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PostPosted: November 11, 2008, 4:10 pm 
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I have my numbers posted on the first post of my build log. Enter them into Wishbone and play with them. A + 442 front end can use the same front suspension design as the book chassis.

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PostPosted: November 11, 2008, 11:06 pm 
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Location: Just South of Charlotte, NC on Lake Wylie
I ordered Kurt's book, it should be here soon :D

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PostPosted: November 16, 2008, 3:01 am 
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Lulu is currently debugging a shipping problem which prevents them from shipping to APOs / FPOs :(

i guess i get to wait.


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PostPosted: November 16, 2008, 11:15 am 
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I got it from auto books, should be here next week :D

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PostPosted: November 17, 2008, 2:15 pm 
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Joined: September 25, 2008, 6:13 pm
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
FYI Autobooks/Aerobooks has currently in stock:

Kimini
Competition Car Suspension (Staniforth)
Race and Ralley Car Source Book (Staniforth)
Engineer to Win (Smith)
Fasteners (Smith)

Don't know how many coppies they have of each, but I know they have Kimini books and CCS. The last three I might have bought the last of.
:D but maybe not.


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PostPosted: November 26, 2008, 12:31 am 
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Location: 1 mile west of turn 3, Indy 500
First post ever,long time reader,first time poster.

Love the idea here, the book seems to leave us yanks out in the cold, and frankly miatas are hicost donors. Zip through craigslist and el-cheapo rwd donors are ranger,mustang,s-10 and given the hp potential of the duratech I'm leaning heavily toward ranger-old update with duratech later.Another option is having cortina spindles cast up here in a batch - or cmc'd.


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PostPosted: November 26, 2008, 2:45 am 
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Location: Northridge, CA
Miatas may not cost 25 pounds like uncle Ron told us that the donor should, but I've seen a bunch of them selling for ~$1500 for a slightly rough but running car.
Sell the parts that you don't use and you make a good bit of it back, and there you go - you have good lightweight donor for some hundreds of dollars.
I'm even willing to bet that some miata donor users came out ahead of what they spent for the car after parting out the rest.

Moti

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PostPosted: November 26, 2008, 11:54 am 
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Quote:
First post ever,long time reader,first time poster.

Love the idea here, the book seems to leave us yanks out in the cold, and frankly miatas are hicost donors. I'm leaning heavily toward ranger-old update with duratech later.Another option is having cortina spindles cast up here in a batch - or cmc'd.


Welcome! For the low volumes we're talking about, fabricated uprights might make more sense. The pictures I see of ones people make look fairly straightforward. I wold like to see a design for a homemade Locost upright.

I think the Cortina equiv. here is the Mustang II. It's available aftermarket in several flavors with many options for hubs and brakes. It's larger, heavier and stronger.

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PostPosted: December 20, 2008, 3:29 pm 
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Joined: February 29, 2008, 7:15 pm
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Location: Denver, Colorado
I made $100 on my Miata donor. I took everything I needed - wiring, gauges, steering, front and rear subframes with brakes and suspension, differential, engine, gearbox, and a myriad of other bits. I then sold everything but the chassis for $1000 and the bare chassis for $600, plus a couple of other bits to other buyers for $200.

They are super locost!

I agree though that if someone made a US based "book", they could probably make some serious cash. Suspension design from the Miata stuff alone would be worth buying. Throw in the wiring for the Miata, the differences in the center tunnel, and the diff mounting, and you would have a true winner.


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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 9:05 am 
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Joined: January 24, 2009, 1:33 pm
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Location: St.Thomas Ontario
Does anyone know if anymore progress has been made on this?

I believe Hempy had said he was going to do some measuring a while back but it doens't look like he got around to it.

Thanks Guys!


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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 12:23 pm 
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dilbert wrote:
Does anyone know if anymore progress has been made on this?

I believe Hempy had said he was going to do some measuring a while back but it doens't look like he got around to it.

Thanks Guys!

What information/measurements are you looking for? A person wanting to build from a Miata donor already has everything they need to know posted on this site. If you need help rounding up specific data just ask.

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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 1:41 pm 
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Location: St.Thomas Ontario
chetcpo wrote:
dilbert wrote:
Does anyone know if anymore progress has been made on this?

I believe Hempy had said he was going to do some measuring a while back but it doens't look like he got around to it.

Thanks Guys!

What information/measurements are you looking for? A person wanting to build from a Miata donor already has everything they need to know posted on this site. If you need help rounding up specific data just ask.


True, all of the information is on the site, but its all spread out and its like searching a web forum for someone's notes. I believe the original intent of this thread (way before my time so I'm guessing...) was to try to get all of the information needed for someone to build the suspension into one spot. Of course there is a million different ways you can do this and there are the same number of variables that play into the equasion. My understanding is that the new 'Standard' donor car is the miata as they are becomming cheaper and there are a ton of them on the road ready to be stripped. Also as someone in this thread before me stated the +442 seems to be a common starting point, so lets use that.

However from what I can see from reading this and other threads is that there is really two different standards that could be built.

1) Racing Suspension design
- Designed for track use, no compromise for comfort or ride quality.
- 20" tires
- Very little travel
- Very stiff - high lbs / in springs & shocks
- Rod Ends

2) Street Suspension design
- Designed for street use, need to be able to soak up some bumps and designed for longer drives. Yet its still going to corner well.
- 23" tires ( I read somewhere this is stock miata)
- ~4" of travel - changed May 1 09
- Softer springs & shocks
- Rod Ends

I need to learn a lot more about suspension design before I can comment on any designs. Ideally the two systems would be designed to use the same pickup locations ( probably not possible) or what if you could mount two sets of mount points on your frame and both suspension setups work with the same length A arms. This way by moving the suspension components you could swap the car from street to Track 'easily'. I like the design of McCornacks's front suspension, but havn't found information on arm lengths and where the brackets need to be mounted (I probably just missed something). As a new person comming in to this the suspension design information is overwhelming and I'm sure deter's people away from going through with a dream they've had, or they just end up with a badly handling car (that's what I'm afraid of).

More and more of going around and around and looking at suspension design I think that maybe EuroKraft has it right and just blatently copy the Miata's designs, but just using the actual Miata control arms. Later down the road after the car is done if I want to 'lighten it' those are the first places to look'.


Last edited by dilbert on May 1, 2009, 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 2:08 pm 
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Yep. I'm a slacker. Sorry 'bout that. ;-)

Sometime soon I'm going to pull everything off the frame for paint. I'll jig it up and take extensive measurements and post them. The WILL NOT be a recommended solution, as I don't have the experience in life or with this car to make an intelligent recommendation to others. But if it gives folks something to compare their own designs to, so much the better.

-dave

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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 3:53 pm 
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Location: St.Thomas Ontario
dhempy wrote:
Yep. I'm a slacker. Sorry 'bout that. ;-)

Sometime soon I'm going to pull everything off the frame for paint. I'll jig it up and take extensive measurements and post them. The WILL NOT be a recommended solution, as I don't have the experience in life or with this car to make an intelligent recommendation to others. But if it gives folks something to compare their own designs to, so much the better.

-dave


haha, no problem Dave.

Recommended solution or not, it atleast sets a base solution for people to start from. Unless I come into a lot of money and no longer need to work, I'm a year atleast away from a rolling chassis I bet, so I'm in no rush.


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PostPosted: August 24, 2009, 8:01 pm 
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Joined: May 7, 2009, 6:24 pm
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I would like to have 3D model of a Miata spindle, if anyone is so inclined.

Mike Lydon


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