to go a different direction and had this laying around! I'm pretty stoked. The 2.75 gear with my Richmond 1:1 5 speed will be like running a 3.55 gear on an M21 in the first 4 gears then shift into 5th for a 2.75 ratio, for sweet crusing speed. Hello 75 MPH around 2400 RPM!

If you're interested in an older 31 spline for 9" Detroit locker at a good price, let me know. It works fine if you like lockers.

[imposter]

when ordering the front springs i would look into the global west or Hotchkiss big block springs i have the SPC ones and am maxed out on the spacers its a good height now but no room for adjustment

[gtospieg]

Nick, Please don't put those boxes on the hood. You might scratch the paint!

[Nicks67GTO]

Originally Posted by gtospieg

Nick, Please don't put those boxes on the hood. You might scratch the paint!

Ha yeah I know....Honestly, the clear on my car was applied so thick, orange peeled and ****ty 15 or so years ago i think it would take a wrecking ball to mess it up. My car is rust free and straight but its a got the definition of a 20 footer paintjob. I don't worry too much about it

[Nicks67GTO]

Originally Posted by imposter

when ordering the front springs i would look into the global west or Hotchkiss big block springs i have the SPC ones and am maxed out on the spacers its a good height now but no room for adjustment

I will certainly address this with Marc when I order. Thanks! Are you sure you got the right spring rate?

[imposter]

Yes

[Nicks67GTO]

Well I had some time this weekend so I decided to pull out the old WS6 swaybar and install the New Hellwig front and chassis mounted rear bar. Here's some pics of the front install.....


WS6 Bar vs the new Hellwig. The Hellwig bar is hollow so its about half the weight. Install was very straight forward. After just changing the front bar out I took it for a drive and I did notice a bit better handling over the WS6 bar for whatever reason.

[Nicks67GTO]

the rear chassis mounted bar took about 2 hours to install. You have to remove the shocks and coil springs and lower the housing down a lot to drill the necessary holes in the frame to get this done. It was very easy. I took my time and made sure everything was done right. If you had a buddy to help and a 2 post lift this would be a 1 hour job.

Heres the bar by itself...



After pulling the shocks and springs, you have to enlarge the original muffler hanger holes to 13/32. Thats where the brackets are mounted.



Heres the bracket...



You use the bracket as a template, set the bracket straight up and down and drill the second hole, making sure theres nothing like brake lines or gas lines behind it obviously...



Install the bracket and repeat on the other side...





Next you have to make up your end links. Lube and press the rubbers inside the link, then lube and tap the bushings in with a hammer, screw them together with the nut in between....





Hang the links..



Lube up these bushings and stick them on the new bar...





Then put it all together using the U bolts, mount pertches, and u straps that hold the bushings in. You have to make sure you go under the brake lines. I know that seems like common sense but i'm sure someone has clamped their brake lines before....

[Nicks67GTO]

My overall analysis of the Hellwig bars.... HUGE improvement. If all you have is the stock 7/8" front bar and worn out bushings you would be in for a shock changing out to this stuff. I haven't used anything but the street setting yet either. The 3 holes in the bar ends are for street, drag, and road race settings. The street being the furthest hole out and being the softest setting. Then drag setting in the middle and road race at the end.

Anyhow the rear bar was a drastic improvement. It keeps the ass end of the car from dipping and it seemed to plant the rear tires in hard turns. I took a 25 MPH cloverleaf at what felt like 45+mph {my speedo is broke so im guessing} without any issue. The seat was barely holding me in. I went out in the country took a corner hard and power slid the car... it didn't dip or feel loose in the back at all. It seems to have a lot more control and the rear of the car doesn't have that boat like feeling. Its straight and controlled. I would recommend these to anyone.

I'm still waiting on my Currie Currectrac Upper and Lower RCA's, I'm hoping to see them this week. I should have my Eaton Trutrac in the mail Monday and I think ill be ordering the SPC upper and lower A-Arms and springs very soon to complete the SC&C stage II chassis. I seriously can't believe how gratifying chassis mods are. It makes the car so much more fun to drive....

[Nicks67GTO]

For Archiving purposes....

TMI console installed link...

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=727782

[fyrffytr1]

All I can say is "WOW"!!!!

[CFster]

Your car is coming along great! Keep us updated!

[Nicks67GTO]

Well nothing too fun to report. Went to a super sweet cruise last Sunday night. 500+ cars all running up and down university ave. Speed limit is 45 and there are lots of stoplights so naturally there's a little fun to be had. I notched another bowtie under my Poncho belt. A buddy was in his uncles 69' Chevelle 396/700R4 car and pulled up to the stoplight. I kicked his ass up to about 65 or so where we let off....haha not bad for an $800 455!







Some more chassis parts started showing up. Here are the SPC springs spec'd with the SC&C stage II kit. According to my UPS tracker I should be getting my SPC upper & lower control arms/accessories later today or tomorrow. I'm excited!

[imposter]

nick make suer you have enough spacers for those springs i'm thinking on going to the global west big block ones as i'm maxed out on spacers, thats for the front of course

[Nicks67GTO]

Originally Posted by imposter

nick make suer you have enough spacers for those springs i'm thinking on going to the global west big block ones as i'm maxed out on spacers, thats for the front of course

Thanks for the heads up. I got the spacer kit so hopefully I should be ok?!

[Nicks67GTO]

Well some more cool stuff showed up yesterday....

SPC upper arms with delrin greaseable bushings, NASCAR style Howe tall upper ball joints, CM cross shafts and aluminum adjusters!!.....





SPC lower A arms with the progressive rate jounce bumpers, Howe balljoints and the shim/install kit!!...

[Nicks67GTO]

Well its throwback time.

I ran across some old photos of the car from the 90's so I thought I would add them to the mix since I wont be getting much done on the car in the next few months.

Here she is around December of 94'. Found it in Hemmings. It had a long travel. It came from California by way of Connecticut. If I remember right, the guy we bought it from had gotten it in a package deal with a convertable from a guy in CA and all he wanted it for was the Hurst wheels on it. He had it delivered to Connecticut and decided to sell it. Anyhow here it is. The first day it was mine....



Off the trailer and into the garage! Notice the smashed in 1/4 panel....ouch. We bought it like this knowing it was hit and got it pretty cheap.

[Nicks67GTO]

It sat for a while as we collected a few parts, namely a 1/4 panel for the driver side. If I remember correctly we got the rust free straight 1/4 from a lemans out of the south somewhere. It was a vintage Pontiac specific business but I dont recall the name. I also remember it wasnt cheap either. At this point I was about 14 and I think my Dad got his first sticker shock on a car resto. the 1/4 was replaced at a local body shop.

The next step was to strip it completely down and have it bead blasted to see how bad it was. We were pleasantly suprised at the complete absence of any rot rust at all except from under the vinyl top. Chalk one up for an original CA car. I'm talking pure virgin 67' sheet metal. To this day the car looks 4 years old underneath. Anyhow the top was the only place that needed any repair work at all. The only panels that aren't stock are the 1/4 and the trunk pan where it got hit....

[charles bledsoe]

Love the old retro pictures, keep them coming, thanks!!