Got the rear Coils in, just haven't tightened everything yet. Front driver side fork bolt is still being a pain unfortunately.

 

Can't wait to see. What's the fork doing?

 

gripping the bolt like breezy gripping a freshly baked glazed doughnut!

 

You're guilty of it too, don't single me out here. I'm sure everyone agrees, can't pass on the fresh dough!

 

shit yes I'm guilty but if I had used me as an example you'd never get that damn bolt out!

 

After a long week of the car up on stands and limited time to work on the car I was able to finally get the coilovers installed. It tracks straighter than before lowering it, but I still think I should get an alignment. I did not install the Upper camber arms at this time so should I wait to get the alignment after that or is that something that can be swapped in and not go thru it again? Other than one bolt that was rusted and a bitch to get out, the install went pretty smooth for the first time ever doing it myself. The recommended dimensions, from Tein, are almost a perfect ride height. Not too low and enough to clean up the wheel gap. Damper set at 8 clicks from stiff at the moment and it isn't too bad but thinking of going a little stiffer for more spirited driving. I wanted to paint the calipers but it has been so humid and want to wait for a drier day to apply it. In the meantime I need to find some Brembo Stickers that fit. This week I am going to try and work a little on it after work to get more stuff on it, mainly the short shifter and window roll up mod.

Buddy did a great job on spraying the headlights with clear. They look brand new!


The sum bitch that held me up for days!


Neighbor with the hook up again 2 rear rotors and Akebono Pads for $72


The rears looked so good so I couldn't leave the fronts alone. I have him getting new Front rotors and pads. Once they come, I will probably paint the Calipers at that time. What is the easiest way to compress the pistons on the Brembos?


Initial shot off the jack stands


All buttoned up ready for a test drive.


Hopefully more to come this week.

 

That looks great! Looks like the hard work paid off

 

Sexy shit, man...
you can compress the brembos by hand, basically...using the old pad for leverage...i have also used a chisel or screwdriver...basically hold one piston back while you compress the other.

 

Worth buying a tool or no?

 

or no...

 

you can't use most traditional tools anyway...
you'll see when you get them apart.

 

 

LOL...
it's Stockholm syndrome...
you think, this rides great! lower!
this rides great, a little lower!
this rides great! LOWERRRR
this rides great! maxed out!

Then you go back to stock suspension and you're like, man holy fuck that car used to ride like shit.

Yeah, align after kit install for sure. I bet those bolts won't be easy to get out though.

 

Had a couple hours with the misses gone so I decided I would install my CT short shifter and change the cabin filter while it was apart. I don't think the Filter has ever been changed! Pulling this center console apart was a piece of pie. Had it disassembled and put back together in 45 minutes and washed the car since I had a little time left. Pretty disappointed in myself because I didn't check my squegee before drying the car and I dragged a small piece of debri down my hood and fender, 4 scratches in all............. Hoping they are not too deep and can be buffed out. Last thing I want to do is have to get the hood/fender painted. I have no clue where it came from because I wiped the blade off before I used it.

My list of mods left is getting smaller and smaller, finally! I did order, and received, a rear IS250 Diffuser to mount up but thinking that will have to wait till I get back from vacation. I'd like to address the scratches before I go up north and think about it all vacation.

 

Short shifter is definitely a nice mod, mine helped a lot along with shifter bushings. If you can fit your finger nail in scratch then all you can do is buff it and it will hide them if theyre not deep youll be all good. Looking good man!

 

I can feel a lip with my nail. Hopefully they can be buffed out.

 

Very least they will be able to hide them. Take it to a body shop, if it was me Id do a light wetsanding then buff it. It will be fine

 

Breezy how do you like the new short shifter? Ive been contemplating it for awhile, but a few ppl I talked to said it takes the fun out of shifting....
and car looks great man. The red tails with the KBP is incredible

 

to me the short shifter adds to the shifting experience haha. i've had mine for like 6 years or something and would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

Only have about 30 miles on the car this week and only 6 miles today. Initial feel is firm and amazing. The throw from 2-3 is non-existent now. I like it a lot better than before. Can't wait to find time to put my modded slave cylinder in when the stainless clutch line. I'd recommend doing it!

 

Does anyone with the Diffuser have any pictures of their install? I am looking to see how far back it is mounted and what modifications are need to clear the rear hook. I know most will be personal opinion but just wanted to see what is out there.

I think I am set on the ride height, maybe another 1/4-1/2 an inch but I don't wanna slam it since driving it will be a pain with dips and what not. I did notice the XLR8 J-pipe and Cat back are not low car friendly since the flanges are and upside down triangle. At this height I have about 4-5 inches of ground clearance to the flange. Any lower may give me some problems. It was hard not to look back at it everytime I parked it, but now it's twice as hard not to. It's kind of an addiction and my GF makes fun of me for it.

Leaving for Vacation tomorrow evening and will be back on the 29th. Once I get back, Upper Camber arms are going on and then over to the shop for a much needed alignment to hopefully eliminate the wobble under slight acceleration and corners. Running out of ideas for her. What should I do next?

 

you can grind the triangle, I think...
also, do not lower the front until the rear camber kit...it'll probably visually bump the back up a tad and even it out.
Looks good.

 

Well cruising thru the old interwebz again I came across a local dude selling off old back up parts. Snagged these bad boys for a steal!! I will be painting these and swapping out the ones on the car now. These will get timeserts installed to avoid the thread corrosion issues. This will come in handy when I want to change up the colors just paint them off the car and swap them on. Tedious to do but they will turn out better.



Haven't had much time to drive or work on the car in the last couple weeks, but hopefully I can get some time to put the last few parts on.

 

Nice man! Car is looking great! And it's the same with me. I can't stop looking at the thing when I walk into work. Gonna look better when I order the Type S lip today.

 

The Brembos are so easy to paint on the car! Resell those!

 

Thought about that option too. Sand them down, prime them and sell so the owner can finish to their liking.

 

What are these even going for now a days? Maybe I paid too much?

 

I have no idea but I found that all parts I bought to have a backup or to make something easier ended up sitting and collecting dust.
In the end, the effort you make removing and bleeding is going to be more than the inconvenience of having to sit down at each corner of the car doing it on the visible surfaces.

 

Car is looking great man, BTW my friend and I got some calipers from an RL and sold them for $250. Paid 40 for them!

 

 

​​​​​​​car looks great man !!!

 

 

​​​​​​​Well look who it is!

 

Oh Breezy you just remind me of my new pair Brembo caliper that I bought from Centric still sit in my storage closet lol.

since I live in TX I never miss removing those dam corroded bolts and nuts, great work tho.

 

Got around to repairing some threads on the calipers. Unfortunately I couldn't extract the bolt that was in the one caliper. I broke multiple easy outs in the process. It got to the point it would be unsafe with a timesert in it so I pulled it apart to inspect how these are made and perform. It was pretty fun to pull them apart. Don't seem to difficult to do a full rebuild.

I have 2 Driver side calipers with threads repaired for sale. One could use new seals.











I plan on doing more work this week/weekend since it is suppose to rain here. Hopefully more pics and story telling to come later this week. Till then, Cheers!

 

Good work those look good, Im sure they wont last long

 

Well its that time of the year again where the car goes into hibernation. Tomorrow or Sunday she will be put away until April/May. To keep my mind off the car I picked up a project that I have already started on. It is a 1981 Yamaha XS850 that will be converted to a cafe racer. The plan is to strip the saddle bags, luggage rack and front fairing off. Then get the bike running well. Once it starts and runs well it will get new brake fluid, front & rear rotors/pads/tires, new mufflers, and some new turn signals since the current ones are built in to the luggage racks and front fairing. I will ride that around for the time being while saving for a sport bike front end, custom fabbed seat and maybe some new wheels/tires.

Here she is the day it was dropped off at my house.


Pulled the seat off to pull the battery and get a new one. This thing is just filthy from sitting so long.




The rear fender was pretty bad with surface rust, dirt, grease and who knows what else on it. I hit it quick with some cleaner and 0000 steel wool to clean up the rust. It came out a lot better than I had expected. Can't wait to pull the fender and do the whole piece.






The exhaust is in pretty bad shape. Couple shitty patch jobs to try and "quiet" it down a little. After inspecting it the headers look to be in great shape and am hoping to be able to salvage them and get some slip on mufflers to finish it off. If I can do that, that will save me around $350 for a 3-1 system. Hit the headers with some cleaner and steel wool and they have a nice shine to them. They should look great once I pull them off and clean them.



I will definitely document it as much as I can to share with those interested. Winter is long and fairly boring which leads to spending money I don't need to so hopefully this will minimize that. Trying to keep this to less than $1500 to have a good runner. So far I am in it for $300 for the bike with a clean title.

 

Nice looking project man, yes it looks dirty but looks like a really clean bike, should be fun

 

good job with the TL-S, I am no longer living in the snow state and yet mine TL-S still being put away most of the year lol.

 

i love projects like this...