kev

Thanks Metric, I must have missed your thread when I was writing this one. I got the one strut off but I still have to do the other. They are a PIA but no where near as bad as removing that A-arm bolt. That has to be the most stubborn bolt I ever tried to remove on a vehicle in my life. kev

NEVER CUT SPRINGS!!!!!!!!!!!! Pay the $150 for a set of Eibach or Susp. Techniques lowering springs. If you don't have the money, then leave the stock springs on untouched! I can't stress this enough. If you want the engineering behind what cutting a spring does, I will provide it to you. By cutting 1 coil off of a spring can reduce your stiffness coefficient by a factor of 3 or more. You will be bouncing like a jack rabbit down the road. You will loose tons of performance not to mention it will handle like crap with cut springs. kev

Looks good! Now all you need is that intake to finally come in and you should be running in the 11s this season. kev

Yep that's the rocker I have for the 3.0. I asked a few people on the 3000gt boards if they knew the rocker ratio of this arm, but no one knew. I think the 3.0 rocker will work out better for geometry reasons but if the lift is less than 1.4, it won't benefit for performance reasons. I will be checking into the Manley valves when I finally lug this stuff up to my machinist to get his opinion and to start piecing the head together. Thanks Tim for all of the info, kev

Thats some good info Tim. Did you find out what type of valves you need? Are they the manley valves you wanted? I got a call yesterday saying my rocker arms are in at the Mitsu dealer. I got the same ones you have and also the arms for a 3.0 sohc engine. I have yet to determine the rocker ratio on the 3.0 valves. I need to get back on the ball on this, I have been focusing too much on the suspension of my car lately thus have been putting the engine to the side for the moment. kev

Well I got the struts off. THey were a pain but I did it. The strut is notched out where the lateral bolt goes thus the bolt needs to be removed to pull the strut. I was finally able to heat up the housing and drive the bolt out and then the strut came loose. I only got one strut off so far but I know the technique now so the other won't take as long. However those bolts that hold the A-arm to the hub/spindle assembly are a PIA!!!!!!!!!! I heated up the hub until it was red hot, and pounded and banged and pryed, etc etc etc. My friend and I worked for over three hours on it and it is still frozen in the hub assembly. I got the A-arm off by hacking the bolt in half but the rest of the bolt is still stuck in the hub. I am going to have to pay a machinist or somebody to remove it with a hydraulic press. Has anyone ever had this problem before? The book doesn't mention anything about this bolt being a pressed fit and the part of the bolt that I was able to drive out has no corrosion on it whatsoever. kev

Thanks for the suggestions guys, but it still wont come out . The a-arm/strut assembly is completely off of the vehicle so brasing it is now the hardest part. I have the nuts off of the lateral bolts but the bolts won't budge. I pried open the slot pretty far with a screwdriver but I can't twist the strut no matter what. I even put on a 3" pipe wrench. This weekend, I will take the assemblies up to my friends house and see if the two of us can get them apart by brute force. If not, we will heat them with the torch. I still can't get the long bolt out that holds the a-arm to the strut either. kev

I am trying to remove the rear struts on my 87. I cannot pull the strut from the hub assembly! There are three bolts holding it on: two coming down on a flange and one laterally which compresses the hub assembly on the strut. I cannot budge the lateral bolt! I have the complete a-arm/strut assembly off of the vehicle and am in the process of breaking it down into pieces. Anyone have this trouble before? Any tips on removal? I am having the same problem removing the A-arm from the hub assembly but that is to be expected (much bigger bolt!) I haven't tried heating it up yet. If I can't get it the brute force method, I will take it to a friends and heat it up and try again. But I still don't understand why I can't budge that little 14mm bolt! kev

That is a cool little mod. It is good to keep those things packed. I had to basically put a full tube in mine and now its in there for good unless I ever have to pull them down again, hopefully not. kev

I have noticed that conquests do great with all types of brake shoes. I always used the cheapest pads Pepboys sold (Raybestos??) The ones that cost I wish I can say the same about my truck, I now have Bendix pads on it which are $50 a set and the squeel like hell, coat the wheel black, and cut the rotors to hell. I just can't find a good brake pad for that truck. It is only three years old and has already been through a set of rotors and working away on the second set. kev

JC Whitney used to carry a 1 piece bra for a flatside conquest. I bought it and it lasted for many years. Very good quality. Look them up in the catalog, if conquest isn't listed give them a call, I'm sure they can get you one. kev

Thanks for the info, Dave. That will come in handy. A spot welder does sound like the easiest thing to use. I had a few quarter size rust areas in which I ground out before and used a rust mort on. I filled them with fiber hair and a light coat of bondo over that. Well guess what, the rust is back and the fiberglass is lifting. It is almost 4 years later but it is back. This is the reason why I am cutting and welding. kev

I don't think I am familiar with the snapring style. I did notice the two rings per side on my pistons. I am also familiar with the single almost like a c ring that is used on most motorbikes. I agree with you on the floaters. The best thing about them is they can be removed very easily without potential damaging of the piston. One disadvantage about them is that if the bushings aren't machined to the right size and with that short of a skirt, it can cause piston slap which isn't the biggest deal it is just annoying. Good luck on the rebuild kev

Yes they are nice and light and shinny 8). I got my JEs for $440 through my machinist made specifically for floaters, 8:1 CR, and 20 over. Machine shops get good deals on these pistons if they use them a lot, it just depends ont he price they want to sell them to you for. kev

You know what I miss the most on my 84? THe power window switches in the center console vs. the door. It was so much more convenient. I prefer the flatbodies without the 3 piece spoiler, the manual seatbelts, the old ES TURBO stickers on the side, the 84 seats, and 84-85 type bumper and front spoiler, but an 83 hood.

I am the opposite. The battery is a long time away for me. Maybe another year and I will be ready to turn my car over :'(. It is nice though and I will need a small battery come time. I am NOT putting a battery in my trunk. Besides that is where my sub stays, . Tim, I ordered one of each of the three roller rockers from Mitsubishi today. 1 like yours from a galant 2.0, 1 from a 3.0 SOHC, and 1 from a 3.0 DOHC. They will be in next week. I will keep you informed on my findings. Oh btw, how did you determine that the 2.0 galant rocker arm was 1.5 ratio? Do you know how I can find out what ratio the other two are? The three part numbers are MD195450, MD150266, and MD106245 for the 3.0 sohc, 3.0 dohc, and the 2.0 galant, respectively. kev

I ordered this pulley today. Will be here next week. I also ordered two keys. I am assuming the key for the timing gear is identical to the key for the pulley, let me know if I am incorrect. The key part number is MD000606 for the pulley, I just ordered two of them. Again thanks for the info on this Mike. kev

Oh I fully understand. I'm sorry if I made it sound like it is an immediate need. I fully respect all of the time and effort you put into these boards. I didn't mean to offend you in any way. kev

It is 3.5 lbs. What the stock one ways, I haven't a clue but I think it is more. Guess I can put mine on the scale and check. kev

I love this new board but it just seems that we don't have the number of people we used to. All of the hard hitters and regulars are over here but we seem to have lost the average Joe. For instance, I put up an add for a 88 ECU on this board last week and haven't gotten one hit on it and last night I put the same add on the old swapmeet boards and got three emails about it in less than a day. Maybe there should be a link on all three pages of the old board directing people to this board? Also a short statement saying that the old boards will be closed down in a few months and that everyone should visit starquestclub.com? kev

Cool!! Glad to hear it is all working out good. Keep us informed. BTW, you are moving along fast!!! I haven't even opened up the pack of wires that came with the SDS, lol. I guess married life and being a home owner does that to me, . kev

Yep that extra socket is for the third brake light. You will probably have to run a line to one and tap into one of your brake lights to hook it up in case your car doesn't have the plug next to the shock tower. I can't remember if my flatbody did or not. But anyways yet you can install the middle section now. Like I said just glue it on. Double sided tape and silicone should do the trick. You can also glue on the sides but you will have to leave out the collar on the antanea and just leave it as a hole until you get a new antanea assembly. If you don't mind the appearance of the hole in the spoiler you can even leave it like that. Just make sure you don't seal it all up below the antannea hole so water can run out. kev

Like Ernie said, any stock tire size will not be a problem. With an 8" rear rim you can fit the 225/50/16 or 245/45/16 on there and it won't rub. However if you want the more common and cheaper 245/50/16 size, I think you will run into a problem seem as though when I had that size tire, I rubbed with the stock suspension. The same applies with the 9" rears. kev

Looks good but I sure hope you never have to take that butterfly apart again, lol. Why didn't you bore her out to 52mm before you did that? kev

Cool! Thanks for the info. I will pick one up real soon. kev