My turn on the suspension rebuild.. SUCCESS!..Sorta...

[njoconnor]

It's impressive how an hour here and there can really advance work on projects like these. A couple of evening hours this past week, and quick jaunts to the rear shed "spraybooth" and the front garage got quite a bit done. 3 day weekend was ,mostly dedicated to yard work and other delayed chores (with a pretty big re-decking project coming up soon as the 36 ea 18 ft red cedar deck planks arrive...).

Managed to get the nasty 3/5 nut cut off (Dremel rocks!), all of the various parts and pieces cleaned up, primed and painted.

In no particular order:

Degreased and wiped down hubs and bearings. The "red" and "green" zip ties keep left and right sets identified:



Yes, those are the old seals still attached; I placed everything in the order of installation, then tied them up. New seals are safely in a box awaiting installation.

Front end parts staged (driver's side). Control arms and inner sway bar brackets from A/R, other parts original, cleaned, primed, and painted:



Hey, Alan! Look whatcha did!! (Alan was the inspiration for taking the whole rear end out and making it look nicer...and replacing a pinion seal, while I was in the neighborhood....)



Rear arms and panhard rod. The inner two (lower arms) are from A/R; the short arms and the rod all ahve new bushings as well as paint.



Spent some time at the local hardware getting new stainless fasteners for the front end. Can't think of any other prep work to do, so I guess it's time to start bolting things back on the car.

Neil

[KandJinmaine]

Bolt it up! There is a lot of work in what you have done, it will be worth it. I'm on round two of doing many of the tasks you are doing and it's even better the second time around. It's easier to clean things up and make em' look pretty again. And knowing that everything underneath is good to go lets you throw it a little harder into the corners.

[SoFlaFiat]

Looking great Neil!!!
I know you are glad you did it!

[njoconnor]

I get gladder as the parts go on, Alan!

Tonight's update: Right and Left Control arms and springs are On The Car!!:

Right side


Left side:


No, I did not order custom colored springs from Csaba and Ramzi:



Looks good with the car's paint, though. Can't wait for Jim (Fiat218) to see the nice yellow Koni's inside....

Thoughts, etc: Took an hour for the first side, less than 30 min for the second, half of which for each side was wrestling with those internal spring compressors. Also, if you're putting the A/R springs on an early (thin bumper) Spider, you will need both spring compressor and a floor jack under the lower A-Arm to get the upper arm in place and bolted. Before I put them in, I noticed the new springs were barely shorter, if at all, than the old springs. YMMV, and all that. Much easier than it sounds in the descriptions!

See my other post for tonight's vexation. Always something, as Ms. Roseannadanna used to say.....

Neil

[vandor]

> if you're putting the A/R springs on an early (thin bumper) Spider, you will need both spring compressor and a floor jack under the lower A-Arm to get the upper arm in place and bolted.

I did not have to use a spring compressor, just a jack under the lower a-arm.

[njoconnor]

I seriously considered just using the jack, Csaba, but after the ball joint incident, decided to use the compressor as well. Yeah, t'was a pain, but I felt more in control.

Love the parts, BTW! Everything lines up, looks good, seems to work well. Can't wait to get the rest o them on! Thanks to you and Ramzi!

Neil

[SoFlaFiat]

Why can't I find the "custom color springs" on the AR website?
Couldn't be better Neil!!
Keep up the great work!

[njoconnor]

Busy time in the garage since last night. Got both front shocks installed, and staged all the parts for today's rear axle project.

Left front:



I had fewer issues (and used less time) working the left front than I'd anticipated. I highly recommend getting a stubby ratcheting wrench for this part of the job (works great on the right side as well). Just needed a short tweak with the torque wrench once snugged down.

Staged the rear axle, and set up the shocks last night as well:



Had all the trailing arms, fasteners, and springs lined up and ready for when my youngest came over. Took us about 2 hours, moving carefully, but we got the axle back onto the car, along with the new shocks, springs, lower trailing arms, and refurbished uppers and panhard rod. Came out looking pretty good, I think:







The diff sure looks cleaner....

We decided to use two rolling floor jacks, one person on the jacks, the other monitoring spring seating and shock stud locations. Went very smoothly, no issues, just see-sawing up until we could snug the shock top nuts down. Trailing arms went on pretty quickly, panhard rod was a bear until we got smart and used the jack to move the axle in small increments to line things up. Pretty neat Father's Day present!

Tomorrow is a day off, and I'm planning to put the front hubs and all the brakes back on (and bleed 'em if there's time). Hoping to have the car to the alignment shop after next weekend, and ready for the Delavan WI car show on the 11th-12th of July. If you're in the area, hope to see you at Lake Lawn! (my entry ticket is # 0124......).

Thanks to everyone who's posted on suspensions for all the inspiration and encouragement!

Neil

[AriK]

Congratulations on the completion and Happy Father's Day. You'll now have that awesome satisfaction feeling of starting your driving season. You have come a long way since those early photos when you first got your car. Your car ROCKS!

[SoFlaFiat]

I'll say it again Neil, great work!!! So glad you went for the full boat! I know you are too!!
I look forward to seeing it in person, and of course, meeting you and Pat, one day!!

[seabeelt]

I am so envious

[njoconnor]

Ari, Alan, Mike: Thanks! Your comments mean a lot, given how much I appreciate your cars!

As for envy, Mike, wellll...... yesterday I was inexpertly re-installing the front sway bar and managed to snap one of the studs on the left lower c-arm. I disobeyed one of the rules: if the fastener is too tight, don't go get a bigger ratchet. New part inbound, due Thursday. Not looking forward to another reassembly of the left front, but I seem to get faster with each repetition.

But...I managed to get the tranny drained and refilled (with NAPA GL-1), the discs/calipers reinstalled on the rear axle, and the front hubs cleaned and repacked. To say nothing of clearing more floor space as parts went on the car!

Neil

[seabeelt]

Neil , I have done other things to Vesper. New interior, new top, new dash, new carpet, heated seats, alt upgrade, starter upgrade, dual 40 idfs, head job via BEEK, computronics ignition, New gas tank, headlight relays, master cylinder and a couple of rubber brake hoses, timing belt, tensioner, new front engine gaskets, oil sending unit, doors trunk and engine bay gaskets......... Now it's time for some of the other things. I have in a box, new trailing arms, long and short. Control arm bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends and center link, pinion seal, axel seals, more rubber brake hoses, steel brake lines, and a plethora of other odds and ends. Didn't have any time since last fall to work on her. Started right up after hibernation, but now have an electrical problem to sort out. Alt light is on dimly but alt tests fine as does the new battery. Then all gauges and stop lights stopped working. Could be a ground wire, could be a part of the ignition switch. Part of my envy is the time you have to spend on the car. I foolishly thought that once I retired from Naval Reserves and got more time that I would have more time for my favorite hobby. HA! She still needs rot repair ( been afraid to take the rockers off) and a good paint job. But hey it's a hobby right....

Love the new Hemi, even though it's a monster. Getting 22-24 hwy and around 14-16 city with an average of 18-19 mpg. Can't imagine what the diesel is like. Hated giving up the Dakota but it was starting to have way more rust than the fiat. If I get 10 years out of this one, I will be one very happy camper. (Just found yesterday a drip in the garage..... Yup pinion seal). Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend after all the other chores


Sorry for the long rant. Keep up the good work, it's an inspiration!

[njoconnor]

Mike, I frankly wonder that I got anything done on anything prior to retiring from the USAR in 2012! That "extra" weekend flat disappears. I've had time on the car lately, because we're due at a car show at Pat's favorite WI resort on 10 July; Fiat got moved up on the "need to do" list, but remains tied with yard work and two deck projects (front and rear). What I have found is that a little time (an hour to 90 minutes) spent here and there gets a lot of progress accomplished. I will also note that the second time I do things goes much faster! F'r instance, I had the entire left front suspension off the car (using spring compressor, too!) in 25 minutes this morning. Took an hour last time I messed with it.

Your accomplished list has several things I'd like: dual 40's, heated seats, a BEEK'ed engine.... . Nice thing about the list is the inspiration we give each other. Once past that electrical bug, I suspect you'll be breaking boxes open and wrenching away!

Glad you like the new truck; Dodge/Ram has got this truck thing down, I'd say. But a pinion seal on that diff.....well, at least with mine I won't need jack stands (raise air suspension to max and just crawl in!).

Neil

[seabeelt]

Neil, mine looks almost flat, but perhaps a slight downward angle from the center toward the wheels