"1350 kg...so it's quite heavy"

Now back to the wheel discussion. I just got the C4 front end parts in today...so I can "mock" some things up and see how it will work. I'm going to need a few days to work it out and I did manage to resist polishing them right away, but damn they will look good when I get them polished (I need bushings for them - so I should polish them. Right?).

Seems sensible enough.

Coburn logic right there...

I'll have to do something while the rebuild parts arrive. I probably won't polish them in all honesty, probably just give them a good going over in the bead blast cabinet and a coat of clear to keep them looking clean.

Here are a few other things I know...the Vox Amazon sits on the following tires sized:

Front: 245/40 19
Rear: 275/30 19

Wheels:

Front: 19 X 8.5"
Rear: 19 X 10"

Here's what I'm thinking:

Front: 18 X 7" running 225/50's
Rear: 18 X 8" running 245/45's

Back to the wheel debate, I've looked at all the lovely Forgelines and they are $3500 a set! That's not in the budget (as if there's a budget) - I've ruled out the Kodiak's as they are just racing wheels and not really the higest quality from what I've read. That brings me back full circle to the AC III wheels by ET - light weight, custom offset at a non-custom price.

Found here:
http://www.team3wheels.com/ac_iii.html

I'm almost liking the LTIII wheel which is listed as a vintage 60's Trans Am design. It's sort of like a minilite.

http://www.team3wheels.com/lt_iii.html

Still to buy (list for myself):

Front brakes
Wiring
Pedal cluster
Wheels and tires
Steering shaft connectors
GPS Speedo and a few more gauges

Links are the same...

I saw a set of the AC III wheels for sale somewhere for cheap in my world wide web travels in the last couple of days. Think I can remember where?

I saw a set on Calgary Kijiji - they wanted basically the same money as new and they wouldn't have the right bolt spacing (need front chevy and rear ford) or offset and I'm not dicking around with this one.

I'd take the LT's over the AC's for sure. I'm trying to imagine them in an 18", and I'm thinking it might look pretty good! Hopefully the dish would be there too. Would you keep the centres grey? But I like the idea of taking a more traditional looking wheel that resembles a Minilite to the extreme on 18's. Could be cool.

I thought you had bought a pedal cluster already?
Also, new front brakes???? What are you doing with the old ones?

Ya, I'm thinking I may have to photochop them in there to see what they'll look like. They are flatter than a minilite but weigh more than the ACIII's (18 X 7" are 24 lbs). 18's would be pretty nice and I'd keep the grey "as cast" look to the centre and leave the lips machined. Polished is too blingy. Lip is a "simple" matter (most of their wheels are custom made for less than $500 per wheel) and has to be determined very soon as I'm about to start the IRS conversion. I haven't bought the pedal cluster (have the MC's) - I keep thinking I should put in a giant order to Summit, but then I come back to reality. I don't need these parts for a few months and it's not like they are in short supply. I know the flywheel wasn't exactly needed, but I was more worried about it taking years rather than a month so I pulled the trigger on that sooner than needed due to my history with Volvo parts.

The front brakes are sold to Matt. The new ones will be Wilwoods as well, but are a C4 Vette bolt on kit. 6 piston and 12.88 rotors - both for no reason that makes sense to me other than adapting what I have already adapted seems silly when a bolt on solution exists.

Any advice on high performance clutches. Clutchnet is suggesting a stage 2 PP and want to know what clutch I want. I don't want a grabby undriveable clutch and the car isn't going to be used for drag racing.

It's been a long time since I've made any serious progress. No point in clogging up threads with yapping as I use email for that activity (and the occasional hopeless text to the Ugly Duck). What I'm doing right now is getting bits and pieces done a little at a time. So, I've bought a lot of stuff, built a bunch of insignificant things like oil pans and the like. Spent a lot of time in the sandblast cabinet and have sub assemblies rolling. Not very interesting.

So now that most of that stuff is either done or I'm waiting for parts, I decided to get rolling on the suspension. The rear has to go in first before the front suspension comes off. So to recap, I'm using a MK3 Supra Turbo IRS (limited slip and stronger than the strongest dirt). It's terribly complicated and who wouldn't want more aluminum A-arms?

Here's the start point:



I built a frame to copy the suspension articulation points.



Then remove the jig from the frame (which did require cutting) and draw it in to the required width. Modify a few things so a subframe rail could actually be used in the jig.



I have started to fabricate the subframe to fit this all up under the 122. So I bolted the hub and upper A-arm onto a wheel and tossed it under the car.



From the inside...just enough clearance for the arm (the spring perches will have to be removed).



Beginnings of the subframe - looking OK so far. Space is too tight for the A-arm to get fancy curves, so a simple cut and welded 2 X 3 120 wall tube frame at the top will suffice.



Then BANG - there's a suspension arm that is right in the way of the subframe. A few hours later and a few texts and conversations and I guess the plasma is going to see some use. If Jim hasn't tossed out the 240 Turbo parts car...don't for a second as I may want to cut out the rear floor pan if that's OK.

Looking good... I think.

I move at a glacial pace on most things including the removal of said parts car, good thing there's no HOA out here. It might be cancerous but your welcome to carve out whatever you need if it's any good.

Good to know...I'll see if it makes sense to cut it out then I'll swing by with my saws all if it looks useful.

Just a quick bump to show where we're at as of right now. I've got the rear subframe figured out and will be tacking it together today. I pulled the rear axles out as it was time to see what I had and start thinking about shortening them (and what options were out there).

Here's the start - they are pretty ugly as pulled, but made no weird noises.



Then it was time to rip the CV joints off...if you've never done it before, here's the blow by blow (works for most) - after seeing this you'll probably be smart and just buy replacement rebuilt units.

Cut the bands and try not to damage the boots, then starting with the inboard CV you just pull the boot off and remove the drive section from the shaft. It's held on by the boot and is designed to provide in-out motion to the axle.



What a mess...get rid of the grease. The cross comes out via a clip at the top. Remove and clean the spider.



Moving to the wheel side of the shaft, remove the boot as before and slook off the grease so you can see the parts...so many parts. Rotate the shaft until you can see the inner spider and located one of the lugs. Using a brass hammer and while pulling on the output spline, beat the thing off. It's held on with a spring clip internally.







Now all the balls and cages and spiders get cleaned. Cleaning off CV grease is not much fun. It took around an hour to get things clean.



Then blast the other parts and be amazed.



Ready to regrease and put back together once I get some shorter shafts made.

Just a quick update. The rear sub-frame is starting to come together. I took a couple weeks off to catch up other parts of the project and do some thinking about the problem. If I had kept the fancy frame curves, then significant parts of the back seat sheetmetal would have to be hacked for it to fit. Or I could just weld the turn using a simple angle and only have to create a little clearance (how little will be determined when I test fit the part). So with this little detail off my mind, it was time to spark some stuff up and get this rolling.

Here's the frame rail welded (I didn't take photos of that mid stream...keeping tube straight is tricky and most people will never weld a frame because they're smart).



I had dreams of using Welder's Series weld on tabs for my suspension mounts, but as you can see here, there wasn't enough bearing area on the bushing. So I made my own - dammit.





They will work for this part as the crush sleeve is held and is proud of the bushing side. It's meant to flex.



The rear anti-dive is apparent in this shot - oh and my tabs were fabricated in a few minutes with the plasma (couldn't work without that tool). The tabs will be TIG'ed and then a cap applied to give more lateral support as a gusset to the outside just isn't going to work.



The batwing section on the back fit right in with minimal cutting. I've since stripped the paint and will finish the fab work on the weekend. No way to sandblast the part as the wax undercoating Toyota used is fabulous protection against ham-fisted car hackers. Had to strip the part chemically.



Then the UPS dude brought me this:



Kitty approved.

Apparently, Hahn Racecraft was drunk when they clocked the turbo...no way the wastegate fits. On the upside, it's forced me to look inside the centre cartridge and figure out the drains, feeds etc.



I'm not sure what to do about this little issue.

Wastegate exit on the left (note ceramic coating is only on the outside).



Here's the flapper valve closed.



And open.



At full open it hits the plug they welded in to block off the divided exit. If there was a lug on the exhaust mount face, I'd drill and tap it and cut that plug out of there...but there isn't.

Shots I was trying to find on the internet but couldn't - here's the hotside TD05-20G



Inlet (and that compressor housing is calling me for a quick polish).




Oh, and here's the reason it took over a week to clear customs...apparently, Hahn thinks turbos are T-Shirts...WTF


That's it for now.