Adoom Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 So on Friday I went to Pick a Part, on my break, to get a pile of $12 scissor jacks to use for positioning/levelling the subframe when it comes time to trial fit it to the car. I'll have to make a box or something to put under the jacks cause the yellow car(I'm using it for the trial fitting/cutting) is way up in the air. While at Pick a Part I found a Stagea, which has the same diff(wrong ratio) that I am using, but it has the driveshafts I need, specifically the inner CVs because they have the 6X1 bolt pattern for my 350Z diff. So I did a mission(and drove over the bloody 'takkas again) on Saturday morning to get them off. Could have done with a 32mm long series socket to get the.... hub nut off. But I managed to crack it with the breaker bar before I completely mangled the bit of the nut I could reach with the short socket. $64 EACH!! I'm surprised they didn't charge me separately for each bolt too. But new one's from Rock Auto would be ~$300 landed and then I still have to make custom shorter shafts. The CVs don't appear to be available separately. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 Filled in this gap. Still needs to be double skinned on the backside, as per original. And need to cut a hole for a large diameter tube for the rear mount. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 So I welded a temporary bit of metal for the front diff mount cross member, so I can trial fit and see how much space there is available for the cross member. I put some bits of wood on a wheeled dolly and 3 scissor jacks for raising and leveling the subframe under the car. As it is now, the subframe is wedged in there, and level, and I think the height is okay so I don't get crazy camber when the car is at ride height. But, it needs to move 90mm further back, which will give me lots of room at the front, I won't need the two holes I have already cut. But I will need to extend that existing box section further into the boot space. Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be anything stopping me from doing this. I may still even be able to fit the spare wheel! See I have marked where the wheel hub is on top of the arch, and where it needs to be. This isn't full suspension droop, one of the braces on my jig is in the way of a suspension arm moving any further. Aaaaaand with the subframe 90mm further back, the shock mount on the back of the hub is directly below the shock mount on the body. Hopefully I can find/make some coilovers that will fit in the available space. I'd like to avoid making the existing shock 'towers' larger because then I would have to also modify the fuel tank as it is a tight fit between the shock towers. The rear subframe mounts are hard up against the existing box section. I have already removed the original mounts/studs from the box section to get the subframe up this high. Once it moves 90mm further back, there will be plenty of clearance for that front/top arm mounts so the hole is not required. Not visible in the photo, but there will also be ample room for the diff mount cross member. Not sure how to make the mounting point for the front mount. Ideas so far are: strengthen the floor with plates and build a mount point down from the floor. Or make another box section/outrigger to support the subframe mounting point. Here's another picture of that existing box section. The red line is where the bottom of the existing box section is under the car. The blue box is where the 'new' rear part of the boot floor would be so the subframe can move 90mm further back. I need to think about how to best make 'whatever' that the subframe rear mounts will attach to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 Snip snip snip. Moved the subframe back so the wheel hub is in the factory location. Still need to work out if the subframe is high enough. There is a clearance issue for the top rear arm which means there is only about 20mm of upwards travel from what seems like a good lower than std ride height. Making more clearance does not look too hard. I was thinking that the front mounts hang a bit low, so thought the subframe might need to be higher. But then I measured the std front mounts on the white triumph and they hang down just as far but are more outboard.... Still not decided yet. There is room at the front and above the top/front arms to raise it about 40mm without cutting. You can see the temporary bit of angle to show where the diff mount cross member needs to go. Lots of room for it. Even if the subframe is raised further. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted May 21, 2018 Author Share Posted May 21, 2018 Also discovered that Silvia wheel stud thread pitch does not match any of the wheel nuts in my drawer of wheelnuts. Think they might be 12X1.25 or something. Anyone wrecking a 90's rwd/awd nissan something(afaik they are all the same) and can knock out the subframe mounting studs for me? They are pressed in like wheel studs. You need to cut a hole in the panel behind the stud so you can get it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 So I cut the box section a bit, to lift the subframe slightly and narrowed about a 50mm section at the end of the chassis rail where the box section joins on to it. So now the top/rear suspension arm has more travel before it hits the chassis rail. After looking at a bunch of photos of Triumphs to decide on a ride height that looks okay. I decided that the wheel centers should line up with the top of the sill/bottom of the door. This makes the rear look really low and the front still look quite high, but the car is level. I get about 50mm travel before the front is on the bump stops and about 55mm at the rear before the arm hits the chassis rail. My special tool for making scissor jacks go fast. I'm using the scissor jacks to lift/position the subframe and also the suspension. 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XSDUP Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Doom.. you crazy i like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 7 minutes ago, XSDUP said: Doom.. you crazy i like it. Thanks, but you're doin' it wrong. On OS, we have separate discussion threads for projects. It keeps the project threads nice and tidy.. Here is the discussion for this project. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/57912-adooms-1972-triumph-2000/ Write your words to tell me I am cool there. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 So I've notched the crossmember so it fits under the sump. Then tacked a bit of box section in line with the steering rack mounts so I have a reference. Then I cut the rack mounts off. This is me trying to mock the rack up in the right place. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share Posted September 29, 2018 So there was a skyline at pickapart and I thought I would have a go at trying to remove the rear subframe studs. I had a chisel with me to open up the top of the chassis rail so they could be driven out. Because apparently they are pressed in. I hammered, with the mallet, on that first stud for ages and it didn't move, so either it's REALLY fucking tight or the big washer that's welded in is not a washer and it's part of the stud. But I think it's just really fucking tight, I was starting to deform the stud, so if I ever did get it out, it would have been unusable. Needs angle grinder.... Is anyone wrecking a RWD early 90's nissan and can cut the studs out for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted October 10, 2018 Author Share Posted October 10, 2018 Yay, the wheel still fits with the rod end/tie rod flipped upside down and that huge bolt head there. There is even a bunch of space left if it needs to be spaced further down to adjust the bump steer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted November 16, 2018 Author Share Posted November 16, 2018 I came across a Triumph 2000 and 2.5PI FACTORY service manual on the tard. It's got loads more info and measurements and scale drawings in it than the Haynes/chiltons owners manual. I specifically bought it for the chassis measurements diagram. The one you use to tell if the car is bent/twisted. Never seen that diagram anywhere before. I'd like to scan the whole thing for prosperity but it's a ring binder of hundreds of double sided pages and some are double size fold out pages, so I can't really put it through the auto feed thing on the scanner. And there is some old sticky masking tape reinforcing some of the punched holes, so it probably won't survive going through the auto feed rollers. Long story short, I'll have to scan each page manually and it will take hours and hours. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 RIGHT! Now that I have a small lathe and small mill, I can finally start working on my engine mounts. By cutting some 2.5mm plate with an angle grinder then putting it in the vice with two bits of angle, then bashing it with a hammer till it's the right shape. To fit here. I'm mocking it up on the yellow one, cause there isn't an engine in the way. To reinforce for a bracket to hold this. Like this. Here it is in the white one, you can see the mount plate half bolted to the block. But... Now it's in there... the exhaust is going to be REALLY close to that urethane bush.... like 10mm close. Errrm. Heat shield? Back to the drawing board? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 Fine then! I'll just use this broken chuck to weigh it down. I got a bit overzealous with the tacking and melted one of the bushes a little bit. But it's okay, it's just cosmetic. The engine mounting plates are now bolted down properly. I had to shorten the bolts in the lathe. They were a bit too long because the original mount was a really thick aluminium casting. A bit more room for exhaust manifold. I'm afraid it's probably going to have to be a log style, there probably isn't room for 4-1, or 4-2-1. This is as low as it will go. Any lower and it's too close to the steering intermediate shaft. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 I've made the bracket for the driver side. I didn't want to make it too bulky and make it almost impossible to install the bolts. The welding warped the tube slightly, it's oval by about 0.5-0.75mm. Fortunately the bushes still fit okay. I tacked a bit of 2.5mm flat between the tube and the plate to locate them, then unbolted it and removed the bushes so I could make the bracket from 5mm plate on the bench. After letting it cool, I tested that the bushes still fit and the bracket was still the right shape to bolt back in. YAY, it still lines up with the holes! I'll tidy up the welds a bit with the die grinder... I've temporarily tacked the mount to the chassis rail so I know exactly where it needs to go for later. Because I need to remove the engine to get in there to clean it up for welding, then weld it. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 And the other side. My auto welding helmet is naff. It gets waaaaay too dark and it's hard to see. Dunno if it was always like that.. But it's realy old now, so I've ordered a new/better/expensiver one. It was a billion degrees, so I'm leaving it to cool before seeing if it still fits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Adoom Posted January 5, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 5, 2019 Aaand the engine is now self supporting. It sank a couple mm. I wan't sure if it was resting on the rack, but no, I can slide a thick bit of card between them. I'll be notching the sump, eventually, to get some more clearance off the rack. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 I made some round things with holes in them. I'm going to need to run 5mm wheel spacers(this is with 3mm washers). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 The existing rear cross member needed lots of modifications so I could get the subframe high enough and have room for the top suspension arm. I realised it was going to be WAY less work if I cut the whole thing out and make a new one out of box section. Snip snip. Those straps tacked to the top are my alignment jig, the bolts use existing/factory holes in the body. I don't want to permanently mount this since I will transfer it over to the white car once I've worked out how it will fit. The box is 3mm thick, so should be stronger than the original. I will tie it into the existing chassis rails which start just forward of it. The strut tops will be built off the ends of those angled bits, which I have intentionally made too long so I can trim them to fit. The angled bits follow the sides of the fuel tank, so it will/should still fit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoom Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 I made an Isosceles triangle. For making sure the subframe is central and straight. I'll make another much longer one from the two front mounts. Unfortunately those two mounts are torn, they are almost falling out, and I need to replace them first. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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