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I got all the parts together last week and did the installation this weekend on the convertible. Just to recap, I ended up getting the following:
'96 spindles and hubs
'96 Cobra Calipers and lines
'96 Rotors
Strange 10-way adjustable struts
Strange 10-way adjustable shocks
Adapter fitting for passenger side hard to soft line
I got the rotors turned, and cleaned everything up/did some touchup painting.
Saturday I installed everything. A couple of observations:
- I was convinced by several folks on here that said the '96 spindles would be fine. I agree that they will install without too many issues, but they definitely did push the wheel out widening the track width. I read that they would but figured it wouldn't be noticeable. It is. I went ahead and completed the installation as this is mostly a cosmetic issue, but I'll eventually swap them out to a '94-'95 spindle.
-The balljoint to spindle issue isn't an insurmountable one. The '95 balljoint doesn't even have a cotter pin. You could probably do one of two things, put a couple washers down or just not use the cotter pin with some loctite or something. I had some washers but they were too large and hit the strut, so for now (again) I just ran them on down on the balljoint.
-I don't believe bumpsteer is going to be an issue at all. I was able to get the camber and toe-in pretty well adjust by eye. The car seems to drive pretty true. I'll probably get it checked once it's all finalized.
-I LOVE the Strange shocks/struts. I think I've finally realized why my ride was so shitty in my car. I think the shocks/struts that were on it were shot. These feel really nice so far (although it's only been a couple laps around the block so far). I've got them set on 5 on the front and rear for now.
-Lastly, as beautiful as the installation looks, I've got something not quite right as far as the braking is concerned. I've bled them several times and get nothing but fluid out of both sides. HOWEVER, I can JAM the brakes down going 40mph and it slowly comes to a stop. I couldn't lock them up if I was trying. It's braking considerably worse than before the swap. Obviously a lot of air was introduced into the system, but I'm not seeing it now. Do I have to bleed the rears if they were never opened up? Rears are 5-lug drums. I haven't touched the MC or brake booster or proportioning valves or anything else. The pedal doesn't feel overly soft or mushy, just doesn't do much. Advice?
Edit: ALSO, I forgot to mention, I absolutely LOVE my new electric impact wrench I picked up from HF last week! It really made this type of work go quickly.
Here are a couple of pics.....
'96 spindles and hubs
'96 Cobra Calipers and lines
'96 Rotors
Strange 10-way adjustable struts
Strange 10-way adjustable shocks
Adapter fitting for passenger side hard to soft line
I got the rotors turned, and cleaned everything up/did some touchup painting.
Saturday I installed everything. A couple of observations:
- I was convinced by several folks on here that said the '96 spindles would be fine. I agree that they will install without too many issues, but they definitely did push the wheel out widening the track width. I read that they would but figured it wouldn't be noticeable. It is. I went ahead and completed the installation as this is mostly a cosmetic issue, but I'll eventually swap them out to a '94-'95 spindle.
-The balljoint to spindle issue isn't an insurmountable one. The '95 balljoint doesn't even have a cotter pin. You could probably do one of two things, put a couple washers down or just not use the cotter pin with some loctite or something. I had some washers but they were too large and hit the strut, so for now (again) I just ran them on down on the balljoint.
-I don't believe bumpsteer is going to be an issue at all. I was able to get the camber and toe-in pretty well adjust by eye. The car seems to drive pretty true. I'll probably get it checked once it's all finalized.
-I LOVE the Strange shocks/struts. I think I've finally realized why my ride was so shitty in my car. I think the shocks/struts that were on it were shot. These feel really nice so far (although it's only been a couple laps around the block so far). I've got them set on 5 on the front and rear for now.
-Lastly, as beautiful as the installation looks, I've got something not quite right as far as the braking is concerned. I've bled them several times and get nothing but fluid out of both sides. HOWEVER, I can JAM the brakes down going 40mph and it slowly comes to a stop. I couldn't lock them up if I was trying. It's braking considerably worse than before the swap. Obviously a lot of air was introduced into the system, but I'm not seeing it now. Do I have to bleed the rears if they were never opened up? Rears are 5-lug drums. I haven't touched the MC or brake booster or proportioning valves or anything else. The pedal doesn't feel overly soft or mushy, just doesn't do much. Advice?
Edit: ALSO, I forgot to mention, I absolutely LOVE my new electric impact wrench I picked up from HF last week! It really made this type of work go quickly.
Here are a couple of pics.....
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