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Swagon Build Project

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swagon
11K views 222 replies 25 participants last post by  Jchan11hk 
#1 ·
I cant remember when last I had a build thread, so heres my Swagon build.
Things will start to pick up in the next three months as Im attending the annual show in Kimberley.

I bought Adrien's wagon, while the color is not my favorite I wanted a good base to start off with. So far Ive bought GT Toora's(jetfins), GTA style headlights, black leather interior from a sedan(rear backrest dont fit), side skirts and some stickers.

Coilies in the form of Maxtracs are on their way.

Mechanically Ive only replaced two tyres(might be three soon as I have a leak somewhere) and Speenvark helped me replace a wrongfully diagnosed slave cylinder, my master cylinder is acting up, oh and a very expensive batery. The car is smooth and drives well...slow compared to my previous cars but I like its character...it will be low and slow.

Plans for the coming months are:
Split GTV wheels
Coilies
Bodywork
Fit the rest of the interior
Fit GTA headlights
Fit side skirts
Source a Cupra front lip
Louder backbox
Roof racks and roof box or bike carrier











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#143 ·
The whining noise...need to figure out where it comes from car is going in tomorrow for inner cv boot ... ive looked at the belt and idles/tensioners and they look old...I hope Adrien is on here still...guy, did your mech replace the belts and tensioners and idles, the belt looks very old, Ill take pics late. I cant travel to KBY not knowing the belts were done/not done...this is a bummer.

Ti me they look worn...has small cracks in them, but it seems fine???


I hope the sound is not related to this because the last thing I want to do is spend maintenance money on a car that's supposed to have these things done.

Eish man...

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#144 ·


Top mount knackered causing coilover to movw and hit the arm???


Only happens on right hand side.

Regarding thw noise, took fromt wheel ofd...had somone rev to 3500rpm and it seems as the worn inner cv spins, th e noise becomes more prevalent and as the cv stops moving the noise stops.

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#196 ·
So based on this...what would have to be replaced that was not included here?

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#147 ·
Adrien who did it? Ill take a pic they are auld

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#148 ·
Wont brake through. Will contact Maxtrac SA and see if they sell spares.

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#150 ·
Well it seems most people with these "chrome coilovers with red springs" have this issue.

The budget coilies do this, the dedign is poor, as you can see the thread goes down alot more but it hits the arm when its about 80mm down...Ill see how far I can lift it without hitting and still be low...so...if you want to buy coilies, go for Maxtrac as theyre not bad, if you want to go low...go for something else because at R7999 these are no longer budget coilies.

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#152 ·
It's ok Lance. I am currently going through some personal issues and forced to drive my mommy's Fiat 500. I keep thinking "this thing has some serious poke for a 1.2 automatic!" and "This thing handles like on rails!"

Yes it does have some serious poke, and yes it does handle as if on rails but then one day my wife brings the 159 around and says "I'm using mom's car, there's something wrong with this one" so I poke around and find the car rattles like hell and vibrates at 140km/h so take it for a check and we find two exhaust hangers are off and the right rear wheel balancing is completely out and the wheel is rebalanced and the car drives like a dream again.

And that's where I actually realize what "serious poke" and "handles on rails" actually means. :wow: I actually forgot and misjudged and tried to console myself that driving a 1.2 Fiat 500 wasn't so bad but suffice to say, I sent my wife off on her way with an empty tank after I drove up her half tank and took my mom's 500 out for a beer and a disappointing rugby match.

What does this all have to do with your story? Nothing.

Except that we sometimes tell ourselves how good something feels when we are doing it dangerously wrong but we accept what we are doing is correct and acceptable because everybody else is doing it. Don't worry, it's not your problem alone. The internet with all it's wisdom has only succeeded in making people stupid because they do not use logic anymore. Everything needs to be proven by Google and it's the easiest thing to do. Every argument will have a range off solutions on Google. The other problem is also that even some of the most educated people fall into this trap and believe what "other people say" or what is good in one instance will definitely be good in another instance.

I will never enter a track day without semislicks on my car because in my personal experience it is an epic improvement in handling. I then fitted semislicks to my Alfetta 159 and to my Punto HGT and immediately realized what crap I caught on. No longer could you get into your car at 5am and drive to work. No longer could you have some fun on a wet road. No longer could you just have a blast on any road surface, because literally sal jy jou gat sien. But these tires were track proven.

Getting back to the point:
Coilovers were first used on motorcycles as a packaging solution because they took up less space and had less weight. They then found themselves being mounted remotely and longitudinally in race cars, being operated by a system of bell cranks and levers. Also, for weight savings and more efficient use of space and center of gravity. But before I proceed, we need to know that the most ideal suspension is the simplest suspension. Which is no suspension. That is the reason why nothing quite handles like a cart. But zero suspension on even a race car would cause bleeding kidneys and your brainstem will slip out of your ******* causing all sorts of other complications, so we fit suspension to cars. And the suspension on a road car serves 3 purposes: Comfort, handling and tire wear is all influenced by the suspension. Modifying your suspension usually causes a slight compromise in one or more of the other factors.

When you fit coilovers to a car the n you usually compromise ride quality for handling. Your suspension now also works more directly with shocks working on the same plane as the springs because they are concentrically mounted. This improves wheel control, and therefore wheel angle changes during racing becomes better, leading to better handling at the slight expense of ride comfort under certain conditions.

In the early 90's H&R thought they would start selling coilovers for road cars, but their kits were very expensive at the time because they had camber correction plates, featured adjustable damping in order to compensate for altering the ride height, and were also made to look good (see attached image). But they were complete and featured helper springs as well, which would prevent the springs from unseating when the preload was reduced to make the car lower (everyone wanted a DTM looking car back then). Very soon, Bilstein, Koni and all the rest started marketing their own coilovers and making them simpler in order to make them more affordable.

One thing that actually improved the safety of coilovers regardless of people who bought them without helper springs and then dropped them on the low-low, was the introduction of full threaded shock bodies. Now you adjusted the preload and it remained constant while you used a separate adjustment to control ride height. (see second image).

I am firmly a believer of controlling safety at all costs, and rather leaving out a mod if it compromises safety in any way. And in my eyes, fitting coilovers correctly entails that you use full threaded shock bodies. Then you can eliminate helper springs since your preload is constant and your springs won't unseat.

failing to do so, changes your car from a safe family car to a murder weapon in which you will not only wipe out your family, but also probably murder someone else in the process as well. It is that serious.
 

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#155 ·
Exactly...can you pkeaae relay this message to Ian who seems unable to grasp this.

The car wuth bonnet open is the noise...which is the CV which is being replaced as we speak...

Again you show your underhanded interest in only wanting to be right even when youre not lol...guy, please...get with the program man...low is life is the purpose of going so stupidly low in the 1st place...the car is going to be lifted today and hence the perch wont touch the arm lol...relay...Ian Ian...check in..did you get that message?

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#158 ·
I am thinking the same thing Avi...thinking the same thing...

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#163 ·
Didnt read Ian reply..too long. He says no one follows his advice...then I ask him a question about an upright solution then he says im stupid for asking lmfao.

Btw the car is driving to the show...cant expect you pansies to understand the low life saga...lmfao



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#168 ·
I did not say that you were stupid for asking the question.

What I said was that you are stupid. Because of what you do not want to learn.

I take it that you received some info from me that I sent on Friday.

By the way: I would rather be a living pansy than a dead lion.
 
#166 ·
Whenever I touch a coilover theres problems...people problems lmfao

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#167 ·
Car lifted about 5mm...still hitting the upright but much less so, will loft another 2mm and check as its hitting very high up.

I also put 3mm spacers all round.



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#170 ·
Another problem on the horizon. Recently I realized my temp gauge going past 90 to the next level...only then does the fans kick in.

My AC dont work but when I pit the AC on the fans dont come on.

Even at speed does it first go way past 90 then fans kick in then it goes to 90 where fans stop.

Its as if 70 is now the new 90 and 90 went to the next level indicator...

No leaks, water is in reservoir...fans just come on way too late.

Any ideas?

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#171 ·
Another problem on the horizon. Recently I realized my temp gauge going past 90 to the next level...only then does the fans kick in.
Next level being the 3/4 mark?

My understanding is that stage 1 of the fans kicks in around 95, and stage 2 around 100. That's about what I've experienced taking a reading with my OBD2 tool. The gauge is not to be trusted in my experience. If I'd followed Ian's advice previously and just used the gauge as a guide I'd have replaced my thermostat every time I drive the car. Get a diag tool of some sort to confirm.
 
#173 ·
Yes 3/4. Ive checked connections to fans...all seems wel one clip broke off due to being brittle, but it fits snug.

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