Prototypes built, welded, painted and installed. Tomorrow I will drop it off the lift and test drive. I don't know what is involved with installing the Euro 317.93 ($416.46) kit from DeLorean Europe, but I know that I got mine done today in about 2 hours.
- Raise car. I have a lift, but jacks would work. Ramps will not. I took off my wheel for the first one, but didn't even bother for the second.
- Remove top nut from shock. Remove lower shock mounting bolt. Drop shock out of spring and through LCA.
- Insert an internal-style spring compressor (free rental from O'Reilly). The easiest way is to slide the claws in through the springs (spread a little with bar) and then thread the rod up from below. Put the lower plate under the LCA and tighten.
- Once sufficient compression of the spring has been achieved you can drive out the pivot bolt with the longer one without the LCA coming unattached.
- Remove compressor, reinsert shock, drive home the longer bolt, install top nut to shock.
- Put spacer on pivot bolt, fender washer, brace, fender washer and bolt.
- Shock bolt also gets fender washer, brace, fender washer and bolt (no spacer).
- Drink cold beer.
The braces are drawn-over-mandrel tubing with polyurethane bushings. The diagonal rod is schedule 40 pipe. Walls are all .12". They are saddle cut and professionally (ie, not me!) welded and dressed. The bolts are grade 8 (better than stock). Washers are stainless. Paint is tough truck bed liner.
I will report back on the test drive ASAP. Engineering wise, giving a greater "wishbone" effect than the other available units would certainly appear to be more in line with other LCA designs. No clearance issues and going with both front and back units was just overkill in my opinion. The hardest part in all sincerity was getting the compressor in and out of the spring! A couple of my pictures show the unit attached to the springs. ***WARNING*** Like anything else, the procedure above is use-at-your-own-risk. I did it without any problem whatsoever, but anytime you are dealing with springs you must be very careful. The safest way to do this work is to completely remove the assembly by following the shop manual instructions.
Here are the pics of my install today. Assuming test drive is as expected, I intend to make these available for sale. The price of the EU units is ridiculous in my mind; I'm leaning towards $275 delivered for all parts listed. They take a couple of days to make after ordering the necessary parts.
Feedback welcome.
PS. I'm always amazed at how much worse things look with flash photography! The shadows or glare makes things look uneven or not as good as they really are. The welds on these guys are nice!