brianteel Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 has anyone done it on a GP. also does anyone have pics of all the parts from the front and rear supension of the car 95-98 monte......88-96 GP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegp Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 The front suspension is basically the same except for the different brake sizes. I believe the rear suspension would be very difficult to swap. A long time ago, somebody here posted cutaway pictures of the 1.5 gen wheel well/strut towers that showed they were built different than the 1st gen ones. I guess you could swap in the Monte Carlo wheel wells/floor pans, but for that much work, it wouldn't be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Shawn was the one who put them up. Honestly, for the work you're going to do I would just get the FFP coilovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwmin Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27643&highlight=sprung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 I wouldn't bother. With the availability of rear lowering springs, you won't gain anything from cutting and welding in the strut towers from a Monte. You'd end up with a weird Frankenstein-mobile that probably won't be as structurally sound as what you had before. The transverse fiberglass leaf setup is actually superior in handling and lighter weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandPrixGTP95 Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 You're just dying to find info arent you Brian...lol. Just wait until next week and i'll tell you, Travis and I will be bolting mine up this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccrplayrgtp Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 I'm gonna do it... that shouldnt take but a day to fab up and restructure if any is needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red92s Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Been there done that, I used the same strut towers, but cut a slot in them and hammered them out then had my dad weld in some very thinck steel plates close to .1" Than i built a strut tower brace, you need to fabricate upper plates for the springs from gen 1.5 parts, as for the lowering im still waiting for the springs to settle. The car isnt some weird structurally unsound frankensein mobile as mentioned before. Im in Martinsville if you want to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
your_I.D. Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Might want to keep an eye on this link.http://www.mymonte.com/discussion/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=17&MessageID=177798 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Might want to keep an eye on this link.http://www.mymonte.com/discussion/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=17&MessageID=177798 Wow, is the GMPP suspension really worth that much work? From my comparison, the 2nd gen W's are more cost-reduced and cheaper designs like 3-bolt front hubs vs. 4-bolt and integrated wheel speed sensors. Going with ST, Eibach, or Intrax sounds a LOT cheaper. Swapping front struts is also a lot easier with the older design. If it's just for bigger brakes, since you'd have to cut & weld to adapt the knuckle to LCA, I would think if cutting & welding is involved, might as well just cut & weld some brackets onto the existing knuckles and use C5 13" front brakes. When I explored this possibility 5yrs ago, it didn't seem worthwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z34_nut Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 It would be a dumb idea to do such a labor intense job for sub-par results. I think Shawn said it right. Its really pointless when there are plenty of options for these cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccrplayrgtp Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 well when you have two cars parked right next to eachother..... its not a $750 investment for rear coilovers/dropping stock front suspension. Also the bigger brakes will be a big help to start out with for autocross and fun street racing without spending a good chunk of change on the C5 or F-body setup. All that can be aranged and upgraded later.. plus this is a minor project compared to what ive been doing.... So we'll let ya know how it comes out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccrplayrgtp Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 also this car is a 90 not the 94gen... oooh nice garbage cans!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandPrixGTP95 Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Holy shit Travis, is that my car? I havent seen that thing in almost a year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94CutlassSLCoupe Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 just get the lowering spring and use the '94-'97 cutlass or grand prix rear disks...way easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
your_I.D. Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Might want to keep an eye on this link.http://www.mymonte.com/discussion/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=17&MessageID=177798 Wow, is the GMPP suspension really worth that much work? From my comparison, the 2nd gen W's are more cost-reduced and cheaper designs like 3-bolt front hubs vs. 4-bolt and integrated wheel speed sensors. Going with ST, Eibach, or Intrax sounds a LOT cheaper. Swapping front struts is also a lot easier with the older design. If it's just for bigger brakes, since you'd have to cut & weld to adapt the knuckle to LCA, I would think if cutting & welding is involved, might as well just cut & weld some brackets onto the existing knuckles and use C5 13" front brakes. When I explored this possibility 5yrs ago, it didn't seem worthwhile. No cutting of streering knuckle will be done. the only cutting was just to allow lower control arms mount through one bushing. then measure for new complete lower control arm. So far labor intense is in the research of it. Once determined what needs to be done, it will be a lot easier. Why attempt this project? You have bigger brakes or f-body type, adjustable strut option, a hell of a lot bigger wheel bearing, camber adjustability and a stronger front suspension. The parts are common and inexpensive. You'll spend more on a set of vented cross drilled rotors then I will upgrading to alot bigger brake. The problem with using bigger brakes on the old strut is the design is weak. Make brackets to hang calipers over 13 inch rotors. One hard panic stop it will bend the strut. Were the caliper mounts. Not to mention the vibration possibilities. (my older brother is a engineer for GM and part of the ecotech design team. He was attament about strut damage with larger brakes. Talking about all w bodies with the stamped cartridge type strut.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccrplayrgtp Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 we wanna rid of the monoleaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z34_nut Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 http://www.fastfwdperformance.com if you want to get rid of the monoleaf. and wtf is with the double posting!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccrplayrgtp Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 and wtf is with the double posting!? I'm sorry who are you? Anyways, well when you have a monte carlo sitting next to the car, it seems pointless to go spend money on the same setup doesnt it? ok just checkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 You have bigger brakes or f-body type, adjustable strut option, a hell of a lot bigger wheel bearing, camber adjustability and a stronger front suspension. The parts are common and inexpensive. You'll spend more on a set of vented cross drilled rotors then I will upgrading to alot bigger brake. The problem with using bigger brakes on the old strut is the design is weak. Make brackets to hang calipers over 13 inch rotors. One hard panic stop it will bend the strut. Were the caliper mounts. Not to mention the vibration possibilities. (my older brother is a engineer for GM and part of the ecotech design team. He was attament about strut damage with larger brakes. Talking about all w bodies with the stamped cartridge type strut.) Is the wheel bearing that much bigger? I haven't measured, only seen them in photos such as here, and it looks a lot smaller if anything. Plus, they have a rather high failure rate, I just assumed it was because they were smaller than the older 4-bolt version which has a lower failure rate. I also don't see how the stamped strut design is any more likely to bend than the "newer" version which only has 2 stamped ears attaching it to a cast iron knuckle. To me, the curved shape of the stamped design appears to have more structural rigidity and resistance to bending than the conventional cast knuckle bolted to 2 stamped ears. Of course, I'm no engineer so you're probably right, I just don't see it. There's a guy with 13" C4 Corvette brakes on his existing knuckles and I haven't heard anything about bending problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
your_I.D. Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 The knuckles i'am using are an aluminum alloy. Nothing stamped about them. Cast caliper mounts also. The bearing is thicker and also larger in diameter. I will post a photo as soon as my girlfriend brings my cam back. Should be tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Well, I wasn't talking about the knuckle itself being stamped, but the strut-to-knuckle attachment is just stamped sheetmetal, much smaller and appears to be much less resistant to bending to my eyes. You sure you're seeing a bigger bearing and not the additional bulk of the integrated wheel speed sensors? Again today I talked to another 2nd gen W-body owner that needed new front wheel bearings. They surely can't be any better than the old design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
your_I.D. Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 UPDATE: Pics are posted at http://www.mymonte.com/discussion/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=17&MessageID=228892 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 whoa....now that is some custom fabrication :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
your_I.D. Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.