Finally trial-assembled the first side of my much modified rear suspension. I “C-ed” the stock control arms for a much larger wheel (17×13″), as well as removed the existing coil spring and separate shock, adding in mounts for a modern coil-over. The coil-over is mucho-adjustable, plus is angled in for wheel clearance
Everything moves through its travel correctly, and the ride height sits everything in the center of travel. Satisfying to have all the geometry work out!
I still have to do the other side, and then new mounts for the new heim-jointed lateral links. PLUS – clean-up my nasty welds (learning again . . .) and prime and paint.
This is underneath looking up – that lower 7/8″ lateral link and its rubber bushings will be replaced
Forrest – back to carpentry tomorrow!
Edited 1/28/2007 8:08 pm by McDesign
Edited 1/28/2007 8:08 pm by McDesign
Edited 1/28/2007 8:11 pm by McDesign
Replies
Nice work. What kind of car is that?
Oh, right. A Kelmark - the best of the 70's tube-framed "kit" cars. Guy that built it way back then was a Michelin physicist; liked those little tires and funny TRX wheels. I'm going for more "mean" than disco, so big tires had to go on!
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Forrest
Edited 1/28/2007 8:45 pm by McDesign
Forrest,
Great Hobby.
Isn't that body style similar to the Opal Cadet?
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Whoa, whoooaaa, whoooaaaaaa... Let me see if I've got this right: You've got a fantastic wife, great kids, fun & challenging jobs, a nice house, AND a sportscar?!
Where the He11 did I go wrong?!jt8
Wishing I could be like Forrest
Do you have Jesus?
Isn't that body style similar to the Opal Cadet?I will hold him if you want..
At least they didnt say the Opel Manta!
I had one of those things at one time, my college car! Ugliest car on campus but it was cheap and it ran well.
Doug
boo freaking hoo! At least you didn't have the 10 year old Reliant K-car wagon as your college car. Neeeedless to say that wasn't a chick magnet (at least not the chicks that a 21 year old college student wants).
Although it was handy when it was time to haul stuff home. I used to be able to get everything I owned in that thing (assuming the recliner was strapped onto the luggage rack). Nowadays it would take a semi trailer to haul my junk.
jt8
Wishing I could be like Forrest
A friend of mine from high school had an Opel. Family collected them, for some reason. I remember helping him work on it occasionally. Strange car . . . the parts would always have sex behind our backs and spawn extra parts that were left over when everything was put back together.it always ran well tho' :)
I used to own an Opel Kadette...it also had four wheels and two doors, but that's where the similarities end. :-)
I'm a lucky guy - I'll be the first one to admit it!
Forrest - lucky guy
I would like that scoop a bit more, if it leaned forward at a smooth angle, and then fanned out over the roof above the window.It would look more like it belonged.Right now it looks like a hairy wart on miss america's nose.
Yeah, but all that peace and love bologna looks good on a resume... or a tagline. ~Pete "for govenor" Draganic '07
Hmmmm. The thing is, I'm recreating the original "King Kong Kelmark" look, the one that Car & Driver drove 203 mph in 1977. The original car, now owned by a guy in our Yahoo group, has modified it beyond all recognition.
That darned scoop is an antique, and was hard to find!
Forrest - not improving on history
I had one of these in high school. Hated that thing, no a/c always hot and noisey. engine comes out the bottom, no room, back windows did not open, too low to ground, you rolled out on to the payment then pick your self up..
Yeah, but that's just the thing for High School! And red, too - cool!
Forrest
Those were great, at least to look at. Remember the Sunbeam Tigers, Jensens, 240Z, etc. Some great foreign cars back then.
I had my apprenticeship as a Auto body man at a Opel dealer in Germany and remember those Opel GT's. They were a pain in the bud to work on. They were designed for the European poor man's sports car market. The styling was leaning towards a Corvette.
But they looked great.
but they was hard and uncomfortable to drive
I traded mine for a toyota celica- even.
Just for you, I dug out the original, tattered Car & Driver article that I cut out IN HIGH SCHOOL, when I first dreamed of that car and Don Sherman drove it so fast.
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Forrest
Edited 1/31/2007 10:15 pm by McDesign
And another thing!
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The obligatory tail shot
Forrest - defending my baby
Edited 1/31/2007 10:19 pm by McDesign
Yup. There you go. They were just as ugly back then.;o)
Orville Wright never had a pilot's license.
is that the exact same car or one just like it.
No - mine's not the same car, just the same model, different engine, without headlight covers, and a single wiper. That car in the pix has been destroyed by tasteless mods.
My goal is to create the look of the magazine car, but with a larger engine (565 vs 467 cubic inches), and modern digital fuel injection, rather than that 60's Lucas-Kinsler mechanical outfit.
Big engine and trans are sitting in the garage; car has a 350 and 4-speed now.
Forrest
So. . . . . you're saying that the 737 hp of the car in that article is not enough for you?
I take it this isn't the "family vacation" car, is it.
Nice welds, by the way. Maybe not the most beautiful ever, but they look stout and functional from my house.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
I hope disc brakes are i the plans to "whoa down" that Caddy power.
Hice work! That welding makes me jealous.
Troy Sprout
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."
-- Thomas Sowell
Yeah - likely GM discs to go with the Caddy. Thanks for the welding comment - I never seem to do well enough to really "like" my work!
Forrest
Nice work. I used to that for a hobby, but got too expensive for me. Now I just make little wood ones.
did you figure in the angle that you put the shocks and springs when you came up with spring rate? makes a huge difference in spring and shock rates... as does how far your bottom mount is in from the centerline of your wheel... will also affect roll center... adjusting ride height with your coil overs will not stiffen your springs but will only load them and transfer weight...... they do make a multi rate spring for coilovers... looks like you have a pretty high unsprung weight which would also come into play...
you will only get the rated spring rate with zero angle... and every movement inboard from wheel center line will decrease that rate...
if you are at all interested I think steve smith sells a cheap set up program that you plug in your base measurements, spring locations & rates & angles .... i don't know the front end set up but it also covers bump steer... which might not apply if you have R&P but the roll center, cross weight,
in my circle track days i had a surface plate that we built the cars on... but we had it where we could set it up with a finished car... on wheel scales... spent many many nights play'n with springs/shocks and jack'n & move'n weight & mounting points, control arms, & their angles, pinion angles, ect... been a few years... but i had hundreds of pages of notes... what i usually found was... what effect you thought your change would make... rarely was... we only turned left so perfect balance to us was not very balanced at all.... but weight transfer was always a huge issue...
as for your welds.... man i love those norton grinding disks that look like layers of flat sandpaper flaps... even the cheap harbor freight ones... they finish out any metal work really nice...
nice work... i love metal fab... unlike wood... you can make metal longer :)
p
Thanks for the input - I had worked out the geometry with the Tech guys at QA1 (the coilover manufacturers). I sent them a 3-view ACAD file and corner weights. The rear spring is 300#/", which is stiffer than one would normally pick, because of that inclination angle, needed for tire clearance.
I'm also lowering the inboard mount of the lateral links to minimize the camber change with suspension movement. tires are a lot wider and body roll is a lot less than they were in 1968 when that suspension came on a Corvair!
Forrest
Hey - I'm on the road today! Took it to the muffler shop to bend one tailpipe around the new coilover. The new tubular lateral links look cool; don't make noise.
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Always loved the look of Can-Am cars - meaty and mean!
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Like driving a circus!
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Forrest
Edited 2/10/2007 2:53 pm by McDesign
Edited 2/10/2007 2:53 pm by McDesign
Edited 2/10/2007 2:54 pm by McDesign
Got a better hiney shot as the sun went down.
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Forrest - can I say "hiney" here now?
Edited 2/10/2007 6:25 pm by McDesign
What model of Opel did you say that was based on? ;-DSeriously though what size are those meats on the rear?Alan...enviously poking forrest with a stick.
Ouch! My eye!
They're 335-35-17s on 17x13 wheels.
Saw the rear tires out front at a used tire place, whirled around; got 'em for $70 TOTAL! I mean, what else are they going to go on, a Viper? Those guys get new tires!
Then, after custom made wheels and hours of suspension cutting and welding, they bolted right on!
Not sure it was such a good deal . . .
Forrest
I have a smaller 4 wheeled hobby, ATV's .But I understand the sentiment exactly, I found an updated swingarm on e-bay for 1/4 the price, ($150) then spent $600 at the dealer getting everything else that I had to have to get it bolted up.But I can still tell my riding buds, that I got a heck of a deal on that swingarm.. doh! ;-D I can't even guess what custom 17" wheels for an opal must cost.That isn't a corvette rear end is it? Corvair maybe?
Yes - rear is currently a beefed (4-spider) Corvair. Trans is a Muncie 4-sp.
Long and fragile input shaft, though, So I will convert to an Eldorado/Toronado trans.
Someday.
Forrest
More fab this week; working from 5:30 to 6:30 before the real workday started. Went to Summit Sunday night (it's only 23 minutes away!) and got the goodies. The old fuel system plumbing was done like we did in the 70s, with brass plumbing fittings and "brake line" tubing. Finally had a little leak (here in the trunk) that made me nervous.
Now all new Russell plumbing, new filter housing, and rebuilt pump and regulator. I feel safer! Also mounted the pump on big rubber isolators - those vane-type pumps really buzz on the fiberglass body.
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Forrest
Edited 3/3/2007 8:04 pm by McDesign
Edited 3/3/2007 8:06 pm by McDesign
In between insulation prep, I also modified my transaxle mount. This started as a Corvair piece, but on the Kelmark is used as a solid mount - lots of gear whine! The transaxle "hangs" from the frame, so I had to come up with a way to use the new bushings in compression.
I shortened and boxed the ends, cut out twin sections and reinforced them, and installed rubber bushings from some old GM product that looked right in the NAPA catalog.
Gotta be angled because they take suspension thrust loads in cornering. This fits at the very back of the car. The wooden blocks on the jig represent the ends of the frame rails; the (4) bolts in the center thread into the transaxle
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Forrest
Edited 3/21/2007 8:47 pm by McDesign
Edited 3/21/2007 8:48 pm by McDesign
About to head up to the 4th annual GA Tech auto show (for alumni and the like).
Been polishing and cleaning; loaded the trunk with all the '80s trophies the car won (purely to establish provenance you understand, but ever try to put four four-foot trophies in a 40" tall car?); I'll post pix later today.
Forrest - lookin' forward to an FO at the Varsity
Well, I didn't win.
Tons o' fun though - some neat cars, from coffin-nosed Cords to a ferrari Enzo (maybe $1 - $1.3 mil?)
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Forrest - drowning my sorrows
Edited 3/31/2007 6:55 pm by McDesign
You had my blood pumping when you said Summit. I thought you where talking about Summit Point race track (Northern VA). Been there lots of times in the earlier days.
I need your secrets: How do you find time for everything you do?
Car looks great! I love those types of projects!
I recall a track in your area we called Road Atlanta?
Edited 3/31/2007 9:53 pm ET by VAVince
BT is my only vice!
Sorta'.
Road Atlanta is 45 minutes north. My favorite event, The Walter Mitty (vintage car racing) is the end of April - unbelieveable variety of cars going fast. Come on down and stay here at the house!
Forrest
Thanks for the invite!!!
I will have to pass. I am taking some time off next week and going to my cabin with the kids (4). I do miss the days at the track (mostly motorcycle).
Have fun!! And be careful!
....ferrari Enzo (maybe $1 - $1.3 mil?)
You here about Eddie Griffin wrecking a Farrari Enzo?
http://blogs.motortrend.com/6205968/car-news/nooooo-actor-eddie-griffin-wrecks-ferrari-enzo/
If your the owner of that car standing there watching it all unfold, or in this case, FOLD, what must be going through your head!
Doug
I wonder if it was a publicity stunt - heard that, too. I did see the video. Now everyone has seen that; it's a famous car with easily repairable damage.
Forrest
Yea, but does the dishwasher work?
Nice look!Troy Sprout
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."-- Thomas Sowell
<Yea, but does the dishwasher work?>
LOL! That's funny! I just loaded the DW after posting that pic, to clean the kitchen before I pull it out for the new supply valve and stuff tonight.
Told the other DW I shouldn't do it today with the kids underfoot!
She said it sounded like an excuse!
Forrest - not foolin' nobody
Okay - its 11 PM, the shop is clean and vacuumed, I 'glassed a reinforcement into my scoop, and THE DISHWASHER IS FIXED.
Thought you'd want to know
Forrest - thinkin' bout Checkers burgers . . .
Since we're talkin' kits.......
Speed Buggy
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My Aunt and Uncle built this Dune Buggy in the early 70's and my dad bought it in the late 70's from them. It's on a 63 VW chassis shortened 9" with a VW van engine in it (more cc's). I just unpickled it a few months ago. It needs all the chrome polished, an axle seal replaced, and a wax job and it'll be ready for warm weather. Note the original early 70's Mickey Thompson bias tires on the Torque Thrust rims. And from the picks it is hard to distinguish the orange paint with gold metal flake.
Speed Buggy lives!John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
That's great! and weird!
Just walked to the mail box, literally moments ago; got the mail, and my new Hot Rod magazine, okay?
Top right corner of the cover - bright yellow dune buggy, headline reads "Return of the DUNE BUGGY, Meyers Manxter".
Weird.
Looks like a lot of fun. A neighbor had one when I was a kid. Shriner's drive a couple in the 4th of July parade that goes by our house; the kids call 'em the "pop-a-wheelie" cars!
Forrest
Too cool! I just googled Meyers Manxter and it lead to the website...
http://www.meyersmanx.com/
These new buggies are cool!John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.