By angus oconnor (205.188.196.29) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 07:57 am:

i recently got all new struts for my '75 1500. i was planning on keeping it all stock, but after looking at the pictures on this site i'm leaning more towards getting rid of the moldings and side markers, and also lowering it. i don't have tons of money to blow trying different springs, and don't want to be stuck with cut ones if something goes wrong, so here's what i'm planning to do. i'm thinking that if i drill a hole throght the recess in the bottom strut spring seat, i can sort of thread the spring through it making it in effect like a big lead screw that can adjust the height all the way from stock down to totally slammed. a u-bolt through the lower spring seat just above the recess would hold the position and pull the first turn of coil down to sit flat in the seat. i'm only looking to go 2" lower at the most. also to reclaim some travel it looks like i can gain about an inch by getting rid of the brakeline mount and going down through the steering knuckle as far as the cv boot will allow. any feed back on this idea would be appreciated. thanks, angus o'connor

By Don (209.181.52.41) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 08:14 am:

While the idea of drilling in a hole in the spring seat shows some thought, I think it would be hokey at best. You can drop the front strut about 3/8 by moving the brake line mount up. Do not remove it just drill out the spot welds carefully, don't go too deep and chisel the last little bit to break the last bit of the weld, then reweld up about 3/8 you have to have some clearance. Note all this will work with the empty casing, If you have the struts that are one piece the welding will surely ruin your new strut seals, cook the oil etc..

Dont worry about ruining springs the original ones are so common I have thrown away a few sets.

By Todd (63.50.56.236) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 06:47 pm:

Go ahead, cut your springs. I have at least 57 sets of stock springs I can hook you up with. (ok, I exaggerated a little)

By angus oconnor (205.188.200.38) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 07:55 pm:

any advice on how much to cut? say you're looking at the unmounted spring at free height and you make it 2" shorter; does that amount to an actual 2" drop installed? my intuition tells me no. being shorter and stiffer it's going sink a lesser proportion of it's total length, right?
it looks to me like if i cut one full loop off and bend the end in to meet it'll be about right to come down 2". am i anywhere in the ballpark?

By Don (209.181.52.71) on Sunday, November 04, 2001 - 08:48 pm:

If you lower it a full two inches and do not have a way to reset the alignment angles -IE (adjustable strut mounts) you may end up with lots of wierd tire wear to go with your new look.

Go slow, drop it an 1" then see how you like it.

By ddechon (12.78.116.235) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 01:45 pm:

Hey Todd,

Do you have springs from a station wagon that'll fit my 79 1200?

In a different conversation we talked about the front springs going on the rear and using the station wagon springs for the front. Do you know if the springs are the same diameter and height?

I'll need the springs to take the extra weight of the electric conversion.

Of course Don has first pick, but if you have any extra I'm interested.

Darrell

By angus oconnor (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 04:28 pm:

By angus oconnor (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 04:48 pm:

don, how dare you sir!? i have never been so insulted! just kidding, yes i know having the unused portion of the spring hanging out below the strut seat would look pretty lame but it would be a good way to figure out how much to go lower without having to remove and reinstall the whole thing multiple times, then cut it and clean it up. i am talking about one piece struts, so putting a hole through the seat is no big loss, and as far as dropping into the knuckle goes i am pretty sure i can go at least .75" without hitting the cv boot. ( i plan to machine a clamp type bracket to hold the brakeline after totally removing the original one) don't worry, i would never do anything to make a civic look hacky and sully it's might name. i am a perfectionist nut- check out this trike i made for my daughter (everything but the tires and grips, and yes, thats a honda exhaust valve spring in the shock)

By angus (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 04:56 pm:

By angus (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 05:09 pm:

By angus (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 05:22 pm:

By angus (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 05:40 pm:

By angus (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 05:45 pm:

By angus (205.188.200.49) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 05:51 pm:

oops, sorry for all the wasted space- i thought my computer was messed up long before i got the prompt to resize. this got prety low res going so small here's a closer view.

By Don (209.181.52.24) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 06:03 pm:

With all that talent what are you drilling holes for? I say make your self some camber caster plates and do a coil over conversion, that will let you raise an lower you car to the exact height you want with a turn of the hand.

By angus (205.188.196.56) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 06:42 pm:

i'm still trying to get the full size shot down to 40 kb. no wonder nasr won't give an account. owa tanna siam. i could probably make whatever i need to be able to adjust camber and caster, the only invariable factor in the equation is my wifes impatience for this kind of nonsense and anomosity for old cars. i got her a '79 corolla wagon with no rust and under 75,000k(on one of the 1600 engines famed for going 500,000) ;inexplicable where we live, and she wouldn't drive it anymore after the shifter cable snapped). also, we just found out we have to move just in time for the holidays and the mighty civ is on stands as we speak so i mainly just want to get it rolling and not have to tear it all down again before i get into the body work next spring. also i'm supposed to finish building a set of dining room chairs before thanksgiving which we are hosting, wherever we are living by then. this is turning into the biggest sob story of a post i have ever seen on this site, but the point is i don't have nearly as much time as i'd like to give to this car right now, and it's already been sitting for three years. i think maybe i should postpone the big drop until the spring; i will keep in mind all of your advice which i sincerely appreciate.

By angus (205.188.196.56) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 06:46 pm:

i'm still trying to get the full size shot down to 40 kb. no wonder nasr won't give an account. owa tanna siam. i could probably make whatever i need to be able to adjust camber and caster, the only invariable factor in the equation is my wifes impatience for this kind of nonsense and anomosity for old cars. i got her a '79 corolla wagon with no rust and under 75,000k(on one of the 1600 engines famed for going 500,000) ;inexplicable where we live, and she wouldn't drive it anymore after the shifter cable snapped). also, we just found out we have to move just in time for the holidays and the mighty civ is on stands as we speak so i mainly just want to get it rolling and not have to tear it all down again before i get into the body work next spring. also i'm supposed to finish building a set of dining room chairs before thanksgiving which we are hosting, wherever we are living by then. this is turning into the biggest sob story of a post i have ever seen on this site, but the point is i don't have nearly as much time as i'd like to give to this car right now, and it's already been sitting for three years. i think maybe i should postpone the big drop until the spring; i will keep in mind all of your advice which i sincerely appreciate.

By angus (205.188.196.56) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 06:53 pm:

i give up, high res pictures of that thing are at this site, which is also a great place to get raw materials really cheap. http://www.machinist-materials.com/customers_portfolio.htm