Walth's 1991 Festy

[walth]

so Skeeter and I went out to Norfolk today to meet up with kartracer and get a bunch of parts Jay hooked me up with. I can't thank you enough Jay. I got two 13" wheels for the front, a complete rear beam with brakes and drums and cable and then two front calipers that had practically new pads.

When we were switching over the 13's we looked at the brakes on each side. The right side were smoked! They weren't down to the screecher's but are cracked, flaking at the edges, etc. I'll post pics up of everything tomorrow. The suspension needs some love...but one step at a time, right?

I did notice too between shifts now it launches to the right pretty hard. I got used to it but idk if it's the new wheels?? kind of weird. it tracks straight but feels "squirrelly" compared to the 12's which is actually really odd! Alot of it had to do with the horrible crosswinds down by the water but maybe whoever had them on their car had it cambered really horrible and it's pulling me in weird directions? who knows...

[walth]

well, my flickr account would only let me post up two photos until "next month" gets here. Not paying extra just to put up photos.

I think that is definitely the problem with the tires we put on the front. I didn't actually use this one but took it as a spare. there is about 1/8" more on the left than the right in the pic. I bet that's why the car felt like it was all over the road at any given moment.



my other photo I decided to post is from this morning. I have the car on four jackstands. and I've only been able to get 3 of the 8 bolts loose so far. so for now they are soaking.

[freshtiva]

Is that a screw in your tire in the first pic ? You should use photobucket for your pictures.

[skeeters_keeper]

x2 on photo bucket, and yes thats a screw...

Chris do you need to borrow an impact gun? I know you have an air compressor, and I have a few guns laying around... will have to see which ones work.

[walth]

photobucket, flickr, dime-a-dozen. I have a photobucket account but I'd rather keep all my pics in the same account. call me picky, sometimes I am.

yeah, I'm going to have to use a gun, the strut bolts are in there good and the drivers side 17 is super tight. And I just ripped most of the skin off two of my nuckles on my right hand. I did get the right side 17 loose though so that's 4 (both inner body bolts, pass side outer bolt, and pass side 17mm). I'm going to try a cordless first and then tonight i can pick up your gun Nate if I'm still stuck.

yes, I lost my phone somehow last night til just a minute ago. haha

[kartracer46]

You are more then welcome on the parts. I got the Diamond Shwartz Metalic Black shot on the top of my Festy today. Now I just have to wait for some more funds to get the bottom paint purchased so I can get it shot. Dan and Angela are coming Sunday, so you and Nate are welcome to show up if you want. Kudo's on the progress, you'll have your Festy right before you know it.

[batstiva]

photobucket, flickr, dime-a-dozen. I have a photobucket account but I'd rather keep all my pics in the same account. call me picky, sometimes I am.

yeah, I'm going to have to use a gun, the strut bolts are in there good and the drivers side 17 is super tight. And I just ripped most of the skin off two of my nuckles on my right hand. I did get the right side 17 loose though so that's 4 (both inner body bolts, pass side outer bolt, and pass side 17mm). I'm going to try a cordless first and then tonight i can pick up your gun Nate if I'm still stuck.

yes, I lost my phone somehow last night til just a minute ago. haha

Is it wrong to ask to see pics of the knuckle damage?

Sounds like progress is being made. Keep at it.

[walth]

haha, yeah scott I'll snap a few for ya. haha! I was getting frustrated with the bolts and getting careless so I put all my weight on one hand and the socket, obviously, slipped off the bolt and i drove my hand straight into the asphalt.

when I read knuckle damage I was thinking on the car as if I had wrecked it.

[walth]

here are some more pics:





driver rear:





for you scott. haha

[walth]

so I borrowed 3 impact guns last night from skeeter. Two were just "parts guns" but one of those worked a little, I could kind of hold it from turning. So then i used Nate's good gun as well but it didn't do anything either. So I then went and bought a 25" 1/2" breaker bar for 10 bucks, heheee. I got the remaining bolts loose in no time but then broke both of the strut bolts right at the head. Kind of figured I would break something...glad it was those. I borrowed a sawzaw to cut thru the bolts but I'm not really getting anywhere so right now I'm thinking of cutting off the 1/8" thick or whatever piece with a "wizzy wheel" that wraps around the strut mount so that I can knock the strut loose from the bolt. Any chance of hurting the strut by moving it inward a good 2 inches? Plus if I go this route, I should be able to reuse the bushings that are in there now. I'm also working the right side upper body bolts out. Just about 1/8" of a turn at a time. The outer bolt takes so much to move it that little bit but I've gotten it out about 1/4" but I wonder how long they are. The inner one is much easier. I'm also using my 14-16" ratchet so not to put too much pressure on them, I'm kind of tempted to use my new breaker but think I'll stay away from that option... Just as long as I dont break them I don't care how long it takes...and I'm thinking I may go buy a tap and retap those 4 holes but not sure yet. Anyone have a spec on the thread count, tap size, etc?

[walth]

here are the pads we pulled from the front right, chipping and cracking...yikes


Here are the 4 upper bolts from left to right (the middle ones may be switched but doesn't matter -- just to show the difference). As you can see, the washers are loose on the right three but are rusted tight on the left one. That left side got more rust, salt, water, etc than the other...been pondering why.



As far as the rear beam goes, obviously I got the four upper bolts out, the 17mm's are broke loose but I'm sure they'll come out easy with the breaker. I also undid all of the brake hard lines and routed them outside of the mounts so I wont keep dripping brake fluid all over the tarmac. I also noticed after I got the e-brake cable undone that my drums move freely just like the new one I'm putting on. The cable must is too tight and I'll have to look into how to adjust that and keep it unattached until I can adjust it. Now that the cable and brake lines are free once I cut that mount free and clear the struts and remove the 17mm lower bolts I'll be ready to put the new axle on. I'm also going to drill the spindles so I can have "aspire" style spindles with cotter pins so I don't have to beat the crud out of the locking nut.

[kartracer46]

Well part of the reason the left side got more salt is because it gets beat into the center of the highway and the cars just kind of toss it around till it's gone. Also when they used to spread real salt they over lapped the center of the road. So over the years they just see a little bit more than the passenger side. Now they used liquid calcium mix in PA which is even worse for the cars. So you rescued it just in time to save it from mass destruction. I have seen early 2k models up there with the frames and unibodies just anihilated from driving in the newer liquid mix they are using.

[walth]

today I cut off the cups that wrap around the strut support and I've got a ratchet strap around both pulling them both inward but it's almost bending them since the bushings are melted on or the metal is bonded to the bolt. Either way hitting it with a hammer and a stubby 2x4 isn't doing anything. I also took the 17mm's out so now it is free hanging but I have a jack holding up the beam. Once i get the struts loose I'll undo the brake lines again and throw the new beam in

[freshtiva]

Ive havent done this since the last time I did it. :p

[walth]

well, I was being careless and I didn't have the breaker bar yet. Once I got the breaker bar I busted both of the heads off of the lower strut bolts. Yesterday I cut off the "cup" that folds around the strut and bushing and today I'm going to buy some cheap harbor freight ball joint separators and see if I can't spray them and beat the rusted sleeve off the bolt. At least with the bolt still attaced to the beam I'll have some leverage. If I cut the bolt behind the bushing then I've done the job of getting the beam off but then I'd have to either replace the bushing or the entire shock/strut unit. I know the stock festy suspension pretty much sucks as is but my wallet has a bigger black hole so...wallet wins. haha.