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(Continued from page 11)
Unequal non-parallel wishbones
Kingpin angle = 14 deg
Kingpin off set = 0 deg.
Caster adjustable from -4 to +8 deg
Body role of between 1-3 deg.
Camber angle is adjustable and remains unchanged with suspension droop of 50mm and bump of 100mm.
The final correction to the front end is to eliminate bump steer and that will be achieved by inverting the steering rack tie rod end, re-machining the taper in the stub axle steering arm and manufacturing a very small tapered shim for the tie rod end. This work reduces the steering rack push rod angle by 10 deg and resulting in compete elimination of bump steer for a vertical bump of 250mm. Well beyond the travel limit I will set on the front end. This solves the problem where the tie rod end fowls on the bottom wish bone reducing overall full steering lock.
I feel good about the way the front end has turned out. It has taken me 2 1/2 weeks to pull together and I think I have achieved a good compromise. I quite like the idea of having the ability to tune the front end through the use of adjustable rod ends.
You might notice I now have fitted the remaining chassis stiffeners and an additional couple of tubes in the grill and engine mount areas. They certainly make the chassis look like its well re-enforced and has given the chassis a tremendous amount of additional stiffness at the front. I will fit a couple of additional stiffeners in the lower rear section behind the cockpit before I strip every thing out in readiness for welding the 16 gauge panel work next week.
November '99
Progress has been a bit slower because the wet has started. My old tarps over the carport extension and the modified shed are showing signs of fatigue and I spent a week slowing down the leaks and moving things to a drier area. In the end I replace the tarp and got back to the task of building. The first thing I decided to do was to totally strip out all the remaining useable anchors and fixtures out of the Silvia and take it to the dump. That was a mammoth job using hammer and chisel and numerous cutting wheels in my 4in Makita grinder. Once that was done I had a lot more room. I decided to leave the floor and tunnel paneling for a week to see if the rain stops and instead worked on attaching the smaller brackets for all the many fittings that need to be attached.
The radiator brackets were the first to be fitted followed by the Intercooler mounts. Then came the air filter box, windscreen washer and radiator over flow containers, all the hydraulic brake line attachments, and heaps of engine management bits that feed suction pipes to god only knows what. This took longer than I thought but it was good to get it out of the way. Next came the panel work in the foot well, center tunnel and floor pan. These were all stitch welded adding an enormous amount of stiffness to the whole chassis. Still raining and getting very wet under foot and uncomfortable so the only thing to do is move my project to a new location where the rain is not an issue. Over the next weekend I uplifted everything and relocated to a large undercover concrete slab at a mate's place. This was perfect because he was going out of town for 7 weeks and has offered the use of a small but well setup work shed as well.
At this stage I decided to make a full list of outstanding welding work to the chassis and aim to get it to the stage where I can have is sand blasted and painted leaving only pop riveting to do. I welded the coil over attachments to both the chassis and wishbones, torsion bar mounting bracket, seat anchors, seatbelt brackets, and all the mounting plates for the roll bar. Next I pulled out my rear section fiberglass paneling and completed the rear section for the panel work and spare wheel mount. Next I welded in all the fuel tank strap anchor points, and cut access slots for the control pedals and hole for the steering column through the firewall. That's it...........ready for a blast and paint.
The blasting took about a week and the painting is still waiting to be done. The chassis is at the painters but is not a top priority so he has given it a holding spray of very thinned out epoxy while I get a chance to give it a coat of paint. It's been about a week and every time I get down to see him the place is closed. Very frustrating. I have decided to move the chassis back home over the weekend and paint it there, at least I will get it done.
Wile I was waiting for my chassis work to get done my son Ben and a mate got me to help build a roller blade activity structure. Full half pipe with flat top, quarter pipe jump and landing ramp. It was a bit of a distraction but kept me busy. Once it was finished I was amazed at just what the kids around town could do on this structure and by the time the word got out about it, there was no less that forty kids from 5 - 15yr having an absolute blast. In the end Ben had to lock it away so that they could lock it to the slab and give it a coat of paint.
While I was waiting to retrieve my chassis I did a bit of degreasing of the parts that were going back in and spray painted the from calipers, discs, stub axles and gearbox bracket. I also ordered my stainless steel plate and pipe work for my roll bar.
December '99
I got my roll bar plating and all the remaining grade 8 bolts for the final assembly. I am continuously amazed at how cheep things are when I buy them from out of Weipa. This place is a real rip off let me tell you.
Tomorrow is Friday the 8th and I start the chassis painting. Hopefully I will get it all done and if time permits I will start to re-assemble the mechanical in preparation for the engineering and chassis test. I loaded up the chassis and transported it to the sandblasters and set it up on their blasting stands.
(Continued on page 13)
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