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I have all my garage projects caught up and had my donor stuff for a few months so I guess its time to start a build. The car will be a do everything street ,autox,and track so a lot of tradeoffs I guess. I got a front clip from a Nissan 180sx so it's sr20det for the build. Keep switching between V8's and 4 cylinders on each project. So its 4cyl this time. Thought about a LS3 but naaa I miss that turbo plus the weight difference. It will be a fully caged car. I plan on using less taper forward but reworking the front design to run a full size rack. I can still fit a book nose but will probably keep the suspension area top rail width to give more room for intercooler piping. The engine is wide so the taper change gives me better room and lets me bring the engine back further and have plenty of pedal room. I mocked the car out of wood and it worked for me. I got ahold of a rearend assy from a '03 cobra so I will be using the diff and axles from it. The cobra uprights are really a nightmare to design for so I decided to use t-bird uprights since they use the same bearing its a easy change. After stripping the clip of powertrain and wiring I sold the shell to a drift guy that wanted the right hand drive for his 240sx for $300.


And on to some pics.

You do realize there are some differences between the FWD SR20DET and the RWD version don't you?

It's been a while, but some of the accessories bolt on differently and I think you need to find a RWD oil pan & oil pick up.

I know the wiring harness won't work in a RWD chassis, but that shouldn't be a problem for you.

Man had to check the pics and see what I posted. Might want to look at the pics again that is RWD

Well I guess I forgot to mention the build table in the last post. It's 5 X 10ft and has stringers on 1ft centers and cross bracing every 2ft. The mdf is nice for being flat but not much strength for holding screws so with lots of stringers I can use longer screws and use the 2 x 6 to hold it down. My plan was to use 1 1/4" for the main rails and suspension pickup points and to gain back on weight 1" for uprights and tunnel and 3/4"tubing for the bracing. Unless someone here can tell me why the smaller stuff is a bad idea. The cage will be 11/2" by .095 dom. So this is where I'm at right now till I get my front lower pickup points figured out to fit the rack.

After a week of the flu were back at it. By the way I don't recommend it as a weight loss method.

I did get my front suspension designed this weekend now I can try to package it on the frame.

Tried out how it would work as 402 today. That left the downpipe 1" from the footwell. Don't plan on using that one anyway so could gain another inch there still have to see about the master cylinder clearances and maybe some gold heat shielding. That puts the crank pulley 1" from the lower suspension crossmember. I'll see tomorrow if I can repackage the top to get enough clearance to get the engine in and out or if I need to lengthen the engine bay.

Where did you get such shiney clean metal? Oh you are in California. They don't make metal like that here in the mid west, well not where I can find it anyway. Looking good.

Hmmm maybe I oughta just clearcoat when I'm done. DOM's not shiny though.
Speaking of DOM since I can't find anyone close with a tubing bender it's looking like I might have to breakdown and buy myself one.

My bad! I coulda sworn that was a pic of a FWD front clip. I guess it was because you shot it from the side?

Finally got the frame sizing worked out and bottom is all tacked together. What it ended up was +4 width, book length in the cockpit, -1 in the engine bay, +2 height,and a wider front so I can use a 241/2" rack with no bumpsteer problems.

Now I'm back trying to find someone to bend the roll cage tubing. If I can't find anyone by friday I'm gonna buy me one.

Looks like you are coming along nicely.

As for finding someone to build a roll cage, if you can't find someone locally, give these guys a try. If you can design it, these guys can build it. I used them for my roll bar ass'y as did at least one other. It was 2 weeks from order to delivery and low-cost.

http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6352&hilit=roll+cage+components

Yo, Dean-
Track down your local SCCA Region. The Club Racing and/or Time Trials group would know anybody in the area that can fab roll cages.
H-T-H

You might give these people a call.3 Wide Motorsports
2275 N Macarthur Drive
Tracy, CA 95376-2830 map

Went to the local roundy round champ in town. He only had the nascar sized dies but turned me on to a fab shop 20mi away that said they had a 11/2' 5" radius I think thats the min radius for .095. So anyway I'll call them tomorrow and see. I already got 60ft of 11/2" so would hate to pay for it again ordering from somewhere. Problem with most places that say they do cage work is its all 13/4 or 2". For rock crawlers or nascar.


Yo JD yeah cept that would be 75mi drive in 2 different directions. Trying to save the gas money and bigger labor for more go faster goodies.

We got hoops so I guess I can keep busy this weekend. Had to wait for him to get a couple of suspension setups out but 6 bends $35 total I can't complain about that at all.

Made some progress over the weekend. Spent saturday cutting down and fitting the roll bar hoops and tacking them in. Then sunday spent a while fitting all the little pieces to put the front together. I know its a lot of angles but I think it will look a lot cleaner when the suspension gets added and it keeps the width in the nose to a 442E.
Waiting till thursday now for my tube notcher to arrive so I can start connecting all the pieces.