93 2.4L Shadow Part 2 : Project Shadicorn

[turboshad]

Well, I've updated post 57 to reflect proper braking loads (thanks for looking out Reaper1). I also applied them a bit differently to be, in my opinion, more realistic. Everything still looks decent though I'd like to spend some time making the caliper mount a bit more rigid. It is strong enough but it moves more than I would like on its own. This will most likely change once a disc in in the mix but I'd like to stiffen it up none the less. I know from experience that brake movement, even if minor, can cause all sorts of havoc.

[Reaper1]

Wow, that actually still looks pretty good. Maybe some bracing top and bottom on the caliper mount, but the way I'm thinking would make the overall width of the entire upright thicker. Not the whole thing, just the overall. Hard to explain my idea by typing, darn it.

[1BADVAN]

Awesome I love to see the FEA, I am hoping to learn some more CAD here soon, please keep sharing

[turboshad]

I've been making at least a little bit of progress this last month. I finally got it back into the garage to start operation front chop. Before I can complete the task a couple of small things needed to be worked out. The first was to mark the wheel centers so I can make sure everything lines up when I construct the new front end. When I made the assembly rack I set the car 6.5" above the top surface which was so I can use 2x4 steel to set the 4.5" ride height. For the wheel centers I used a piece of 2x4 steel 74" across which will also be the the new track width. This gives an 8.4" increase in track width from the stock 57.6" to 64". I felt this was a good gain while still not making the car look stupid.....well at least I hope, I still haven't modeled up any body work. I also found a good use for all the control arm tubes I made a mistake on. They work great to hold up the old control arms at ride height when I take the wheels off.


The first look at the new track width.









Setting the ride height to measure the wheel centers.









Locking in the wheel centers.















Goodbye Mr. K-frame and Macpherson strut suspension. We had some good times together but it's time to move on.

[2.216VTurbo]

Who knew with all your fancy-shmancy computer modeling and analysis that there was still a place for a plumb bob to have a role

[cordes]

Who knew with all your fancy-shmancy computer modeling and analysis that there was still a place for a plumb bob to have a role

When the lasers fail, out come the old school tools.

[turboshad]

There's always room for a man with no arms and no legs hanging from a string.

[turboshad]

The next step was to make a fixture to hold some body work in place once the front structure was gone. I came across Project Binky on the youtubes, which I can't believe I've never seen before, and got the idea there to make something that attached to the assembly frame. I wasn't able to make it slide like there's but it should hold up the front end pieces fine. I still need to test it.

[turboshad]

Wheel centers - Check
Body work jiggy thingy - Check


Welp, not much left but to do a little choppy mc'choppity.

[turboshad]

Here's my precarious tripod mount I used to make this riveting time lapse video of the procedure. A bit of string and everything looked good.

[cordes]

Subscribed.

[Reaper1]

"I AM THE GREAT CORNHOLIO! ARE YOU THREATENING ME!? I NEED T-P FOR MY B*NGHOLE!"

[1BADVAN]

I am really liking this project, time lapse was cool too!

[turboshad]

Well after being forced to take a month off for health reasons I was able to get back for a bit. I got the panels back on and love how spacious things got once all the factory metal was gone. I'm sure it will fill up quickly but hopefully I can make things look streamlined and clean.


I also came across a used transmission that will fit the bill quite nicely. It will need a few new parts but I'll still be way ahead of the game with our current exchange rates. It's a G-Force G101 4-speed dogbox with straight cut gears. I'll be getting rid of the V-Gate shifter and will modify the sequential unit I designed for the A568. The ratio are 3.25-2.00-1.33-1.00 which should be very workable especially with the FD options of the Ford 8.8. It should have no problem holding my goals of 750 turbo 4 cylinder RWD horsepower.


As always here are some pictures.

[Reeves]

Like

Mike Marra

[BadAssPerformance]

Hmmm... how can I fit that into a A568 case....

[turboshad]

With the body work back on I wanted to get the wheels in to get a visual of the stance, start thinking about body work and, well, just see how cool or stupid things are going to be. I rigged up an ingenious, highly complicated wood structure to simulate the wheel while holding a sharpie. This isn't something you'll find in your mom's garage, this is a result of hours of engineering and design. With my complicated wheel combobulator I was able to mark out the wheel at ride height, bounce before bump stops and full bounce. It's always nice to put the computer models into true life perspective to see if things are actually making sense. Once marked the 'ol body saw came out and so did a chunk of fender. Now if I've learned anything through this it is that 255s will stand up quite nicely on their own with no fear of them falling over on the face of your brand new rims. That said once I got them sitting in the wheel wells and stood back I kind of liked it. Well words are no good without pictures so.....

[csxtra]

DJ, looks great but in the last pic it looks like the LS motor is missing a bank of cylinders?

[turboshad]

The other bank is in the trunk. Weight distribution FTW!

[Wastelands Warrior]

I feel like I'm watching an episode of an exotic car building show. This is an incredible feat of engineering and execution!