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There is a picture of the joint on the first page. Not much of a step and the yoke would get a bit warmer if welding in that area but it is an option. There are a lot of ways to do it. I even changed it a little after I posted it.

Definately a press fit on the bushing. I'm not sure the increase in welded area and leverage will offset the spline engagement, but one take your design, drill the gap between the yoke and bushing in 3 places, 120 degrees apart and insert 3 roll pins, then weld the gap to prevent rotation. I think that would be ideal! It would also be lighter, with no $114 Honda driveshaft to buy and cut.

I don't feel the step in the OD was necessary for alignment but it doesn't hurt. I believe driveshaft builder would clamp the flange yokes in a lathe after assembly, checking with a dial indicator near each end for cocking of the press fit on either end.

Thanks,

Ummm, I was just looking at the photo of the yoke on the 1st page. It suddenly hit me, with my design, it lost any sliding yoke capability. This may present some unique challenges in mounting the rear diff and/or the engine to allow for a fixed length shaft, sim to a Corvette or XKE rear axle. It seems like every design comes with its own problems.

Since the diff doesn't move and the arc of the shaft is fairly long, I don't see a slip yoke as being necessary as long as the engine mounting is rigid and the spacing of the diff to the engine is maintained.

My design has no effective slip yoke either. I said press fit the bushing to the yoke in the first post.

A two piece driveshaft could be used or a mid-ship bearing to support the miata shaft aft and the Honda shaft forward. The bearing would eliminate the weight and whipping issues.The Honda shaft would need to be painted since it normally sits in an greased/lubed housing.

All this complicated talk about drive shafts... OK, OK, I'll get to that. But for now, I want to get the body ready for paint. Boring but I'm making progress. New lower door skin almost done and these went on quite well. I'm finally getting the hang of working on thin material. Hope to wrap these up tomorrow so I can get the doors back on and start working on repairing the rockers.

But before I final weld the rockers on, I have some ideas for how to strengthen the frame. The Metros were not designed to be converts - they just whacked the tops off them. Jack the car up as if you're changing a flat and it's scary: you can actually watch the upper door gaps grow by like 3/8 inch on each side.
The car is a giant noodle. I'll post some pics of what I have planned and y'all can let me know what you think.

Given this site is so much about frame construction, I figured I better get to doing some framin'! So, as I mentioned, the Met is a noodle. Here's part of why. This pic shows what's under the thin sheet metal outer / inner rockers - main rails that are 3 sided. OK, the rockers help but come on...
I'm a believer in the whole karma thing and here it is again. A 3x2 .120 wall rectangular tube fits snugly inside the open rail! How cool is that?
I figure if I run the 3X2 down the entire length of the the frame, I'm gonna solve the 'bend in half' issue it currently has. This also give me the ability to run rails across the chassis and all that. More on the planned design later...

So I adjusted the opening so the 3x2 would fit - that's my home made 'adjuster' you see in there... Just wiggle it up and down, bash it with a hammer and, like magic, the 3x2 fits perfectly!

Measure, cut to length, prime the top, bottom and back side, and I have a set of reinforced frame rails! I'll plug weld it from the top and from behind, then stitch weld it to the upper and lower existing rail along its length. Then, on goes the inner then outer rocker. Next, it's on to cross member design!

you are going to run that 2x3 fore and aft of what you have shown and tie it into the suspension, AREN'T YOU??????????????????
Just a suggestion. You probably already thought of that and just didn't mention it.

Yep, was always part of the plan. And here's a better shot of how it ties together - I got the stiffening rails installed today and I'll tie them into the existing frame by plating top and bottom along the lines of these awesome technical drawings.

As far as 'if more is good, too much is just enough' goes, I'm installing a front IFS set up from Fatman. It requires a set of 2x3 rails sistered up against the existing frame. All the original suspension mounts go away but for now, this pic show how these rails can be tied into my outer rails. In all, it's WAY stronger than stock. I'm thinking I may run these all the way back to the rear and build some sort of X member to try and get some additional twist resistance.
I'm not concerned about weight since the stock Metro was only about 1800 lbs. I figure since I'm more than tripling the HP, I'll be OK.

OK, it's been a while but I have been chipping away. Got the rust all repaired and front suspension mostly done. Not sure I like this set up since it's designed more for the guys stuffing a V8 in the Metro. The parts are way overkill for what I want to do but oh, well. Worst case, I do it over again with Miata parts on a custom sub-frame.

Time for sanding... This is mostly covered by the rocker trim so not need to get crazy on the finish...

Big and heavy. (I do have a 350/700R4 ready to go into my 1953 Chevy Ambulance/Limo...maybe I should... Nah, it's been done to death...)

Hi

It's looking really good so far! I hope I haven't missed it, but what is that steering rack from?

Not many builds really grab me but I find myself pretty excited about this one!

Hurry up and stop keeping me in suspense!!

"Live and learn", the saying goes. I think I mentioned that I decided to go with a rotary/automatic in this build and it turns out that small as the engine is, it's shaped just funny enough that the fancy-schmancy front suspension won't allow it to fit.
So, I got to hack out all that nice new stuff! (Anyone want a FatMan Fabrications kit for a Metro...?)

Anyway, the good news is the motor and trans are all rebuilt and seem to fit nicely. And I think I've got a design for the front suspension that will work. Steering still TBD so nothing final until I work all that up. Until then, here's what a 12A with an automatic looks like mocked into a Metro - enjoy! Dig that zoomy air cleaner. I'm thinking I may duplicate it in carbon, just cuz I can...