This time on Hot Rod Garage Presented by Lincoln Tech we revamp the suspension on our 1969 Chevy El Camino to turn this lowly hauler into a real corner-carver. The crew from Ridetech not only helped swap out the old mismatched suspension and steering components
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 On this episode of Hot Rod Garage presented by Lincoln Tech,
00:27 our El Camino gets a little lower, the front wheels get a little wider, and
00:31 this thing goes a whole lot faster around an autocross course.
00:35 But right now, here's a new quick tip from Lincoln Tech.
00:38 [MUSIC]
00:43 >> Hi, I'm Ken Phipps, and I'm with Lincoln Technical Institute.
00:46 I'm here to tell you what to do about those annoying little lights on
00:49 your dashboard.
00:50 This is the interface that's gonna hook up to the vehicle under the dash, and
00:53 it's gonna Bluetooth communicate with this scan tool,
00:56 which is gonna give us the information we need to fix the problem.
00:59 So the first thing we're gonna do is plug this connector in underneath the dash,
01:02 the DLC, and we're gonna get all kinds of super secret information out of
01:06 the computer, including how fast you've been driving.
01:08 Now that we've got the tool connected and the ignition switch turned on,
01:13 this tool will tell us what that little check engine light on the dash means and
01:17 what we need to do to correct it.
01:18 So one of the great benefits of using the scan tool is it allows me to see
01:22 the freeze frame data, which tells me the exact conditions that the vehicle was in
01:26 when the code was set.
01:27 Then I can recreate those conditions on the test drive to prove that
01:30 the condition actually exists and to verify the repair when it's complete.
01:33 So it turns out that this has a P0420 catalyst deficiency code,
01:38 which is a problem with the catalytic converter.
01:40 We'll take the truck back into the shop now, verify that that's actually a problem,
01:44 repair it, and follow it up with a test drive under these same conditions, and
01:47 prove that the vehicle's fixed, then we'll give it back to the customer.
01:50 >> Lincoln Tech can teach you how to have a career working with cars.
01:53 See LincolnEDU.com.
01:56 [MUSIC]
02:01 >> This is the Roadkill Project Car Update presented by Dickies, and
02:04 this time around, the El Camino is back.
02:06 In episode four, you saw us put a brand new set of 14-inch Wilwood disc brakes on
02:10 this car, making it stop amazing, but
02:13 highlighting a couple other problems the car has.
02:16 First off, those new brakes actually pushed our forge line wheels out about
02:20 three-quarters of an inch, which made the tires rub on the fenders.
02:23 And my quick fix was gonna be to put coil overs in the front of the car to raise it
02:26 up, but then I was talking to Brett Volkl at Ride Tech, and he said,
02:30 get John Meadows over here.
02:32 He will show you how to install our level three, I think it is?
02:35 >> Yes, that's correct.
02:36 >> Performance suspension system on this car, which should make it
02:39 corner flat still, but actually stick in the corners.
02:42 >> Correct.
02:42 >> So what are the parts, actually?
02:44 >> What we're gonna be installing today is the Ride Tech Level 3 kit.
02:48 And what that kit consists of is the upper and
02:50 lower tubular control arms from Ride Tech, coupled with our triple adjust coil overs,
02:55 both front and rear, along with our Ride Tech tubular muscle bar.
03:00 Front bar will be a three-piece design, the rear bar will be a one-piece design,
03:04 and it is all meant to work together.
03:06 So we should be able to greatly improve the grip of the Project El Camino.
03:10 >> The first problem we're gonna address here is our wheel fitment.
03:14 Once we put the new brakes on the car, it pushed the wheels out far enough where
03:17 the tires actually hit the inner fenders on any kind of bump on the road.
03:21 So what we did was we yanked the wheels from the tires,
03:25 mailed the wheels back to Forge line.
03:27 And because they're a three-piece wheel,
03:30 it was really easy for them to re-hoop these and fix the backspacing.
03:34 We went from an 18 by 8 inch wide wheel with 4 and a quarter inches of backspacing,
03:40 to an 18 by 9 inch wheel with 5 and a half inches of backspacing.
03:44 So although we got wider, our wheels are actually gonna move in just enough so
03:48 that with our new suspension,
03:50 the tires will no longer hit the inner fenders in the car.
03:52 [MUSIC]
04:02 On GMA body cars like the El Camino here,
04:06 the lower control arm mounts are made out of sheet metal that's about 125 thousandths
04:10 of an inch thick.
04:11 And over time when you reinstall, install control arms over and over again,
04:17 that sheet metal can get crushed together, making it really hard to put a new set of
04:21 arms in that have stiff bushings like the Delrin pieces in our Ride Tech arms.
04:25 So what I'm gonna do now is I'm gonna make a tool to actually spread that sheet
04:28 metal apart using all thread.
04:30 [MUSIC]
04:38 Here's our new tool.
04:39 What we're gonna do is slide that through the control arm mount,
04:43 with some nuts and some washers.
04:44 And we will use the nuts to thread out on this and spread the sheet metal apart.
04:49 [MUSIC]
04:59 So by turning our nuts here, we're actually spreading the sheet metal in
05:05 a much more flat manner than hitting it with a hammer or using a pry bar.
05:10 And now the control arm will slip right in there.
05:14 [MUSIC]
05:21 So we're getting ready to put the Ride Tech lower arm in.
05:24 And what I like to do is just kinda get it started.
05:27 And then you're just gonna kinda gently muscle it up in its pocket,
05:31 just wiggling it back and forth until you can get the arm up in its pocket.
05:36 Takes a little bit of effort sometimes, because like I say,
05:41 the car's been hit or bent over the years.
05:43 So sometimes it might take a little bit of work, but it'll definitely go in.
05:47 Okay guys, we've got our lower arm in the car, and
05:52 we're gonna go right back in with our upper arm here.
05:55 I'm gonna slip it right over the chassis here.
05:59 Line up our bolts, drop our upper arm in, and just let it rest there.
06:05 And of course, our nut to hold that.
06:07 [MUSIC]
06:17 Well, new tubular upper and lower arms are in, the coilovers are in.
06:22 There's a couple more things I wanna talk about before we go on, and
06:24 that's the fact that these spindles are, I believe,
06:26 an inch and three quarters taller than stock, and I'd love to know why.
06:31 >> We extended the height of the spindle between the ball joints.
06:34 It comes with a two inch drop pin, so it is a two inch drop spindle.
06:38 But we've raised the top of the spindle, so
06:41 we can get the upper control arm here on a better negative camber gain right away.
06:46 So at Ride Hard, if our lower arm is parallel to the ground and
06:49 flat as it should be, our upper arm's already going upward to pull the top of
06:54 the tire in for negative camber and cornering.
06:57 So if we were going into a left hand corner,
06:59 the top of the tire would wanna lean in.
07:01 Factory, these cars did the opposite.
07:03 They were a short spindle, and the top of the tire would positive camber and
07:08 take the contact patch off the pavement.
07:10 This way, we're keeping as much of the contact patch on the pavement as we
07:13 possibly can by doing this.
07:14 >> Cool, all right, and then remote reservoir dampers.
07:19 >> Yes, this gives you high speed compression adjustment here
07:24 on the big outer knurled knob and low speed compression adjustment on
07:28 the small center knurled knob, as well as the rebound adjustment on the top of
07:34 the shock, so this is a true triple adjust shock.
07:36 [MUSIC]
07:42 >> All right, amazingly enough, the only hardware we're keeping from the old setup
07:47 are the caliper mounting bracket, caliper, and rotor.
07:50 Everything else is brand new.
07:52 Control arms, coil overs, steering components.
07:56 We're even gonna put a brand new sway bar on, and that's next.
07:59 So as soon as that's on the car, we're gonna move to the back.
08:02 >> Okay, for the sway bar bracket, what we have is a piece of preformed metal here.
08:07 And there's two factory holes drilled in the frame.
08:09 We're gonna use the front of those two holes, the frontal most hole rather.
08:14 And we're gonna use the countersunk.
08:15 We're gonna drill it and tap it to 3/8 course thread.
08:18 And then we're gonna re-drill the other two and tap them as well.
08:21 And that's how we're gonna hold our sway bar.
08:23 [MUSIC]
08:33 >> One thing I like to do when I'm installing any type of ride tech kit is I
08:46 like to, after I've tightened a bolt and I've been there and
08:50 I know I'm confident with my specs, is I'll take a paint marker and
08:53 I'll draw a line through my bolts.
08:56 Just to let me or anybody else know that might be working with me or
08:59 helping me, that these bolts have been torqued to the proper spec.
09:03 And that line is just an indication that somebody has tightened those.
09:07 >> Front end is together.
09:08 One of the last things we have to do here is mount our remote reservoir.
09:11 And I think you got an Adele clamp up there to do that.
09:14 >> Yeah, what we'll do is we'll slide this right down the braided hose.
09:18 What I like to do is keep the hose out of the way of, say,
09:21 the sway bar arm here as it's compressing and rebounding, moving up and down.
09:26 We have the upper A arm that's up here.
09:28 So I like to keep it out of the way of moving parts, including the tire.
09:31 So what we'll do is we'll just put an Adele clamp there and
09:34 we'll center punch that.
09:36 And we'll put a self-tapping screw in there, or a nut and a bolt,
09:39 whatever suits you, and that'll take care of that.
09:42 [SOUND] >> Okay.
09:44 >> Perfect.
09:47 [SOUND] >> All right, there we go.
09:52 Front's done.
09:52 Let's move to the back.
09:54 [MUSIC]
09:57 That's right, folks, triangulated four link, no pan hard bar holding the rear end
10:01 in place.
10:02 Tell me all about our new strong arms.
10:04 >> Well, this is a design that we came up with a number of years ago.
10:08 The bottom bar is fixed, as you'll notice.
10:11 And we've integrated bungs through that bar to hold our sway bar so
10:15 we can use a rear muscle bar with it.
10:17 The upper arm is adjustable on one end with a heim joint, machined bushings to
10:22 take up the difference in the bracket on the chassis, and
10:25 it's a Kevlar lined heim joint.
10:28 >> Okay, so if you wanna adjust pinion angle, I guess,
10:32 this has to get unbolted from one end, thread it out or in.
10:36 >> Correct, or the other end and pick it up and turn it and put it back in.
10:39 >> Okay, all right, cool, that makes sense.
10:42 Well, let's put it in.
10:43 >> All right.
10:43 >> All right.
10:44 [MUSIC]
10:54 >> If you were alive in the 90s and you were a mini trucker,
11:11 before we all started putting airbags on our rides, you probably had these air shocks.
11:16 And indeed, we had them on the back of the El Camino in conjunction with this drop
11:20 spring, which I think might have been from Beltec, not sure.
11:23 Got a lot of different parts on this car, but not anymore.
11:26 What are we putting in?
11:27 >> Ride Tech triple adjust coilover conversion.
11:30 We have a trick little bracket on the rear end housing.
11:34 We have a trick little bracket that bolts in the top of the car for
11:37 the upper eye, and it is the same stuff we put in the front, but for the rear.
11:42 So what do you say we put it in?
11:43 >> Why not? It's late.
11:45 Let's finish.
11:46 [MUSIC]
11:56 There's only one thing left to do, and that's set the ride height.
12:16 We've already put the car on the ground.
12:18 It looks like it's a couple inches too low.
12:21 How are we gonna fix that?
12:22 >> First thing we're gonna do is use a Allen wrench,
12:24 which we will supply in the kit for you.
12:26 And we will break the jam nut loose on the lower spanner.
12:30 And then in the kit we also include this fancy little spanner wrench that goes on
12:34 a simple 3H drive ratchet.
12:36 We'll span it up to our mid span on our compression and
12:40 rebound of our shocks on the middle of our travel.
12:42 And that's it.
12:43 Tighten the jam screw back up and we're done.
12:45 >> Cool.
12:46 All right. >> Let's go do that.
12:47 [MUSIC]
12:57 >> I gotta say, I'm thoroughly impressed.
13:10 No busted knuckles, nobody bled, no trips to the ER.
13:14 It bolted on, we didn't have to cut up the car at all.
13:17 And all we gotta do is go back to the test track and
13:18 find out how well it actually works.
13:21 >> Right.
13:22 >> Cool.
13:22 >> Have fun.
13:23 >> Yeah, let's go.
13:23 [MUSIC]
13:28 Here's something I never understood.
13:29 Why are there so many damn brake fluids on the shelf of my local auto parts store?
13:34 Well, ACDelco told me why.
13:36 Essentially, the Department of Transportation classifies brake fluid based on its
13:41 chemistry, its boiling point, and its low temperature viscosity.
13:45 What does all that mean?
13:47 Well, basically, where you drive is as important as how you drive
13:51 when you choose your brake fluid.
13:53 For example, GM actually sells DOT 3 and DOT 4 brake fluid for
13:58 the same vehicle based on where it's sold and
14:01 where they think it's gonna be operated in.
14:04 So let's talk about DOT 3 and 4.
14:06 These are both glycol ether based.
14:08 This is your garden variety brake fluid.
14:10 Find it in any car on the road today.
14:12 DOT 5, that's silicone based.
14:14 You're gonna see that in more extreme environments.
14:16 Like if you're gonna open track your car and really beat the hell out of the brakes,
14:20 you know, until the fluid boils, you're gonna want DOT 5 in there.
14:24 So at the end of the day,
14:25 if you're wondering what kind of brake fluid belongs in your system,
14:28 consult your OEM manufacturer if your car is stock, or
14:31 consult whoever built your brake system if you've modified it.
14:34 [MUSIC]
14:40 [MUSIC]
14:50 [MUSIC]
15:00 [MUSIC]
15:10 >> There's that turn, all right.
15:23 I missed that completely the last time.
15:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]
15:30 We are back at our top secret test facility here in Fontana, California.
15:34 I've got James Crosby with me from Ride Tech.
15:36 And we have already installed the level three Ride Tech suspension system on
15:40 the 69 Elko.
15:41 And that is a coilover conversion front and rear, new lower and
15:45 upper control arms, sway bars, triple adjustable shocks.
15:49 I mean, it's badass.
15:50 And we just went 39.24 seconds around our autocross here setting a brand new record.
15:56 It's the only record, but it's new.
15:58 And I wanna go faster, so what can we do to make me a better driver?
16:03 >> A better driver I can't help you with.
16:04 I can't help you with how the car's gonna handle.
16:07 So we're gonna make some adjustments to the triples.
16:10 >> Okay. >> Put some more compression in it, and
16:12 probably take some rebound out of it.
16:14 So let's see if we can make it go faster.
16:17 >> All right, cool, man.
16:18 [MUSIC]
16:29 [MUSIC]
16:39 [MUSIC]
16:49 [MUSIC]
16:59 >> I am the fastest man alive.
17:14 >> Well, maybe.
17:16 >> I have to be the fastest man.
17:17 Look how many cones I brought with me.
17:18 >> Well, you're the fastest man in this particular parking lot.
17:20 >> There we go.
17:21 I'll take that.
17:22 It's small, but I will take it.
17:23 We have picked up one full second from where we started earlier today, and
17:26 that was no adjustments.
17:29 And then you turned some knobs, and suddenly I was Mario fricking Andretti out there.
17:33 >> It's amazing, isn't it?
17:34 >> Right?
17:34 So what did all the tweaking do?
17:36 >> Well, we put compression in front and rear on the low speed side.
17:41 We also took some rebound out of the front.
17:44 That gets the car to transition a little better to where it plants more weight on
17:48 the front wheels, takes some away from the rear, and we're able to get it to
17:51 rotate, and you're able to drive it in.
17:53 Plus, it took a lot of the push out of the car.
17:57 Now, with the baselines that I've given you now, you can make some adjustments
18:01 from here on out and just get the car consistently faster.
18:06 >> You know what? I just realized.
18:07 That's another great excuse for me to tell my wife why we can't paint her car.
18:12 Baby, we can't paint it.
18:13 We're still tuning it.
18:14 >> Yeah.
18:15 >> Yes.
18:16 Because I thought we were almost done and she was going to make me spray this thing,
18:19 and I don't want to do that.
18:20 >> Isn't it against your religion to paint stuff?
18:22 >> It is now.
18:23 [LAUGH]
18:24 All right, well, thank you for coming out.
18:26 Thank you for the lesson.
18:27 I appreciate it.
18:28 I want to thank Ride Tech and everybody else that got involved in this deal.
18:31 Forge Line for the wheels, Falcon for the tires, me for the talent, God for
18:36 the sunshine.
18:37 It was an amazing day.
18:38 Let's get out of here.
18:39 [MUSIC]
18:43 >> Finally, we get to the meat of the show, the question and
18:46 answer session with myself and Finnegan.
18:48 This is where you go to facebook.com/hotrodgarageshow.
18:53 You look for our monthly query where we say we need questions.
18:56 Post a question and we'll sit here and maybe answer it for you.
18:59 >> Joe Bundy wants to know, how proud am I that Blasphemy beat the Hellcat in
19:04 the SEMA drag race video?
19:05 If you haven't seen that, it's on the Motor Trend channel.
19:08 You can look it up.
19:09 There's five days of SEMA coverage culminating in a drag race between
19:13 Fred Williams, myself, Jesse Lang, and Mike Sabucci.
19:17 And we had everything from my 55 Chevy to a turbocharged Chevy Sonic.
19:22 We had a Jeep Ford Control with a late model Hemi in it.
19:26 >> And tracks.
19:27 >> And tracks, tank tracks, and the Hellcat, and I destroyed them all.
19:32 And yes, proud of it, taking it and patting myself on the back.
19:35 >> We got an email just yesterday saying, what was it?
19:38 Ask what's his nuts if he could have a rematch.
19:42 >> Yeah, that was Scott Brown from Chrysler.
19:43 >> It was.
19:44 I think the problem is the guys at Dodge need to realize the 55 Chevy has
19:49 a Mopar Performance Crate engine in it.
19:50 >> So they won.
19:51 >> Yeah, they won either way.
19:53 It makes the same power as the Hellcat, and
19:55 the car weighs like 1,100 pounds less than a new Challenger.
19:59 >> Yeah, they weren't winning that drag race.
20:01 Sorry.
20:03 I mean, your Hellcat is cool, it's just not Hemi and a 55 Chevy Bel Air cool.
20:08 >> Lloyd Foley?
20:11 >> That sounds legit.
20:14 I mean, I'm sure somebody said, you look like a Lloyd.
20:16 Sorry, Infinite.
20:19 >> Lloyd Foley.
20:20 I'll just go ahead and put two L's in your name, one of them's silent.
20:22 Lloyd wants to know, could we keep the EFI on the Crusher Camaro,
20:27 which currently has an LS7 in it, and put back in the big block with the 871 on it?
20:32 Of course we could.
20:33 >> He's got an OI in his name.
20:35 >> OI?
20:36 >> Lloyd?
20:37 >> Yeah. >> Foley.
20:38 That reminds me of Axel Foley.
20:39 Do you think it's related to Axel Foley?
20:41 >> God, I hope so.
20:42 Lloyd sounds white.
20:43 I think what he meant to say was, could we keep the LS7 in there and
20:47 the EFI and put the blower from the big block back on?
20:50 And the answer is yes.
20:51 >> Yes, you can.
20:52 There is a guy who makes a manifold to put a blower on an LS motor.
20:56 Last time I checked, he made cathedral ports.
20:58 I assume by now he makes the rectangle port stuff for LS motor.
21:01 >> I've seen it.
21:02 I've seen an 871 on an LS five years ago.
21:07 >> Yeah, you're right.
21:07 Somebody's doing it.
21:08 >> It's totally doable.
21:09 Or we could put EFI on the big block on top of the blower with a couple of
21:12 throttle bodies.
21:13 Or you can get the cool, enderly looking or
21:16 hillborn looking scoop with the four individual throttle blades.
21:21 >> That's my favorite looking vehicle.
21:22 >> That'd be good.
21:23 >> Walter Van Digick wants to know,
21:25 if any of our cars had to be crushed, which one would you choose?
21:29 >> Which road kill car or personal car?
21:33 Probably road kill car is what they're asking about, which one would you crush?
21:36 >> Unfortunately, the 240 is the one that needs it.
21:38 >> Wow, you crushed the 240.
21:40 >> Yeah, it's punished us twice with blowing up the motor, and it is a rusty POS.
21:46 >> It is. >> You couldn't weld to one square inch
21:48 of that car.
21:50 >> Yeah, but crushing, that just seems like such a spiteful way to take it out,
21:53 really.
21:53 >> I'm sure there's a viewer who would take that car, otherwise it's pretty much
21:58 junk. >> Drive it off a cliff, but
22:00 crushing, God, that's just so deliberate, really.
22:02 >> That's true, there's really no fun in crushing it.
22:04 Although we did run into that guy on, I forget, Power Tour or
22:07 Drag Week, who has the company where they can shred an entire car.
22:11 It's in Ohio.
22:12 He said we could actually go there and they'd throw a car in the shredder for us.
22:15 >> I'd feel really bad about that.
22:17 I'd rather just watch those videos on YouTube of Will It Blend?
22:20 >> Yeah, that's basically what this is.
22:21 >> Blends golf clubs and Transformer toys and stuff, yeah.
22:23 >> Yep, you gotta say, which one would you crush?
22:26 >> Out of all the road kill cars, General Mayhem.
22:31 >> No, you wouldn't do that.
22:32 >> It's not mine.
22:34 >> [LAUGH] >> I don't own it.
22:36 I don't ever get to drive it.
22:37 It pains me a lot.
22:39 So yeah, you're out of here.
22:41 Bye.
22:41 >> Wow, good luck with your popularity polls from this point on.
22:44 >> [LAUGH] >> Yaroslav Bloda,
22:47 clearly riding from Ireland.
22:49 >> Broda.
22:50 >> Broda wants to know, what's my cry like a little girl dream car?
22:54 Kind of like your cry like a little girl dream car was that 55 Chevy Gasser over
22:58 there.
22:59 You know what, I'm so jaded.
23:00 I don't have any one car.
23:02 I just need mass.
23:03 My whole thing is I like the hunt, I like the acquisition,
23:07 I like making it run and drive, and then I don't like having it.
23:11 And so I'd rather get rid of it and do that again.
23:14 That's what Roadkill has done for me,
23:15 is it's given me access to a whole bunch of different cars to play with all the time.
23:19 There's no one.
23:21 I guess I would say, if I had to have one car back that I've owned,
23:26 that I would keep and not get rid of, it's my 71 446 pack Roadrunner.
23:31 Triple black car with four speed and air grabber.
23:34 >> Rest in peace.
23:35 >> Well, this brings a close to the expert information that we're bringing you on
23:38 this episode.
23:39 Ask your questions next time at facebook.com/hotrodgarageshow and
23:46 you will get this level of information every time.
23:49 [MUSIC]
23:53 >> Well, that was fun.
23:54 We just found out that one day spent in the shop with Ride Tech's new bolt-on
23:58 suspension system yields big time results on the autocross course.
24:03 We wanna thank Ride Tech and Lincoln Tech for helping out with this episode.
24:06 And if you guys wanna see any behind the scenes action,
24:09 visit us on Facebook at Hot Rod Garage Show.
24:12 See you next time.
24:13 [MUSIC]
24:23 the next episode.