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I hope the "red is faster" rule applies to oxide primer.

I wasn't gonna paint the chassis now, but dad was bored.
Today I finally could put some time onto it, the rear section is tacked in place. The shock mounts are too, but they're wrong. I'll remove them and redo next time.

So today I tacked all the rear end tubes except the curved ones that will be here Monday. I had almost reached this step yesterday, but after chatting with a fellow builder he reminded me that the springs he used (and I'm going to use) will not fit on the stock plate. So I made longer plates and re-tacked the upper side of the diagonal tubes outside the plate's covered area. Now I would like sugestions on how to reinforce the shock towers without bars crossing from one side to the other, as my tank is big and space will be needed for stuff.




Also I've drained the diff oil (more like grease) by the most dangerious method possible. It's held to the table by some wood screws. The oil on the bottle is engine oil, there was almost none on the diff. All of it was covering the entirety of the driver's side brake system. Probably a busted seal. And the car have deep "racing stripes" on the front rotors, so this car was breaking with only one rear wheel, maybe a little with one of the fronts too. It's a miracle it was impounded before being impalled.

Today I received the curved tubes for the rear. Will tack them tomorrow.
I also made some gussets for the rear shock towers. Now I'm trying to resist the urge to add 100kg of gussets to the entire frame.

Been on and off of it for the past days .Rear suspension is almost done (tacked). Pretty simple setup, mostly cloned from a finished car by a friend of mine. Good thing I stocked on materials, I'll be able to build a lot during the quarenteen.




Now I have a question. Ron Champion's book calls for 16swg 1in round tube for making the front wishbones. I have enough 14swg 1in square tube for building them. Will the square tube cause negative impacts on strenght or it is round just for looks?

Square is stiffer and stronger than same size round. Thicker gauge is also stronger. Round is lighter, pretty, and more aero. Use square.

I guess you made the 4 links short to keep them inside the fenders. Short links make the driveshaft slide in and out of the transmission more so make sure the slip yoke is pulled out far enough when you measure to make the driveshaft.

Make sure you have enough room between the links and the frame in roll or one wheel bump. Looks very tight.

Better to mount the coilovers behind the axle and let them lean forward at the top. Otherwise, they get softer in bump (falling ratio). Maybe what I see is just a temp holder for the axle?

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

The coilover mounts I made are where the rusted square tubes are bolted. It's on the top of the axle. There's also some scrap tube tacked to the axle and frame to keep it square while I built the suspension. If I move the coil overs to the rear of the axle, I'll have to shorten the stock Chevette panhard as it's mounted behind the axle on the centerline of the shocks. I'll make it adjustable to fine tune side movement of the axle later, so no problem in shortening it. What will handle better, shortening the panhard and moving the coilovers, or keeping the coilovers over the axle with a longer panhard?

The vette panhard is shorter than the lower shock eyes are apart, but I guess you were wanting to make the panhard longer than original. It is better to have the extra travel and ratio with the coilovers behind. You can still have a panhard longer than the original. It can stand off the back of the axle if needed for coilover clearance.

Figure out what coilovers you have to choose from, their lengths versus travel, etc. That should help you decide. More travel is better, bump and droop. If you have to limit travel to keep the arms from hitting the frame, then having lots of travel is useless. Lots to consider. Just fyi.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Thanks, I'll analyse it. I'm basically following a recipe from 5 or so cars that were already built around here, and all of them have the coilovers over the axle, so your sugestion wasn't a consideration untill now. Good thing I came here before fully welding the brackets.

For cheap coilovers, I'd be looking at late 90s honda civic rear assemblies and either bolt them in to a plate at the right angle or make a bolt on nut plate that will accept a rod end. The bottom is bushed like a normal shock/damper.

You could use front coilovers too if you make a clamp on adapter to accept bushings like a normal shock/damper.

You can buy aftermarket sleeves and springs to make them adjustable.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Long time no posting. Life got in the way. Made some progress on the last days.