First Round of Mods

[GrayGroceryGetter]

Now that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and we have had mid 50s weather in MD, I figured I would start my list of mods to do first. I plan on taking out the old purple tint, installing new Bilstein shocks, and an electric fan.

As for the fan, I want to utilize the stock fan shroud and either put one large fan or two smaller fans in the opening. The opening is 21 inches in diameter, so I can run one LARGE fan or two 10 inch fans.

As for the front end, I know it is easy to dive into the whole front end as a large project. But i figure, while I am there, might as well clean it up. What is the thing with getting taller ball joints? I do plan to road course this car. (pro touring) Is this a smart option to do? I am already replacing the front shock, due to wear. And the springs are in perfect condition, and I don't plan to lower. How are the Bilstein AK shock vs the HD shock they offer.

I plan to update this tread with what I find and do on this first round of modifications. Any help and previous experience on this matter would be awesome.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

With the taller ball joints you also need aftermarket upper A arms that are designed for tall ball joints. It helps fix the awful factory front end geometry that g bodies have. You will also want frame and body braces to reduce flex as g bodies are as rigid as a wet noodle.

 

[UMI Sales]

Tall ball joints in the upper A-arm improve camber gains for handling, simplest explanation would be when you take a corner with standard upper ball joint your tire tends to ride on the outside of the tread causing reduced contact patch which translates into poor handling, With taller ball joints it allows the tire to have more contact patch(flatter) for improved cornering.

The difference between a .5" and .9" taller ball joint is that the taller ball joint will hold more camber gain through bump travel(suspension fully compressed).

If you are planning competition as stated i would recommend going with the .9" upper ball joint for optimal handling.
For the price difference-vs- standard ball joints it is well worth the investment in the handling department.

The tall ball joints coupled with our upper A-arm that has 5deg. caster built into it by moving the ball joint center rearward wakes G-body's up in the handling dept.

If anybody needs any info feel free to contact us here at the shop (the call is free)

Craig

 

[GrayGroceryGetter]

Thanks. That's a lot of useful information about the front end of these cars. I might look into getting the taller ball joints once I figure out if I am going to stay with stock ride height, or not. Plus I might have to wait for you to have another sale and gather up my UMI parts.

I do have most of the stock bracing in place, since it is a GP. I have the GP bar, the radiator to fender braces, various other braces that are not visible due to carpet. Along with front and rear sway bars, might upgrade the front to a larger solid bar thou. Jounce bars are something that I am going to make, but she handles really well around sharp corners, and stays where I want her to go. Having 235's in the rear and 215 upfront, might help.

I am interested in going with electrical fans since my clutch fan won't fit under my stock shroud I had for the 305. The decking on the 350 must be higher, since it it only 1/2 inch too tall to fit under the shroud. It isn't causing any cooling issues right now, without running a shroud, but it is noisy as crap when I first get the fan spinning. Lol I have been doing research on the wiring that would be needed, and the benefits of 2 fans vs 1.

The second picture is of how high the clutch fan sits. (But don't worry, I have over 2 inches of clearance from the hood.) The first is of the shroud I would like to utilize. Would look better than most shrouds that are offered by the fan companies.

 

[GrayGroceryGetter]

Also am very interested in some 15 inch steel rally wheels, with the 5 openings. So I can color match the paint to my car and add trim rings and center caps. Unless I can find cheap wheels to take their place til I can get the current ones painted.