The Little Caddy that could : Bodywork on a CTS-V

[laextreme5]

Well, swift springs arriced. Had a bit of time today and was able to throw in the driver side stiffer springs. Much stiffer. Should suit the fitment we are going for much better.
IMG_1988 by lawrx, on Flickr

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[SeattleStance]

That is some tight front fitment there. like it.

[laextreme5]

Well, was able to get a surprising bit of progress down over the last day or so.

Got the lt rear qtr all roughed in, just waiting on stiffer springs to arrive so i can install and finalize ride height and finish the metal roughing aspect and get the qtrs ready for paint.

Also was able to start on the front fitment today. When i first set the tire on the car, the front bumper/ fender area was literally sitting on the tire. No bueno for turning.

So i had to flare that out a substanial amount to gain turning clearance. I also had to reshape the front fenders with out any major use of a hammer, as i was trying to prevent having to blend the front doors during the paint stage.

So i resorted to using a high tech flaring tool (aka a few pieces of cardboard). Worked out perfectly. Kept the shape of the fender and no major hammer marks at the rear to worry about. Def needed the stiffer springs for up front as there is no possible way that it would have been driveable without them.
IMG_1784 by lawrx, on Flickr

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[laextreme5]

The thread of happiness

[driftsucky]

Everything here makes me happy.

[nsogiba]

I like your dad's Jeep.

[scweet14]

holy shit i love everything about this last post!

[laextreme5]

So, last update we had come to the conclusion we had a bit of a problem with clearance over bumps in relation to fitment at ride height. Our oirigial plan, which i was referring to, was to increase the amount of camber gain per inch by modifying the angle of the upper and lower control arms to each other.

However we came to the conclusion that stiffer springs may solve the issue as well. Only problem was we didn't know if we could get stiffer springs for this particular chassis. Few calls to swift springs, some measurements, and wallah, stiffer springs are on the way. Easier, and safer way to eliminate rubbedge over bumps and when it squats from weight.

I took the car up to my shop to throw it on the alignment rack to see how much camber it was gaining, if any as the suspension compressed. Also had a few buddies come by and hang out to mount some tires. Also figured you guys wouldn't mind seeing my dads ride that is poking out in the background of a few pics of the car at the shop.
IMG_1659 by lawrx, on Flickr

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[P78]

Not the car i expected when i clicked this, but still not dissapointed

this is rather cool!

[DER E30]

Wow, that's some camber for a car with an LS6/2! Must not be able to use any throttle! My buddy has one and it drifts super nicely without any camber...

Can't wait to see your pending solution and the final product!

[laextreme5]

damn, well hopefully it will look better. I'm still skeptical about cars with mismatched camber, to me the only time that really looks good is when it comes to drift car fitment. where the fronts are -10 or so degrees and the rears have zero to almost positive degrees of camber

that being said, looking forward to more body work shots, might try my hand at body work too

He wanted more, but like i mentioned, we couldn't find a feasbile way. Just playing the hand we are dealt. It will look good once complete, i have no worries

[scweet14]

damn, well hopefully it will look better. I'm still skeptical about cars with mismatched camber, to me the only time that really looks good is when it comes to drift car fitment. where the fronts are -10 or so degrees and the rears have zero to almost positive degrees of camber

that being said, looking forward to more body work shots, might try my hand at body work too

[laextreme5]

please please please camber the fronts to match the rears

i saw this thing on instagram and it looks so dope!

but the front not having matching camber is such an upset!

the wheels are perfect on the car and if the whole car sat like the the rear fitment this thing would be ridiculous!

We spent a great deal of time trying to figure out a way to add more camber to the front, however we couldn't figure out a way that was affordable and feasible. He actually had upper control arms made however for the minimal amount of camber it added and the minimal clearance it caused between the coilover and the wheel it just wasn't worth it. Also considered extending the lower control on mounts on the subframe, but it would have been too much stress/unsafe. We just didn't feel comfortable doing it that way.

The shots on his ig with the front wheels on are old news. The front wheels have been changed and fitment will be MUCH better. But still same camber it had in those shots. Will look better with proper fitment, dont worry.




With that said. I FUCKING LOVE THAT THE TIME FINALLY CHANGED. Now then, that thats out of my system. ( i ***** getting home and only having half an hour of daylight). Was able to get a bit more work done today. Pretty much finished dollying the quarter to how i wanted it, however i just am not happy with the fitment at ride height. Talking a few things over with my buddy who owns the car, and I've got an idea of how to correct it. Till we come to a conclusion, you fellas are in the dark about our solution. Get over it
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[scweet14]

please please please camber the fronts to match the rears

i saw this thing on instagram and it looks so dope!

but the front not having matching camber is such an upset!

the wheels are perfect on the car and if the whole car sat like the the rear fitment this thing would be ridiculous!

[driftsucky]

Yeah. Good work supercedes taste. I **** donks (with a passion), but if one is done CORRECTLY, I have no choice but to respect it. My inner gear head won't allow any other outcome.