I thought I would do a little PS on the front end from a Challenger... keeping it American you might say. I do prefer my 82 Capri RS front end thought.That car is only worth 2 cents if there's a nickel in the seat cushion.
Progress Thread HeHateMe gets bent
- Thread starter droopie85gt
- Start date
That car is only worth 2 cents if there's a nickel in the seat cushion.
With the national coin shortage, it's worth a dollar bill!
That be true... my local Autozone has no coins so I get a dollar bill back as change... win win for me.
All I know is that this'll be the longest build thread in the history of build threads if all you do on your free time is sand the top of a strut tower, and bolt a CC plate on top.
You've got a long way to go, and a short time to get there ( if you count the 40 odd years you'll remain on this planet above ground)
You chose this mountain..if you're ever to make it into a mole hill, Its time to commit to getting your ass under the parts you say you don't fit under..
Before its too cold, or too hot,..or too much trouble...
You've got a long way to go, and a short time to get there ( if you count the 40 odd years you'll remain on this planet above ground)
You chose this mountain..if you're ever to make it into a mole hill, Its time to commit to getting your ass under the parts you say you don't fit under..
Before its too cold, or too hot,..or too much trouble...
You may be right. Although, cold is almost NEVER the problem. Plus, I had to remove the X braces, thank you very much!
I also have been working on my welding skillz...or lack there of. I could stick weld pretty decently at 18, although that was on some decently thick stuff like angle and 3/8 plate. It's been at least 32 years since I had a MIG gun in my hands. I've been bringing home 16 gauge scrap for work and blowing holes in it...er practicing welding. I'll probably still just tack important stuff in and get my brother to do the return favor of coming over and welding his ass off.
But having a weekend where I am not going to Heber Springs to help my brother or going to Corpus Christi to get my dad, or in 2 weeks, going back to Corpus to take him home. I have this weekend, and have a
load of parts. We shall see how much this ass gets accomplished. Need to go get some roller wheels to see how it sits mocked up. I'm thinking, I have to move the shock tower up closer to the top of the fender skirt, like a Mustang. I may end up buying the AJE mini shock towers.
Had to wrap up a little early to get cleaned up. Will be taking the mother in law out for dinner tonight.
FIRST OFF...anyone got any squirrel in the soffit riddance tips. I noticed right before thanksgiving that on the highest gable of my house, the end ridge shingle was missing and the trim on the soffit was rotten...or so I thought. It's been chewed and there's a
ing squirrel in my soffit. Luckily, so far he/they haven't made it into the main attic. I had a temporary bought of vertigo last year and I cant get on a ladder over 4 feet tall anymore, so I called a roofer who is going to come patch the hole tomorrow. We're going to try and squirrel proof it...but I don't want the **** trapped in there and die...especially if he/she has babies. I mixed up some hot sauce/water/dawn and sprayed down all my gutters...burned the piss out my eyes, so hopefully they choke on it. I had a WILDLIFE REMOVAL EXPERT come earlier this week and said yeah, for $4,600.00 I can take care of it, get rid of em, fix the roof and trim. I shat my pants. Hell, I got a quote to replace the ENTIRE roof for about $12,000. So we're onto redneck solutions here. I need what grandpa woulda done....besides end up burning the whole house down!
FIRST OFF...anyone got any squirrel in the soffit riddance tips. I noticed right before thanksgiving that on the highest gable of my house, the end ridge shingle was missing and the trim on the soffit was rotten...or so I thought. It's been chewed and there's a
ing squirrel in my soffit. Luckily, so far he/they haven't made it into the main attic. I had a temporary bought of vertigo last year and I cant get on a ladder over 4 feet tall anymore, so I called a roofer who is going to come patch the hole tomorrow. We're going to try and squirrel proof it...but I don't want the **** trapped in there and die...especially if he/she has babies. I mixed up some hot sauce/water/dawn and sprayed down all my gutters...burned the piss out my eyes, so hopefully they choke on it. I had a WILDLIFE REMOVAL EXPERT come earlier this week and said yeah, for $4,600.00 I can take care of it, get rid of em, fix the roof and trim. I shat my pants. Hell, I got a quote to replace the ENTIRE roof for about $12,000. So we're onto redneck solutions here. I need what grandpa woulda done....besides end up burning the whole house down!
Well, now that's off my chest....the front end of the HeHateMe Falcon has been excised of all factory suspension mounting points (not counting the strut arm brackets) and the bulbous shock towers. I got down to my last HF spot weld cutter. I babied that bitch, but manage to cut 10 spot welds or so with it, without breaking it! I wasted 1.5 hrs running across town to pick up 2 SN95 16" wheels. Tomorrow morning, the K member gets mocked up. Depending on how the car sits will dictate the next step. If it sits good, I'll start making filler panels for the shock towers. If not, got to figure out where to move the shock towers or buy the prefab towers from AJE.
HemiRick
I'd be looking at jacking under the house
Watch the hole....wait for squirrel to leave, they spend most of day outside anyway....patch hole, if nothing else stuff, staple up some hardware cloth/chicken wire....simple fixed cheap.
Leave the squirrel a note:
Free squirrel food three doors down,
while they are gone stick a pic of Garfield the cat inside the hole.
Done!
Free squirrel food three doors down,
while they are gone stick a pic of Garfield the cat inside the hole.
Done!
There you go...lean forward, head down, and and when you put one foot in front of the other...viola! Progress.
Personally, I don’t see how you are gonna make a ride height determination w/o front end weight to compress the suspension.. At the same time, I’d imagine there is either a set of included instructions, or a downloadable version before you just get all Willy Nilly with the welder.
Lastly,...for the love of Christ, get rid of the rest of the sht that’s hanging out of the firewall...it bugs me bad enough to have to look at all of the rust, but for whatever reason in the world you still need that transmission kick down rod bracket/throttle linkage or the speedo cable, or whatever vacuum tube that is, or the 15 tabbed steering column hanging out of it is beyond me.
Personally, I don’t see how you are gonna make a ride height determination w/o front end weight to compress the suspension.. At the same time, I’d imagine there is either a set of included instructions, or a downloadable version before you just get all Willy Nilly with the welder.
Lastly,...for the love of Christ, get rid of the rest of the sht that’s hanging out of the firewall...it bugs me bad enough to have to look at all of the rust, but for whatever reason in the world you still need that transmission kick down rod bracket/throttle linkage or the speedo cable, or whatever vacuum tube that is, or the 15 tabbed steering column hanging out of it is beyond me.
Mike, it's nostalgia, knowing that soon enough that rare and irreplaceable junk err, stuff will soon be gone forever never to be seen again. He's holding on as long as he can.
SHT, who am I kidding, he just ain't got there yet.
And I think that is not a 'kick down linkage' you are looking at, it is a clutch 'Z' bar.
SHT, who am I kidding, he just ain't got there yet.
And I think that is not a 'kick down linkage' you are looking at, it is a clutch 'Z' bar.
There you go...lean forward, head down, and and when you put one foot in front of the other...viola! Progress.
Personally, I don’t see how you are gonna make a ride height determination w/o front end weight to compress the suspension.. At the same time, I’d imagine there is either a set of included instructions, or a downloadable version before you just get all Willy Nilly with the welder.
Lastly,...for the love of Christ, get rid of the rest of the sht that’s hanging out of the firewall...it bugs me bad enough to have to look at all of the rust, but for whatever reason in the world you still need that transmission kick down rod bracket/throttle linkage or the speedo cable, or whatever vacuum tube that is, or the 15 tabbed steering column hanging out of it is beyond me.
I'll get to all of that when I get into the inside and replacing the floor pans. BTW, let's discuss what they ACTUALLY are. I figured you were OLD enough to know. Choke Cable, Clutch z-bar, brake lines, throttle z bar, vacuum wiper hose, neutral safety switch wire, and 3 On the Mudda Flocking tree column. Can't you just celebrate the fact I got the steering box out of the way with whatever the hell was pouring out of it once I sawzall'd the shaft to get that bitch out. I'll be buying a universal wiring kit to rewire this, even though the factory wiring harness is in decent shape. They only cut off the generator lead for some reason. Everything else under the hood is intact.
You obviously haven't bought AJE parts, especially parts for something they aren't really supposed to go in. Their instructions are crude at best. Best part is they printed them with the hidden MS Word comments showing, so there's stuff like center k member in frame rails (should we put a picture of this).
Best help is FB groups. Installing the K member is fairly straight forward. There are two locating holes on the inside of the frame rails. Put the centerline of the K-member on that centerline. Unless it's a Falcon, then you might need to move it 3/8-who knows back. I have adjustable control arms with rod ends, so supposedly, it doesn't really matter where I put the K member because I can use spacers and the control arm adjustment to get the wheel centered.
As far as ride height, well, if it sits like a gasser with the strut adjustment all the way down, it's too high. I'd rather buy or move the shock tower than buy the stupid expensive dropped spindles....but I haven't looked for any on the used market yet.
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I think I have the K Member in where it needs to go. It looks like everything will work. I am still not quite sure about about the ride height, but I feel pretty good that adding the weight of engine/transmission/roll cage/interior etc, I can jack the coilovers up. Right now they are all the way down and I think the ride height is spot on, although these aren't the exact size I will run on the front. I think these are about 25.5" tall and I think I will run a 27" tire on the front.
Of course, it's never easy. I put it all together once and the wheels were way far forward. I was trying to figure it out why, then realized it didn't have any turn radius because the wheel was hitting the arm on the back side. I got to looking and I had put the arms on backwards. Why? NO INSTRUCTIONS. I saw some pics online but they must have put them on backwards too. Everything is very loose and there's no spacers on the A-arms at the K member, so when I first flipped the controls arms side to side, the tire was way too far back. I pushed the control arm forward and voila. Pretty much centered.
That'll do Donkey.
I'll have to take most of it back apart and double check the squareness of the K member and get it drilled in.
I need to swap the CC plate top plates side to side and see if I have clearance at the shock mount top for more camber. Right now the ps tire is sitting with 2 degrees positive camber. The top plates are offset and I have them with the offset towards the fender. Hopefully that gets me some camber in the negative 1 or so.
And BTW, @CarMichael Angelo I didn't take anything off the firewall today! Maybe next time.
Here's some pictures of this ordeal.
Of course, it's never easy. I put it all together once and the wheels were way far forward. I was trying to figure it out why, then realized it didn't have any turn radius because the wheel was hitting the arm on the back side. I got to looking and I had put the arms on backwards. Why? NO INSTRUCTIONS. I saw some pics online but they must have put them on backwards too. Everything is very loose and there's no spacers on the A-arms at the K member, so when I first flipped the controls arms side to side, the tire was way too far back. I pushed the control arm forward and voila. Pretty much centered.
That'll do Donkey.
I'll have to take most of it back apart and double check the squareness of the K member and get it drilled in.
I need to swap the CC plate top plates side to side and see if I have clearance at the shock mount top for more camber. Right now the ps tire is sitting with 2 degrees positive camber. The top plates are offset and I have them with the offset towards the fender. Hopefully that gets me some camber in the negative 1 or so.
And BTW, @CarMichael Angelo I didn't take anything off the firewall today!
Maybe next time.Here's some pictures of this ordeal.
Well, hell. I went out and climbed all over it. I am pretty sure, something's going to have to change. I just have to figure out what. At this ride height, which is pretty sweet, the control arms are parallel to the ground. But there's only about 2.75" inches of bump or compression travel. 
No says the finger. So, do I move the shock mount up or spring for dropped spindles. Dropped mastercraft spindles are $799! EIGHT HUNDRED friggin dollars. For 2 spindles.
If I raise the front up 1.5" it kills the look...take in account the rear is up on roll around plates, I am just looking at it filling the wheel well up. Granted it is a shorter tire, but I still think the front needs to be raised about 2-2.5 inches to get the strut travel more in the middle. Maybe a taller tire will help and I won't
have to do anything. I need to start googling and figure out how much strut travel is recommended. Hell, I need to first figure out did I buy Fox or SN95 struts...been so long, I don't remember.
And I think when I jacked it up, the whole thing moved forward..it doesn't look centered anymore, but that's the least of my concerns.
No says the finger. So, do I move the shock mount up or spring for dropped spindles. Dropped mastercraft spindles are $799! EIGHT HUNDRED friggin dollars. For 2 spindles. If I raise the front up 1.5" it kills the look...take in account the rear is up on roll around plates, I am just looking at it filling the wheel well up. Granted it is a shorter tire, but I still think the front needs to be raised about 2-2.5 inches to get the strut travel more in the middle. Maybe a taller tire will help and I won't
have to do anything. I need to start googling and figure out how much strut travel is recommended. Hell, I need to first figure out did I buy Fox or SN95 struts...been so long, I don't remember.
And I think when I jacked it up, the whole thing moved forward..it doesn't look centered anymore, but that's the least of my concerns.
OK,....I’ve got it...just watched the movie that I got the name from..
The Peanut Butter Falcon.
Its about a Down’s syndrome Young man that escapes from his care facility, and goes on a journey trying to get to his iconic TV wrestlers’ ( saltwater redneck) ” wrestling school” in No. Fla..
Your car reminds me of wrestling...It kinda looks like it might have Downs...
Peanut Butter Falcon!
The Peanut Butter Falcon.
Its about a Down’s syndrome Young man that escapes from his care facility, and goes on a journey trying to get to his iconic TV wrestlers’ ( saltwater redneck) ” wrestling school” in No. Fla..
Your car reminds me of wrestling...It kinda looks like it might have Downs...
Peanut Butter Falcon!
And to address your problem...With as much room above to raise the top strut mount, there’s no way in hell I’d buy spindles when you can cut and add a section back to raise the strut into the engine bay more.
Gives me a chance to critique your welding skills......on a project that’s gonna need a ton of welding.
Gives me a chance to critique your welding skills......on a project that’s gonna need a ton of welding.
You can critique my brother's skills.
EDIT:Who are we kidding....what are you NOT going to critique? I'm surprised you haven't said something about the lighting or the color of my clamps.EDIT
I'm not welding something that when it breaks, my life could be on the line. I'll tack
in place and say hey bro, drive your ass 3hrs over here and get in the tanning booth. I'll provide tacos and beer.I want to keep the outer support structure that's bolted in place, because I think it adds a lot of strength...and that should be no problem. I saw a replacement shock tower for a 65 Mustang on Ebay for $40 shipped, so I ordered it last night to play around with before I hack up the car MORE.
But my thought...and if I can work up my Photoshop skillz, will be to slice the top mount off. Move it up to the top row of bolt holes...while at the same time, adding material to the fender side to push it out towards the engine more. It needs more camber adjustment AND the fender is slanted away from the engine. I am already losing an inch just by moving it up. Then box it all in, add a fill in panel below and voila! It sure sounds easy. I know by doing this, I will end up cutting out almost ALL of the shock tower...won't need it.
My thought is it ends up something like this...but if I get my photoshop skills on, I'll do it with my picture. Althought this looks hood interference high. I'm thinking the top is about there that hole is to the right. If I moved mine that high, I think I could get the ride height/shock stroke close enough...even if I have to sell the SN95 struts and get Fox struts.
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