LocostUSA.com

Thanks for the additional photos and info

Your welcome!

I left out that to use the oem right side iron exhaust manifold on the left side, the steering shaft needs three joints added, including replacing the rubber joint at the rack with the GT6 universal joint (about $50). Total to do this is $150-200. You could build a shorty header but it is still tight and transfers more heat to the under hood air. Let me know if you want the part numbers for what I used. I have not fit them yet though.

RQRileys high mpg car (forgot what it is called) uses a 905 kubota diesel adapted to the spit transmission, but I suspect you are wanting more power. A 1505 4 cylinder turbo kubota diesel should fit.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I just sold a diesel Mercedes 220D so probably going diesel free for a bit. I don't need a ton of power but maybe a little more than that might be nice. Also looking at a Ford 2.3L four.

Tinkering with this again. Picked up a 3.27 7.5 disc brake rear and front spindles I'll leave you to guess what they are from.
Made a baseline for the stock spit front suspension here:
default values

Changed a few things to make these work with zero scrub, 205-50-15s, 39mm offset with oem 15x6.5 rims, added 1.5 " to the lca and shortened the uca about 3/4". The rack will need to be raised and the outer tie rod lowered also:
default values

I've decided on 96 tbird "twin spoke" rims but there are many options, though most are 16x6. The front rotors are about 12 inches, the uprights are aluminum, the lbj bolts to the upright, the taper is in the control arm. From the rust, these have been taken apart for a while. If these were going in the rear, I'd be more concerned about the spline condition. The yard says they are giving me a deal on these because nobody buys these parts. I say how about I pay double the scrap metal rate per pound?

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

That diff looks just like my 8.8. Is the diff housing the same?

_________________
-STu

There is no shame in defeat, so long as the spirit is unconquered

My Build Log

No, it is smaller and lighter than the 8.8, which is why I chose it along with the brakes and ratio but I have not measured the difference.

The axles for the 8.8 and 7.5 are both 28 spline though so the center could be swapped if you have the room, but I think a 7.5 is strong enough for anything without slicks under 2000 lbs. The spitfire is very tight in the diff area and I'm trying to fit the ford diff without any body tub mods, but the frame will need extensive work. The car has a swing axle (green framed photo) where there is no flexible joint at the hub, just at the diff and no upper control arms. The axle is the upper control arm.

The other photo is to show how tight the area is but is showing an axle with an outer cv.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I have a spare rear frame section that I'm mocking up for now.
The axles will be extremely short with an inch or two between the boots.
Shown roughly in position.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Will you have to get custom axle shafts made so you end up with the correct track width?
DaveW

No, just have the original tbird axles cut and resplined. Should be much cheaper than buying a new set. I may have them thinned down for some give to save the splines, but this is not a monster. I should have about 110 hp.

Picked up the wheels along with a mini-spare, all the oem stainless capped lugs, and a lug wrench.
Mounted the 205-50-15s. Looks like they will work great if I get them in the right position laterally for best clearance.
I though the minispare would be way too tall but it isn't that bad as you can see. I think the spiders can handle it and I'll save a lot of trunk space, though I could fit a vw tire to the rim that has an od closer to the 205-50-15, which is not much bigger than the 13 inch tires on it now.

The concrete is sloped downhill toward the car so the tires are actually higher on the body than they would be on level ground, plus the front tire is completely flat.

The irs designing is coming along. Still no intent to cut the tub in any way but the frame will be completely new from the pinion area back.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

MV8, you certainly do some interesting builds. I had a Spitfire Four (later called the MKI) way back in the mid 70's. I would be ashamed today if I had THAT car. It was put together with string and bubble gum. The things I did to keep an old Brit car running! Those were the years of no real parts support in the US. The rear trailing arm mounted to the car body, not the chassis. I never understood why. That part of the body rusted away. It is a fairly common problem. Did that continue on later models? Do you plan on working your magic to relocate these to the frame? It might be an interesting mod.

_________________
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

Thanks. My problem is I like everything but I have only two hands and never sell anything.

The later models like mine do have the body mounted trailing arm, but I won't be using it and nothing will attach to the body. This will use a tbird style lca and uca with two light duty coilovers per side like the old jags. Using two per side eliminates the arm twisting. The frame has to go because I won't longer control arms than what normally goes on these for less track width change from wheel travel.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Pulled the tub, cleaned, cut, and rough mocked it up while I wait on parts. Decided to try to keep the main rails. It's tight everywhere due to the tub. Good thing I notched the rails for cv clearance since there was a lot of corrosion inside. Need to remedy that and fix the drainage issue.

I making bolt on tie rod arms that support the lbj and allow me to put the tie rod exactly where it needs to be without disturbing the rack and add a little ackerman in the process.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Picked up a fresh load of steel, cleaned up and deburred the front uprights, had to remove the abs sensor boss to clear the tie rod arm, which will also pick up the upper hub bolt and a brace to the lbj to support the aluminum upright. Still waiting on the balljoints. The bushings look like they are a perfect fit for 1-1/2 pipe, schedule 40 (.188 wall) sleeves without machining. 7/16 bolts will work, though the bushings are metric sized. Can't beat 4 bushings for $11.

The tub will require a small tuck in the wheel well. Not sure why Triumph cut the corner anyway. I'll get the frame done before cutting.

I noticed the spit rack is forward off the outer tie rods so the arms slope aft. I need to check the ackerman but it looks anti to me.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I’ve trimmed the excess material from the front uprights. They are very light but the massive bearings and brakes more than offset that.

You can see the anti-ackerman from the angle of the tierod relative to the rack. The “X” on the new upright tie rod arm is roughly the fore/aft location to put the rack and tie rod in a straight line. As you can see, I am running out of room inside the wheel. I could slope the arm inboard to make it longer which would also have an effect. Since it is a cheap bolt-on, I can try several designs but the initial can’t be finished until the new front end is together (needs a complete rebuild). I’m may fit a taper to accept the original spit outer tie rod or fit a ½” spherical.

Should have aligned the hub centers in the pic. The lca will be at the same angle to the chassis as stock but since the lbj center is inside the boss on the new upright rather than a trunion on the centerline of the lca, the effect will be a lowered lca which should work well. Trimmed off the bottom of the strut for access, but I’m not sure where I want the ubj yet. Note the deep lateral offset of the new upright where the ubj will be located; necessary for the wheel off set and needs a bit more if I am to eliminate the scrub I have created with lower profile tires. Anyway, the lca comes first.

I said the lca would be longer but shorter than original is better if I am to tuck everything in with no rubbing (at least it looks that way at this point) so the front original coilover mounting may need rework to pull the lower mount in, making them more effective but the upper mount will need a slight angle change.

On the rear, I’ve ordered tubing to fit over the bushings and to make new inner sleeves from to accept a full ½ bolt (up from 12mm) and eccentrics for alignment.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I ordered a suzuki outer tie rod to fit the spit rack thread and a jeep tie rod to use as the ubj, both with a standard 1:8 taper and not so deep that I can’t make do with a $20 reamer.

I’ve got a lot of options for the front shocks and I’d already order some if I were just replacing the originals, but I may want a shorter version than stock, which only compress to 10 inches from 13.5 fully extended. I’ll be adapting (no welding) a $45 coilover kit for a civic to a $20 a piece KYB shock for a common application along with a self-lubricating $10 spherical insert to replace the bushing. I expect to clean and reuse the original springs since the lower kit springs are likely too stiff and short to stay on the seats. The original springs are 2.65” id, 12.75” free length, 9.5” at ride height, 0.425” thick. Compared to my other springs, they appear to have a rate of 250 lb/in.

I will need to have axles made or take apart a set of 8.8 axles I have which may be thick enough to respline. I also had trouble getting one apart so I’ve ordered a proper tool for the job.

I found my urethane bushings fit miata eccentrics perfectly, after I ordered the gm cams and thinner wall tube to fit full ½” grade 8 bolts. I could have used a urethane kit for the tbird and used the tbird eccentrics, but I’d still need the tbird inboard shells and it would cost a lot more than $22.

It turns out my brakes are a police and performance option and only came with 16 inch wheels. Instead of starting over with 11 inch brakes, I rubbed on the calipers until they cleared the rim with pads installed and will also fit a thin wheel spacer made for late model jaguars with the same concentric ring size and bolt pattern. Worst clearance case is a new outer pad, so I need to recheck with new pads.

Because the space is so tight under the tub, I am forced to go with cross section rather than space framing, but it is coming along also. Need more 3x2 to continue. Nothing welded yet, just set in place. The plan is to fit the pivot brackets inside the 3x2 with a bolt-on shear plate or truss on the bottom.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12