QA1 Front shocks with NO A-arm modification!

Thanks Lou! She is itchin' for a drive!!

Chris, clean is relative...."mostly cleanish"

Tillman,
The only trick is that the OEM shocks won't come out quite as easily as you would like. You have to disconnect one end of the upper A arm to get them out.

In the front, I undid the bolts on the OUTSIDE of the upper A arm so I could push the A arm down a tad more and get the Koni out.

In the rear, I undid the bolts on the INSIDE (frame side) of the upper A arm for the same purpose.

The good news is that the QA1s are smaller in diameter and they can go in and out without messing with the A arms, so if you decide to change springs or something, they are much easier to R&R.

Birdman

 

Well, I just came in from the first road test. I have a gigantic ****-eating grin on my face and spent about the first ten minutes of the drive giggling to myself.

WHAT a difference!

First of all, as you all know, the reason I started this ridiculous project was just to get rid of a "clunk" in my rear suspension. This lead to adjustable shocks so I could replace the springs and replicate the ride height of my worn-out factory springs. Then I decided that if I'm doing the rear, I might as well do the front. (That's what SHE said ) So I embarked on the process of designing the "paperweights" formerly known as extended shock eyes.

So, going back to the beginning. Is the clunk gone? YES!!! GODDAAMMIT, YES, the friggin stupid clunk is finally gone, after 4 years of ownership! Siyafreakinnara, biotch!!! (Can you tell I'm happy? Is it coming across on the keyboard?)

Next, the stiffer fronts reduce the hard braking nose dive nicely.

I actually like the damping set right in the middle at 6 out of 12. Who knows, maybe I would like other settings more, but for now, they are great right where they are. Stiffer than the stock stuff for sure, but not too stiff. (With shocks at least, there IS such as thing as too stiff. I'm on a roll here.)

How does it handle? Brothers, I gotta tell you, like a damn go-cart. Seriously, it gives me goosebumps. I don't have the automotive vocabulary to describe it. It's just WAY better. It's tight. It's not mushy. The steering is more precise, not that it was bad before, but it's better now. It just handles better and feels better.

I'm so digging my car right now guys, I gotta just go drive some more. The carbs are all tweaked, the electromotive makes her run so sweet, the suspension is tight, the new brake pads are crankin', the new SS brake lines are in, this thing just does everything well right now. (And I started out with this stupid car saying I had no intention of modding it. Hmmmm. At the next major, there is a port job and new valves in my future....DAMN MONEY PIT! )

Carb 308s just totally rule!! I mean, the Mondial is very nice, but the carbs man....good lord the carbs RULE!! I LOVE THIS THING!!

Later, gotta go lay waste to some asphalt.

Birdman out.

 

P.S. I can definitively say now for sure, that if you have an annoying clunk that you hear when your car goes over a bump that sounds conspiculously like it's coming from the rear suspension someplace, there is a very good possibility that it is the Konis.

I had the clunk when I first got the car, and way way way back when, someone mentioned that it was the Konis. So I had them rebuilt by a company supposedly known for rebuilding Konis. They overcharged me (3 times what they quoted), ripped me off, and best I can tell did NOTHING to the shocks except repaint them (poorly) and put new stickers on them. And when I put them back, they still clunked. Except that I thought that since they were rebuilt, it couldn't be the shocks, and spent years diddling with other things, trying to find the clunk, and living with it in the meantime. I did the bushings, checked all the exhaust shields, looked at everything I could think of. Someone else suggested that it was an engine mount. I very nearly spent like a thousand bucks to replace the engine mounts, but after carefully examining them, I concluded that it just didn't make sense. They seem fine. So in desperation, I finally did what my conscience was telling me and went back to the Konis.

Me: "What is more likely, that the engine mounts are bad, or the people who "rebuilt" the Konis didn't fix them?

I think we all know the answer now.

Got clunk? It's the ******* Konis!


Birdman

 

From post #46 on page 3 (I know, it was a long time ago!)

The shocks/springs part numbers for the parts I'm using are:

REAR
QA1 12-250 spring
QA1 DR5855P shock

FRONT
QA1 DR4855P
QA1 10-300 spring

 

No, we're WORKING! We gotta get your belt change finished!

 

Yo man, you got the dreaded clunk too? Well not for long my friend! When you get those crap-ass Konis outta there, you will have a whole new driving experience. Of course, you are short 4 carburettors of the true Ferrari experience but still....

With those 550 wheels though, your car is going to look MEAN as hell!

Birdman

 

Nothing, the damn thread is 10 pages long and half full of pictures of Paris Hilton!

 

Wow, good price!