So my 82 custom cruiser now situp up a few inches higher in the front end after a LQ4 swap. The motor is lighter than the 307 and the 350 i had in there, and with more trans weight in the middle of the car and the aluminum hood ive snagged (because race car ) I need to get the front end back down. Ive got new bilstiens on it, (best easiest suspension upgrade) and i know about spring rates and all that stuff, ive got no issue cutting the coils (not with a torch) to bring it down a bit. Anyone give me an idea on how much drop ill get from 1 coil? Gonna start with one and see where its at, but if anyone has an idea id love to hear it. Thanks! Mark
When I cut the front springs of my LTDII wagon, it seems like I cut 3/4 of a coil, which gave me about an inch drop. Before: After
More i read with the heavier cars seems as 1 coil will yield anywhere from 3/4-1.5 inches. I need to come in the neighborhood of 2-4 inches, its almost up on the stops at the top surprisingly. Gotta get eh bumper and the rest of the sheet metal on, take it round the block and see where it ends up. But talk about weight reduction, hah
It takes more time but I usually cut a half coil off at a time that way I get exactly the drop I want. Also the ride will settle some after a bit of driving. What are your intentions with your Custom Cruiser? You might want to take a look at my build thread.
Nice lookin wagon. I pulled the 307 years ago and stuffed in a 350 TBI. Never happy with its performance I convinced dad (his car) forget the old tech and lets just get a LSx motor and be done with it. 6.0 from an 03 silverado with a 4L80e, start at 300hp 325 lbft of torque, the EFI will get better mileage than anything else, the 4L80e will putt up with what ever I throw at it, and if we need to go faster, cam, springs and a tune, maybe some nicer exhaust manifolds. Anyway, with that motor and trans, the hood i picked up to replace the rusty steel one just happened to be aluminum. I didnt even think bout it when I bought it, nor did i realize they even made an aluminum one for the car (so now i gotta order light hood springs) So not the front end is way up in the air. Right near the upper stops. Plans are to just level it out, keep the balloon 15's on it, I want it stock stock stock, except for the single 3" pipe out the side. SO ya, stock height, just level with the back, which was not sagging after putting rear springs in it a few years ago. I need to bolt the bumper back on and the rest of the front end, and drive it a few miles to see where its sitting, then pull the springs and cut, see where it is, when I get it leveled out i have all new bushings and what not for it. It'll be a little bit but ill put up a full build thread here eventually because its just more info up on the web for people to refer to. And im doing a totally legit, legal California swap. She will visit the referee and everything to get her sticker. But its a 'custom cruiser' defiantly, just as the name states hah! And our 'truck' as we dont have a truck we use it to haul the larger things. And it will get a tow hitch on the back so I dont have to bug friends or call the tow truck for other projects anymore
Sounds great. I had the same problem Sarah's hearse. But her's was the opposite problem. Rather than a lighter front end it was a heavier tail end. So we went in and cut the springs to lower the front end. Now we ended up with a lower overall vehicle because of the sagging rear springs, but it looks great. As for the ballon 15's you can easily fit 255/60's. That is what I originally had on mine. BTW with that aluminum hood did you get the aluminum hinges? Even with the aluminum hinge and springs you have to be careful of bending the hood. But it is a very rare piece. With the hood and hinges it save around 50lbs. I also noticed an old post of yours that mentioned a rear sway bar. You didn't mention whether it was stock or aftermarket. And you haven't mentioned if you got it mounted. The reason I ask is the wagons never came with a stock bar. And a stock sedan bar won't fit, unless you buy Metco's aluminum wagon control arms. And an aftermarket bar won't work with stock LCAs even if boxed. The aftermarket bars will twist the stock LCAs up.
Well I wasn't thinking when I grabbed the hood, so I didn't get the lighter springs. But I can order light springs by length, I'm not worried bout that. The rear sway i have from a 92 police car. I have the brackets in the arms to strengthen them, but the rear is too wide to properly fit it. I've thought bout making a plate to bolt to one side so I can put the bar back in. I loved the way it handled with it in the car. I should.mention I had that 92 cop car rear end in this car for a few years. Never fit right as the cop car was narrower. And eventually the 3.35 I put in the 7.5 rear housing gave up. So I've got a proper chevy wagon 10 bolt in it now with stock 2.73. But no more sway. But the hood, I didn't even know there was an aluminum hood. I grabbed this one cause it was the straightest one I could fine at the junk yard, and got lucky haha. Came off a delta 88 sedan. Either way I can order springs for fiberglass hoods by length so I should be fine there
A fiberglass hood probably still weighs more than the aluminum hood. Trust me I've got one. BTW they also made a plastic tailgate. A certain member here had one, not sure if he still does. Like I said you can buy Metco LCA's that will mount a sedan bar on a wagon. Or you can do like I did and go big. My rear bar is 1.5 inches front is 1 3/8. The rear bar is so strong that when I jack up one side the other will raise up rather than going down and tucking the wheel. These weigh almost nothing. The Metco LCAs And the rear bar compared to the sedan bar Mounted
Whats the bar off of? I prefer the shape of the other bar so i dont have to worry bout tagging it on anything, and im not to worried but the aluminum hood. I totally understand your concerns trust me. Drove it this weekend finally, front end settled and its bout an inch too high in the front, not nearly as much as i thought it would be. Ill deal with the springs when i tear up the front end. Right now i gutted the interior to be sure there was no rust on the floor, and to prep it to goto the body shop. Goin to the muffler shop tomorrow to finish up the exhaust. Plastic tailgate though? thats a crazy one! What i would like to know is where do I find the tailgate seals! those are the last pieces i need to order.
The stock bar? It's off a Deville if I remember correctly. Wish I could help with the tailgate seals. I know Sarah replaced all the door seals on her Buick But I think you said you have those.
Well after driving it a few miles and letting it settle a bit again it doesnt seem to be too bad, 1/2" maaaaybe 1" higher than it was, hard to tell in this pic but i dont think im gonna have to do much
