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Thread: 289 Hilux Front coil-over shocks conversion for my 1989 RN85r.

  1. #1
    V8 motavation. Grease Monkey 289hilux's Avatar
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    Default 289 Hilux Front coil-over shocks conversion for my 1989 RN85r.

    Some of you will have come across my ute before on this forum. I did an updated version of the Skyline brake upgrade and my engine conversion then the upgrade to EFI.

    This round of conversions stared with a leaky rear main seal. You know how these things get out of controll. I have always wanted to rip out the torsion bar front and fit a neat coil over set up. So I started buying a few bits in preporation for the custom work to begin. one thing I was sure about I was not going to pay the rediculous price that some companys charge for things and labour today. I was going to do this as cheap as possible but with a top quality out come. Lucky for me a friend of mine is a wiz at welding and fabrication work. He has been involved in building a few GT40's. So he knows his stuff.
    First thing to find is the top control arms. A local business charges $750 for a pair plus the machine work to mod the stubbs for the ball joints. CRAZZY!!!!!
    I was thinking with amount of Lux's on bags this would be easy. I was so wrong.

    I found a guy on good old ebay in the USA selling NASCAR parts, he had listed a pair of top control arms with hiem joints in the size I thought would work. I bought them for $75 delivered. Turned out they were perfect. Then I found the QA1 shocks with springs could be had for $350 delivered. All I needed now was the bracketry to fix to the chassis rails. Turns out that Mc Donald Bros has a huge range of this stuff and I purchased what i needed for $120. Looking like a cheap conversion now!
    So I stared. First out with the motor and box, remember the leaky rear main seal.

    These have to go. So does all the top of the factory suspension. I planed to use the bottom control arm as the portion of the control arm where the origanl shock bolted to was perfect for the QA1 shock.
    All that was needed was to drill out the threads and use some high tensile bolts to fix the "T" bar on the coil over. Sounding even easier now.

    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps058ba551.jpg
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps32f48ee0.jpg
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps1ff0dc13.jpg
    My puppy dog likes to help.
    These are the brackets I used. They are ment to be used on the diff housing to bolt the coil overs to. They give me the ability to drop or raise the front by one inch by simply undoing two bolts and moving the bracket up or down.
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...psab93570b.jpg
    We then cut of the top control arm and boxed the chassis to then wled on the bracktry.
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps32f48ee0.jpg
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps27edb7dc.jpg
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps6f13b767.jpg
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps0ff591e2.jpg
    We used a bit of RHS to work out the ride hight. This aslo helped with the setting up of the coil over fixing point as it has the be perpendicular to the lower control arm.
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps869effde.jpg
    I will be changing out the coils as they do bind a bit. These are 350Lb springs I will be changing to 450lb springs. They are on order now. They only cost $38 US each.

    So I did do the rear main seal as well and a few other things like a kick down cable for the C4 and a tidy up of the EFI side of the wiring.
    I also decided it was time for a new manifold. So I thouhgt a Wieand tunnel ram would be the way to go. So I had my friend do the machine work to a manifold I had floating around the shed. We then designed a plenum for both function and form. I then upgraded to a 75mm T/B. Plus it had to be shiny.
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps5b6c4c30.jpg
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...psf736f7fe.jpg

    So with the torsion bars gone this will give plenty of room to make a decent set of headers. Instead of the crappy block huggers I run now.

    The other mod was to fit some bolt on flairs from a 4Runner.
    http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps3b9f6013.jpg

    I have more pics if you are interested. I know you want to give this a go for yourself. This just shows you can on a fair budget. Under a $1000

    Cheers Richard. 289Hilux.
    Last edited by 289hilux; 04-08-2013 at 05:24 AM. Reason: add pics
    Injected 5.0L FORD power in HILUX is the only way forward!
    See my ride here: http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/sho...246#post601246

  2. #2
    Junior Member Automotive Encyclopaedia
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    Default Re: 289 Hilux My latest round of conversions for my 1989 RN85r.

    Very nice & impressive work, you have been busy & as you said your Mate can certainly weld !!

    Just a couple of questions I'm guessing you now have dust boots on the top ball joints, would be required for a road worthy also i'm no engineer but I was wondering as to the top inner control arm support / mounting plates that are welded to the chassis wether the plates should have run down the side of the chassis rail too in a inverted L shape for added strength ??

  3. #3
    V8 motavation. Grease Monkey 289hilux's Avatar
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    Default Re: 289 Hilux My latest round of conversions for my 1989 RN85r.

    Thanks for the nice words.

    I looked at many conversions and asked plenty of questions before we did the top mounting tabs. I saw pics of cars with less and some that had gone way overboard.
    If it was a race car and the front was going to be under load ALL the time I agree the tabs would need to be of a different design. Some times less is better. You could easily over engineer this and cause a week spot else ware. I do now have boots on the ball joints.
    Cheers.
    Injected 5.0L FORD power in HILUX is the only way forward!
    See my ride here: http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/sho...246#post601246

  4. #4
    Junior Member 1st year Apprentice
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    Default Re: 289 Hilux Front coil-over shocks conversion for my 1989 RN85r.

    hay mate, can u maybe supply a part number for the coil overs, i was looking into the open top chev/ ford style qa1 that has an open top the spring sits on the under side of the body, also has a bolt up type bottom like a hilux, ( so i would have go make a top spring mount and shock, but id be keeping the stock top control arm,,

    have u got a front axle weight???
    nice work,

    the coment about no top ball joint rubber??
    im more worried about all the weight on 2 3/16?? plate the shockie bolts to????

    spose its "ok" on the rear kit

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    Default Re: 289 Hilux Front coil-over shocks conversion for my 1989 RN85r.

    Good looking conversion mate!

    have you strengthened the lower control arm where you have mounted the coil over? They are not designed to take the weight of the vehicle on that point. I would be pretty worried about that.

    You could have trimmed your standard control arms and had your mate weld some gussets in, thats how mine was done and passed engineering no problems, cost nearly nothing.
    Only pic i can find cant really see what i mean

  6. #6
    V8 motavation. Grease Monkey 289hilux's Avatar
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    Default Re: 289 Hilux Front coil-over shocks conversion for my 1989 RN85r.

    I see your conversion is similar to mine. I brought the top control arms for $75 so it was cheap way out.
    I also wanted it to be a bit different. Most do it the way yours is done. My mate who builds GT 40'S assures me the bottom control arm is strong enough.
    He would have made me fix it if it wasn't.
    What weight springs do you run.
    Injected 5.0L FORD power in HILUX is the only way forward!
    See my ride here: http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/sho...246#post601246

  7. #7
    Forum Member 1st year Apprentice
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    Default Re: 289 Hilux Front coil-over shocks conversion for my 1989 RN85r.

    Great work guys,

    what length ( or model ) qa1's are you running ? just trying to save time on my conversion by saving the down time to cut then have to measure the gap. if i can get the shocks underway first it will be far easier

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