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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 12:00 pm 
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found a pic of the "new and improved!?" driveline setup (as of April 2013)... The T5 is now gone, and this adaptor/BMW guibo live where the T5 tail used to bolt up with a u-joint..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 12:28 pm 
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Fall/Winter 2011

This next many steps is very confusing to explain step-by-step, and unless you're building one exactly like this it would bore you to tears anyway...

What I did was this... took the Miata front subrame and narrowed it by 7.0"... I then built a jig around it to secure my pickup points... I then pulled the Miata subframe out of the jig, and proceeded to create a new subframe/frame rails within the jig do suit my needs.. This process was complicated a bit by needing to move the (4) rearmost control arm pivots forward.. not a huge deal, but a slow, tedious process...

I pretty much did the same thing with the control arms- mod/jig/fab from the jig.. My lower arms now resemble 'reversed' Miata arms, and my uppers have gone from being true "A" arms to "J" arms- all for footbox clearance..

Below is the subrame I ended up with, and the next many confusing pictures are the process to mod the bits and make the jigs..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 12:40 pm 
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Winter 2011.. making jigs.. picture captions explain a bit..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 12:52 pm 
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Gettin' jiggy with it :lol:


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 1:08 pm 
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Yet more hours at the puzzle..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 1:18 pm 
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Ready for 'final' front end jig..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 3:52 pm 
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All-new front subframe during fabbing // mocked up with bits once pulled from jig..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 4:29 pm 
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More fitting.. Miata rack narrowed 3.25" and will be moved 'up' in frame to eliminate bump steer and have rod ends mount on steering arms from top side (this was needed to have tie rods clear the newly modded lower control arms..

Slow, careful process to trim/fit new clip into car- get in wrong here and it's a big do-over :shock:

Put temporary adjustable 'legs' on the clip to aid in placing it just right.. // also welded large 'pads' onto firewall the help spread the load/strengthen it for the new frame rails (there are 4 pads total- the frame rails weld into the lowest 2, while the other two -a bit higher- are for later gussetting..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 5:21 pm 
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Location: Guadalupe, CA
December 2011..

Used Mazda 323 tie rod ends as they now mount from top of the newly reamed steering arms.. Also had to heat and ever so slightly level each arm to accept the angle of the new tie rod ends (level in this case)... // have to be careful to go slow on these 'fitting' steps as they're crucial... / Cut each inner tie rod by 2.5" and rethreaded @ 12 x 1.25 // LCAs will be level at ride height. // oil pan should be 4.75-ish" off the ground at ride height.. modded airbox should not need a hood blister (I hope!) // After many, many measurements taken I fabbed the steering rack mounts- it will be a tight fit to get the driveline over the steering rack

Learned that 1.8 front calipers won't fit under my 13" wheels.. I'll put the 1.6's on and hope I don't desire any more braking power than they offer..

JANUARY 6, 2012... I've had the car almost a year to the day (362 days to be exact :lol: ), and now it's on it's own legs- yay! This project has been like running a marathon- you don't want to think about what you're undertaking- you just go one step at a time..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 6:00 pm 
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Location: Guadalupe, CA
Jan 2012..

Preparing to drop the engine in, and doing what I can in the meantime..

Stiffened the dash/firewall area with 1.25 tubing in pic below (it actually weighs less than the OEM angle iron I took out!).. The tape measure says the Miata master cylinder will not clear the front (what will be the driver's side) of the VFR engine/head, so I recessed it .75"-- should be enough.. // found a pic of the modded pass side mount of the narrowed Miata rack...

might use the Miata e-brake setup- or might put a 'line-lock' inline to act as the ebrake? // put calipers on all 4 corners // beginning to plumb brake lines..

put Polaris RZR seats on the old N600 OEM seat tracks.. actually worked out pretty well! Seats need to be low in this car for headroom..-- actually learned that in moving the driver's seat to be centered with the steering wheel, it will push the pass seat to the right about 1.5"... this actually pushes pass seat into the pass door (can't close the door)... "centering" the driver's seat is far more important to me than my passenger's comfort, so I will cut a recess into the pass door to clear the seat... tight, tight, tight!!

Ordered Koni Yellow (sport) shocks..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 24, 2013, 7:58 pm 
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Location: RTP, NC
Nice Build! But laws/regulations will require that you use a mechanical parking brake - line locks are verboten.

bryan


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PostPosted: April 25, 2013, 1:16 am 
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I remember being interested in the N600 as a teenager back in the early 70's when all my compatriots were ogling American muscle cars. As long as I can remember, small, fast sedans/coupes have been my favorite.

Anyway, I just wanted to offer my encouragement for you to continue, because not only is the subject matter thoroughly entertaining, but your storytelling makes this thread particularly special.

Thanks for sharing :)


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PostPosted: April 25, 2013, 10:10 am 
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john hennessy wrote:
the trans looks interesting, just one thought though,

the input shaft of the t5, there is no pilot bush to support the front of the input shaft, do you think this will affect the bearings in the transmission?


The thick aluminum piece around the input shaft bearing retainer sleave contains a support bearing.

Why has't thou forsaken the T5? You could have at least tried it. Then if you took it out, you'd know what you were missing. Short track? Long track? Don't want to keep slipping the clutch barely moving in traffic? There was a gear for that. You could just put in 4th and pretend it wasn't there. Just curious! :shock:


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PostPosted: April 25, 2013, 11:42 am 
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Why has't thou forsaken the T5? You could have at least tried it. Then if you took it out, you'd know what you were missing. Short track? Long track? Don't want to keep slipping the clutch barely moving in traffic? There was a gear for that. You could just put in 4th and pretend it wasn't there. Just curious! :shock:

========================

Good question.. In my little time-warp world on this build, I actually did have the T5 setup on the road for about 3 weeks in Oct 2012... (This car is being built to be a 95% DD with an occasional track visit).. I learned quickly I'd made a huge mistake choosing to run the 3.9 ratio Miata diff.. the car was very, very unpleasant to drive at freeway speeds (taching up over 7K to barely keep up with CA traffic)- not to mention 1st gear was uselessly low.. so that meant going back to the Ford 7.5 diff to fix the ratio issue... I also learned that shifting through the bike tranny was very, very harsh on the driveline... absolutely had to do a redesign and incorporate a guibo or redo the driveshaft with a torque resilient tube -TRT-.. (The bike tranny/paddle shifter was my preferred method of shifting- as shifting through the T5 proved the ratios were too wide for fun driving :twisted: ) Finally, I don't know when or how it happened, the T5 input shaft was discovered to be slightly bent (giving the whole car an awful vibration).. maybe I did it upon yanking it from the donor in the wrecking yard? Maybe the SoCal outfit that the the expen$ive respline on the shaft somehow bent it? (their work was pretty shoddy..)

In the end, although I loved my 30 forward and 6 reverse gear combonation setup- I decided it was just not cost effective to keep dumping $$ into working and reworking this inline tranny option.. The need to move the T5/make room for a 7.5 diff meant yet another front driveshaft mod... and the inclusion of a guibo meant machining an adaptor... / not to mention another T5 input shaft needed to be resplined $$$...

It came down to this: The T5 introduced 70+ lbs to the car :( , with the benefits being reverse and overdrive :) ... I decided I could cheaply and effectively find a 7.5 ratio to fix both my freeway RPM troubles and my too-low 1st gear issue; and although I know I'm going to miss reverse, I figure I'll learn to live without it, or more likely, find a different way (electric methinks) to engineer it back into the car later.

I don't yet know if I've solved my driveshaft/high RPM/vibration/crappy 1st gear issues or not. As of today (4-25-13) I've installed my 'old' 7.5 diff and have stuffed a 2.73 R&P in it... I've also modded a BMW 2-piece driveshaft with a slip yolk and retained the sought after guibo.. I'm still in-process of mounting/placing my carrier bearing to get my DS angles right... I'm also held up with a fuel tank issue, but all should be resolved in the next few weeks

-ccrunner

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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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PostPosted: April 25, 2013, 12:08 pm 
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Location: Guadalupe, CA
Feb 2012

Worked on steering wheel/driver's seat placement.. cut down N600 steering wheel to an old 12" wheel I had.. will surely replace later, but it gives the correct size for fitment issues.. // using N600 OEM top half of steering column- it's small and stout- should work well once modded to fit.. / Need to weigh corner bits to calculate for coilsprings..

March 4, 2012

Found a cheap VFR800 engine in Los Angeles! (90 miles away). What I really need it for is mock up, so even if it's trash it will serve my purposes.. Owner is certain it's a good motor and just needs it gone (moving).. He's including a frame/harness/headers/and many odd bits off the bike- I can likely make all my $$ back selling the bits I don't need.. This will help me to not tear down my own VFR until the last minute (if I even need to at all)..

Pics show early fabbing of motor mounts.. the ends may look familiar as they are leftover Miata control arm bushings 8) I wanted the motor rubber mounted, and these seemed to fit the bill..


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Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com


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