That's what I'm doing. I will be mounting the solenoids etc where the old relays would go.
That's what I'm doing. I will be mounting the solenoids etc where the old relays would go.
Opened up the hatch today and had a look thru all the parts that Aaron (previous owner) put back there before I picked the car up. Found all the L-body motor mounts, the 525 shifter cables (yay!), and also the knuckles and spindles from the '87 Daytona they stripped. Looks like I have everything needed to SLH this thing. I took a crate full of calipers when I picked the car up. I need to look thru them and see if any are the KH 60mm caliper like I use on the Daytona.
So, when you swap G-Body spindles onto an L-Body, what do you use for struts? The G-Body spindles are wider than the L-body struts, right?
From what I've read,
the G-Body are 0.970" wide
the L-Body are 0.900" wide
1st gen Neon are 0.970" wide
So, 1st gen Neon then? Almost a bolt-in and a 1-1/2" drop?
How much do you want to spend on the struts?
I want to spend only as much as you would, Cordes . If I can find an affordable strut, maybe I can afford some camber plates.
But, I guess I'll end up spending whatever it takes to get good struts. I don't want used ones. Struts are one of those parts that If I'm going to all the trouble to put them in, I'm putting in new ones.
I was looking for 1st-Gen Neon ACR Koni's, but couldn't find any new ones for sale. You can still get Koni STR-T orange 'sport' struts. But, I guess they're not adjustable. They're also only ~$90/ea. I'll probably go that route unless I find something better.
I went thru all the calipers last night; looks like I have 2 full sets of KH 54mm front calipers. Luckily, reman 60mm calipers are only $11 @ Rock Auto.
I see. It's a rough call then based on what you would like to do with the car IMO. If you have some SRT/PT knuckles you could run the SRT4 stuff if you're willing to fab up some new top plates. If you run the GHJP type knuckles you can run its proper strut and use an insert. You could also grind down the knuckle like Jon Trotter did and run L body specific stuff. For the stock knuckle you can run a spacer to use the GKJP stuff or the stock stuff, or even kits for the VWs or Toyotas.
In the end I think it comes down to what you have on hand the day you can put together a combination that fits your needs and is cheap.
I was really thinking I would go the SRT knuckle swap route until I found these G-body knuckles in the trunk. Now, I'm not sure.
What do you mean by running a G-body strut with an insert? Like cut the top and run a Koni insert? What do you do about the top plate and spring perches then? Coil overs?
Yes, run a Koni insert. I've seen guys modify the top of the tower and run the GKPJHE strut hats. It would obviously make sense to try and get some sort of coil over going on though.
I would just use the Koni STRTs with some neon springs (several junkyarding options there) and some cheap neon camber plates from ebay, on G-body knuckles. It all bolts together with no mods to anything, in an l-body. 1g Neon front springs are similar in stiffness to stock Shelby springs on the older cars, and if you want stiffer than that you can get PT springs and cut them, LH body springs and cut them, or even stiffer, really cheap 2g neon lowering springs from ebay and cut those.
Dont push the red button.You hear me?
I think JT actually wrote an artcile for Up Front regarding this. Either way here is a thread to check out the basics. http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...t=koni+inserts
Lol, I even subscribed to it. I just forgot about it.
I'm really torn between the fully adjustable setup (Koni inserts, camber plates, coil overs), and simple (1gn Koni STRT's and Neon springs).
Maybe I should start simple. There's quite a bit of wiring and other stuff to do, too. Gotta watch the budget...
I'll sort the suspension when I'm done with my build. I have to shell out a few bucks for some IC piping and couplers today. It adds up pretty quickly. One thing to consider is the suspension travel of the different struts. My 1st gen neon seems like it rides on the bump stops at the slightest hint of a real bump. The Neons in general have very short travel. I believe I've read that the 2nd gen neons are close to L body travel lengths.
What keeps me from simply bolting the L-Body strut tops onto the G-Body struts? Do they fit together?
Where do you get the STRT struts at for 90? I need some stiffer struts for the front of the Lebaron with the Eibachs.
I put a Koni single-adjustable insert into a Daytona strut body with a 2g Neon strut mount on top and Afco sleeves with QA1 c/o springs, and redrilled the shock tower for the Neon mount pattern on a '86 Turbo Z. No reason you couldn't do the same. Also I remember installing a complete SRT front knuckle/strut assembly on DodgeZ's GLHS w/ Wilwood big brakes. Had to use late 90's minivan tie rod ends.
You might be able to bolt them together. The K-car strut shaft has a longer shank area cut down onto it and at a smaller diameter than the L-body struts. So, you MIGHT be able to bolt an L-body strut mount onto a K-car strut, but you could not go the other way because the L-body strut shaft would not fit inside the hole in the K-car strut mount without being machined down.What keeps me from simply bolting the L-Body strut tops onto the G-Body struts? Do they fit together?
They don't make them for the k-cars, but they make them for 1 and 2g neons. I have a theory that a 1g neon rear strut is a complete bolt-in on the front of a k-car, though.Where do you get the STRT struts at for 90?
Dont push the red button.You hear me?
eBay!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KONI-8750-10...9f3976&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...i+str&_sacat=0
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I just noticed those are for 2gn Neons, non SRT. Do these have the same knuckle mounting as the 1gn Neons? IE, they're a bolt-on to the K-Car knuckle?
No, they're wider. IF you take two of the stock goggles-looking spacer plates from the k-car strut yoke and put them INSIDE the yoke it will take up the space perfectly, you need 4 total or use your own washers or something like that.
Dont push the red button.You hear me?
So, SRT and 2gn are the same? Why are the knuckles different?