WildBlue goes RideTech

[GeoffP]

Well, I guess it's not that big of a deal to change to a 1350 pinion yoke if the shaft has to be cut to length anyway. Seems like a low cost alternative for a decent quality driveshaft. I'll definitely have to check into it once I'm to that point.

[GeoffP]

I forgot to mention that I got some good news today. I found out that my brother-in-law knows how to weld and owns one of the Miller 110 volt welders. I just have to buy the gas add-on parts. He said he'd be glad to do the welding I'll need in a few weeks. I just need to know what size/type wire to buy for it. Suggestions???

[GeoffP]

Made a little more money today by selling a couple 4.8/5.3 engine blocks I had. After reading and talking to a few guys I am so undecided on what wheels to buy. I can't afford multi-piece custom offset wheels...they are completely out of the question if I'm going to have the car going in time for the May and later events. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for 17x9-10 for the front and 17x11-12 for the rear. I'm fully committed to 17's on the front due to needing to reuse a pair of 275/40-17 Nitto NT-05's I already have but am open to 18's on the rear if the price is right taking into consideration that 18 inch tires cost more than the 315/35-17 NT-05's. Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

[T.K.]

Knockoff zr1 rims are very affordable 17-9.5 front fits a 295 well or a 275 in your case. You can also get 17-11s for the rear. I've got a set with 335 nittos.

[GeoffP]

I've been looking very hard at the ZR1 replica wheels. What size spacers are you using to get yours to fit and what offset wheels are you using? 50/56's or the 38's?

[makoshark]

What hub and brakes are you running on the front? I am running 1.5" adapters on my car, front and rear. The rear wheels have a different offset than the front on my car. I'm running 18" rear and 17" front wheels with Wilwood hubs and brakes. I have Wilwood rear brakes as well.

[GeoffP]

I'm running Wilwood's front and rear and the rear axle is an OE 12 bolt so it's stock width.

[makoshark]

I looked up your OP after posting that and see that you are using a different Wilwood kit than I am. The kit I'm using uses the traditional hub rotor set up. I have 2 piece front rotors that have a rotor hat. Wilwood said that the kit I bought would add an additional .38" to the hub offset. I don't know what they were comparing that measurement from, but I was able to use a 1.5" adapter. I'm also using the ridetech Truturn kit as well. We have the same suspension setup front and rear with the exception I added the ATS Chicane brackets to my stock subframe. My front wheel offset is 46mm. If you could get me a measurement from the face of your hub to the outside of the spindle, then I could compare that measurement to my car and help you get the correct adapter for you. Measure from the top edge of the hub directly back to the spindle. My rear wheel offset is 56mm. My rear wheel is 10.5" and my car is minitubbed. I'm not sure if yours is, but I assume it is if you are wanting to use 315 tires. I have 1.5" adapters on the rear as well. I have an extra 2" adapters for sale if you find that you need that size.

[GeoffP]

Thanks for the info - I'll check out the spindles tonight since everything is apart it'll be easy to check. My rotors are two piece that bolts to the billet hub that came in Wilwood's kit. I thought everyone's was the same for the 12.19 sized rotor and that the 13+ used a different hub, rotor, and hat? I don't know just guessing... To answer your question I'm minitubbing the car while I have it apart so it'll have plenty of room for a 315 (and hopefully bigger later when I can afford nicer wheels).

On a plus note my 4 link arrived this afternoon. If ridetech remembered to put the missing snap ring in the box, I'll have 98% of the parts I've got on order. All that's left is a new Pittman and idler arm I ordered from Matt's Classic Bowties. With that, I'll have a completely new suspension and steering setup.

[makoshark]

I'm not completely familiar with the brake setup you have, but the one I havce is the 13" brake kit. I'm running the C6 Z06 deepdish motorsports wheels till I can afford the Forgeline concave wheels that I want:(

That 4-link will be a breeze to install. I reinforced the insides of my frames when I had it apart during the minitub surgery to give a better foundation to Ridetechs 4-link to mount too.

[GeoffP]

I've got this kit on the front of my car:
http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/Bra...+Front.&whl=15

I'm pretty sure the hub is the same for what I have and the 13"+ kits. The rotor hat for the bigger 13" kits bolts to the face of the kit so the difference will be the thickness of the rotor hat where it slips over the lug bolts.

[makoshark]

The face of the hub in the your link looks like mine, but mine does not have any provisions on the backside for a rotor to bolt to. The offset may still be the same compared from yours to mine.

My car is still under a state of restoration. I did have everything mocked up on it, but have taken everything off for finishing the bodywork to get it ready for paint. I'll throw on one side to see if there is a difference in measurements from yours. I'm fighting fender alignment with no significant progress after 2 weeks of work. Frustrated is an understatement at this point. This is with all GM original to the car metal too!

[makoshark]

This is my front brakes

[GeoffP]

I'm pretty sure the only difference in the hubs in the mounting flange. Thanks for being so helpful. I REALLY appreciate it. I feel for you on the fender alignment. I took my passenger fender off to install a Vintage Air Gen IV this summer. It was such a pain to get it back close to where it was even with knowing what shims came from where. I wish I had your welding skills - I'd be dangerous then!

[makoshark]

Here's my brake kit link...

http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/Bra...+Brake+Spindle

I see Wilwood says there is a hub offset difference of .20" between your kit and my kit. Question is, did they derive that measurement from the hub face or with the rotor attached to the hub?

At this point, I would trade my fab skills for bodyworking skills. I'm not extremely experienced with bodywork, but have gotten by well in the past. However, my inexperience on bodywork is definitely showing now. I'm, essentially, at a loss as to how to get this fender installed correctly. I've tried every combination of shims I could.

[GeoffP]

I think there is a proper order of where to put shims first, second and so on in order to get the fenders oriented right. Have you checked on Camaros.net to see if the fender alignment instructions are posted on there? Maybe someone will post them on here if they see this?

In my case I found some additional body work I didn't know I'd need to do tonight. I might have to replace the outer wheel well sooner than I anticipated. I'm going to try to get away without so I can make it through this years event season. I don't want to start major rust repair until next year (AFTER all the new parts are paid for). Pictures follow:

[GeoffP]

I know the second picture makes it look like the fuel line is right near the exhaust pipe but it really isn't. I'm also going to have to re-route the positive battery cable (yay). It shouldn't be that big of a deal. Thankfully most of the rust other than the last picture will be completely cut out to install the DSE mini-tubs. I knew I had some rust but didn't know it was as bad as it is. A good bit of it was covered up with blue silicone and then covered over with undercoating to hide it. (yay again) I think the rust in the last picture is in the outer portion of the tub so I'm going to have to fix that or patch it (better than silicone over rust!).

Also I bought a side grinder today - is there a better abrasive something to use to remove the undercoating and paint other than lots and lots of 2" sanding discs?

[GeoffP]

I just ordered a box of 25 2" Roloc 36 grit discs - hopefully it'll be enough. They're kind of expensive!

[makoshark]

I've been going through those 3M Roloc discs like crazy on my build. I am trying to reduce my material costs, so I have been actively shopping ebay for such items. I recently bought some alternative rolocs for $16 shipped of 50 count. We'll see if they can hold up to the quality of 3M. I expect them to last almost as long as the 3M's. I've also been on the hunt for a good cutoff wheel. The cheap ones I've been buying at Lowes for years has changed the quality for the worse. Also, they are 1/8", which leaves a wider cut as well as harder to cut metal with. I tried some Norton 1/16" discs a while back but did not like them. They did not last very long at all and left everything covered in brown dust as they quickly disintegrated. I found some 5 pack 3M 1/16" discs for $10 a pack, so I ordered 2 of them. I think those will satisfy me.

I wouldn't replace that outer house now if you aren't willing to replace or repair that quarter as well. It's been my experience the quarter rusts right along with the outer house. I would wait till next off season before I began that surgery. Get those minitubs done and get her ready for the upcoming fun season

I have a thread going over on TC now with my alignment problems. I don't know if I'm looking for the Holy Grail or I'm just not getting the proper advice on there.

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=214938

I sandblasted most of my old undercoating off. You can use a heat gun and a putty knife as well. It will take a little while chipping it away, but it is just elbow grease and doesn't deplete your pocket

[GeoffP]

Well I don't have a sandblaster but I do have some roloc discs coming. Unfortunately I thought I was going to have tonight and tomorrow to work on it but I lost my evening to getting a lawn mower running that had ethanol gas in it and probably half the day tomorrow cleaning it up to deliver it to someone to sell. Oh well!