Custom Adjustable Front Coilovers for All Years (fabrication required)

Well the response to this mod wasn't so great that it would net a substantial discount @ PSI performance. But I went ahead and bought the kit(sorry Sqrivi Bumper) anyway.Bo gave me $15 off and threw in a set of adjustable coilover spring nuts with top hat.Great guy.
all I need to do is cut to length and weld in the bottom plug and knuckle tabs and I've got a fully adjustable coilover front suspension for my Riv,the first as far as I know.
also need a pair of cartridge inserts.either Bilstein or koni.I cant afford top of the line stuff just a simple non adjustable insert for now.But still hundred times better than whats available for her.
I'll send to Bilstein my Bilstein 5100 series rear shocks to have a channel machined into the shock body for a circlip.converting the rears into coilovers. I can then drop or raise the Riv and inch or two. how cool is this!?

Beautiful parts. I'm sure the Riv will be much better without the roly-poly front end.

u sed it buddy.

Yeah, its gonna be sweet! For those of us who are getting it.

absolutely! I need to save a few $ for the springs and cartridge insert and the package is ready for install.I'll be spending a little more than I thought for the insert.I wanted to only spend enough to get the car on the road by getting a non adjustable insert.I'll invest just a few $ more and at least get one that has adjustable rebound. both rebound and compression will have to wait another day.

Robo, do you have any pictures of your installation?

Nope. not yet.Money has been an issue of late.cartrige inserts are pricey and I wont settle for a non adjustable cartrige.Adjustable or nothing.Its a simple mod.Most important part is the first and only measured cut.You only get one chance. Duplicate the OEM measurment and then deduct 2inches.that will give you the ride height yer looking for.Simple. when Im able to finish i'll posta complete set of pics.

Got my Custom Coilover kit all ready to git welded up and installed.just need to buy the front caliper bolts and install.word to anyone with a series 1-who is considering swaping out the Heavy cast Iron knuckle with the series 2-alu knuckle,piece-o-cake. The alu knuckle strut holes,where the strut mounts to the knuckle,are spaced a little further apart.So if you retain your oem or KYB's you will have to fill and re-drill the mounting holes on the strut.
For the record,all the steering rod ends and the ball joint dimensions are the same on the series 2 -as on the series 1.You can take the series 2 alu knuckle and just bolt it right up to the series 1.Of course you will be obliged to swap in the twin piston calipers or the cast iron series 2 calipers
This package along with the Firebird twin piston calipers and alu knuckle,drop the front end weight by allmost 50 lbs.When I install the series 2 -alu control arms I'll drop that a few more lbs!
All I need to do is install them.

This is amazing. Go, Robo.

Good stuff. (+) Question: is there much clearance between the inside of the spring and the adjustment threads on the strut? In the pic looks like there could be contact issues.

Robo, what brand of shocks are you putting the coil over? Would these work with KYB AGX ? Will you link us to where you got those pretty springs? Do you tighten and loosen the blue nut to adjust the ride height?

Merged to the group-buy struts thread. I assume the coils are available from the same distributor?

No clearance issues.The coils are Eibach ERS springs.The shocks are Konis,8610-1437 RACE. adjustable for rebound only.The pillow ball mounts are made by Noltec.
On page one of this thread you can find the dist. info + pricing.

I dont know if this can be considered a "Group Buy" any longer. How about "Custom Coil over kit for Riviera,95 to 98" the group buy thing didnt take off at all. kits are still available tho...

Sounds good. Just make an edit to your first post stating that the group buy is over. You should be able to change the topic title, too. Thx.

Just to sum up a few points that might interest others thinkin about doin this mod or getting rid of any of the Cast Iron Pig bits up front.

The 95 knuckle and the alu knuckle of the 97 and up are identical in every respect except two. The bolt holes on the knuckle that accept the strut bolts on the series 2 are spaced further apart. Simple matter of welding closed the top hole of the strut,and re drilling the bolt hole a little higher up.And the knuckle tab that accepts the strut, sits about an inch higher than the 95.so if you adapt the 97 knuckle your ride will be sitting higher.You can eliminate the stock strut tabs and weld on a lower mounting tab.doable but a PIA.might as well get you some custom coilovers.

The alu control arms of the 97 and up match the geometry of the series 1.Weld on the vertical tabs to the 95 to accomodate the 97 and up alu control arms and you wont have to change the allignment settings at all. Maybe just a little tie rod adjustment. The ball joint is the same.same angle, same width,same height.Only difference is that the 97 and up ball joint specified for the series 2 have longer bolts,or,longer rivets.If you mod your 95 for the 97 alu control arms and want to use your good ball joints from the 95,you will need longer bolts.

the outer tie rod locations are the same.Only difference is that the 97 knuckle sits about a 1/4 higher at the tie rod mounting point.
the hubs are the same.I did not remove my 95 hub to see if it will fit in the 97 alu knuckle.I wont bother.Morad sold me a set of alu knuckles for not a whole lot with good hubs.done.I cant speak for the ABS wiring but in every other respect the set up is the same.Bolts rite in.

If doing all of the above swap,ya gonna have to say bye bye to the iron 95 calipers.wont fit.at all. Either you step up to the iron 97 calipers or go the 98 Firebird alu twin piston calipers( F-Body brake mod write up)

Final points of interest( or lack of) Doing this custom coil over mod is a major pain in the ass! so many little points will catch you up and have you beggin for mommys milk. longer ball joint bolts.weld tab spacing issues,and a few other bits that pissed me off in the "Duh ,why didnt i think of that first"dept. Not to mention doing this in your garage with hand tools and no cut off saw.

So lets say that "someone" was also doing this, for best results they would need:
-97+ knuckles
-97+ control arms
-97+ ball joints (assuming "someone" was putting a good amount of new things into this.)
-F-body brake mod "stuff"
-RoboSuspension front coil-over sets

??

Did you get any pics of the process? or was it more of a "get it done" thing?

Alu 97+ knuckles -check

Alu 97+ control arms-check

97 ball joints-check ( 95 ball joint bolts are fatter than the 97 +)

F-body brake mod stuff really makes it all shine but not mandatory.

My super dooper my fully adjustable coil overs are so much better than everybody elses kit? why not.

I will take pics tonight of the right side process.

Yesterday was definitely a " Get it done thing"

Fucked up thing is,I had no beer .Everything is just better with beer.

robotennis61 wrote:

Alu 97+ knuckles -check

Alu 97+ control arms-check

97 ball joints-check ( 95 ball joint bolts are fatter than the 97 +)

F-body brake mod stuff really makes it all shine but not mandatory.

My super dooper my fully adjustable coil overs are so much better than everybody elses kit? why not.

I will take pics tonight of the right side process.

Yesterday was definitely a " Get it done thing"

Fucked up thing is,I had no beer .Everything is just better with beer.

Ball joints must be the same for 96+ because mine fit into the 97+ knuckles just fine.
Robo, how did you get the 97+ LCA to work? they have 2 horizontal bushings where the 95/96 have a vertical front bushing and the horizontal rear bushing. Subframe swap?

?? I got the idea from ducstu.he has a super write up. as far as the different types of LCAs between the years..I dont know? all I know is the 95 has the forward vertical bushing(SHIT) and all the other years have the horizontal bushing (NOT SHIT) so I just went by ducstus write up.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t7582-write-up-1997-front-control-arm-conversion-to-98-99-style

According to Rockauto,the 97 Riv also has the horizontal( Standard ) style,or some of them do.

also,the banjo bolts on the twin piston calipers are metric 10 x 1.5.I dont know what the thread pitch of the 95 is.dont care.all I know is I now need 1, 10 x 1.5 banjo bolt to complete the project.

Hey robo, which strut mounts are you using? 95 ones or 97+ ones? Like the whole strut top and bearing sets?

None of the above.I am using a pillow ball mount.its the flat gold colored steel plate atop the coil over assembly in the pic I posted.
strut mounts!? we dont need no stinkin strut mounts!

ah ok, that answers that. So that sucker just bolts right in? Sweet. that saves me a bit.

A pillow ball mount(I dont know why its called a pillow ball) is a strut mount.its just a no nonsense zero deflection spherical bearing mount.

So are they generally more expensive than the "normal" GM round tracked bearing for a strut top mount? Or just newer design? last longer? Better for performance? Different method?

Just getting my head around GM rationale for what they used vs. the pillow ball mount.