Well. I wanted a project car to keep me busy (and amused). The good part is that I am finally getting to put my theoretical knowledge of suspension design to use. It was MUCH easier when I was just reading about it.

 

Yep you have the crazy fab bug. It's driven me insane

 

Fantastic work!!

 

Thanks. Fighting with getting the upper arms positioned correctly. I had to order some suspension specific tools to set caster/camber/toe. Dang tools are EXPENSIVE, but I'll need them for track settings, whenever I get to one. So it should work out.

 

A bionic wolf in wolf's clothing! Make it run. fly. keep her on the pavement... Can't wait to hear a time. Grrrrrrrr

 

Trying something different can be ... trying. I think I finally have the right side upper arm in position. 1.5 degrees camber, 6 degrees caster, 10 degree down angle on upper arm, 0 degree angle on lower arm. With full adjustability to make changes (which was what I was really after). Time to weld it in again. I've had to cut out so many previous ga-genius ideas that my engine bay looks like something from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. Lots of grinding ahead.

 

Doesn't look like much, but a lot of work to get this far.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gysgtfrank/10915802755/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gysgtfrank/10915802755/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/gysgtfrank/, on Flickr

 

Lovin it

 

An update for those still watching my self inflicted trainwreck. I'm still at it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gysgtfrank/11395094083/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gysgtfrank/11395094083/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/gysgtfrank/, on Flickr

OK, go ahead and laugh. The passenger side is roughed in and back on the ground. Had to modify the original struts to take a heim joint at the bottom and weld on a perch to accept the coil over spring. Did some clearancing on the lower arm and added tabs to mount the shock as far out on the arm as possible. Then the real fun began trying to get the upper plate at the right height and angles so that nothing binds as the wheel moves, keep it within the bounds of ride height adjustment, and make sure the shock doesn't stick through the hood (the last was harder than it sounds). Also modified the coil over tube and went to a 275 pound 12" tall spring. I need to get some more measurements and do some adjusting now that it's on the ground. Then close and clean it up. Not looking forward to doing the other side, but it should go a bit faster now that I have some idea of what the he** I'm doing.

 

I'm still watching, and I'm not laughing It looks kinda crazy right now, but once you get it all finish welded and go over some of the rougher welds with a flap wheel it'll look good I'm enjoying watching something different being done with one of these cars .

It'd be interesting to see how what you've come up would compare to say a Miata subframe swap.

On a random note, get that stupid cold start assist tank out of there lol

 

It's mostly just solidly tacked right now as I'm re-checking all of my measurements, caster, camber etc. (Now that I can put a load on there). They do change and I may need to make some adjustments before final bracing and close up. My welds are quite ugly. My welder is marginal at best, so I'm far more worried about strength and penetration than being pretty. I have grinders for cleaning that up when I get to it.

Miata subframe would be easier, but then I have the same problem as the FC subframe. The wide tires would not be properly positioned under the stock sheetmetal and the tires will hit on the frame rails at close to full lock. The wider wheel base would be good for handling, but it would look weird when the rear has an even narrower track than the stock front suspension did. It would require wheels with an impossible offset to keep them tucked in.

I keep putting that stupid tank out of the way and it keeps falling back in. Attempting not to have any more stuff apart than I have to. Not working out so well for me though, as I have had to pretty much disassemble everything up front anyway.

 

Ah yeah, I forgot that you're building this around the wheel width and stock sheet metal. Very cool for sure.

What kind of welder are you using?

As for the cold start bottle, the correct location for that part is the garbage can!

 

Lincoln SP 170T, 220 welder. The feed sucks, as it likes to vary it, typically at the worst possible moment. Makes pretty welds a lot more difficult and gives my naughty word vocabulary a workout.

Kept the bottle as I may figure out some sort of a cool use for it yet.

 

Great looking build. Wish my SA was half as clean!

 

That's annoying. Is it an electronic issue - does the motor speed itself vary, or does the drive wheel slip and cause it to not feed correctly?

Reason I ask is that mine took a fair amount of adjusting to get correct - the pressure on the wheel was either too much or too little, and if you have the spool on too tight it will jam, too loose and it tries to unravel lol. Once you get it right though it's oh so sweet...

I have more or less the same welder I think. Mine is a Pro-MIG 175 from early 2004. ~$600 at lowes if I remember right.

 

Mostly a combination of the wheel not feeding and the wire dragging in the feed guide. Not the best design I've ever seen, but I can't afford a new welder so I put up with it and keep fiddling with the tension every time I have to change out spools.

 

Agreed, it's not a perfect setup, lots of room for slop. I'm still on the original gun assembly/liner on mine and it's starting to show. Its getting more and more difficult to get the wire started after changing a spool. It doesn't help that i buy the small 2lb spools so I change them fairly often...

 

Your shock tower... I looked, looked away. Overnight my mind told me that this setup should offer stability improvement comparable to increasing your wheel base by about 4" (invisibly). hmmmmm.

 

Probably not, but the wide tires should do it. Relatively invisible is the goal.

 

I'm now scared of this project. Or maybe I'm scared FOR this project. Either way, keep going. You don't see stuff like this on this forum every day.

 

I don't have much choice but to keep going at this point. This type of modification is not for the faint of heart. Buying the tools to do the suspension set up has cost as much or more than the parts to do it.

The good part is that I'm getting an education in suspension that you can't get sitting in a classroom.

 

That's true. You're still spending a lot on tuition though. :/

 

But, but, but? I get tools! Mongo love tools.

 

Sarge, your doin' some fanf***intastic work! Keep it goin', looks awesome!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gysgtfrank/11973963114/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gysgtfrank/11973963114/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/gysgtfrank/, on Flickr

Been a bit on updates. I have been working on it steadily. I got everything trial fitted only to find that my upper A arm mounts were an inch and a half too far back, oh well that's what trial fits are for. Pulled everything back apart and started clean up and final bracing. I put in frame hoops braced into the firewall. This will stiffen the frame and give me a solid foundation to hang the coil overs from. The driver's side was a little tricky as I had to incorporate a way to run the steering shaft through it (it's a leetle close). I also deleted the brake vacuum booster and incorporated the brake master cylinder mounting plate into the plate for the hoop. Far more compact mounting and should stiffen that up as well. I'll have to see how well the brakes work without it. Will finish doing my driver's side upper A arm mounts tomorrow. Then back to trial fitting and putting the K member back in. work, work, work.