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Doivi Clarkinen
I can never understand why people use Heim joints on strut tower braces. Just added expense and now you've added a hinge point on something you're trying to keep from moving around.

This is so true!

However all car chassis are not the same, and bent cars make things even more interesting. So I like to have fully welded ends at the strut tops and add a LH/RH center adjuster to allow for variances in the chassis.

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Opel is a 4-letter word...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10498579@N07/sets/

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Ascona73

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Doivi Clarkinen
I can never understand why people use Heim joints on strut tower braces. Just added expense and now you've added a hinge point on something you're trying to keep from moving around.

This is so true!

However all car chassis are not the same, and bent cars make things even more interesting. So I like to have fully welded ends at the strut tops and add a LH/RH center adjuster to allow for variances in the chassis.

Adjuster fine
one bolt one each side--a pivot ----not fine.
Extend ears from a D to a =o==o== two bolt thing, and the bar cannot pivot around the two bolts and thus the bar stiffens the car when you hit a bump on ONE SIDE

One bolt per side works when both wheels hit bump at same time straight on, otherwise what's to stop one side tweaking up and the bar being useless?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Interesting stuff. Sometimes if you make something too stiff, it just breaks whatever is next to it.

Normally, I would agree with NO heims, but it allows for easy removal and adjustement as the chassis starts bending over time and abuse. All the stitch welding in the world isn't going to stop some movement. As for added expense, I already had them lying around from some other project that didn't end up using them. Yes, it doesn't hold the towers perfectly still, but the point is more to hold them apart, at a certain distance from one another and from the firewall. The only thing I would really want is a cage tie behind where it bolts to the firewall. But, in my car, that's not going to happen, there's only a back half cage, not a race cage.

-Jon

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alkun
Interesting stuff. Sometimes if you make something too stiff, it just breaks whatever is next to it.

So you make that stronger....
(and on and on, eh?)

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I like Sean's method... Make it strong but make sure it'll not end your rallying career if you go careening off the road. Tom foolery into some shrubbery like.
I tell people on their first car to not even bother with the cage to strut as most likely they will sell the car, crash the car, retire the car to build a newer one, or never race the car and sell it so they're better off saving the time and money.

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Grant Hughes

I'm more comfortable with the graph in your first post, than the picture just below it.

Tell me what to budget for ecu/tuning.
also I'd like to see the steering rack area.
and trans tunnel.

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"I put the hurt on dirt" - adam crane
http://CraneRallyCrew.com
corolla gt-s "Patches"
Op: S.S.

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NoCoast
I like Sean's method... Make it strong but make sure it'll not end your rallying career if you go careening off the road. Tom foolery into some shrubbery like.
I tell people on their first car to not even bother with the cage to strut as most likely they will sell the car, crash the car, retire the car to build a newer one, or never race the car and sell it so they're better off saving the time and money.

Braces to cage are to keep the towers from getting pushed in like at OTR. Not getting crazy, it already is braced to the cage going straight back, just want something diagonal and we should be doing ok.

If I keep enjoying the car as much as I have been, the long term plan is a new shell after I get some rallies under my belt, but may as well sort the design out on this one in terms of the shell. Then the new one will be straightforward to build.

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John Reed
John Reed Racing
www.johnreedracing.com
johnreedracing@gmail.com

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acrane
I'm more comfortable with the graph in your first post, than the picture just below it.

Tell me what to budget for ecu/tuning.
also I'd like to see the steering rack area.
and trans tunnel.

Trans tunnel had to get modified due to putting the engine as far back in as we could get it. The oil pan on this engine is setup for RWD fitment, but the "sub-frame notch" isn't quite in the right place. So most people put the engine forward to fit the engine bay, then space the subframe way down so it all works/clears the rack. I didn't really like that idea, so we put the engine down and back so the "notch" sits over the subframe/rack like OEM. Put the shifter in a perfect spot for where I sit in the car also. Win/Win, just a bit of sheetmetal work to button it all up.

Steering rack is AW11 manual rack, bolted up with stock brackets to the OE sub frame.

You could probably run it well enough on a stock computer/harness (which came with the front clip I bought) but that is so not my style. HAHA ECU/Tuning/Wiring is what I do for a living, so that is the easy part for me and where I get to show some handiwork (I have help with all the fab work) and will also show off some cool technology in this car.

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John Reed
John Reed Racing
www.johnreedracing.com
johnreedracing@gmail.com

Couple minor updates, been so busy with real work and waiting on parts that I haven't made a ton of progress.

Tilton pedals finally arrived, after the train they were on derailed somewhere in Montana.



Cleaned, lubed and fully re-wired my crusty 26 year old ignition switch (which was in damn good shape inside, save for some very foul smelling grease). Since I am changing my wiring design from OEM, it left me with two complete/separate sets of contacts in the ignition switch. So I wired them both up as a mirror image, so I can swap quickly from one to the other if something quits.



Did the same treatment to the also 26 year old combination switch. Before and after shots, it was pretty crusty as well inside, but contacts were in great shape:





Probably a waste on a rally car, and yes I know it won't matter if it is upside down in a ditch but I am picky and had fun doing it. LOL

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John Reed
John Reed Racing
www.johnreedracing.com
johnreedracing@gmail.com

Did you use a smaller wire gauge when you rebuilt the stalk? or is it just the pictures. Looks nice and clean

And what connectors are those?

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aj_johnson
Did you use a smaller wire gauge when you rebuilt the stalk? or is it just the pictures. Looks nice and clean

Yes I did, much smaller. The switches will now be handling only a very low current signal, versus the full circuit current they did in the OEM configuration.

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phlat65
And what connectors are those?

Deutsch DTM series connectors. http://motorsportwiringsupply.com/dtm-connector-kits/

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John Reed
John Reed Racing
www.johnreedracing.com
johnreedracing@gmail.com

Interested in the heat shrink boots on the connetors, MWS as well?

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urr
Interested in the heat shrink boots on the connetors, MWS as well?

It is 4:1 ratio glue lined heat shrink (most common heat shrink is 2:1). Easily shrinks around a fairly large size discrepancy, seals the connector up nice, and is stiff enough to provide some strain relief.

There are also formed shrink boots that are really nice, but they are expensive. A foot of 4:1 will do quite a few connectors.

Another shameless link: http://motorsportwiringsupply.com/4-1-ratio-soft-wall/

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John Reed
John Reed Racing
www.johnreedracing.com
johnreedracing@gmail.com