Now that I finally have internet back, time for a few updates. Where was I? Oh yeah.
As I was saying, I had a few problems out back. I got the axles and everything reinstalled, took it out for testing. Found out I have clearance issues with the driveshaft, also with the tires running this close to the fenders even the little bit of side-to-side movement induced by the panhard rod was causing a rubbing problem on the fenders.
floor pan mod ver. 2 by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
Re-modified the floor pan for more clearance at the back. Come to find out the factory did not have the axle centered for a reason. They moved it slightly to the drivers side (approx. 1-2 inches) to accomodate more floorpan indentation on the passenger side. No doubt because some ga-genius in marketing thought that worrying about rear seat hip room for the JDM market was actually important.
Also modified my transmission mount to drop it downward again by about 2 inches. This caused more driveline angle than I want, but I plan to also drop the engine in the chassis enough to bring the driveline angle into spec. (Also lowering the car's center of gravity
) Basically what I have is a severely lowered suspension, except that the larger tires don't actually bring it any lower. Which is why so much was required to gain suspension travel and clearance above what the factory provides. We'll see if it's enough. I have a little over 3 maybe four inches of upward travel and 6 downward. I can make more room, but then I get back into tire clearance issues.
Fabricated a Watts link to replace the panhard bar. Which keeps the tires centered without that nasty side-to-side movement. I used the factory center pivot, modified it so the arms are in the same movement center and reinforced it. Also used the existing G-Force panhard mount (with a few modifications) to mount the lower of the link arms.
Watts center link by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
Center mount fabbed and welded in.
Watts link by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
Watts link installed.
I also got the suspension travel limiting straps in, which was a bigger pain than they look due to limited space.
limiting strap by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
The bump stops also came in and were installed. For some reason the passenger side has an inch more travel than the driver's side when the car was leveled. Not quite sure why as the spring mounts are identical copies of each other on each side. Only thing I can figure is that the passenger side frame rail was an inch higher throwing my measurements off. No picture of this as it's just a 2 inch urethane button on top of the cones. Well a spacer too on the passenger side.
Pictures are of the rear wheel fitment with the half inch taken out of the axles. ( Actually the axles could have easily been modified for another quarter of an inch, but I didn't want to get carried away.
)
rear wheel fitment 2 ver. 2 by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
rear wheel fitment 1 ver.2 by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
Then moved to the front suspension. Pulled the engine and transmission as well as the front suspension to get to work.
looking forlorn by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
I modified the K member and did the initial fit to find out what I had to do to make this pig work. My poor protractor, tape measure, ruler/square, and calipers are getting one hell of a workout with all the measuring and re-measuring I've had to do.
K-member 1st fit by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
I went ahead and replaced both front frame rails with 2X2 inch 1/8 inch tubing located above the old rails. Then removed the old rails. This gives me more clearance for the long A arms and strengthens the front frame area, which the rally guys say is a weak spot on these cars. Also cut the steering shaft at the box and removed it as I will be adapting it to the Ford rack and pinion.
new frame rails 1 by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
new frame rails 2 by
GySgtFrank, on Flickr
Currently I have a little more reinforcement to do in the frame boxed area and then refit the K member. It looks like I'll need to move the A arm mounting points in about two and a quarter inches to get the tires tucked in where I want them. Happy Days, having more fun than a barrel of monkeys.