545 replies to this topic

[Dave-O]

Good Lord, looks like the same mess in my garage.

Keep up the awesome work John, it's definitely inspiring me to start looking for T56 pieces and whatnot for my LQ4 swap.

[thagremlin]

whats up man.. any updates to the ride?

[Convette]

not too much as of lately my car accident put a hold on the whole month.  suspensions kinda done, its sitting pretty low even though theres no motor in it.  Shp 9s with a 215/55 streched a little bit.  Still might run a 1" spacer, its just not flush enough yet.  Rear has a 1" spacer, might go with a 33mm spacer to get where I need to be.

very rough early stages only got about 2hrs on it so far, finally getting the dash going. hopefully I'll have it pretty far underway by the end of January.



I have a digital version built but the pics are at work, and I'm not (thank god)

[thagremlin]

I would love to have a dash like yours. I like the way it slopes down which gives you a much better view. If I had design skills like you I would do it. Unless you've already come up with a few designs already that I could use lol. What kind of material are you building it out of

[Convette]

thagremlin, on 23 December 2009 - 12:21 PM, said:

I would love to have a dash like yours. I like the way it slopes down which gives you a much better view. If I had design skills like you I would do it. Unless you've already come up with a few designs already that I could use lol. What kind of material are you building it out of

I got a few different ideas, but like always on paper and real life are two different things.  Its going to be fiberglass, covered in suede with a mix of carbon fiber.  Shooting for half the weight of the stock dash, shouldn't be very difficult. Very simple, but more modern than the stock set up.  I could never stand the stock dash.  I'll post a better pic soon.

[patra_is_here]

this is one of my favorite build threads recently. i love the crap you're doing. f'n awesome

[Convette]

Got some more done on the interior.   Just not sure I like where the design is going just yet.  I'll post some sketches later maybe ppl can help me decide.
  

[smallblock12]

what do you plan on doing for support in the firewall?

[Convette]

That whole think will be re plated/built to fit the trans.

[Zack_Morris]

Looking REALLY good man. Can't wait to see how it turns out

[Convette]

more updates, steering almost done, headers need to be made, more parts to buy, mr2 conversion done...etc..
before

after







got further on the interior, but thats on hold till I get a tranny next month...

Edited by idriftjunk, 23 February 2010 - 01:08 PM.

[Bill Hincher]

very, very well thought out! oustanding work

  judging by the amount of shims you used in the tie rod end, you must have lowered the steering by about 2 " ?

  how did you adjust your 'ackerman angle' with the short, front positioned steering arms?

[Convette]

well, thats why they are only mocked up out of wood..lol.  Basically, I made a few of these all with different specs.  By moving the pivot point closer to the ball joint, it increases steering angle. So my plan was to have a few made for different applications.  A real close one for drift, and a normal one for road racing.  Ackerman is basically going to be figured out by trial and error, before I spend the money to have these pieces CNC'd.  I've placed the steering in sort of a "happy medium" area.  Basically the higher I go with the rack the better it is for bump steer, the worse it is for engine placement (higher is bad).. So trying to get the engine as low and as far back as possible, I decided to deal with placing it hear, and work with what I got out by the wheels.   I want to remake the entire balljoint knuckle as one piece the more I think about it. That will make it easier to eliminate bump steer, because I can lower the pickup point allowing me to use less spacers....  Like I said, I've never done anything like this before, other than a basic understanding of steering geometry and looking at other cars setups, I really have no clue what I'm doing...lol. Any help or ideas are always welcome.

[Bill Hincher]

take a look at  www.colemanmachine   in coleman Mich, they offer a lot of helpful steering stuff and a small computer program to predict steering  bump

[Convette]

Good info thanks.  I have a guy hear at work whos father developed the steering and suspension for the origional Gt40.  I had him take a look at what I was doing and said that I was on the right track.  I need to take measurements of all the components and he said he can build it in UG and see where everything is going to end up bump steer wise and what not...   I also plan on getting those adjustable LCA from MK1 when they are avalible.  I figuer if I can give myself plenty of adjustment evrywhere I should be able to make it work.

[dmyers151]

Quote

I figure if I can give myself plenty of adjustment everywhere I should be able to make it work.

Just don't let that get you sloppy.

Tolerances accumulate, so for every little bit of 'adjustment' you allow for here or there, will add up somewhere else. You don't wanna leave 1/32 of an inch in a handful of places and end up needed 1/2" of adjustment where you can't make it happen.

[Convette]

very true.  Really all what I'll have is similar to a stock car, only upper and lower camber adjustment, toe in and out, and caster... Tipical racing adjustments.

[dmyers151]

Yeah dude, just keep it tight, basically follow what you've been doing all along with the rest of the car, and your golden.

[perfhosedist]

The car looks great! I really like what you've done with the front suspension by using a mustang rack. If you have any problems with the steering effort contact the guys over at KRC Power Steering for a pump that will replace the one from GM. Their pumps are adjustable in flow by changing the pressure fitting, it can go from around 1gpm to 3gpm. They also have worked with some of the top teams in drifting, like Tanner Foust, Doug Van Den Brink, & Vaughn Gittin JR.

I just started a StarQuest build here in GA and we're building it as a drift car as well. I wanted to go with an LS motor but the guys at 4G Performacne said they wanted to put a 4G63 in, so that's the direction we're going in.

Anyway, good luck with it and let us know when it makes it to the track.

[Convette]

Thanks for the info I will def look into that.  I've read that there is ways to lower the pressure from the vette pump to the mustang rack... I'll have to see what the best approach is.. (cross that bridge when I get there kinda project)..lol  

I would love to see some pics of your car.