Spring/shock setup to strut conversion?

[soab]

Ive been lookin but the smallest Ive found is a 8 3/4 inch spring in a 5.5" diameter. I can always cut them more if I want cause I cut the stock springs this weekend and the lower spring perch rotates and takes a cut spring very well, but in the long run I would much rather have a flattened lower coil like stock. I know alot of classics are running Intrax but its not as low of a drop as Im looking for. I figured Id do it low while Im young and reckless :P This is my second car as of now so I dont have to worry TOO much bout daily driving but I plan on enjoying it this summer! Where are you at that your seeing lowered 900's and is it this body style (This is the style I have)


Or like this

[Daviticus]

You can do that if you want, it would function.

It didn't look like that much spring distance in your first pics, odd. I'd suggest finding a decent 6" or 7" spring and fabbing perches to the stock spring mounts, that should get you in the right area.

I'll do some reading / poking around on some 900s, got a buddy with a turbo one and there's a few at local junkyards I can dick with for a bit. I see a ton of 900s lowered, so there's something out there or some common way folks are doing things.

[soab]

So I have a spare set of shocks. Would I be able to weld on a spring perch and get some springs, a tophat and some bushings and give that a shot? (obviously this wont lower it but I'm just trying to understand) Or do I need a shock designed as a strut?

[soab]

A 1990 Saab 900. With the spring out and the car bout where I want it I'm lookin at bout 8 inches of space where the spring originally was. i think that If I put a strut/coilover where the shock used to be I would have clearance issues with the upper control arms. I think I'ma just get some 500 lb springs that are 5.5x8 3/4" I think that should set me up bout where I'm lookin t be.

EDIT
Some clerance shots of the sock and the uca

[Daviticus]

Ah, okay, I see what's going on there.

Out of curiosity, what car is this on?

Looks to me like there may not be enough room for even a super-short stroke spring/strut assembly in there, without heavily modifying the top spring perch and removing the bumpstop altogether. It would be much easier to remove the spring entirely, and place a coilover setup where the OEM shock currently is.

I can't tell with just those pics, but once the spring is removed there should be a good amount of room for a spring and sleeve on a shock without hitting anything.

[Bimmerteck]

Wth?

It was a spammer, now vanquished to the deepest depths of interwebs hell.


Proceed with your regularly scheduled thread.

[soab]

Wth?

[soab]

Thanks man! I took some shots of the front setup. Ive got a source on some 8 3/4 length springs which I think ima try, but long term Id love to turn this into a strut setup!




My thought is that I could mount a strut with a base mount somethin like this


and mount it where the spring seat mounts


But I dont know if the stock spring tower would hold a strut.. and I have no idea how I would mount the top of the strut..

[Daviticus]

This is very popular with the front-ends of Fox-body, SN95, and "New-Edge" SN97 chassis Mustangs. The front K-frames have pockets for the springs about half-way out on the lower control arms, but many autocrossers [and some drag guys as of late] have adapted 2.5" ID coil springs and perches to the strut bodies. Since those chassis came with a McPherson strut originally, its' much simpler to implement.

Same for the rears of AE86-chassis Corollas and older 510s ... I see many perches added onto performance shocks to allow a coil spring to fit around them, and I've also seen a one-piece coilover assembly retrofitted in-place of the shock.

Also, a LOT of mini-truck guys convert to shock-style coil-overs on the fronts of their trucks when they static-drop them.

Take a look through Summit Racing or QA-1's suspension catalogs, you'll find all sorts of nifty stuff like that around to get ideas from.

[trism]

sure is possible, gets done heaps.

you need to get into specifics but, what car, what do you want to do, etc etc

[soab]

Hey! I know this is a pretty broad vague question but I was wondering if any of y'all out there have converted a car that was originally equipped with a separate spring and shock setup?