Putting the GTO under the knife again - The Mod voices are talking to me again

keitho64

Regular
Jan 18, 2017
152
0
SW Burbs
The GTO awoke from her winter slumber about a month ago and the "Mod" disease is back. We have a lot of rain predicted for the next week so I am putting her under the knife again.

Some background on the GTO to bring you up to speed:
In July of 2013 I bought it with 13,000 miles on the odometer and was 100% stock. Original everything!

Since thenā€¦ about 3 months later I installed the K&N CAI (at the time I was driving the car a lot and didnā€™t want to go with the Over the Radiator kit), Diablo tuner and loaded the 93 octane tune, white line radius rod bushings, Energy suspension poly bushings for the front and rear sway bar, Pedders diff insert and a B&M shifter.

On the appearance front I installed the JHP gauge pod, front splitter and LED lighting.

The only mod I regretted is the B&M. I plan to change it out but I want to retain the factory shifter.

In spring 2014 some Falken AZENIS RT-615Kā€™s found the way to my stock 17ā€ rims. This was a MAJOR improvement in handling.

My son and I did a road trip to Tail of the Dragon and tested out the GTOā€™s cornering ability. I will say I was pleasantly impressed with how poised the car is for being as heavy as it is. I still wished for a bit more sharpness in the steering and it still tended to push in the corners, but a quick hit of the throttle changes all that!

Late last summer / fall I decided to do the first moderate upgrade. I ended up with the Motive 4.11 gears in the car. This really livened up the response. The power out of the corners or from a dead stop is fantastic.

Next I installed Lovells 20mm drop springs in the rear, Koni adjustable shocks, Spohn toe bars and poly cradle bushings. Winter was approaching so I put her in hibernation.

This brings us up to the current date and last night I tore into the car to do the next phase. The list for this go round:
New Koni struts
New Lovells front springs (20mm drop)
Poly steering rack bushing
All new Hawk pads and braided brake lines
FINALLY install my new shifter and ditch the B&M
Install the new (to me) long tubes and cats
Install the Harrop diff cover

I managed to get the passenger side apart last night in about 1 hour, much easier than I thought. It is nice working on a clean car for a change.

I'll post pictures as I progress, here was the outcome from last night.

I know this won't 'cure' my 'Mod' disease, but I'll have a quick fix for a while. I am resisting the temptation to go into the engine...for now...
 

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CMNTMXR57

GM, Holden & Chrysler Mini-Van nut swinger
Sep 12, 2008
26,150
31,263
Elgin
There isn't a good shifter out there that will maintain the stock setup. The stock setup (I.E. the linkage setup), sucks ass which is why it's "clumsy", especially in any shift, particularly ones in "hurried" situations such as drag racing or quick shifting on a road course, crossing through the gates (I.E. any shifts not between 1-2, 3-4 & 5-6). The best out their is the GMM Ripshift. I would recommend no other.
 

10sec

I haz dat teddy bear smile.
TCG Premium
Jul 26, 2008
25,942
5,812
Take it to a track day, your need for more power will subside. You'll want to make other changes to help the car feel better. Eventually, sure more power is going to be wanted, but I assure you, the power you have right now is more than enough.
 

keitho64

Regular
Jan 18, 2017
152
0
SW Burbs
Time for an update on the project. I am pleasantly surprised how easy everything came apart and went back together. Iā€™m used to working on old rusty northern climate cars. I havenā€™t let the GTO see snow so it has held up great. So far the struts, springs, upper strut mounts, steering rack bushing, front brake lines and shifter have been installed. Next I am moving to the rear to replace the rear brake lines, pads, install Harrop cover. When that is done, Iā€™ll be able to bleed the brakes.

I was amazed how collapsed the upper strut mount was. I have a picture of the new Whiteline alongside the old one. It gives you a good perspective of the difference. One of the springs had a crack starting as well. The car only has 40,000 miles but as we know the stock suspensions donā€™t hold up well.

The Koni struts require you to cut the factory ones apart and use the stock housing. I used a sawzall to cut the tube and to ensure a straight cut I used a hose clamp as a guide. All in all, I am happy with how it turned out. I went ahead and painted the housing, just because new paint adds HP.

I am on the fence about the headers. I have the JBA long tubes with high flow cats ready to go. I picked them up from another GTO owner who sold his car. They are in great shape. It sounds like there have been some bad experiences with people installing headers and the steering coupler hits the headers when cornering which would be a bit alarming. I am going to hold off on installing the headers until I can get new motor and trans mounts. Mine are original so I am sure they need to be replaced.

Here are a few pictures of the progress to date. Should be on the road in time for warm dry weatherā€¦ if it ever comes back.
 

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CMNTMXR57

GM, Holden & Chrysler Mini-Van nut swinger
Sep 12, 2008
26,150
31,263
Elgin
Part of the issue with the damage to the mount is from them cranking the shit out of the tie downs on the front end for transport on the boat.

Had they not done that and left the key in the ignition switch, you'd have batteries that lasted many years and many happy miles on those struts. :D
 

ragingclue

What's a "Super Bowl"?
TCG Premium
Dec 19, 2013
2,476
1,208
Well they're not collapsed yet, just same looking when healthy. I do have strut rub already though, probably just from wider fronts and rim guard sidewalls though. And probably a shitty alignment done during PDI.

But if I have the same kind of units that will collapse like that reliably in the future, I should probably look into replacing them.
 

keitho64

Regular
Jan 18, 2017
152
0
SW Burbs
I bought this car with 13,000 miles and did the radius rod bushings within months, they were bad. I'll echo everyone's comments on the radius rods, upper strut mounts and on my car I did rear subframe bushings, diff insert (soon to be replaced by the Harrop diff cover). The suspensions on these cars did take a beating in transit from down under by being clamped down on the boats.

Most of the parts for this project came from Kollar. I have been very satisfied with the service.

I will stick with the long tubes / cats since I have everything and just make sure there is plenty of clearance with the steering shaft. However I am going to hold off doing it until I get the motor mounts. I have a few other projects I plan to do so the headers my not get done until later in the summer.

I did get to do some more work tonight. The brakes are bled, tires are on and she is sitting on the ramps. The drivers side tire has plenty of clearance on the strut, the pencil trick works. The passenger side is a bit too close to the strut for my liking. I am not able to pass the pencil between the tire and the strut.

Tomorrow I'll recheck the adjustment on the strut, I am assuming I didn't get it just right. Once that is done it is time for the four wheel alignment and some summer driving fun!

Do you have any recommendations for alignments in the south western burbs? I live off I355 & I55 and work in Mokena. Somewhere in that area would good but I would like to take it a shop familiar with 4 wheel alignments.

Another option I am thinking about is getting my own setup: https://www.quicktrickalignment.com/shop/quickslide-elite-series/

I do enough work on my own cars and I like to try different settings. Has anyone here bought the Quick Slide alignment kit?
 

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