V8Rumble

Hey all,

Some of you might remember that about a month ago I posted a question asking whether anyone knew how Hotchkis SFCs compared to other brands. That turned into a question of whether or not they'd work with my SLP headers...

Well, I guess I'll have an idea tomorrow. I reached a point where I got fed up with trying to decide what I wanted - these SFCs were really the only thing I wanted that I could afford, so I said "screw it!", & picked up the phone.

On the plus side, they got here just two days after I called Summit, & when I opened the package, I saw that they arrived with a really nice-looking gloss black powder coat finish. (It's just too bad that you have to grind some if it off to get them on the car!)

I'm also still trying to decide whether I'm going to install them, or have the local performance shop do it. On the one hand, I can save $200 or more by doing it myself (& these were a big part of why I bought my MIG welder), but on the other hand, I've never fired this welder up before, & this is a structural assembly we're dealing with...

If I get time, I'll take some pics, just need to find a place to put them until I get my own server/domain going...

transxtreme

If u have no experience welding, do not do it yourself. If you weld them on poorly they can snap off and cause damage. Get them done by a proffesional and have the peace of mind.

V8Rumble

Yeah, that's kind of how I'm leaning. I'd love to do it myself, but that may not be realistic, given some of the other things going on right now...

Thanks for the reply.

Ucantcme57

Have you never welded before? Get some flat stock and cut it and start learning.. got to pool up and then pull the pool along where ya want to weld. Keep the inside of your vehilce cold, to avoid warping. Your gonna have to play with the heat and the wire feed, What kind of mig welder do you have? What is the thickness of the SFC's people on here should be able to tell you what heat and wire feed setting if you tell them how thick of metal your welding. Grind off all paint. and then tack weld into place. some weld the whole length of the SFC, which I did.. Some will only tack them in. A friend had them welded in and then did like 3 inches of weld every foot or so. Not what I wanted. Practice!!!! You wil do the work your car deserves and that you would be happy with. Now on the other hand.. Putting in my SFC's is alot different then welding in a ten point roll cage. alot of factor to know/decide on. rules and reg's also...

Marc 85Z28

Don't bother doing it yourself. It's quite difficult to weld everything up underneath a car you can't lift. That's right, no jack stands. The suspension MUST be loaded when welding them up. You'll need to find a shop with a suspension lift or a pit, like an alignment shop. I shopped around and got mine welded in for $100.

IROC-T

You can set yhe jackstands under the suspention (ie axles,and A-arms)ramps work well on the front,and stands under the rear axle. However if you don't have any experiance with a welder(especialy overhead welding) get a welder to do it ,just remember to remove the negative cable from your battery when welding on the car. Also you do not have to weld the entire length of the SFC's stich welds are fine and will hold with no problems.

Marc 85Z28

Even once the front A-arms are supported by stands the front suspension is still not fully loaded. They need to be set on the tires. My SSM SFCs are fully welded at the front subframe and rear LCA mounts. They are stitch welded along the rocker panels. That's what SSM recommended.

BadAzzRS

I used the car ramp method...jacked up the front and rear and put all 4 on ramps...worked out well but i agree...not for a novice let alone a first time welder.