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New Year Update
Here's where I am as of now:
I have essentially finished the rear suspension for both sides, full-welded the engine cradle, plugged any open tube ends, ground the welds that will be on the outside of the cradle where bodywork may touch. I also raised the engine in the cradle about 4 inches for clearance.
The rear suspension came together rather nicely I believe, I ended up going with a pyramid for the upper shock mount though, and here's why, when I did the calculations and drew the lines for a rocker arm type upper a-arm, the structure would have been within an inch or so of the same height. I then looked at a push rod and separate rocker setup which would have lowered the top, but add complexity. In the end, simple and stout wins out. I may revisit this later though. If you look at the picture of the rear suspension, you will see the "extra" shaft needed to lock the steering part of the hub. Remember, this is a front hub from my donor Ford Aspire, so in it's natural habitat, it steered as well, which wouldn't be very good on the rear axle.
The overall width of the rear track, from wheel mounting flange to wheel mounting flange, comes in at 6 foot 2 inches. The wheel base, front to rear, comes in at 6 foot 4 inches. Almost square. So now I can work on the front steering, as I know the wheelbase and width and can calculate the ackerman angle correctly.
I needed to raise the engine in it's cradle as well. when I got the first side of the rear suspension sorted out and could look at things clearly, the rear axle shafts would have actually dropped a bit going from the hubs to the transaxle, and the oil pan would have had about 4 inches of ground clearance. This might have been OK on a track, but not in the real world, so raising the engine in the cradle (about 4 inches) I now have just a bit of rise from the hubs to the transaxle at ride height, and plenty of clearance for the engine. Currently, the engine cradle is the lowest part, only the tip of the oil drain plug goes below. This puts the top of the engine a little less than 2 feet above the bottom of the cradle, and the bottom of the cradle should be 6 inches from the ground, so rear deck height can be as low as 30 inches. This will also put the rear deck height about shoulder level for the driver.
Next up is the steering and pedals. The steering should be pretty straight forward now that I know the wheelbase/rear track width. The pedals should be as well. I am going the use a hydraulic clutch, and brakes, so routing lines becomes as easy as running tubing. The throttle will be a cable, I just need to find a long one. Shifter is sorted. Very soon, I will need to do a thorough cleaning of the garage, bolt the two halves together, take apart my workbench and put the thing on jack stands, in preparation for engine work.
My engine came from a running car, but has been out of the car for several years, so it will need to come apart for inspection and rebuilt. I am still in need of a cam sprocket, as mine has been spun. (pressed steel) Anyone have one I can buy?
As an aside, has anyone notice this site being extremely slow lately? Or is it just me. . .
TALON §
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