Thanks guys.
I'm set on the Toyota running gear for the mouse. Even with the 1.1L 60HP engine, I'll be tripling the HP it originally had. I want to remove the leaf springs and use coilover suspension on this build.
As I was reading through Aidan's Rolvotus build, I noticed he purchased a coilover spring/sleeve kit from Ebay. That got me thinking of doing some R&D to build an economical coilover. Now the idea is 'economical', therefore not tuneable, not fancy, just economical.
So I went ahead and purchased the coilover kit and 4 shocks to do some R&D. For the shock I looked for one that had a bushing and sleeve at both ends, and no dust shield. I found 1/2 of what I wanted, so I had to cut the dust shield off.
Attachment:
File comment: Cut the dust shield from shock.
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Next I reworked the top spring seat so that it fits the shock. I cut a slot then machined a groove in the seat to keep it centred on the shock.
Attachment:
File comment: Top spring seat reworked view 1
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Attachment:
File comment: Top spring seat reworked view 2
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With the top spring seat in place I have ~3 5/8" travel. That will be split 2 1/2" for jounce and 1 1/8" for rebound.
Attachment:
File comment: Shock travel 3 5/8"
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Now for the sleeve mounting. It looks like the original mounting for the adjusting sleeves has the grub screws at the bottom, so I removed the adjusting nuts and reversed them on the sleeve.
Attachment:
File comment: Reverse the adjusting nuts.
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The shock has a reduced diameter where the top rod cap is welded. This is the point where the 3 grub screws will be.
Attachment:
File comment: Shock body view.
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Attachment:
File comment: Grub screw location.
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I took the spring (2" ID and 7 1/8" long), set it on a scale in my press. Compressed the spring 1" and it looks like it's ~360lbs roughly. I assembled the spring on the shock, compressed the shock for 2 1/2" jounce and 1 1/8" rebound, looks like around 12 3/4" installed length. I then took the assembly and did a full jounce (compression) test on the press to prove that the grub screws will hold which they did. I will be planning to add 3 more grub screws per sleeve for peace of mind. They will be secured with Loktite on final assembly.
Attachment:
File comment: Shock/spring bottomed out full compression.
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It looks like different spring rates are available from Speedway and JEGS if need be. All added up I'm into 4 economical coilovers that are ride height adjustable for about $170US. Time will tell how long they will last.