looking good mate. 175 pound, isn't that very light? i thought the going rate was 250 minimum? i have to decide on that sort of stuff soon, i guess you have the nice light a12 in there though

Shortened stanza body!?... Please tell me what was used Boofhead

What insert? How much you cut off? Did you have to bore the tube then Rethread, Who did you get to do this?

Cheers Older Skool

to shorten the strut tube you cut off the threaded bit then cut out your desired amount and then re-weld the threaded top back on. you cut off more than the threaded section though, so that the weld is underneath the new coilover sleeve.

Yeah but isnt that a problem with a it breaking... i heard people V weld them. But if that was to break on the raod and you caused an accident could be in fair bit of trouble. I know this is very doubtful. Is the weld noticable as in when wanting to pass a Engineer report.

I thought stronger and safier way was to cut the tube bore it and re-Thread it?

Its what I am planning for my ute so can handle the extra wieght and still sit low with good travel.

Wouldn't it be safer to get the tube rethreaded rather than rewelding the threaded section???

bugger b120dat...u beat me to it!!

standard stanza springs are around 115-120lbs, 175lbs isn't bad for daily driving and with the quality of roads around home (read : great ocean rd) and only an a series in the engine bay, anything stiffer and your kidneys will be a little upset .... drove it on a cruise down here for about 4hrs and was glad to get out and sit on the couch by the end of it pigdog can vouch for the ride quality as he balanced out the passenger side of the car.

standard stanza struts, cut off the spring seat, get the threaded section cut off the top, cut out about 60mm ?? from memory, then reweld the original threaded section back on, used pedders 240z inserts - have a nice dampening considering what they're supposed to be under
i had pedders do most of the work but wouldn't advise anyone to go down that road unless you're patient and know someone who manages a branch

theres not alot of thickness to the wall of the strut tubing to machine a thread into .... you can see the section that was cut off and rewelded on the strut on the right ...

So final result is about 60mm shorter all up?, with bucket loads of travel. Looks the goods mate

Good work. Looks like we've all been busy.

I got my springs ordered yesterday, I'm using sports rated 240z pedders inserts in cut down 180b struts. I cut my factory spring mounts off today. I went for 200pds/200mmx65mm springs with helper spring.

I'll take a photo of my completed coilover setup next weekend.

I am considering mounting my camber top plates in diagonally to get some more castor. I think that's what many 1200s badly need more of.

My car is currenly moving around on castor wheels under the engine crossmember.

see adrian, diagonally mount the strut tops like i was saying

rides a fair bit better than my car at the moment, some shocks that actually work and a wheel alignment might help me a little

EDIT: paint your hubs

unfortuatley can't mount the triangle cusco tops diagnaolly, but maybe with a little help from the angle grinder .....??

As long as you can actually weld or know a place that can then the cut and reweld is the way to go. Thats how Koni do it, and pedders obviously as well. Its the only way i've heard it done... so far

So no one has heard of anyone leaving the spring seat where it is, cutting the strut tube down and re-threading the tube at the desired length?

I read Boofhead saying early that tubes are to thin to get bore'd well enough for a re-thread.

This option certainly sounds alot easier, and if pedders etc do it!?.. Must be fine as long as welds are good.

You can get better coiloer kits that fix this dilemma of cutting the strut body. They actually have the thread for the top cap on the inside of the threaded sleeves. This way you just have to cut the strut to the length you want and then weld the threaded sleeves on and the cap screws into the top of the sleeve. They also have a turned step on the inside of them where the threaded sleeve rests on the top of the strut body. This way no load is supported simply by a weld.

I believe you pay about twice as much though, for a set of these.

you can get the bodies shortened and retain the original spring set up .... the work is still the same, cut off the threaded section, cut out the amount you need the body shortened and reweld the threaded section back on top. one of the melb boys had it done to his ute that way ... cant remember who it was tho ??
personally i'd be getting a suspension shop or engineering shop to do the cuting and welding .... should be guaranteed straight cuts and welds that way

Looking good boof!

Just a note, i got some stanza ones cut and re-threaded, main problem is getting someone with large enough taps to do the job.

i did it for my r31 struts that were in my wagon. are you saying i can't cut and weld stright...

its easy really, once cut champher the edges off both the surfaces that you are welding then rest the strut in a right angle piece of steel so it sits true and weld your life away a lot cheaper than the 'pros' and just as effective if your welds are nice and strong. you've gotta have access to the tools though i guess

well i suppose the front never fell out of the wags did it ???
guess the do it yourself bit comes down to how much you trust your welding
as for mine .... wouldn't even think twice about it for something like this

I asked around some shops when shortening my 180b ones, and rally guys use the cut/weld approach also.

The thread has to be done by a lathe, otherwise I'd like to see a tap that size...It'd cost $500.

So the thread can only be done before it is attached to the axle...that is impossible.

Good welds are the trick, and this tube is good for welding, so long as it's filed clean and good chamfers are cut on the joint.

My stanza struts were done through maddat, craig outsources them to an engineering shop to have them shortened and thread cut in, how they do it is beyond me, they dont remove the strut tube from the stub axle. I would take this approach, i dont like the idea of welding something like this, wouldnt you need it x-rayed like other suspension components when welded?

so how much shorter where the 240z strut inserts, might get some of them when i finally get some working shocks(if they are shorter than mine)

the Z inserts are the shorter of the 2 in the other pic .... around 63mm from memory ?? maybe similar to the 200b ones ??
hunt round for some part numbers maybe ?? or if i think of it i'll ask pedders when i go past next time ??

alright got some measurements on inserts ......

stanza insert - 437mm
200b insert - 402mm
240z insert - 378mm


.... so the 240z insert is 59mm shorter than the stanza one.

these are taken from a pedders book of knowledge so should be pretty spot on

hmmm is it worth it for 24mm

an inch lower without losing travel..sure it is... Sure it is.

ps. I got lazy and ordered my springs through Sydney agent for king springs.
2x 200mmx200poundx65mm
2x helper springs
2x spring locator for between springs
+ delivery 30 minutes by car away.
= $395

At least I've got them, and will assemble them and fit them this weekend.

Have a look at 300zx inserts, thats what Maddat uses and is in my partners 1200. They could be shorter again, they are shorter than my 280zx inserts.

Dattodude, Sounds about right, i paid $190 for my King coilover springs from manta automotive.

Edit, my springs are 175mmx65mmx275lb.

hey dattodude ... did you get progressive rate springs or linear ?? i looked at the king springs but was lazy and went with the pedders ones ... only to find that they dont make thier own tender/helper spring to fit the 65mm locaters ?? found this out while i was busy trying to make the flamin things fit !!! for some reason they make a 65mm spring but a 62.5mm helper which only suits thier extreme coilovers ???

Nah..I went with linear. The progressive rate is too hard to get the ride height correct. I don't care if it's a rough ride.
I don't drive it that much to worry about it..

You'll know me at the nats as the bloke that walks funny, because I'll have a sore ass from the trip..

won't argue about the ride on linear rate springs thought you should be right with those cushy seats of yours though

more shocks to look at, so adrian going to pedders again any time soon
ok i might as well go for more travel if i ever get money to buy some shocks

and i think there will be plenty of us that wont have the most comfortable rides to datnats, unless we tow our cars and sit in the comfort of our new subaru

If you guys are worried about cutting and welding rather than re-threading then why not make the cut where the coil over threaded section is to sit?
This way, the welded section is
1. hidden from view and
2. you have the added strength of a lap joint with the threaded section welded over....
J.

Adrian it was me that got my Stanza struts shortened on my ute by Centreline Suspensions. The way they do it is they have a special built lathe that they can mount the whole strut in and cut it. They end up cutting a section out and reweld the thread on. They did the whole job and I had my car back in two days. Can I ask what sort of cost you were up for....

thanks chris new someone had done it but couldn't find the thread it was all in.
total cost .... i got out of it for under $1000 ... cut and shorten was around $70 i think .... would have to dig out the receipts to be sure ?? got most of the stuff done thru pedders main factory at a pretty good rate