Derracuda's Project Alpine 4kq *Comatose*

cuatrokoop · Post by **cuatrokoop** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:58 am

Wizard-of-OD wrote:Both will do the same Job fergie.

Not quite. One would be a shear panel, the other would be put in compression/tension depending on load. Plus, he'd have the plate covering up an existing weld if it were on the bottom. He could inset a piece of plate in the open end and TIG it in place and not worry about welding over top of welds (bad) or having the plate cover a weld (bad).

Regardless, Derek knows how to do things and I don't like picking nits on his work.

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:40 am

time for some more updatin'...

i got a big order of parts in for the suspension. 1.25- 1.20wall DOM tubing, all chromoly rod ends.... 3/4" heim joints for the ball joints, rated at 28k lbs...

and 5/8-3/4" heims for the inner control arm pivots rated at 42k lbs (more material in the head makes it stronger. i also got 3/4" adjusters for the inner control arms... these will allow me to fine tune track width and wheel base as well as castor/camber.

and for my new upper front strut mounts, i got some 3/4" spherical bearings and had some plates made to hold them. i'll be drilling the holes in them yet as i didn't want to pay for something i could to myself. these will mount under my new steel upper strut tower mounting plates.... all adjustable of course.

i'm hoping to have some control arms built this week as well as both my subframes and upper strut mount plates. then all i need are my new strut inserts and then i can really get cookin here

derrish_vulf · Post by **derrish_vulf** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:53 am

insane, i cannot wait to see this thing done, sittin low on those wide porshce wheels is going to look insane!!

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:11 pm

ok,... upper strut mounts...

and camber/castor plates. all i'm after is castor, so they plates only allow for fore/aft adjustments.

Hybrid_Hatch · Post by **Hybrid_Hatch** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:36 pm

as always, amazing work that i'm envious of... *golf clap *

s2 on the way · Post by **s2 on the way** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:38 pm

so we finished project oem, now onto as f-in custom as you can possibly get....
flippin redundiculous....
and next comes the pre made 10 in wide 4k kit...."boy I sure like 4k's, especially if I can have 10 in rollers with no bodywork

"

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 9:13 pm

thanks!

i was working on the control arm setup, but i first need to know where the strut and wheel is going to sit to get my everything down perfect..... i'm running into a tight setup angles wise with the new "ball joint" rod ends.

ok, control arms.... what i've covered so far...

i just need something like this... adjustable, simple right?.. mmmm, wrong...

first up, the lower ball joint needs a way to attach to the spindle... so this was my solution... 3/4" fine thread bolt = 19mm shank and fits just right into the old ball joint shaft hole...

grade 8 bolt and i don't want to change the heat tempering of the bolt, so i cut it with a hack saw... kinda time consuming, but oh well..

you don't want stress causing rough area's in a high stress bolt, so i used a sanding disc wheel to carefully smooth it down real nice

then there's the little notch needed for the through bolt of the spindle... carefully notched that out with a carbide bit

BAM... in place nice and snug

next up there needs to be a spacer to allow the rod end to get full articulation

the large washer is a safety washer incase the joint-ball itself fails... it can't slide past the larger washer. i figure if the sucker breaks off, i got other problems to worry about first

now that the outer joint attachment is out of the way, time to locate the inners on a jig..

and part of my jig to hold the outer "ball joint"..

now comes the tricky part and i don't blame you if your eye glaze over like 5 times, because mine did that all yesterday evening trying to get this all figured out...lol

here's part of the head scratchin' fun...

the inners rod ends are 3/4 shank, 5/8 bore hole, and has 32 degrees of total articulation mounted sideways (which is how i plan to mount them in the car) and with a 13.5" long control arm, i have 5.75" of total travel at the end...

next, the outer rod ends are 3/4 shank. 3/4 bore hole and have only 26 degrees of articulation, and with the control arm length of 13.5" gives me just under 5.75" of travel on the long end.

the struts i'm going to use have 5.6" of total travel... so i have to plan very carefully for the positioning of my rod ends so that i don't have binding...

furthermore, to compound this angular circus, the stock ball joint hole in the bottom of the spindle is canted at 13 degrees the wrong way.. so, what that means, is that with the inner mounting points being higher in location for my geometry to stay in a range i want, the outer rod end needs to point downward at 13degrees, and then have the inner mounts and tubes intersect at odd angles that i don't feel so comfortable with in terms of strength... so i'm still thinking the control arm situation over while i get the upper strut mounts positioned, find out just where the new lower ball joint position will be (remember with the top of the strut tilted back, the bottom needs to go forward to keep the wheel centered in the wheel well.

time for bed tonight.. blah.

Wizard-of-OD · Post by **Wizard-of-OD** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 9:37 pm

:woowoo:
Amazing work Derek!

PRA4WX · Post by **PRA4WX** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 7:57 am

No wonder you were ready to go to bed! :wink:

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:34 pm

annnd today's progress...

mostly self explainitory

whoops!

and the good news is that it looks like i won't have the cut into the underside of the hood as i made the plate as confined as i could. hopefully i'll have some more tomorrow... depends on the regular work load.

s2 on the way · Post by **s2 on the way** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:51 pm

so the upper mounts are for the caster, and then you can control the camber with the lower a arms little adjusters right?

and then from strut to hub carrier, the little adapter plate you are using, are you going to mount the carrier side with two bolts and then the strut side with just one bolt so it can move a bit?--or maybe not strong enough, or too much camber under spring compression?
or are you just going to remake the spacer/ plates with the correct bolting to bolt all 4 bolts and utilize your ideal camber and adapt it to the new angle of the strut?

sorry for the dumb questions, just trying to rationalize all the creativeness

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:01 pm

the strut-spindle extension will be a lot more than just a little plate.. the little plate was just for mockup purposes. once the upper strut plates are in, then i can just about finalize the strut-spindle adapter... and i do plan to incorporate an adjustment into that for the camber.

s2 on the way · Post by **s2 on the way** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:43 am

and i do plan to incorporate an adjustment into that for the camber.

ah ha, more than meets the eye

Audilard · Post by **Audilard** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:10 am

Yep, again, Derek does nice work!!!

WAUG0806 · Post by **WAUG0806** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:24 am

8) tasty looking ingredients!

Please make 2 sets of each!

did you slip the new stut top "box" down inside the original sheet metal to hit both layers or will they be welded on the top?

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:01 am

thanks Darin

WAUG0806 wrote:8) tasty looking ingredients!

Please make 2 sets of each!

did you slip the new stut top "box" down inside the original sheet metal to hit both layers or will they be welded on the top?

it will go down to both levels and i also have some additional strengthening plans that i can only show with pics... so wait for those

mjlangley · Post by **mjlangley** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:40 am

Derek-

Any reason that you can't fab your LCA's so that the heims on the inner end are at 90 deg. from the mount bolt? This would allow easier camber adj., as you don't have to adjust the spacers on the bolt when you change the arm length.

-MAtt

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:22 am

mjlangley wrote:Derek-

Any reason that you can't fab your LCA's so that the heims on the inner end are at 90 deg. from the mount bolt? This would allow easier camber adj., as you don't have to adjust the spacers on the bolt when you change the arm length.

-MAtt

it has to do with space constraints.... the adjusters i have won't allow for that because of the lengths of everything involved.... i get something figured

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:51 am

i just saw this pic in RScoupe's thread...

.. wow that looks tough.. anyone have any info on it?

Audilard · Post by **Audilard** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:53 am

There used to be a website out there somewhere show how he cut and welded these M3 or M5 fenders onto the coupe. I don't know where it is.

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:44 pm

finished up the boxes tonight...

oldsklaudidub · Post by **oldsklaudidub** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:50 pm

so Derek what kind of steel am I looking at here. it looking real nice. :bump:

derracuda · Post by **derracuda** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:51 pm

you're lookin at the finest grade 3/16" mild steel from the scrap pile here in the shop

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:57 pm

I'm kinda worried about the pieces that are between the bolts and where the strut bearing sits. They look awfully thin. I suppose the block that holds the upper bearing is nearly the full width of the box though...

oldsklaudidub · Post by **oldsklaudidub** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:57 pm

any disign for a tower brace?