dws1216
01-30-2011, 04:34 PM
Well, I'm kind of reviving an old thread
(https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?62027-TVS-Kit-Question.&highlight=dws1216)
by starting this build thread of the modification to my 69 Firebird. I've been wrenching on this car for over a year and now that the car is out getting an alignment I have some time to document the experiience.
The goal is to hopefully provide other wrench rookies with the knowledge gained from my experience/inexperience and the help of the good folks on this forum. So here it goes.
The Canvas: 1969 Firbird convirtible, 4 speed, 350 pontiac. Black on Black with red interior.
The Mods: Hotchkiss TVS kit, Bilstien Shocks (front and rear), SpeedTech upper and lower control arms, Wilwood Dynalite brakes (front and rear) and Boss 338's 18 x 8 and 18 x 9.5. Oh and frame connector and Chassis max kit.
The Experience: I had purchased the TVS kit at least a year prior to Jan2010. Around this time I had made the commitment to purchase the remaining parts and start the modfications to the car. So, out come the jack stands, off come the tires and here we go.
Part 1. Replace the rear leaf springs and rear sway bar installation
Removal of old rusty bolts. This is where I learned about the value of using rust penetrating liquids. Get yourself a few cans of PB Blaster and WD-40. Its worth it. While your at it, grab some All Purpose grease and some High Temp Grease. You will need them eventually.
Removing and replacing the rear leaf springs was pretty simple to figure out. The first thing I should have done was to remove the gas tank to give my self more space. But it ended up being something I did at the last possible minute of frustration trying to remove the upper rear leaf spring bolt. Not a big deal, but would have been nice if the tank was not half full and if I had an extra set of hands. The other thing to note here was that installing the new rubber pieces was made easier by cleaning the holes in the frame and also using plenty of the all purpose grease mentioned earlier. So, tank out,leaf springs out and back in one side at a time along with plenty of grease. I hope that I'm not forgetting something here. It was some time ago that I performed this step.
One thing to note here. A lot of weight will be coming off the rear end so be sure that you don't have your car jacked up in such a way that you create a pendulm. Saftey first.
Ok now with new leaf springs and rear end back in place it was time to move inside the car to start the installation of the rear sway bar. The rear seat removal required some persuasion but nothing to bad. And following the Hotchkis instructions booklet was easy because the instructions were clear and had pictures. The scary part for me was drilling the holes to install the reinforcement plates for the rear sway bar. With the rear sway bar loosely installed along with the dog bone and triangle brakes, you use the reinforcement plates as your templates, so the fear of creating a mess is minimal but you definitely want to measure and align several times to be sure that you are correct. I did have to use my big hammer to flatten out a seat mount bump to make the reinforcement plates lay flat, but at this point you'll be a pro at body modification. Well maybe not, but hitting something with a hammer will make you feel better about yourself. Once you have the reinforcement plates in place it doesn't take much to tighten everything down for the rear sway bar and finish its install. Athough those seats might earn you some 4 letter words. It did for me.
More to come.....
(https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?62027-TVS-Kit-Question.&highlight=dws1216)
by starting this build thread of the modification to my 69 Firebird. I've been wrenching on this car for over a year and now that the car is out getting an alignment I have some time to document the experiience.
The goal is to hopefully provide other wrench rookies with the knowledge gained from my experience/inexperience and the help of the good folks on this forum. So here it goes.
The Canvas: 1969 Firbird convirtible, 4 speed, 350 pontiac. Black on Black with red interior.
The Mods: Hotchkiss TVS kit, Bilstien Shocks (front and rear), SpeedTech upper and lower control arms, Wilwood Dynalite brakes (front and rear) and Boss 338's 18 x 8 and 18 x 9.5. Oh and frame connector and Chassis max kit.
The Experience: I had purchased the TVS kit at least a year prior to Jan2010. Around this time I had made the commitment to purchase the remaining parts and start the modfications to the car. So, out come the jack stands, off come the tires and here we go.
Part 1. Replace the rear leaf springs and rear sway bar installation
Removal of old rusty bolts. This is where I learned about the value of using rust penetrating liquids. Get yourself a few cans of PB Blaster and WD-40. Its worth it. While your at it, grab some All Purpose grease and some High Temp Grease. You will need them eventually.
Removing and replacing the rear leaf springs was pretty simple to figure out. The first thing I should have done was to remove the gas tank to give my self more space. But it ended up being something I did at the last possible minute of frustration trying to remove the upper rear leaf spring bolt. Not a big deal, but would have been nice if the tank was not half full and if I had an extra set of hands. The other thing to note here was that installing the new rubber pieces was made easier by cleaning the holes in the frame and also using plenty of the all purpose grease mentioned earlier. So, tank out,leaf springs out and back in one side at a time along with plenty of grease. I hope that I'm not forgetting something here. It was some time ago that I performed this step.
One thing to note here. A lot of weight will be coming off the rear end so be sure that you don't have your car jacked up in such a way that you create a pendulm. Saftey first.
Ok now with new leaf springs and rear end back in place it was time to move inside the car to start the installation of the rear sway bar. The rear seat removal required some persuasion but nothing to bad. And following the Hotchkis instructions booklet was easy because the instructions were clear and had pictures. The scary part for me was drilling the holes to install the reinforcement plates for the rear sway bar. With the rear sway bar loosely installed along with the dog bone and triangle brakes, you use the reinforcement plates as your templates, so the fear of creating a mess is minimal but you definitely want to measure and align several times to be sure that you are correct. I did have to use my big hammer to flatten out a seat mount bump to make the reinforcement plates lay flat, but at this point you'll be a pro at body modification. Well maybe not, but hitting something with a hammer will make you feel better about yourself. Once you have the reinforcement plates in place it doesn't take much to tighten everything down for the rear sway bar and finish its install. Athough those seats might earn you some 4 letter words. It did for me.
More to come.....