Dec 20, 2015
Nice to know you're here for me Carguy
Last few bits to set the rear on it's wheels again.. had the T-Bird rear discs drilled to the 4.5 pattern- also had to have the centers bored to slip over the Protege hub centers... I still need to go back and fab caliper mounts, sort the ebrake cable mounts, and install the axles (once made), but the list back here is getting shorter, which has me turning my attention to the front....
Front End Choices...
I see 3 options for dealing with the front suspension- all of them involve fitment issues to some degree as the LNF lump is pretty close to a 25" cube.. I'm insistent on running AC and power steering (it's time to step up to modern times ya know
), so I can't strip those ancillaries for space.. While I may take this car to a track day or two (just cause it sounds fun!), it's main duties are to be a comfortable DD/ GT cruiser; so I'm not chasing a race setup here..
#1- Use the stock clip.. this is more and more appealing as I go along in this build.. The Volvo stuff seems well designed and the 1800/Amazon guys don't complain.. there's aftermarket support on springs and sway bars too.. Down side is fabbing in power steering, and a 'slow' OEM steering box (almost 3.5 turns)-- fixes could be Electric Power Steering (EPS) and a 33% steering quickener..
#2- Miata front end.. Biggest downside to this is fab time.. there's a ton of work to narrow/totally re-fab the front Miata clip to make it fit (need to ditch the stamped Miata piece and make a one-off front clip).. Good part is I already have most all of the bits, just have to spend the time to rework them for my needs-- Would have to get RX7 front hubs and do some machining to get the 5x4.5 I need.. Also would need a brake re-work..
#3- Mustang II.. This is a good option as the street rod guys worked out the bugs years ago.. I'm a little narrower than is typical, so a bit of tweaking needed, but this is really one of the easier installs as these things go.. A metric ton of aftermarket support.. Down side is I don't have any of the needed bits (as I do for options 1 and 2), so buy in is at least $1300-$1500..
I'm going to set the motor down on the stock Volvo clip in the next few days, see what problems pop up, and go from there..
--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=163091959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com