here is a set of non adjustable coilovers i built for the front of my car.
i built these for two reasons:
1. everything was stock but something was wrong with my front springs
(i think they sagged because they didnt look cut) it sat low and on medium bumps the tires would scrub the inner fenders.
2. ive looked over countless diy coilover threads on many forums for all kinds of cars and i've always wanted to try it.
so nothing really new here but hopefully it provides info for others and their future setups
to stay on the cheap i really approached this as an experiment or practice for one day making something great.
the only thing i purchased was qa1 springs from summit for about 80 bucks. i didn't buy any slip on coilover stuff or new struts or inserts.
this is all on the old stock crap.
for springs i first tried 9" 180lb springs but they were to low and soft they bound up at rest
so i used 10' 250lb springs.
in an old post by tonus which is awesome.
http://www.4g61t.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28497
he put ebay coilover sleeves on his struts but he didnt cut the perches off.
his big complaint was having to use a 7" spring that was still too tall for ride height
and he wished for a 6" spring. i think the short springs arent a good idea because of the short range of movement.
so thats whats nice about cutting the perch off. you get way further down the shock.
i can provide part numbers for the springs (Qa1 10-250) but i made all the other parts on a lathe.
i think you could replicate this the right way by purchasing decent slip on collars and struts or inserts etc.
the tophat spring locator i made seems like it may be hard to find from somewhere
and from my experience is what you need to make a diy coilover correctly.
One to house the top side of the spring, and two, to seat against the bottom of the bearing in the strut mounts properly.
letting a 2.5" spring just rest where it may on an oem upper spring seat doesn't seem very brilliant to me.
since they were designed for a way wider spring like 5" or something and aren't centered either.
first i cut off the factory spring perch.
then i trimmed it real close the factory weld
to get the lowest mounting point possible
and be able to utilize the weld to hold my slip on coilover and not have to weld to a pressurized shock.
then i machined a tube to tightly slip over the shock body
and a ring i could weld to the new slip on tube for holding the spring
at the desired height. it is not welded yet in picture
next i started on an upper spring hat that would sit against the underside
of the bearing in strut mount or camber plate if you had those.
i started out with laser cut disc we use at work to dish out for candle cups on chandeliers
then i had to get creative to form it to a conical shape for clearance under the strut mount
so with this 60ton press
and this ring and ball as a jig
i was able to come up with this shape
after welding in a little more mass into the center hole to seat against the upper bearing
and slide over the threaded portion of the shock shaft and then truing it up on the lathe
to make sure it was even and had parallel sides top and bottom
i had this
then i welded on a collar to index the spring below the hat
here is how it looks all mocked up on the strut
first without the strut mount and then with it
just remember the collar ring for the bottom of the spring is not welded to the lower sleeve yet
i was going to determine its placement when its on the car to set the ride height.
think non adjustable ride height. i mean once its set why would you move it right?
one more thing to come loose
that was my thought for this experiment ha ha