8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 2/4/03 at 10:08 PM |
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Rear suspension design
Hi- Id love to build a mid-engined car. The thing is- what do u guys do for suspension components- ive no experience of this sort of thing so making
them is probably beyond me. A mate has an Audi coupe in his field and i can take what i want (nice chap!). Therefore one tempting if crude solution
is to use the whole audi subframe, however from researching the net ive heard that there are clearance problems with putting in other engines (id love
either a rover or ford v8)
Any advice is most appreciated
chris
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Alan B
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| posted on 3/4/03 at 02:23 AM |
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Chris, this answer, which is IMO of course, also applies to a similar question further down about chassis design.
A lot depends on perspective and your background.......if you have already done a bit of fabrication and have a good feeling for the workings of cars
then it should be within your capabilities with some help.......if you have none of that background, all is not lost, but it will need a bit of
getting up to speed and some study...hanging around on here and asking specific questions is a good place to start.
You could use a fair bit of the Audi front end as your new rear...a lot of that kind of transplant has been done before....the only trouble is the
more donor parts you use the more your car ends up like ....the donor..:-), and less like a custom sports car. There are many good chassis and
suspension books out there and I suggest a good read through them and then fire away with the questions.
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 4/4/03 at 07:41 PM |
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Thanks Alan for your good advice. In fact the idea for the car came partly from looking at the old pics of the Nova chassis you built. So you could
say that you are my inspiration! lol. Seriously tho, that particular chassis seems relatively straightforward and an excellant project for a
beginner. The chassis/suspension book has just been ordered!
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Alan B
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| posted on 4/4/03 at 08:50 PM |
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Wow...that's going back a while....
But thanks all the same...
Yeah, if you read a bit. ask some questions, look at some cars...you soon get the picture.....
If you have room for the Audi stuff I'd get it now...whatever you can store...never know what might come in handy...
Yes, the simple ladder frames are easy, but still need some thought so they aren't to heavy or flexible...
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 6/4/03 at 06:09 PM |
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Thanks Alan
Yes the audi trans seems to get good reviews from the varous Diablo/countach replica sites I have found. Also kennedy do adaptor kits to fit
ford/chevy V8's, tho Im still pondering over the rover v8 due to its less weight and size- perhaps a little bit easier to find back here in
blighty as well.
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Alan B
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| posted on 6/4/03 at 06:34 PM |
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Yes, RV8 and Audi....good combo.....
If you can collect parts as you are planning the car it is good....sometimes the right parts aren't available just when you need them...
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 6/4/03 at 06:55 PM |
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Odd behaviour!
Yes Im definitely leaning towards Rover, tho one potential problem with using standard Audi suspension is the engine sump hitting the subframe. Found
a site were a guy ended up chopping his subframe into sections to get a big block chevy into his Audi 80- now that is mad! lol
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Alan B
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| posted on 6/4/03 at 11:06 PM |
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Just my opinion, but I'd lose the sub-frame and struts (is it struts ?).
I'd keep the uprights and brakes and mod. them for coilovers.
As you say some of the Lambo sites have good ideas.
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 8/4/03 at 09:23 PM |
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Yes I was wondering how easy it would be to junk the struts- i saw a mag article ages ago where a guy put the whole front end in the back of a beetle-
it was not particularly pretty lol.
Im still toying with idea of using the renualt un1 gearbox instead as the adaptor to the rover v8 might be easier to get hold of- unless anyone knows
different.
I find myself eyeing up rusty renault 25's parked in the street- Mrfluffy has a lot to answer for! lol
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Rorty
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| posted on 9/4/03 at 05:17 AM |
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8smokingbarrels, I just remembered. When I left the UK to come to Aus, I had about 2 or 3 mid-engine Beetle chassis in my shed, along with a complete
Beetle fibreglass mould, and a second set of moulds for a sealed cabin Beetle front half, and a flip rear section, which hinged away at roughly the B
post line (behind the sealed cabin).
I had trouble selling that lot (including 4 or 5 renault transaxles!) before I moved. I basically told a local bloke (forgotten his name) to do what
he liked with them, and if he managed to sell any of it, to split the proceeds with me. That was 12 years ago.
Maybe an ad placed in one of the UK Beetle mags might turn up some of the stuff, if you're interested.
Cheers, Rorty.
"Faster than a speeding Pullet".
PLEASE DON'T U2U ME IF YOU WANT A QUICK RESPONSE. TRY EMAILING ME INSTEAD!
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 9/4/03 at 07:30 PM |
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Cheers Rorty
That sounds like a serious amount of kit u had- the moulds in particular. God knows what it would have been worth to right buyer but then again
finding the right buyer isnt easy sometimes. Was this in NI or england?- (i think u said u were from NI originally).
There still seems to be a fair few renaults 25s about so im hopeful i can nap a UN1 if need be.
Finally one fairly dumb ass question: what exactly is an UPRIGHT? I know its part of the suspension but which part? As I seem to have moved from
being nOObie to a JUNIOUR BUILDER- I must at least give the impression that i know something! lol
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Alan B
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| posted on 9/4/03 at 10:24 PM |
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An upright is the bit where your top and ball joints, brake caliper, stub axle etc. all get connected to.
Almost always a steel forging for the front, though cast Aluminium ones are popular for the rear.
Often the steering arm is part of it too if not detachable.
The term is also used at the rear of IRS systems for the corresponding part. Of course that will have a bearing housing for the (driven) stub
axles.
Many modern cars don't have a recognisable upright, using struts instead, but they are often converted to be used as uprights (I did it with MR
2 parts, so did Steve G....many do it with Sierra parts)
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Rorty
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| posted on 10/4/03 at 03:57 AM |
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8smokingbarrels:
quote:
Was this in NI or england?
That was in Somerset. I lived near Yeovil for about 5 years before moving out here.
It was hard walking away from those moulds, and all the hard work. I've seen a pic somewhere of some sort of Beetle race car with a flip rear (I
can't remember which formula, but I'm sure it was in the UK), and I always wondered if it was "one of mine".
Cheers, Rorty.
"Faster than a speeding Pullet".
PLEASE DON'T U2U ME IF YOU WANT A QUICK RESPONSE. TRY EMAILING ME INSTEAD!
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 10/4/03 at 04:27 PM |
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Moulds and balls
Thx Rorty- yeah must have been rotten to leave those behind- must have been a huge amount of work to make those moulds.
I will probably go with a steel body shell since repair panels are still easy to get and I'm well used to fitting them lol. However Ill pop an
ad into 'Volksworld' and see if those moulds still exist- would be great to know if they do.
BTW- dont know if ur a footie man (prefer legs myself lol) but Yeovil Town are top their league and are sure to join the football league next season-
not sure if they still play on that slopping pitch tho.
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MrFluffy
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 posted on 15/4/03 at 09:05 AM |
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Hello, long way from conversion perversions eh?
I think Ive managed to collect my share of renault transaxles now, ive been quiet because I have been building my house (wife says no project time
till we dont have to have the bed in the sitting room, spoilsport! still another month and I can work on my backlog). So if I break some it doesnt
matter now. If its any help, the old box shaped espace runs a un1 type derivative, and a diesel espace or turbo diesel will have the strongest of the
lot. The quadra (4wd espace) box wouldnt be any use if you was thinking 4wd because the drive to the second axle would be pointing in the wrong
direction when you mounted the motor at the rear, unless someone makes a 180 drive box to throw it forward, now THAT would be interesting..
The type code on the espace box's doesnt say un1 tho, so your best pillaging the box direct out of a espace. I can look the type code up on my
espace turbo diesel box, and also I have one out of a petrol 2000 tse espace too which I just paid the princely sum of 120 quid for (and we drove it
onto the trailer, it failed its emissions test and thus here in france is allowed to sell only for parts).
The audi stuff is good too, as alan says lurk round here planning things for a bit and you will save yourself loads of heartache, theres a lot of good
stuff in here...
Have fun!
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8smokingbarrels
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| posted on 20/4/03 at 03:47 PM |
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Thx MrF- was wondering how u were getting on. Ive found a couple of specialist Renault breakers- so Ill check prices, tho since I can get the Audi
stuff for next to nought- Im v.tempted to go that route instead and save the money for other costs (of which there will be plenty ) )
As u say the best thing is to do my homework at this stage (and ask rather dumb questions)
BTW for anyone who doesnt know the Shoptalk site- Conversion Perversions has nothing to do with cross-dressing! (Thats a different forum entirely 
)
chris
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Alan B
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| posted on 21/4/03 at 01:30 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 8smokingbarrels
.......BTW for anyone who doesnt know the Shoptalk site- Conversion Perversions has nothing to do with cross-dressing! (Thats a different forum
entirely )
chris
Glad we cleared that up.....
Now, about this thong?.......
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