Hey guys,

Just got some strut upgrade questions for the experts....PIGDOG i'm looking in your direction.

I'm planning to do a series one bluebird strut swap onto my 75 1200 ute.

I have the struts and i am planning to cut the perches of my standard 1200 struts and re weld them at the appropriate hieght on the bluebird struts so that they bolt in better. The only issue is that i have heard that the standard 1200 top perch does not fit over the coil springs on the bluebird strut as the diameter is too wide. Would this be negated if i put king spring lows on which is what i'm planning to do? Will the standard 1200 perches fit over them?

Also i was just wondering what year model the 1200 ute changed from the old lower control arms to the ones that are the same as stanza/sunny? Jsut want to know 100% before i go searching for the stanza/sunny ones. Also i have heard that the 120y control arms would work just as effectively on this set up. Can anyone confirm or deny?

Finally other than the control arms what other things will i need? Balljoints? Steering arms? Radius rods? Tie rods? I am getting my standard 1200 caster rods modified to make them adjustable so don't need to worry about them but unsure of other bits.

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers
Trav

i dnt think u can use the 1200 pearch tops.. pretty sure u gotta cut either sunny, stanza, ....

and for the control arm stuff.. u use all the same things u would use to change over to stanza gear..

but pig dog can tell u if im correct..

i was looking at the 200b set up and going with some early commodore disk coz they were 4 stud and 114.5

you ask and i shall deliver

if you cut the spring perches off the 1200 struts you will need to spend a bit of time taking the centre out to the size of the bluebird struts, ive done it more than once...just takes a bit of time with a die grinder, not to hard to make them work if you cant get get stanza or sunny perches

by top perches i assume you mean the ones that are at the top of the spring, and the strut insert goes through them...they worked on my bluebird struts so i cant see why they wouldnt go straight on, they are only supposed to slide down the insert about an inch

pretty sure 1200s all had the same lower control arms and that 120ys apparently changed.....never seen actually pics of these later control arms
so if i were you id just go find a stanza or sunny to get them from"

other than control arms you will need
sunny or stanza steering arms
"................" balljoints
"................" outer tierod ends
"................" tierods
while your at it a 120y sway bars if you dont already have one

and while your at the wreckers, grab the front brakes(discs and calipers) off an r31 as they will bolt straight on

Double check the locating ring on the stanza steering arm fits snug in the bottom of the bluey strut I know R31 struts dont and you have to make up a ring so it is safe. Datsport make this ring for the R31 strut.

Mod the stanza radius rods as your 1200 items will not bolt to the stanza lower control arm.

Ok that settles the perch issue. thanks pigdog. But i think maybe my bigger problem will be the strut tops.

Pigdog, as i understand it the strut tops from the bluebird are not the same bolt in pattern as that of the 1200. So what i was planning to do, with the help of BigD, was cut the bluebird struts to the same height as the 1200 struts then weld the strut tops from the 1200 struts onto that of the bluebird ones, making it a straight bolt in. Will this work?

I have heard that i will need to make the ring to make them safe same as r31 as you say white sedan, but i'm thinking that shouldn't be too much of a problem and i will cross that bridge if that issue does arise.

But what is involved in modifying the stanza radius rods in order to make them fit?

Thanks again
Trav

The 1200 strut tops should just bolt onto the bluey insert.

The strut body of the bluey strut should be shorter than the 1200 strut, also the diameter of the 1200 tube is smaller.

1200 radius rods wont bolt to the stanza lower arm, stanza rods bolt to the rod mount in the same manner as the 1200 ones just they are too long, all I was saying is if your modifying 1200 ones for adjustment you may as well modify stanza ones so they actually bolt up to the lower arm.

Sean

Really???? Strut body shorter???? I knew they were wider, hence the original question as to wether they would just bolt on, but i would have assumed i would need to cut the strut tower down, same as stanza.

Ok well if this is the case i will have to wait till i get them and measure them up to see. I would have assumed they were taller.

Yeah and that's a good point about the stanza radius rods hey. Thanks i will look to do just that. Thanks.

Trav

Ive said 'should' be because I havent measured but the 280zx struts I have are very short, the R31 struts are pretty short too, give lots of travel on a lowered car.

I would of assumed thats the only reason you would want to use the bluebird struts.

Ok you have lost me white sedan . What do you mean by give lots of travel???

Can anyone else confirm or deny wether the series one bluebird struts are taller or shorter?

Will make a big difference to my plans.

Thanks
Trav

When lowering a car you loose travel in your strut, shorten the strut body and use a shorter stroke insert and you can maintain the original (or close to) amount of travel but with a lower car.