Will I need a spring compressor for Pro-kit springs?

[1slowfiveoh]

I am going to make a run to AutoZone in about 20 minutes and if they don't have something close to what the Ford compressor looks like I willl try Winchester Auto (small local auto parts chain that carries a lot of hard to find stuff).

My buddy who is helping me seems confident that we won't need to use one, but I on the other hand, am not so sure. I am starting on the underhood (hydraulics) part of the conversion so hopefully by Saturday evening I will have the rears done and the fronts at least apart. Slow and steady making sure not to break anything.

Seems odd to me that Maximum Motorsports would use the "wrong" compressor for the job in their removal/install of the springs/A-arms......but I know I am definately not going to pay three hundred some-odd dollars for a spring compressor that I will use 2 times before I go coil-over.

Thanks once again for everyone's input. If I can't find what I am looking for, Prybars it is!

 

[Shakerhood]

The nice thing about the correct Compressor for installing the spring is that you are able to position it properly, there are 2 holes in the pocket in the Lower A Arm and the Pigtail Needs to be in between those 2 holes. If the Front Springs are not positioned correct it can throw off the back of the car as in making one side higer than the other.

 

[1slowfiveoh]

UPDATE with pictures!!!!

We decided to forget about using a spring compressor because we didn't feel like stopping work to run to the parts store. We instead used two prybars and it was kind of a Royal PITA because a. the spring wouldn't stay seated and b. the spring would not seat correctly on the A-arm. So we got it close enough in between the two holes in the spring cup and duplicated it on the other side. We tried to get it to line up properly, but after a few attempts, we said F-it and we just got it close enough.


Good news is, the conversion is almost done. We just need to do the E-brake work with the cables and hand brake, bleed the brakes, fill the diff and re-hook the clutch cable. Test drive and make the appointment for the alignment and blammo! DONE!!!




Thanks for everyone's suggestions....they definitely came in handy.

4 wheel disc with '99 Cobra's looks great on my

Stock pic:

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Almost done with the Conversion but still up on jack-stands:

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Up up the rack where it sits until tomorrow:

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And this is my friend (Danny is one of guys who helped me this weekend on this project....Many Many Thanks!) Danny's dad's U.S. Touring Dodge SRT-4 racecar:

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Thanks for reading!:SNSign:

 

[Reed]

Hey, those wheels really do look awesome with your car! Make sure to post up more pictures when it's complete. What size brakes did you use out back? Must be nice to have a shop to work in! Glad the springs worked out.

 

[1slowfiveoh]

Reed, thank you!!!

I Basically went with theCobra brake kit but I pieced it together with all brand new parts (except the booster and the spindles....they were used but I cleaned em up and painted them). In the front I used the Mach 1 calipers with 13" rotors and MM SS brake lines. In the rear I used the Cobra/GT calipers with the 11.65" rotors from the M-2300-M kit. The Cobra calipers are on a seemingly perpertual backorder so I tracked down the Mach 1 calipers which are the exact same but with out the "cobra" logo on it.

My friends dad's house has a barn style garage (shop) in the back yard which has a lift for the race cars. Besides racing cars, his dad sells Cornwell tools so we had every tool we could possibly need at our disposal. Having all the tools really helped out.

I promise to post more pics once it is back on the ground (and the suspension settles back down a bit...lol). Right now we have a bit of a toe-in situation even though we adjusted the tie rods out 6 turns.....so that is another thing we need to address tomorrow.

We also decided to call it a day a bit early because of the progress we made on the half day working on it in friday and the almost full day today. I AM BURNT OUT and have a nasty sunburn on my neck. .

Thanks again for the compliments!

 

[1slowfiveoh]

Here are a couple more pictures:

Front brake with wheels off:

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Rear brakes assembled:

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More pictures to come!

Sorry, I was too lazy to start another thread for the conversion so I piggy backed it.