Grape Ape Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 So I took my sway bars off the car and had to have them powder coated the same color as my brake calipers. It just had to be done....I had also placed an order for some shocks that I've been trying to get into my budget for a very long time now. I finally just bit the bullet and bought a set of coil overs from Viking. They seem to be of great quality and well, I HAD to get the springs the same color so this all took a little more time to get back also. Today I got the sway bars back on the car and got the shocks assembled so I can get them on next weekend. I'm heading to Fountain Hills in the morning so I wouldn't have been able to install them today and get aligned beforehand. Can't wait to see how the car handles with these new shocks & springs on it. I have them set up right now between the "handling" & "autocross" recommendations they have. Hopefully it's not to harsh to start off with but it will be easy enough to adjust. See how it goes and hope I don't mess up the powder coating when I install them. Candy Pearl Purple Sway Bar....front is purple too but can't see that one anyway so no pics... The Vikings....with candy pearl purple coating. Getting installed next weekend. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwdrummer Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 Your gonna love the coilovers. Great job on the sways as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P51tj Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 I knew I should have bought stock in Purple.....man I'd be rich now. Lookin great (ape) Mark, keep up the grape work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixAddict Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 Looks great Mark. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chameleon Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 Awesome purple delishisness!!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 I think I'm done with purple for a while now so your stock would have tanked, Tim.... Just got reminded that the daughter and grandkids from Tennessee are stopping by tomorrow for a week so the install will have to wait 2 weeks instead of next weekend. I'm soooooooooo bummed. 😫 🤨 Also, Fountain Hills was a bust too. They had an art fair going on. Guess I should have checked before I left. Oh well, fun drive anyway. Thanks for the votes of confidence y'all. I'll post up on how the shock work out. Really looking forward to them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y2krtaf Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Dig it buddy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Got the coilovers installed over the weekend but the sway bars have been on for a few weeks now. Can't see the front bar or shocks at all (and that's not a bad thing) so I will never get those re-powder coated ever if there's a next time. I love the look of the back sway bar and you can almost see the rear coilovers. I still need to get some final adjustments/fixes done before I can call this one done though. I need a few more parts but those won't be in my hands for a couple weeks. I'm not totally convinced with this brand of shock as the front springs hit the A arm when I jack up the car and relax the suspension. It then tries to push the spring out of position and off its seat. That's the part that really bothers me. The back ones are almost, and I say almost perfect. They don't rub anywhere but the springs do come off their upper seat when the suspension is relaxed too, just like the front ones. So I'm fixing those by installing some helper springs that will keep the tension on them and seated where they need to be while off the ground. The car does drive different too. I'm not saying better just yet as I don't have it set where I want it just yet, but different. Much better cornering and the bump steering is completely gone which I love. The ride is a bit different too but I'll just have to drive it more and get use to the difference before I can comment on if it's better or not. If anyone would have been around with me while I was working on it and offered me a reasonable amount for the car, I probably would have taken the offer. I'm not sure why but this mod really frustrated me to no end and that doesn't ever happen. Maybe I'm just getting burned out with it all and need to step back and away from it for a while. So here's some eye candy for you all to enjoy. I will post my process video when that gets done but I will need to get it all completely done before I can render it for viewing, maybe 2 weeks more. Springs, A-arms and shocks removed on all 4 corners. Rear coilovers installed. Front ones, you can see how the A-arm pushes on the spring kinda. Wheels are on, you can't really even see the front shocks but that might not be a bad thing. Rear ones. Not the final adjustments so they will be lower for sure. Back one looking through the wheel. As the car sits at the moment after letting it off the jacks. It still needs to come down some but I'll mess with that when I get all the parts I need in a couple weeks. I also did find a couple issues while under the car that will need to be addressed at some point and time but for now those are fine. Hope you all had a great weekend.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P51tj Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Pure Grape Sweetness! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chameleon Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Simply awesome, Mark! . . . I am always impressed by how CLEAN Grape is, even when "under construction" It's a good thing I wasn't around when you got frustrated, or Grape would be in MY garage now. . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidNiteFury01 Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 Once you dial the coilovers in by setting rebound and compression you’ll enjoy driving on them, but they are coilovers so don’t expect a cushy ride like the FE1 mono leaf-springs and shocks. What spring rate did you end up with? Viking makes good quality components. What you are experiencing with spring contact to the UCA is normal under full suspension droop. Most springs are 2.5” diameter for the C5. The clearances are pretty tight. Now comes the real fun part, getting the ride height right and making adjustments to compression and rebound. Read up on the differences and what each adjustment will do as both can really impact the vehicles handling. Good luck. Car looks great! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 Thanks for all that info and reassurance. These springs are 2.5". I'm actually hoping for a different ride and handling so that part I'm good with so far. The spring rates I got are 500lbs front and 600lbs for the rear. Maybe to stout for what I'm wanting so I'll have to see how they do and downgrade at some point if I don't like how these are. I love the shocks themselves with the dual adjustments and I've already adjusted them down a bit from my starting point so the ride isn't quite as bouncy now. After I get the helper springs on I'll be happier too as I won't have to deal with making sure the springs are seated correctly when I put the car back on the ground. I really think I'll be happy with them though. Just a few bugs to work out, but isn't that the case with everything new!!!! As for your comment on how clean it is, Donna. I did find some issues while under it that will need to be addressed soon too. Passenger side pumpkin has a very slight leak I noticed but that could have been from venting oil when it was over serviced by a shop that is no longer with us, the engine may have a slight leak too. More investigation is in order for both of those though first. Found them when the springs came out. I will do some cleaning soon on those areas and watch them for any signs of needing repair. We all know I won't put up with that for very long if they are leaking. Appreciate all the comments, y'all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 Got the front coilover helper springs installed this morning. Only got 2 of them in the mail yesterday so I elected to get the front ones done first since they were the worse to work on between them and the backs. Hoping they'll eliminate the need to worry about the spring coming off their seats anymore. The fronts still hit the A arm when relaxed but that seems to be the nature of the beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94transamgt Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Nice work, let us know how you like the coil overs after you get them adjusted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 Thanks, I sure will. Hopefully I'll have the rear ones done next Friday and all adjustments done to what I want. Then an alignment may be in order. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted May 23, 2021 Author Share Posted May 23, 2021 Wrapped up the installation this morning and have it at about the height I like it. Rides really well and it feels like a totally different and new car now. Gonna drive it a little before I get an alignment done but so far I really like it. Started this on March 10th and just now today finished it up. Lot's of delays with waiting on parts, powdercoating and getting the actual shocks in my hands. Got frustrated a few times too.... You can't really see them but they're there..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94transamgt Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 Car sits really nice, looks great as always 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P51tj Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 Thumbs up, nice work there Mark! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted May 24, 2021 Author Share Posted May 24, 2021 Going after a set of these next.... Or these..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P51tj Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 First one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chameleon Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 On 5/25/2021 at 6:23 AM, P51tj said: First one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old yeller Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 First one also if it were me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Ape Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 Thanks for the votes....I'll keep them in mind when it comes time. Made a little video this morning of the rear shock working and doing its thing. Thought it would be cool to see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave64 Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 You will soon be in love with those coil overs. The first viewed wheels would really look great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwdrummer Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Great job mark. Do we have any Photoshop pros that can paste those on your ride? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now