peej410

doh, better make a skid plate! haha glad you didnt hurt your motor!

was this directed towards me?

as far as spherical bearings are concerned in the TC rod pickup point, i will be doing this, but my own way... ive yet to draw it up because i havent had the time but the research ive done has said that the maximum axial load (through the hole) of a spherical bearing should be 15% of the static radial load capacity (pulling against the bearing) meaning that a good 3/4 spherical bearing (mcmaster part# 63215K39) rated at about 46,400 lbs static radial load, would be good for 4,640 lbs of axial force. the heim rods most people use are barely rated for 8,000 static radial load. moving up to a 7/8s spherical bearing bumps you upto 62,200 static radial, and 6,220 axial (mcmaster part# 63215K41) i dont see where the strength issue is with a spherical bearing in the TC rod pickup point.

sorry about my absence, im down at the PRI show in orlando and i havent had a chance to check mail till just now. i could absolutely make a control arm with a softer bushing in it. i would need a commited customer though, ill pm you when i get back to CT and we can talk about it further.

dude just tell the mrs its a big drill press.

dave i think your method does work, i designed mine the way i did because i wanted to spread out the load more. i also wanted to use the larger heim rod joints. one thing you should look into is the tc rod mount, i dont believe your setup will allow for enough movement. from full droop to fully compressed i measured 18 degrees of movement in the TC rod. thats quite a bit for a bushing thats cut in half to absorb.

ok... a friend of mine has a race car trailer that has feet that you can use to level the trailer out perfectly on most surfaces. if im understanding you correctly. i could use that and a digital level to get caster. correct?

im not sure what you guys would think of it, but my Z would tramline a little bit before too. so i took the top rack mounts (the things that almost look like straps) and welded in pieces that i shaped to fit the contours of the rack. then carefully filed them so they fit in the rack after welding them to the "straps" this made the car steer awesome. it also only took a few hours of fitting to get them right. i had the poly steering rack mounts in but with the car sitting flat not moving when you turned the wheel the rack would still move in the body, now. no movement.

i havent installed the bushings yet because of my TC rod issue, which is why id want an original Z to make these for first before selling them to the public. id also like to thoroughly test them on my own car. if you just want a set of control arms just like mine, and you intend to make your spacers and figure everything else out yourself let me know.

what i was looking into doing was making a pillow ball mount (read spherical bearing) that bolted to the stock tc rod mount. ihavent figured it all out yet because i havent had the time but it seems that most of the approaches so far actually shorten the TC rod. i would think that this would change the geometry of the front suspension quite a bit. it moves the pivot point of the TC rod in towards the strut pretty far. does the suspension geometry in the corvette scenario come into play ? the guys race car i work on is an ex-shock tech for ohlins, he said hes not sure what is ideal for a Z but he runs 7 positive caster on his porsche 914-6 and he got 2nd place at the runoffs this year in EP (i was crew chief) can anyone suggest a suspension book that encompasses different suspension designs?

with as low as my car currently sits i have just a taste too much camber, so being able to go in and out will help

well the fixture that i made will accomodate either method. i made these partially to fix a few other problems i had. i made sure that i could use the fixture for many other designs, it will also accomodate caster changes and the like. i designed them to the length that puts the end of the arm half way down the heim joint thus making them adjustable in both directions. it would have been nice to adjust them with a tierod but this will be a street car so ill pretty much set it and forget it your care looks like its coming along well! i do like the adjustable TC rod too, but if i was going to make those for other people id need a stock Z to work off of, because my rear pickup points are relocated. so my TC's need to be longer to get the right amount of caster.

here are some pictures of the control arms i made last week. if anyones interested in having me make some get in touch with me. i made a nice sturdy fixture to make them so remaking them will be easy they get 3/4 heims that are rated for 10,000+ static radial load.

i didnt drive mine for more than two months when it was running and it never always ran right. the rings never seated, i did drive it in the middle of a connecticut winter with no door seals or carpets or insulation. it still wasnt too miserable, once that V8 warms up the heat works really nice haha. also sometimes the thing ran only on 6 cylinders (oil fouling issue) but it still ran! i was very suprised how badly it would run but still run. i have a 350 with a t5. id really suggest the 5 speed over a 4 spd auto. even running horribly i was able to get 23 mpg in rural driving. i cant wait to see what i can squeeze out of the new motor.

wow 28lbs!!! for a few months people have been telling me my dash design was too heavy. but the whole thing weighs in at about 15 lbs i love the idea of using the stock dash, i like your cage too with one exception, i think it may be pertinent to add a bar that goes from the main hoop to the shock tower straight back. in a heavy forward colission the rear X brace would see loads that i would stress the tubes in a way that could cause the main hoop to actually move back. just a thought, keep up the good work though.

where can i find the specs for cage design for drag cars? ive had a few muscle car customers that ask me about 1/4mile cages but all my experience is with SCCA cages... looks very good btw!

for mild Steel DOM tubing you should use at least 1.5 - .095 wall tubing, i used 1.5 - .120 for mine. but i didnt build a typical cage so i decided the extra heft was necesary for my specific application.

having seen and installed a few prefab kits id consider custom if its in your budget, im in CT and i built my cage from scratch, PM me if you have any specific questions or if your interested in having me build you one. i used a low front hoop style cage, because my car will be primarily a street car.

Sorry to hear about your car, the only upside is that the next time around, with the knowledge you gained this time around you can do it better and faster, if you need any parts let me know, i have quite a bit i wouldnt mind donating some to help ya out.

i called him and he said that a spherical bearing would probably be better in my situation. does anyone know what kinda rates the common sway bars that are offered have?

thank you just a typo, ive been looking at this stuff most of the afternoon, trying to decide whats best and most economical.