Cheers mate, glad you're watching, may need your input!
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Cheers mate, glad you're watching, may need your input!
Well Ash is building a MK1 Astra, literally same sort of thing using Nissan drivetrain and a Z20Net engine.
Link to his thread by chance?
Pm'd
Guessing the bulk head will be mounted to the bars, will you not be sat really really far back?
Looking good! :)
Yes & Yes! Far back as i can ideally. Seats will be fixed and peddle box will be adjustable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benn
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by _Jake
Fat ass = movable ballastQuote:
Originally Posted by The Simps
Just to update this...
While I'm waiting on my new turret tops to be finished, I trimmed down the rear box lengths (which aren't needed but are a reference point for level) so that I can put the rear end into rough position...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...7572C3D252.jpg
Currently got it sat at the height I estimate it to be. Need to get the engine and gearbox in once turret tops are done to then look at shaft angle. Definitely going to need some decent arch flairs! lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...272133EC44.jpg
Starting to look a bit more car like...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...3E1B417A8B.jpg
Oh and this turned up :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...78CEDA32AE.jpg
More updates over the festive break!
No tyre stretch can save you now!
ha ha! so very true mate!
I think Ash is on ET50 wheels which fit under stock mk1 GTE arches using a s14 frame.
I think these were around et35 and there pretty wide too. Is the mk1 GTE much wider than a nova?
nice work, pipe benders can be very handy.
Just got to learn how to use it without kinking the tube now Jonn! Any tips?
Filling the tubes with sharp sand helps kining Si.
I spent the evening watching loads of youtube videos and although the sand can help it will still also the kink. The key seems to be either force it into a die the next size down that way it cannot expand outwards and flatten or some people have modified the dies for either a perfect fit or with a clamp to hold it in.
**** me, your going to need to make some huge arches for this lol
Certainly will be interesting! In the kinda side on shot above thats where I want the suspension arms sat at stationary. With the modified uprights that are yet to be added that will lower the body another 50mm yet so its gonna need the flares higher up the body too.Quote:
Originally Posted by scott.parker
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Simps
the key is packing the sand really really tightly, tamp it down every inch or so as you fill it, and seal the ends well, but yes also a proper fitting die is a must, if the dies you have aren’t a great fit a sheet of thin steel can be used as a packer
tbh though, without heat getting past a 60 or so degrees is very difficult without some deformation, and heating roll cage tubing isn’t such a great idea, if you need anything more than 60 degrees i think i would find somewhere with a proper sacrificial bender just for those bends
Cheers for the input Lee. Will have a play around with a few mothods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Simps
no worries :thumb:
Had a play with the pipe bender again the other night. Same spec tube as i tried before except I used the die size down this time of which it doesn't actually fit into! The results (previous effort on the left)...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...169EDD980F.jpg
So far so good so decided to push it some more!...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...A037DD41D5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...F6B112F4AA.jpg
Practically no distortion at all! Hopedully i can get same results with the tubing I'm using on the car which is larger OD but thinner walled. My new turret tops are now cut so i'm hoping to get up there sunday arvo and get them welded in! :D
That looks much much better.
So been doing a lot of head scratching and measuring over the last week to work out why a certain part wasn't quite working out as planned! Turns out my a pillars are not square with each other and thus my bulkhead is not square. Its not by a lot but enough I noticed it! Its not something I can rectify at this stage but it also isn't going to effect anything else. When I put the main parts of the cage into the car it was before I had the current plans so not as much care was taken :doh:
However! The box rails ARE square in the car/shell and line up square with the b pillars (so at least I put those in right! lol). All it meant was that I had to do a bit of working out and measuring to figure out where the turrets needed to be sat etc as I couldn't take measurements off of my dash bar as originally intended. This did slow me up over the xmas break but there has finally been progress today....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...CD88CFAF4C.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...A0AC7B7466.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...50695FC44F.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...6E1ACEE1C2.jpg
After my next session up there I can hopefully remove the strut jig and thus get the engine back in!
:D
Got a bit more done on the turrets today.
Started by removing the jig as no longer needed...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...7BB439AA45.jpg
Then started building it up...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1429DF4EB8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...F5B80C94C6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...6D0F9B0024.jpg
Made the template for the top plate...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...E6FA7B92F3.jpg
With the wing in place (edges on wing still need tidying)...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...190A8B0F31.jpg
Tied it into the A-pillar...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...05A5AEF729.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...039CDAE63D.jpg
Ran out of gas at this point so had to call it a day sadly. Think I'm going to add another support in here just add a touch more strength...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...DE8C6DA9A6.jpg
Thanks for looking.
Would you not consider using a proper gauge steel for the turret tops & rethink the triangulation without the unnecessary tubing?
Remember if you're making from scratch you can put the struts as far back as you like within reason.
Thanks for the reply. I have already moved the turrets back, around 2" iirc, by shifting the whole engine and subframe back. The castor I will be able to dial back in on the lower arms will then put the wheel back where it needs to be for wing clearance.
As for the strut top design, I spent a lot of time mulling over it and looking at plenty of other designs and projects. This is the route I've chosen as it makes the most sense to me. I agree the top plates are not the thickest gauge material but by the time I'm done it won't matter. Its certainly thicker than the std turrets thats for sure.
Feel free to throw up a design of how you would of made the turrets. All help is welcomed :thumb:
Looks spot on, I admire the amount of work going into this :thumb:
i do wish Broad would learn how to talk to people without the imperious streak, anyway...
i think your design will be fine strength wise, especially with that extra bit of tube in place, but if you;re asking, i think if it were me i’d have made the front legs loop round from the cage upright, wrap round the turret then drop down and round to the front main box section bit, then added a triangulation from the main dash bar, similar to this, although this is obviously so flash even Broad couldn’t find much fault...
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...itar/bgGb5.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee303
Lee - that project above was exactly what made me stand back and reconsider how I'd designed mine. I too wanted it to wrap around the outside and tie into the a pillar but there just isn't the room to do so, because of where the turrets need to be from the 200sx track. I didn't want to bring in the turrets any further inbound because I'm already going to have a lot of neg camber to dial back out.
Excuse the crudeness of the drawings but this is my current plan....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...3A0B78F5D7.jpg
I had planned to tie the turret top into the middle of the dash bar, just don't know whether to take it off the front, middle or back part if you know what I mean. Will also depend on space. I will also add triangulation from where the a pillar tube meets the turret down to the bottom of the a pillar.
I plan on running a single sheet of steel down the outside of the bent tube with the front part then forming the wheel tub. This again will add more strength. Shaded or cross hatched is sheet metal. This current design makes doing that very easy.
That is obviously my current game plan but you know how it is, as things evolve they can change! lol
it may well just be the pics, but to me it looks like there is room, but you would need to bend the tube to a profile that comes outwards off the A pillar cage leg, wrapping tightly round the turret then round and down to the main rails you have fitted, this then stops the turret being a ‘wing’ added onto the side of the structure so would be a lot stronger in the vertical plane, which as you know is where the load is at, this shouldn’t be any wider than your current setup, and if you then put the brace from the middle of the dash bar to the bar the loops round the turret, somewhere in front of it, it will tie the whole structure together really neatly
i admit it wouldn’t be an easy thing to get the bends right, but i think the end result would be better, stronger and lighter! you will also end up with more room in the bay
i may well not be explaining this too well, if i get time later i’ll sketch something and put up a pic :thumb:
Surprised your not gonna run adjustable top mounts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Benn
nothing to stop him fitting adjustable pillow ball style mounts? i imagine the fixed ones are the mock up and welding splatter
ok so the drawing is a little avant-garde if we’re being kind, but i think you get the idea
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...3/IMAG1187.jpg
the dark shaded tubes are your existing uprights, the tube crossed out on the right was a **** up, lol, and obviously theres no perspective in my child like drawing, but the tube above the crossed out one comes from the foot of your uprights/bottom rail up to the joint on the tube with the dash bar to turret tubes, and obviously the tubes wrapping round the turret that go down to the front of the rails need to bend inwards and down, rather than being straight lines as i have drawn them, lol
The small heavier lined struts are possibly not needed but they are meant to be coming off the bottom rail up to the join between the dash/turret tube and the shorter turret to A pillar tube
Yeah Lee know's what he's on about; dial out the extra tube in a square design and just make triangles. Will be stiff as & weigh less.
Yeah, your drawing is basically like the project youte above, which is how I did want to do it, but like you said its a complicated bend! It would almost need to be an s bend in order to get around without affecting the door jam too. If you look at these pics where the piece I have put it is pretty tight against the shell...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...05A5AEF729.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...039CDAE63D.jpg
I also originally looked at taking the a pillar tube and have it go straight onto the strut top at an angle then have it coming back off the other side bending towards the box rail, but it was so hard to get the a pillar tube right and looking right! Bearing in mind that the front section will be tubbed its going to add a lot of strength, but I understand that ideally it should have something tieing it back in. Also, having the tube come around around sweeping down is going to make tub making more tricky! The car is going to be tight for wheel clearance as it is so that tube bend would need to be so spot on for wheel & bonnet clearance, I guess I just sort a compromise in the end.
I think i'm going to get the engine back in this weekend and take a good look at it again but my feelings are still to continue the route I am and maybe see what room there is to add a tube running off the turret, under the wing and onto the rail, without interfering with wheel clearance.