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Very nice fab work, looks well thought out using donor parts. I like that.

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

NIck,

ANy thoughts yet on spring rates yet?

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1998 E 300 Turbodiesel
2006 Jetta diesel
1995 C3500 purple diesel bucket truck w/yellow & silver flames

Many. I've been working on this off and on for awhile.

Front rates were fairly easy to determine using the spreadsheet link on Jack's website. With a .55 motion ratio and a 30-degree spring angle (.48 eff. MR), a 450# spring rate gives me 5+ inches of bump and 3+ inches of droop with a relatively soft 1.76 NF. You can get a better MR, say .6, by moving the lower shock mount farther outboard, but that increases the spring angle so your effective MR doesn't change much, unless you go uber-cantilever with the upper shock mounts, which IMO has its own problems.

Rears were more difficult. I wasn't sure if I should determine the MR off the center of the axle, which would seem to be the pivot point in a turn, or the opposite wheel, which would be the pivot point for a bump. The latter produces a .88 MR, which means a 160# spring rate will give me 2-1/4" in bump and droop with a slightly more severe 2.11 NF.

Incidentally, this is all based on my preliminary sprung/unsprung weight estimates that look so bad I'm almost ashamed to post them. I figured 650# sprung in front, 550# rear, with 150# unsprung in front and 250# rear. That MGB axle is a husky boy. If you think your Ford engine will be lighter than my B-series, and it would almost have to be, then your front rates will be proportionately less than mine.

I've welded on most of the front end pieces, including the shock mounts and radiator mounts. I also added an Aussie-style cross brace to the nose, and another cross tube between the lower rear suspension pickups. All of these look a lot beefier than they need to be, but my mechanical engineering experience is limited to a single semester in college, and that was way back when we used slide rules. So I'm okay with beefy.









I've started putting together the mount for the steering rack. I'm a little disappointed here because I was hoping to shorten the rack about 4" to reduce bump steer, but it looks like if I do that the steering column will run straight through the engine mount. I could shorten the rack about 2" and still get clearance, but 2" hardly seems worth it. So I guess I'll use the book method of positioning the rack with the arms perfectly level, so they don't shorten as much when they move up and down. This means the rack will sit up pretty high in the frame, but I think if I use enough metal I can make it work.

I also reinforced the rear suspension pickups with gussets, as recommended. A little hard to weld in the corners, at least for me, but I'm thinking if the gussets don't support the pickup brackets, then maybe the giant weld beads will.

actually, I think the Ford 2300 is heavier with its cast Iron head. (Remember I had the MGB engine tranny combo here for awhile so I got a good feel for the weight of both. Using absolutely not math or engineering, I think I'm gonna start with a 400# spring in front and a 200# in back. Even though I've lost 14 lbs, I'll add 253# in unsprung weight. Since most of that weight is directly above my ass it will be contributing to the rear of the car I imagine. At 6'1 I'm planning on a 18' Tall roll bar.

Looks like you have a good radiator mount there. I may end up stealing parts of it. Not sure if it will work with the Pinto radiator yet.

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1998 E 300 Turbodiesel
2006 Jetta diesel
1995 C3500 purple diesel bucket truck w/yellow & silver flames

Good luck with your radiator mount. I stole your steering rack mount design.

Well, here's a step I thought I'd never get done. The rear axle is in the frame. Just like with the front suspension, it's very cool to move the axle up and down and watch the links do their thing.



The trailing links are bushed on the frame and Heim-jointed on the axle. I'm not generally a big fan of heim joints on a road car, but I'm glad I used at least a few in this case because there are few jobs worse than trying to squeeze rubber bushings into those little tubes.

Here's a few pictures of the axle conversion process.







I still have a few problems to work out. The Panhard rod is about 1/4" too long. It's got a Heim joint on the axle end so it's adjustable for length, but even screwed all the way in the outboard bracket overhangs the frame too much. I think I can chop the tube just south of the weld for the threaded end, and weld in a new one. A half inch shorter would do it. The other problem is welding the brackets to the axle. My little 110v welder barely melts the axle tube at all. I was able to tack it with the welder turned all the way up, but fully welding might be a problem. I may have to take it somewhere.



With the suspension and a few other parts on the car I think the chassis now weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 lbs. Definitely too heavy to be moving it around by myself, so I suppose I'll have to disassemble it all at some point, remove the build table, and reassemble it on the ground with the wheels on. I have a feeling I may have to do that more than once.

Looking good, Nick. I'm surprised how big that MGB diff looks in the chassis.

Here's a thought on lifting the partially assembled chassis. I needed something to pull the engine/transmission of my donor, but rather than renting a hoist, I bought a shop crane. I noticed the guys on this site with cranes were using them to do just what you mentioned; move the partially built car around and a lot of other heavy lifting tasks.

You're almost a roller, so maybe it won't matter for you, but I plan to use mine for inserting/removing the engine transmission (I'll need to do it a time or two) and moving the partially completed car around. If you look in various magazine ads, or even online, you can get these 20-25% off coupons on one item from Harbor Freight. They will even let you apply them to sale items. Here's what I bought when I started:

Crane ==> http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-capa ... 93840.html

Slings (2) ==> http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-webb ... 44847.html

I'll be interested in how you solve the welding issue for the brackets. I have the same welder. I believe you'll need to take the axles out before you weld it fully, right?

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Check Craigslist for a used crane/hoist. I bought my HF 1 ton unit on CL for ~85 and when I was done, I sold it on CL for ~130 with an engine leveler. the leveler is a good item to have. I didn't want the crane stored for periods of time in the garage. It does take up some space. When I need one again, I'll just buy another from CL rather than rent. One small problem with my crane is that it would not fit under my framerails without first lifting the car up an inch or so and blocking them in place. Then I had room to maneuver the crane. For moving the car around onece down, I had a set of heavy duty casters mounted on a 2x6 under the front and used my hyd. jack under the back. I could then move it anywhere I wanted while building.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I bought one of them fold-up 2 ton units with an engine leveler maybe 8-10 years ago. .. I think it cost me ~$160 on sale, a Costco special.
Yep, it takes up a little space but the fold up outriggers do make it a smaller package to store.
I use it on bulky/awkward objects more often than engines but it gets borrowed 1-2 times a year and it sure makes unloading and moving heavy objects easier.
I'm sure my neighbors expect some Brobdingnagian sculpture to arise from my garage one day.

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"There are times when a broken tool is better than a sound one, or a twisted personality more useful than a whole one.
For instance, a whole beer bottle isn't half the weapon that half a beer bottle is ..." Randall Garrett

+10 points to Oldejack for using "Brobdingnagian" in a builder's log!
(It appears, in context, that he even used it correctly!)

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

I'll remove the rubber seals, not sure about the axles though. The bearings are press fit onto the axles, and they're also a press fit into the axle housing. I've heard it's possible to get them out with big clamps and an impact gun. We'll have to see about that. If I leave the axles in, would I more worried about excessive heat in the bearings, or oil on the axles going up in flames?

A friend of mine has one of those 2-ton HF lifts. We used it to get the engine out of the donor. I expect to use it a few more times before we're done. Never thought of using it on the whole car though. Very interesting.

You'll be able to put you car on a set of sawhorses when your done. THat's what I do with my race car. It's so much easier to work on and look over. Plus you can pile a bunch of stuff underneath it.

I recently saw a Camaro on the top of a big industrial shelving unit, probably not really practical for most of us though. Then again you can see a Fiat 128 bolted upside down to the ceiling in Rad's shop in his build photos...

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

Less cost than HF and doesn't take any floor space. It's a barn door track attached to the rafters and a door hanger truck with chain hoist, good for 400#

I tried to attach a jpeg but it wouldn't load ??

Going back a couple of posts ... the reason you pull the axles is to reduce the risk of a ground path through the bearings. It's not a good idea to weld the balls to the races .... Nonetheless, I'm sure it's been done successfully the wrong way many times, including on television (if that matters).

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Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601