MasterAuron
Very Senior Member
Ordinary rubber bushes?
At Last!. I have started on my car ;-) PART 2
- Thread starter pgarner
- Start date
Yup.
Loz
Torque King
Quite a few MX-5 racers stick with OEM bushes. I may well do the same when I need to replace mine.
Loz
Torque King
Due to the time this project is taking me I thought this T Shirt would be appropriate - good old VistaPrint
I like that. :amuse:I have also done a little work on the car today!
Extended the threads on two of the top wishbone mounting studs so that I can adjust the caster. The rear two are a little bit more difficult as they are close to the chassis meaning a conventional die holder can't be used. I need to get a die with a hex outer edge so I can turn it using a socket, extension and T-bar.
Extended the threads on two of the top wishbone mounting studs so that I can adjust the caster. The rear two are a little bit more difficult as they are close to the chassis meaning a conventional die holder can't be used. I need to get a die with a hex outer edge so I can turn it using a socket, extension and T-bar.
T9 man
TC ModFather
I have never heard that analogy used before when it comes to describing poly bushes OG :blink: I have a full set on mine and you know they are present just by putting your hand on the car door handle
I have never heard that analogy used before when it comes to describing poly bushes OG :blink: I have a full set on mine and you know they are present just by putting your hand on the car door handle
The main problem with polybushes is they need regular lubrication otherwise they start to squeak and wear.
This is the sum total of bushes on my car. The 2 large ones are the inner front bushes on the lower rear A-frame (the A-frame inner rear bushes have been replaced with rod ends to allow toe in/out adjustment). The smallest ones fit to the outer part of the A-frames, connecting them to the verticle links.
The medium ones are the inner bushes for the lower front wishbones.
Apart from the large bushes, there is not a lot of rubber in them so changing to polybushes would not make a lot of (if any) difference to the stiffness
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I have just fitted new wishbones to car for first time and a couple of issues surfaced. They fouled the ball joint seal so I had to remove 1mm from the mounting face width - no big deal. Although not a problam as such, but the length of the mounting surface to the ball joint can be shortened by around 7mm. I will do this in the production version.
pgarner
TC ModFather
am im reading this right as this is just a trial? or you looking at supplying them to other elan owners
davalav
Pro Tuner
Due to the time this project is taking me I thought this T Shirt would be appropriate - good old VistaPrint
Looks like a cosworth engine?
Looks good though!
Loz
Torque King
Those wishbones look spankin' OG, makes me want to buy a car just so I can fit them!
davalav
Pro Tuner
Love me a cossie engine.
I've been looking at the CVH lumps, the 1.6 litre turbo engines, I get a bit confused as too way people go with the red top YB engines instead? Surely the 1.6's are lighter, and with the right mods you can achieve quite a few horses.
Please do educate me if I am wrong, I love all the old school ford engines.
MADRod
Road Burner
- Points
- 192
- Car
- Sierra RS Cosworth
Bit like comparing Manchester United with Maidstone United
.The CVH is struggling after 200bhp & above 250bhp major work is required & very expensive also they are so old the blocks are brittle & crack. The Red Top yb is the later 200 block & provided its not one of the '99' Turkish casting batch is good for 850bhp with the correct mods the '99' blocks will warp above 600bhp its always best to check its not one of these . 400bhp is a total doddle & 550bhp is easy but the t5 gearbox is chocolate as is the Cossie diff above 450bhp.
Anything more you need to ask fire away ive worked on these engines & its development for many years.
Working on rear ARB (anti roll bar) Bought 19mm ID needle rollers only to discover that the ARB is actually 19.05mm (3/4") However, a little work on the lathe with 120 grit sorted that out.
Shaft is now with my fabricator having the levers fitted to each end.
Shaft is now with my fabricator having the levers fitted to each end.
ARB now back from fabricators. Photo shows it sitting roughly in place (it will be a little higher).
Monday's job is to fit support brackets to chassis uprights (using rivnuts). Once ARB is in positiona I can work out where to fit the bracket to the bottom wishbone. Once this is weldon on I can adjust the length of the verical links.
Then on to the front ARB......this is going to be a little trickier.
Monday's job is to fit support brackets to chassis uprights (using rivnuts). Once ARB is in positiona I can work out where to fit the bracket to the bottom wishbone. Once this is weldon on I can adjust the length of the verical links.
Then on to the front ARB......this is going to be a little trickier.
Bottom wishbones away having brackets added for theARB vertical links plus additional bracing to stiffen them up.
Looked into wheel sizes today, Borrowed a 13" aqnd 15" wheel to see what will fit. The 13 inch is just a little too small as the top wishbone fouls it. There is plenty of room with the 15" so I think I will go with this. Bigger than the original 13" but not too big so as to look out of place on a 45 year old car. They also allow for the tyres to have a bit of a sidewall which gives them more chance of gripping. Just need to get the body back on so I can work out width, o#!#!#!et etc. Probably 9" on rear and 7 - 7.5" at the front.
However, there doesn't seem to be a tyre bigger than 235mm in 15", so, I am thinking of 15" on front and 16" at the rear which gives me the option of 245 or 255mm. However, I will get a pair of 15" for racing slicks as there is plenty of choice at this diameter.
Looked into wheel sizes today, Borrowed a 13" aqnd 15" wheel to see what will fit. The 13 inch is just a little too small as the top wishbone fouls it. There is plenty of room with the 15" so I think I will go with this. Bigger than the original 13" but not too big so as to look out of place on a 45 year old car. They also allow for the tyres to have a bit of a sidewall which gives them more chance of gripping. Just need to get the body back on so I can work out width, o#!#!#!et etc. Probably 9" on rear and 7 - 7.5" at the front.
However, there doesn't seem to be a tyre bigger than 235mm in 15", so, I am thinking of 15" on front and 16" at the rear which gives me the option of 245 or 255mm. However, I will get a pair of 15" for racing slicks as there is plenty of choice at this diameter.
Picked up modified bottom wishbones yesterday. Whilst there we discussed my problem with lack of space for wide slicks due to the dampers. Graham suggested putting the dampers inboard. After my initial surprise I quickly realised that this was doable and not too difficult (or expensive).This has the advantages of:
Lowering their height so lowering centre of gravity.
Moving weight to the centre of the car.
Lighter and smaller dampers can be used.
Corner weight can be adjusted without messing with the springs (which is the normal way to do it).
The whole damper becomes sprung weight rather than half of it.
I have mocked up a system to show Graham tomorrow. If he is happy with it I will start the detailed design ready for fabrication. I think I can make all the bits myself so cost will be materials only.
Lowering their height so lowering centre of gravity.
Moving weight to the centre of the car.
Lighter and smaller dampers can be used.
Corner weight can be adjusted without messing with the springs (which is the normal way to do it).
The whole damper becomes sprung weight rather than half of it.
I have mocked up a system to show Graham tomorrow. If he is happy with it I will start the detailed design ready for fabrication. I think I can make all the bits myself so cost will be materials only.
Spoken to my suspension design guru and spent a couple of hours on AutoCad. The resulting design is now with Bob for his consideration. The main criterion is that the fulcrum must not go over centre (more than 90 degrees) in relation the two rods otherwise you get a falling spring rate (right click on image to get a bigger picture).
This is what we are looking to achieve:
This is what we are looking to achieve:
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charger69
Pro Tuner
the suspension is amazing, is it front or rear?
The photo is of the rear of a Global circuit car, not mine! it just shows the sytem we are installing
This Global was designed and built by my chassis guru (who ran a race series with these cars) so he knows a thing or two about this stuff.
This Global was designed and built by my chassis guru (who ran a race series with these cars) so he knows a thing or two about this stuff.
charger69
Pro Tuner
so they are one more front and other more back?
If you are talking about the angle of the dampers, then, yes.
Looking from above there is the option to fit them at a slight angle so longer dampers can be fitted. However, this won't be decided until the final weight of the car is established so that the damper specifications can be finalised which will determine their length.
Looking from above there is the option to fit them at a slight angle so longer dampers can be fitted. However, this won't be decided until the final weight of the car is established so that the damper specifications can be finalised which will determine their length.
More analisim:
Just washed out the supplied grease from my lightened and relieved CV joints. They will be repacked with a spray of Slick 50 then a small amount of GKN CV Grease.
Why? I hear you ask
Well, the grease supplied with CVs is not actually much use. It is OK for slow moving joints but for high revolutions you need a lubricant that won't just fly off to the outside.
Also, you don't pack the joint with this grease, around a 1/3 of the recoommended quantity is all that is required when combined with Slick 50.
The advantages are that it helps to reduce power losses as it is less viscous than the standard gloop. It also offers low friction and wear properties and has a Wide thermal operating range. This all adds up to less weight and friction resulting in more power available to accelerate car.
I will also be using this on the wheel bearings.
The only disadvantage is the cost. A tube to do 4 joints is £31 including P&P.
Just washed out the supplied grease from my lightened and relieved CV joints. They will be repacked with a spray of Slick 50 then a small amount of GKN CV Grease.
Why? I hear you ask
Well, the grease supplied with CVs is not actually much use. It is OK for slow moving joints but for high revolutions you need a lubricant that won't just fly off to the outside.
Also, you don't pack the joint with this grease, around a 1/3 of the recoommended quantity is all that is required when combined with Slick 50.
The advantages are that it helps to reduce power losses as it is less viscous than the standard gloop. It also offers low friction and wear properties and has a Wide thermal operating range. This all adds up to less weight and friction resulting in more power available to accelerate car.
I will also be using this on the wheel bearings.
The only disadvantage is the cost. A tube to do 4 joints is £31 including P&P.
Now that the damper design is finalised I have started to look at what width wheels I can fit. To that end I used my 'Wheelrite' wheel and tyre sizing contraption. Although the primary use of this is to check whether your preferred choice of wheel/tyre combination will fit under the arches (you bend a piece of wire to the tyre profile and this fits to the top of the unit), it also allows me to check how much back space I can accommodate for any given wheel diameter.
With a 16" wheel I can get 7" back space and 2.5" front space so 9 1/2" inch wheel is probably the widest I can fit, which is about right for a 265/45/16 tyre.
However, I won't be buying any wheels until I have the body on, just to make sure
As I don't like seeing the suspension through the wheels and the Elan looked (IMO) good on its Wolfrace slot mags, I am sticking with that theme with one of these sytles, probably the rounder holed version. This style originated in the same era as the car and I don't think that modern styles would look right.
With a 16" wheel I can get 7" back space and 2.5" front space so 9 1/2" inch wheel is probably the widest I can fit, which is about right for a 265/45/16 tyre.
However, I won't be buying any wheels until I have the body on, just to make sure
As I don't like seeing the suspension through the wheels and the Elan looked (IMO) good on its Wolfrace slot mags, I am sticking with that theme with one of these sytles, probably the rounder holed version. This style originated in the same era as the car and I don't think that modern styles would look right.
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charger69
Pro Tuner
i stand for the second one rims.
charger69
Pro Tuner
the first looks to german
T9 man
TC ModFather
The first wheel reminds me of an old friends 928 Porsche, that's not a bad thing by the way
pgarner
TC ModFather
is the 1st wheel 2 piece? how would these work with weight ?
charger69
Pro Tuner
it has screws all over it
Both wheels are 3-piece (bolts hidden on one) with billet centres and lighter than 1-piece cast equivalents. 3-piece allow me to specify o#!#!#!ets and back spacing to the nearest 1/2" whereas cast ones are limited to what the company makes.
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