We are very slow at work right now, slow enough that most of the engineers are working part time till things pick up so I find I have a lot of spare time but no money.  It seems like a good time to work on some of my wish list projects, pretty much a bunch of projects with small end results that require a lot of work to complete. My first project on the list is angling the rear shocks inward to keep the springs from contacting the tires.  The present mounts worked fine with my old D60 axle which was a touch wider than the 14bolt I installed late last year.  With the eventual goal of moving back to a 42" tire I figured I would have to make more shock/tire clearance at some point and this seems to be as good a time as any.  

This task required a lot of disassembly which is the big reason I didn't attempt it sooner.  Once all the body panels were out of the way I also unbolted the rear seat to slide it forward to make more room to work.  The next step was to carefully cut off the existing upper shock mounts. Somewhere along the way I determined I could also slide the lower mounts outboard another inch or so and still clear the tire/brakes so I went ahead and cut those mounts off as well.  The extra angle should provide some more up travel and can only make the rig more stable. 

You'll notice the new tabs put a rotational force on the tube, something that will eventually tear chunk out of the tube so I added a gusset that ties the mount into the node just behind the passenger seat. With the shocks out I also decided to install some new grade 8 hardware, I ended up running to the local ACE Hardware to find the correct length bolts that would allow the brackets to engage the shoulder and not the threads.  I then cut off the extra length of thread to save some weight.  While I was at it I trimmed the other link mounts bolts down which resulted in about a pound of unused threads when I was thru.

The last step was to modify the rear panels to clear the shock body, then the whole car was put back together.  The new upper shock mounts are higher than the old ones so the rig sits a bit lower, approximately level with the front now.

Still working with the back end I went ahead and installed the new sway bar arms I ordered a while back to replace my old ones which had seen better days.  One of the old arms was bent after getting caught on a rock and the other had some stripped splines.  The new arms are also a bit lighter due to the pocket that was milled into them.  I just had to cut them down in length to match my old ones, drill a new hole for the linkage and then shorten the linkage bars to tuck the sway bar further up into the chassis.  Hopefully shortening the linkages will keep the arms out of the rocks this time.

While I had the shocks out I went ahead and put some speed holes into my brake caliper brackets.  Thick plates like the caliper brackets are great places to cut weight as a small speed hole still removes quite a bit of material.  I plan on doing the same thing to the front caliper brackets where I think I can cut more than a pound of unneeded material.

Moving to the front of the rig I needed to move the coolant temperature sender to a more different position for a more accurate temperature reading.  After some extended desert driving a few weeks back I discovered the old heater core loop is not a good spot for the coolant sensor after my water pump relay died and the engine started to overheat despite the gauge showing 150 degrees.  Luckily the PCM put the motor in limp mode, cutting several cylinders to keep the engine from blowing a gasket. Since I don't see any more ports on the engine that I can plug into I figure I could add a bung to the upper thermostat neck and plug in there.

I marked a suitable spot for the sender before pulling the custom thermostat neck.

While messing with the radiator hoses I noticed quite a bit of rubbing between the radiator and engine cage.  I ended up making a larger hold down clamp for the radiator and also clearance the engine cage some more to ensure no more contact between the radiator and tubing. 

Next, the front brake caliper brackets were put on a diet.  The ring portion of the bracket is at least a half inch thick and is the part I concentrated my lightening efforts on. I drilled a 3/4" dia. hole in between the existing mounting holes and then flanked the new 3/4" hole with a pair of .50" holes.  Up on the caliper ears I added a 1.375" dia. hole along with a pair of .50" holes and also rounded off the ear.  Total weight savings was just under 1.5lbs per bracket.

Caliper bracket mounted (backwards, the ears should be offset towards the knuckle) on the axle, I always seem to get the orientation wrong. 

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