Lowered the Caprice, weight reduction, etc

Since i still havent got the cyl heads back from the shop yet, ive been very antsy, and have been doing random projects to pass the time. I plastidipped the wheels, finally got aroung to tenting the front windows, lowered the front about 3-4 inches, all i did was cut the springs, super easy took only a few hours. I also removed the heater box, i wasnt originally but i dont drive the car very much, i also removed the wiper motor so i cant drive it in the rain, moved the battery to the trunk, getting ready to remove most of the sound insulation in the car. Im doing as much as i can to drop the weight, without gutting it like a drag car. I cant wait to drive it. Its been down for three months, and all these nice warm days are just driving me crazy!!










I bought a piece of sheet metal at the hardware store, instead of just putting a piece there, i decided to mimick the heater box to control the water flow, just a couple bends all it took, and im using the original rubber seal that goes across the top. The dremel came in handy for this project.
Water test, no leaks!

Forgot to mention, that when i lowered the front, it gave too much positive camber, so i had to adjust it, using the original shims as a guide, i added about a half inch to 3/4 inch more shims to offset the lowering, now it has a tad bit of negative camber.

Wow, still no heads yet? I like the blacked out wheels and the lowered stance. Are you going to lower the rear any? How was that plasti-dip process? I've been thinking about doing that on my Firebird wheels. Looking good, wish I could get something done.

Looks mean the stance is nice indeed. What did you use there below the windshield sheetmetal?

That is coming along nicely. The tucked bumpers, lowered stance and plasti-dip wheels look fantastic!

Yep just used a piece of sheetmetal, and bent it to fit to allow the water to drain to the side.

Good work then looks sharp and functional too! Definitely the overall look is coming together for you.

What's holding you up on the heads is it that pesky little thing we call life getting in the way again?

Thanks, nope its actually the shop its self, theyre way behind and backed up, theyre a few miles from charlotte motor speedway so i know theyre flooded with cylinder heads, he initially told me 6 weeks, well were on number 9 and im so antsy, but ill wait to have them done right with quality parts.

GM B-Body Forum wrote:Thanks, nope its actually the shop its self, theyre way behind and backed up, theyre a few miles from charlotte motor speedway so i know theyre flooded with cylinder heads, he initially told me 6 weeks, well were on number 9 and im so antsy, but ill wait to have them done right with quality parts.

Yep, when I had my heads done for the 327, I put the block and heads in the shop in December and had them in 3 weeks. A good friend of mine told me once early spring gets here, the shops are packed with heads and engines. If I wanted to build the Caprice engine right now, I wouldn't get anything back until June.lol

solo79 wrote:

Wow, still no heads yet? I like the blacked out wheels and the lowered stance. Are you going to lower the rear any? How was that plasti-dip process? I've been thinking about doing that on my Firebird wheels. Looking good, wish I could get something done

Ok so the plastidip didnt turn out well, well actually yes it did, once it rained the stuff came off. The finish, durability, and the way it peels off is awesome, but it wouldnt stick to my aluminum wheels and i preped the crap out of them lol. So since i liked the look, i just ended up painting them with real paint, i primed and then used a flat black, i think i may go over it with a semi gloss to see what that looks like. Anyway, i was thinking about dropping the rear, but ofcourse i cant cut the springs on the rear, so they hot these things that clamp on the raise or lower the coil. so i might try that and then eventually get coils front and rear, but right now i like the stance. Oh and on the plasti dip i used the duplicolor custom wrap, it has a real nice clean finish, i just wish it would have stuck.

I found the Performix Plasti Dip sticks to everything I sprayed my wheel barrow and let sit outside

all winter the finish is still good I even used it on the rear upper panels in the car that were turning to powder to

keep them from doing that.

As far as flat black I wouldn't recommend with out a semi-gloss clear coat of some kind. I tried flat black last

year and it seems to get ugly real quick without some kind of clear coat.

Here's a snap of the flat black wheel taken today.(Total &@$^)

Your car looks great. I have always wanted to lower mine. I think Eibach makes lowering springs for them. On my bucket list anyways. When I put my first hot rod engine in I went on a diet and pulled 150 pounds off the front of the car. That included the A/C and all the smog equipment plus the horrible Cat that was on it.

Bret

How did u get the front springs out to cut them? I am going to do mine and was thinking about putting the car on stands and then put my jack under the lower control arm and popping the lower ball joint. How much did you cut off? I chopped the rear springs already and lowered the rear almost 3".

You have to separate the lower ball joint, thats it. You dont have to remove the lower control arm. I didnt cut much off the springs, but it lowered the front about 4 to 5 inches, the car bottoms out when i drive it, i got it a little too low, ill have to take a pic of what i cut off, id start with about 1 coil, i cut about 2 coils off. Also the pic i have above is before the heads and intake were on so its lower than that pic.

Ok here are the pics i promised, i cut almost exactly 4 inches off the coil, and it lowered it about 4 to 5 inches.

Yeh I'm not going to cut that much off; maybe 1 coil. Might have to wait a bit though because I just got a bunch of stereo stuff that needs installing. I have 60 series tires on the front also so it don't need much.