Building it while driving it.

[evan]

My 1980 Chevy Malibu is my daily driver. It's still stock but I'd like to start modifying it. My goal isn't to win any autoX events (there aren't any around here for me to enter) but I'd really like to build a sleeper that can take late model mustangs and camaro's in the straights and the corners. My issue is that I can't afford to do a whole lot of things all at once.

I'd like to get some things done that will give me some immediate results, like lowering it and installing better brakes, but it seems like if I want to do it right everything seems to need everything else done at the same time to work properly together.

For example, I can't upgrade the brakes because I'll need new spindles, and as soon as I get new spindles I'll need new wheels. I've considered just getting some 2 piston SSBC caliper upgrades for the front and the single piston rear disc conversion for now, but later when I want to upgrade the front suspension most of that will be unusable.

Is it possible to do this in stages? Can these issues be overcome with good planning? I don't know if I can bare to drive this car around in completely stock form for much longer. I need some guidance.

[LowBuckX]

I know what you mean man. Its hard to put that puzzle together with new peices when you need new peices to get the new peices together.. I did it But you have to make a pile of parts and then once you get all that is needed Thrash,, Then start a new pile.

[eville]

First do springs and shocks
Then tires and wheels
Then spindles and front brakes.
Then rear disc brakes.

In the meantime, look at ebay and the classifieds to see what you can score cheaper. I got new C5 front calipers and rotors from the classifieds here CHEAP and got some AFX spindles from a guy in my same town for a decent price.

Enjoy making the plan, hunting for parts and then enjoy the results as money falls into place. And take some advise, don't use your credit cards!

[go-fish]

To add to Eville's idea,
1.Make a plan, include goals, timeframe the car can be down, etc.
2.Communicate with the online community to include parts selection
based on the goals you have.
3. Refine your plan, decide in the order you want to start upgrading.
(eville's plan is good)
4. Get the funds to buy the parts for the particular upgrade and buy complete upgrade.
5. Get the total parts so the car isn't down while you wait on that part you forgot to include in the purchases.
6. THRASH away!

I make spreadsheets in Windows Excel for suspension build, engine build, etc. I find it is easier to do it like that as you can include Hyperlinks to the vendors website and a price column with autocalculate.
Based on other peoples experiences and advice you should decide when you feel you have enough of a package to take on that particular upgrade.
Excel is a great planning tool. It seems complicated at first with all of the different tools it has but when you gain a little knowledge of how it works it can be a great management system. And that is going to be key. Manage use of time, purchase of parts, and manage your PLAN.

[LowBuckX]

:pat: Sounds like a job not a good time.

[Jim Nilsen]

With the new wheels and tires make sure you get an alignment that is more agressive to your driving. Stock settings usually are for lame driving.

[6'9"Witha69]

eville has a good breakdown and I totally agree with gofish. I use Excel for everything including task lists of known open issues. It really helps to segregate tasks, cost association and timeline breakdown. As a project manager I have it refined very well. One other thing to remember is to reasearch VERY well. Just buying spindles and brakes and saying you are ready will lead to klonger down times. Think through everything that needs to be done at once for it to all work properly before a single wrench is turned.

[eville]

I agree with using Excel.
I create categories of projects (Engine, Drivetrain, Front Suspension/Brakes, Rear Suspension/Brakes, Interior) do lot's and lot's of research and then update the spreadsheet to see what projects would mesh well.
I also have a list of "free" projects, things to do when money is tight.

[jasonsnova]

Yep I Agree With Most, For Me This Winter Was/is 6 Speed,gauges,oil Pan And New Fuel Pump, Next Winter Will Be Suspension And Wheels....then Redo The Body....again Lol!

[evan]

OK, thanks. All that makes sense.

Part of the plan is to install the motor that I'd originally built for my truck. I guess that should be bumped to the top of the list since it will effect the weight distribution of the car. There's probably no sense in bying springs before I know how heavy the front will be.

[Bill Howell]

First do springs and shocks
Then tires and wheels
Then spindles and front brakes.
Then rear disc brakes.

In the meantime, look at ebay and the classifieds to see what you can score cheaper. I got new C5 front calipers and rotors from the classifieds here CHEAP and got some AFX spindles from a guy in my same town for a decent price.

Enjoy making the plan, hunting for parts and then enjoy the results as money falls into place. And take some advise, don't use your credit cards!

Do the spindles first then wheels. I had to get new wheels for the front of my bu when I went with the ATS spindles.
Box the frame. That is a very cheap upgrade and well worth the time, plus you are not down, you can drive it the same day.
If you plan on a different rearend, do that before wheels also, offsets could change with new rear/new rear brakes.
ALWAYS,ALWAYS watch the for sell section here for cool, cheap parts where others have changed their plans. I have seen boxed lower trailing arms and adjustable upper arms for the rear several times here for sale cheap.

[eville]

Do the spindles first then wheels. I had to get new wheels for the front of my bu when I went with the ATS spindles.
Box the frame. That is a very cheap upgrade and well worth the time, plus you are not down, you can drive it the same day.
If you plan on a different rearend, do that before wheels also, offsets could change with new rear/new rear brakes.
ALWAYS,ALWAYS watch the for sell section here for cool, cheap parts where others have changed their plans. I have seen boxed lower trailing arms and adjustable upper arms for the rear several times here for sale cheap.

This is why it's so important to plan ahead. But in your case, with limited funds, you can't do spindles first, because you'll need new brakes and new wheels to go with the spindles. Just plan ahead. Minimum 17 or 18 inch wheels so you won't be limited with brake choices.

[vanzuuk1]

I am doing something similar,bought a painted car and modifying in stages. Plan every detail, I am old school so I use a lot of loose leaf paper for lists and plans. Plan your work, work your plan.

I also was flexible, if I saw a good deal on parts I jumped on it, You save a lot of monet when other people change their plans.

[High Plains Mopars]

Before any of the fun stuff like wheels and lowering kits, making a rigid platform to build from should be your first priority. Reinforcing the chassis to accept additional loads will allow all those neat parts to work as intended.

[nancejd]

Just out of curiousity Bill, if you knew when you startred that you were going to use the ATS spindles, could you have bought your final rims, and run a spacer in the meantime?

It seems to me that if you are going to be driving the car while you are modding it, at some point you are going to buy something you don't need in the end, the trick would be to keep that to a minimum.

I think the theme here is to plan your build as much as you can before you start, and think through all of the options.

[MonzaRacer]

OK, since I am doing something similar to a Monza here are some ideas.
The Gbody and the S10 share spindles and you can upgrade to the 98 up Blazer ZQ front spindles, get some slightly larger brakes (remember to use good or new name brand hub/bearings as some came out lacking enough grease and gave up the ghost quick and an other thing is use the torque specs when installing them or instant failure) and then pick and choose the parts to add 'Vette brakes (there are a few people who make the adapter bar to bolt to the spindle) and these will handle larger rotors down the road.
Use an aftermarket performance pad like the performance friction or maybe Hawk.
For a quick drop you could get a set of Eibach springs (figure $250-$275), and then add on a good set of shocks.
Then you can work up rear brakes, if you are set on a rear disc conversion think Grand National as I believe they had factory rear disc. Or look into several of the aftermarket setups.
One thought for the rear is a little off the wall but allows for a bullet proofable diff and you can get huge by large read drum brakes and that is Southside Machine Lift Bars that let you bolt in the 73-77 A-body (Chevelle) 12 bolt. Those came with like 11 or 12 in drums (read huge) Dont get me wrong the drums are not perfect but they fit behind 15s to start and then you can add on disc later.
The 12 bolt will take a LOT of abuse and Moser makes sweet set of stronger axles too.
In time you can add on some heavier swaybars at anytime cash allows.
And if your doing the springs pick up all of the parts and pieces and rebuild it.
Dont get me wrong the spindle isnt the best set up but it gives you better brakes fromt the start, and lets you up grade with little sweat.
Wheels and tires are something you can find some used interrim units, to get it on something, then save for the super dollar stickies.
A Bu can be built with say old school steel ralleys and for $160ea plus what ever shipping is I can get you a set of 2257015 Firestone PV41 cop car tires, Vrated and very good handling for a 70 series.
I may also be able to source some 2256016s too but would have to check on price & availability.
Anyway the spindles/brakes and the shocks/springs/swaybars/suspension are swappable in the scheme of things.
Close looking of ebay and local pick a parts and even look around as if you have any custom shops they may have some takeoffs from when someone using drop spindles.
For me, I would save up and look at Air Ride Technologies CoolRide, you can run these even without a pump as I had coolride on the rear of my 71 Monte Carlo with seperte air lines ,kind of like air shocks, and it works great. Now if you like the sneaky way look on Ebay and get a used NOS bottle and rig it up as an air tank and add on a small air compressor and add a bigger one down the line. You can use paddle switches for control till cash comes through for electronic controls and maybe remotes/level pro/etc(check out www.ridetech.com) and they have matched shocks.
From what I read the ZQ spindle doesnt change the wheel spacing on wheels but more research is in order.
Since I and already using the S10 spindle (the newer ZQ Blazer one is a swap over straight across and does have larger rotors and the 04 'vette rotors are supposed to be a drop on then you get the adapter bars and add on 'vette calipers) and I am not sure an ATS spindle would do me any good on my Monza I like this idea.
Figure with minimal work the CoolRide is $549 front and $399 rear and only mod you do is weld on some new shock mounts.
The handling of Air Ride is awesome and it will make your car killer in the corners, especially if you split the lines into 4 seperate sections(more lines,work ,extra switches) I have 3 on my 78C10 (split fronts and paired on rear).
For a interim set of wheels look at Camaro/Vette rims, GN rims, and dont get crazy on tires (ie look for t or h rated tires see ifthe height fits.
Then figure the tire heights, here are 2 sites that will help you figure heights and widths and figure out backspacings (http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp , http://www.rims-n-tires.com/info_specs.jsp ) And remeber that if you buy an off brand tire it may come in slightly shorter or taller than computed size, kind of like my Hoosiers should be 28 in tall and are only 27.25.
Anyway good luck and have fun and since you have the new engine drop her in,get the trans a shift kit or even save for a better one, I have a TCI Streetfighter trans with a Saturday Night Special converter that will be the interim unit in my Monza.
Good luck
Lee

[evan]

WOW, thanks for all that. Sounds like I've got lots of planning to do!

I've got a short list started for the rear suspension. This part was easier because I'm planning on using the stock rearend for a while.

UMI Tubular Non-Adjustable Lower Control Arms $100
http://www.umiperformance.com/3015?category_id=55

UMI Adjustable Upper Control Arms $190
http://www.umiperformance.com/3017?category_id=56

UMI Lower Control Arm Relocation Brackets $60
http://www.umiperformance.com/3010?category_id=60

Bilstein Heavy-Duty Series shocks $248
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=BSN%2DF4B460929H0&N=700+0&autoview=sku

Edelbrock Tubular Control Arm Brace $100
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=EDL%2D5210&N=700+0&autoview=sku


Would it be worth the extra $235 to go to SC&C for their Currectrac Rear Control Arms?

[Asia]

Light wheels and sticky tires can make a big difference.