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What does the T-bird aluminum upright weigh?

manx

dont have one at hand right now but according to a post of Miatav8 in another thread here it is 8 lbs
i assume as pictured below (no hub flange installed)

however, i found out that the T-b hub is 28 splines so it is not compatible with the 27 spline explorer axles
that would have been too easy

one idea would be to mill the upright flat (to the level of where the torx bolts are)
and drill it to mount the explorer unit-bearings ...



maybe too much work and a little risky on a heavier car

i guess i have to go back to plan A;
i`m already working on a fairly simple modular DIY aluminum upright idea that can be done without lots of milling

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- Stephan -

Could you use a Miata or FD generation RX7 rear upright for a lightweight solution?
Heck - the later Miata & FD RX7 aluminum upper/lower control arms as well should be light & sweet to use in a Locost application!

Good Luck on the planning !

manx

so would the explorer hub flange fit inside the t-bird bearing, then you could fit them together?

would the t-bird outside cv fit on the explorer axle shaft? then you could fit the whole t-bird stuff on the outside of an explorer axle.

_________________
this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

Has anyone considered using an ATV differential? ought to be narrow enough and would have limited slip. Might struggle with more power though.

In fact I am contemplating building something similar to an A7 special but using ATV parts (whole drive train, suspension, brakes, steering etc).

I did a bit of research into ATV differentials when initially planning my bike engine based project. From what I could tell, each of the of the larger ATVs and quads I was able to find information on used a highly integrated system that included the engine, transmission & differential. Basically one assembly designed as a single unit, much like a typical FWD car driveline. Possibly exactly the right answer in some applications, but not as useful if you're looking for a stand-alone differential.

If you're looking to place the engine in back, it might be a good solution. I don't remember what the final drive ratios looked like, or what alternate bike engines could be easily swapped in either.

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.. in the world

Admittedly most of my experience is with 10 year old Hondas (TRX 300), but the differentials are certainly separate in them (the gearbox is one with the motor though, as per usual motorcycle design).

Note: this could be due to a language issue - when I said ATV, I was meaning a 4 wheeler or quad bike, not a UTV (John Deer Gator/Polaris etc)

after a long stretch away from this board i`m finally back to "thinkering" with this project again ....

lately i`m working on a photo rendering with a somewhat different nose "look" ;



as i posted in another thread i do like the Art-Deco look of this custom "So-Cal Plating" 1935 Ford Pheaton;



i think the rounded "bullet" nose shape would go well with the pointy "boat tail".....
and after fabricating a bending "buck" it should be fairly simple to build out of polished aluminum (maybe made out of .125 x .5" flat stock ?!?)

the "open" sides should give me a good hot air (radiator) discharge flow

what do you guys think ?

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- Stephan -

o we still haven't solved the problem of getting the drive shaft under the seat or which i prefer, around the side of the seat with a diff in the middle of the car?

i have a samari in the shop today, waiting for a heart transplant to a side kick 16 valve with efi, when this arrives and i start work on it i will make detailed measurements of the engine, transmission and transfer case as i think that the transfer case is the answer to the drive shaft going down the side of the seat and moving across to the center to line up with the diff.

_________________
this story shall the good man teach his son,
and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
but we in it shall be remembered.

Are you sure they aren't compatible or did you read that somewhere? Sometimes they leave a tooth off the cv but the hub is broached for the extra tooth. It just isn't filled by the cv stub.

John
yes, i agree; running the driveshaft/diff under the seat will definitely not work,
the seating position (and its effect to the center of gravity) would be uncomfortably high
i think i basically solved the problem with the use of a offset IRS carrier (actually its a Ford Explorer IFS unit)

i crawled under my yardgoat (96 Exp sport 4x4 with snow plow & scrape box)
here are some basic dimensions of the axle;



the Exp uses "standard rotation" R&P gears , so as a IFS it is actually running on the weaker "heel" side of the gears ...
if used as a IRS it would run on the "correct" side of the gears.

this axle is designed to deal with the torque of a 245 ftlbs / 205 hp 4 liter V6 engine (and a low gear transfer case),
so it should be fine behind a less then 100 ftlb / 200 hp bike engine

the only potential problem i can think off would be a possible front pinion bearing "splash-oiling" issue,
with the ring gear not running in its intended direction
(probably not a huge issue on a "low pinion" axle design)

_________________
- Stephan -

Booster that red car above looks sweet as, well done.

thanks Mark

... it was a lot of work to massage the long nosed Alfa Romeo into my vision of a retro `30 racer
here is the original pic;



right now i dont have access to my usual CAD ...
so i`m stuck with making crude photoshop renderings

here is how i envision the basic packaging (or layout) around the IRS:



the 7" offset of the rearend should match nicely to the offset of any modern 1+ liter sportbike engine/trans package like this R1;



this should allow me to mount the engine centered in the fairly narrow nose,
but still gain a decent large "footbox" for the pedals

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- Stephan -

Love the front end it it might be a hell of a lot easier than making those louvers look right.