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Full Version: The Project Anklebiter Build Thread.
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plymouth37
I couldn't resist mocking up the trailing arms and wheels to see how it looks.
JP, you can kind of see the main cage in these pics, I will post better views later, I am going to add some tubing to the passenger compartment to strengthen the tie in points for the new rear chassis section in a month or so.
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plymouth37
The rear section that I have fabbed up so far weighs in at 52 pounds, the rest of what I am adding will not weigh more than 30 or so pounds including the f/g fenders so it looks like I am looking at losing around 100 pounds bringing the grand total to 550.4 pounds lost or the equivalent of gaining 100.7 horsepower.
Do I win the "most jackstands used to hold up a 914" award?
MDG
Unreal stuff, Dana. You're turning into a mad scientist before our eyes.
Dr Evil
Dude, you have a real problem. When you get tired if this foolishness (after it is completed) you should sell it to me. I will start donating plasma now to save up wink.gif
Scott S
you get more done in a week than I do in a year!! Cant wait to see the car. Simply fantastic work!! beerchug.gif
KELTY360
Still not sure how you'll make it rust. screwy.gif
J P Stein
QUOTE(plymouth37 @ May 21 2010, 06:15 AM) *

I couldn't resist mocking up the trailing arms and wheels to see how it looks.
JP, you can kind of see the main cage in these pics, I will post better views later, I am going to add some tubing to the passenger compartment to strengthen the tie in points for the new rear chassis section in a month or so.



I was thinkin' that was the case....you haven't done anything half assed yet. biggrin.gif
I've been watching your thread with interest....more so now as there may be a Subi in the shitboxes' future. It needs another 150hp and the 2 valve motor won't go there
at a reasonable price. I hear there a JDM TT Subi motor.....true?
plymouth37
Okay so here is where it gets interesting, as you can see the frame is not set up for the conventional vertical coilover placement. Having to build the frame a foot higher than it needed to be seemed like a waste of tubing and an unnecessary weight addition up high so I am going cantilever. And I rendered a little diagram:
Here is an exploded view:
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And here it is with one inch past maximum travel in either direction.
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I am using QA1 aluminum shocks with 400# springs and 4" travel, with the 2-1 lever the suspension will see 8" of travel and a 200# spring force.
The top of the shocks will mount on the X-member right above the diff, kind of like this very loose mock up. The coilovers also weigh a total of 6 pounds less than the stockers and that is pretty significant for a partially unsprung part.
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Dr Evil
SICK!
MDG
blink.gif Like I said, Mad Scientist. This is actually the apparatus that channels the lightning strike into creating life . . ..

QUOTE(plymouth37 @ May 21 2010, 04:23 PM) *
plymouth37
QUOTE(MDG @ May 21 2010, 02:18 PM) *

blink.gif Like I said, Mad Scientist. This is actually the apparatus that chanels the lightning strike into creating life . . ..

lol-2.gif Just grab some jumper cables and you are ready to go!
JeffBowlsby
I dunno...don't want to question your care in aligning things, but there are a couple photos that make it look like the rear structure is not aligned with the center axis of the front of the car. See how the rear looks to be too far to the passenger side in this photo? Maybe its the camera angle? Otherwise pray.gif
biggrin.gif
PeeGreen 914
Jeff, I think it is just your eye as he has the triangle on the right side but not yet on the drivers side tricking your eye.
lotus_65
does this look any better jeff?
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the camera angle is off a little to my eye, but i see what your talking about-
plymouth37
Trust me, it is dead on, that second main tube literally took 2 hours to place. It's funny I looked back through the pictures and they are all a little to the left, my inner compass must be a couple degrees off!
Rand
We know Dana wouldn't build something crooked. You can see the shot is at an angle... Look at the bump hoops compared to the windshield frame and mirrors.

Dana, you never cease to amaze me. The only thing I'm worried about is you'll keep doing crazier things and it's not going to make it back on the road soon enough. tongue.gif
J P Stein
What I don't see in the pic is the car center line scribed/marked on the floor.
I've been doing dimensioning all my professional life and that is where I would start.

Take a couple hours and establish the center line of the car ( that will take some doing), drop it down to the floor, then extend it out past the end of your work using a straight edge, string, wire, fishing line, yada. Be prepared to go back and check/realign the car if it *might* have moved.

Taking the possible camera angulation into account, it still looks off to the right per my eyeball.

My attempt to help. confused24.gif
plymouth37
With the help of the good doctor I rebuilt my tranny yesterday.
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This is the point where you hope the Doc knows what he is doing because I was sure lost!
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And back in the car the same day it was pulled, not a bad turnaround!
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Thanks again to Dr. Evil, it was an awesome workshop and I learned a ton.
plymouth37
JP, I built a jig to locate the rear suspension and worked off of that for the location rather than a C/L because I was designing around the engine rather than off of blueprints. Rather than taking measurements off of the car to make a c/l I took measurements off of the car to make the cage, both techniques work to make a straight cage. Believe me, I am a student of architecture, I know how to measure things and I have quintuple checked with an actual measuring device and it is right on, the wheels on the other hand are not aligned so they do make things look a little wonky.
J P Stein
QUOTE(plymouth37 @ May 23 2010, 09:57 AM) *

JP, I built a jig to locate the rear suspension and worked off of that for the location rather than a C/L because I was designing around the engine rather than off of blueprints. Rather than taking measurements off of the car to make a c/l I took measurements off of the car to make the cage, both techniques work to make a straight cage. Believe me, I am a student of architecture, I know how to measure things and I have quintuple checked with an actual measuring device and it is right on, the wheels on the other hand are not aligned so they do make things look a little wonky.


Yeah, & I'm one of the dritbags that transform your pretty pictures into reality and I know my biddness. Jigging off an unknown surface location can cause you all kinds of grief. You can't even think in 3 dimensions until you build an axis system.

MDG
I bet you looked at this stuff and went, "Hmmm, if I omit all this junk I could save another 32lbs!!"

poke.gif

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rsrguy3
This is toooo funny. BTW, I've been following this thread for some time, and I gotta say I'm lovin it, I really like the cleanliness of your shop, and your attention to detail. The tower of Pisa had an architect too, it might have worked had the masons/dirtbags been listened to, they knew it didn't belong there. JP is just sayin' its almost impossible to pick points out of space w/out a proper foundation. You need to have solid a datum line to start from (not the car) in order to build correct fixtures (PC) from.
plymouth37
QUOTE(J P Stein @ May 23 2010, 11:38 AM) *

Jigging off an unknown surface location can cause you all kinds of grief. You can't even think in 3 dimensions until you build an axis system.


QUOTE(rsrguy3 @ May 23 2010, 11:59 AM) *

JP is just sayin' its almost impossible to pick points out of space w/out a proper foundation. You need to have solid a datum line to start from (not the car) in order to build correct fixtures (PC) from.


That is why I built a jig while the car was in one piece then removed the back half of the car around the jig, no datum, axis, points out of space, whatever, the suspension points were never lost in the process, I really don't see how there is a problem here.
r_towle
So, at this point in the build, line it all up, create a centerline on the floor and double check...seems like a reasonable double check to make. You know what is kinda cool to use for this is a laser level.
The little ones that look like a telescope can project a line wherever you point it...so you can set up a few (they are cheap at Home Depot) and have a few straight lines to measure from...and they look cool at night.

One thing I wonder is how much things change as you weld...a mm here a mm there...

Rich
plymouth37
QUOTE(MDG @ May 23 2010, 11:48 AM) *

I bet you looked at this stuff and went, "Hmmm, if I omit all this junk I could save another 32lbs!!"

poke.gif



Well if I quadruple my redline and go direct drive... wink.gif
I wonder if it will start in 5th, would a 1-speed be lighter?
plymouth37
I didn't remove the jigs until everything was totally welded and cooled and it was spot on, welding tweaks are a bitch and I was keeping an eye out for them.
There is a lot of good advise on this page so taking that in I drew a c/l with a projecting laser level and a plumb bob, the left suspension points are dead on, the right are in by 1/32 and the transaxle mounts are to the left by 1/16. I think I am okay with that.
I will pick out a few more points over the next hour of so just to be sure everything is beyond reproach.
Thanks for the help double checking that everything is okay!
charliew
When it turns better one way than the other it will make you wonder. Or why it needs more air in the right rear that the left rear to set straight. Or when it's wet you get used to it always going to the left when you get on the brakes hard. A guy can get used to all these things. It will probably be just as straight as any other car with a tube frame.
plymouth37
QUOTE(charliew @ May 23 2010, 03:01 PM) *

When it turns better one way than the other it will make you wonder. Or why it needs more air in the right rear that the left rear to set straight. Or when it's wet you get used to it always going to the left when you get on the brakes hard. A guy can get used to all these things. It will probably be just as straight as any other car with a tube frame.


Worst case I can circle track it, all left turns baby! biggrin.gif
Dr Evil
Dana, you clearly do not know what you are doing on your car rolleyes.gif
charliew
He can always fall back on 914 tranny rebuilding in the denver area.
plymouth37
QUOTE(charliew @ May 23 2010, 07:39 PM) *

QUOTE(Dr Evil @ May 23 2010, 07:29 PM) *

Dana, you clearly do not know what you are doing on your car rolleyes.gif

He can always fall back on 914 tranny rebuilding in the denver area.


I don't know, I know even less about trannies than I do car construction!
Good thing I went back to school to get a non-car related degree or I would be screwed! biggrin.gif
budman5201

wow! great work!! Makes my conversion look like its nothing. Amazing! welder.gif
Britain Smith
Does anyone know that this thread has been moved over here...it is quite.

-Britain
charliew
I agree, it is kinda moving.
PeeGreen 914
QUOTE(Britain Smith @ Jun 29 2010, 11:34 PM) *

Does anyone know that this thread has been moved over here...it is quite.

-Britain

Moved? confused24.gif It has always been here.

Dana mentioned something about going on vacation or something so he wasn't going to do anything for a while. Something about going to Rome and getting robbed at gun point. Oh wait, the last part is from someone else smile.gif
BKLA
I think someone hyjacked britain's login and posted for him.
plymouth37
Just flew in from Rome yesterday, the build thread is still where it has always been as far as I can tell and work will resume soon.
majkos
welcome.png

biggrin.gif Just kidding
Welcome home Dana!

Crazyhippy
QUOTE(plymouth37 @ Jul 1 2010, 06:02 AM) *

Just flew in from Rome yesterday,

and boy my arms are tired... lol-2.gif
KELTY360
QUOTE(plymouth37 @ Jul 1 2010, 06:02 AM) *

Just flew in from Rome yesterday, the build thread is still where it has always been as far as I can tell and work will resume soon.


About time mad.gif You've got a lot of nerve leaving us hanging like this poke.gif

Welcome back Dana biggrin.gif
Britain Smith
Well, there is a new Build Sub-Forum and a bunch of thread got moved there. Then all of them were stale...just wondered what was going on.

Let life resume...

-Britain
Zundfolge
Looking at all the work going into this one I'd almost think it would be easier to design a fiberglass 914 body and install it on an Ariel Atom tongue.gif
BKLA
Nothin' new goin' on??????
plymouth37
I actually spent all day welding on her today, I will post pics in a few days when I have made more progress.
plymouth37
I have been doing some welding over the last couple of weeks.
I wanted to raise the door bars in the cabin to meet the rear tube chassis' upper bars but there was no way to do that except by having to wear a chunk of tube like a seat belt. Instead I decided to strengthen the existing cage and rockers in addition to making another tie-in point for the rear sub-frame.

I totally forgot to take pictures until I was almost done but here you can see the inner structure of the long, I welded in tubing to connect the two horizontal door bars and then continued the cage down through the rocker.
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At the end of the lower bar I made another tie-in point for the lower portion of the rear tube frame.
The next step is to finish the lower section of the rear and weld up the rear suspension mounts.
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PeeGreen 914
You make me sick aktion035.gif

Nice work as always Dana.
plymouth37
I have the cage pretty much wrapped up. I ran out of mig wire so there are still a couple bits I need to finish.
Marc (Kelty360) stopped by today so I figured I would tidy things up and take the car off of it's semi-permanent bed of jackstands.

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plymouth37
Next step is to design and fab up the rear suspension.

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Zaney
Awesome job as usual, Dana!

Simple question: how did you get the machined look in the bare metal? Wire wheel or another tool?

Thanks!
Nate
plymouth37
QUOTE(Zaney @ Aug 11 2010, 05:17 PM) *

Awesome job as usual, Dana!

Simple question: how did you get the machined look in the bare metal? Wire wheel or another tool?

Thanks!
Nate


I knock the scale off of the tubing with a fine grid pad on a DA, as for the body it is "brushed" with tiny abrasive pads on an air powered angle grinder.
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