JMortensen

I don't think attaching to the bolt is going to be a problem. I think attaching with a LONG bolt like you're showing there and then running rod ends to it will be a problem. That's a lot of bending load on the bolt, if you were to just space the rod end out 3" or whatever you needed to clear the cover. How about this? Drill and tap the huge bolt so that the smaller bolt or stud screws into it. This avoids having to weld to the head of the bolt and should be easier to get straight. Then screw in a SHORT stud and make a bracket that attaches to the stud then comes off at an angle and that part then is what the turnbuckle attaches to. I'm just throwing stuff out there. It's not quite clear in my mind what this would look like, but I'm not liking the long stud attached to the back of the control arm bolt, seems like too much bending load on the stud...

I bought Austin's old brake system and it used stock wheel studs. I want to use wheel spacers so these have got to go. I am a bit worried about how I should get the studs out, since they are pressed in and the hub/rotor hat is one big piece of aluminum. If they were steel I would just knock them out with a 2 lb sledge. Maybe I should do the same here, but AL hubs are a new one to me so I thought I'd run it past everyone first. The issue I think is that the rotor hat part is fairly thin. My first thought is to bolt the rotor on and then press the stud out with my hydraulic press. I'm just worried that I might bend something. I suppose the other option is to mount the hub on a spindle so the BEARINGS take the hit and then pound them out with a sledge... Here are some pictures:

Aren't they 10 x 1?

I was right in the middle here. My bar was tight (sprung against the sides) when the bottoms of the hoop were slipped inside the rockers. When I cut the tubes vertically in half, then the bar was probably 3/4" loose between the rockers. I welded the plates to bar, then set it in place and used a portapowr to spread the hoop and welded the plates to the rockers. I had to beat in the little protruding areas where the clips go for the interior panels right behind the door opening. I used Dan's gif but with a different size tube and the guy who bent it did all the recalculating of angles and all that to make it come out right.

If it helps it's been a couple years but I believe I paid about $350 to a roll cage designer/builder here locally for bending the hoop and supplying enough tubing to do the full roll bar with diagonal and shoulder bar.

Mine takes a little muscle to flip, but I can manage it myself. I spun mine once right after I put it on the rotisserie with all the suspension/wheels on. THAT was difficult. The key is finding the balance around the pivot. If you get that balance point right then it should spin EASY. Mine was bottom heavy at first, now with a full cage it's top heavy. One member here, zlalomz, has added a counterweight which is basically a tube with a bunch of barbell weights at one end. In this way he can keep the balance right as he gets into his cage and his car will continue to spin really easily.

Small world. I read the differentials page and really liked it, but he had the helical part wrong. So I email an explanation, and he says "I know you from Hybrid Z". This site is by rudypoochris.

Wait a minute... you didn't put it in the front brake system, did you? If so, take it out and put it in the rear brakes. You DO NOT want a prop valve in the front brakes.

If you get the finned cover, not only will it increase capacity and have cooling fins, but it also has a couple spots built in which are presumably for drilling and tapping for fittings to add a cooler, but could also be used to install a temp sensor. I think it would probably be pretty easy to find an aluminum bung, drill a hole in the cover and weld it in and then you wouldn't have to do the necessary mods to put the finned cover in.

What you're saying here doesn't make a lot of sense. The valve doesn't apply the brakes. All it does is change the pressure going to the rears. If you cranked it up then it should reduce the pressure going to the rears when you step on the pedal. It sounds like you have something else funky going on.

The LSD ONLY works when you're turning. If you're going straight and getting the noise, it isn't the LSD. Could be a ring and pinion issue like a chip in one gear or the other), but that's unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely. I'd look at the sway bar end links and make sure that there is clearance between them and the halfshafts.

Wow, that's one hell of an expensive clevis!!! I think that is a useful item if you're using a custom circle track steering rack, but the most cost effective choice for this project. I bought rectangular tube that had the correct ID for the rod end to slide in, drilled a hole, cut the tube at an angle, ground a little curve so that it fit the tube tightly and welded it to the arm. I think my clevises probably cost about $2 each, plus a little time on the grinder and drill press and welder.

I have also ordered from them a bunch of times without issue. Sounds like you ordered the Buster Keaton specials there David.I will be sure to stay away from their ebay auctions after that story. Sorry to hear about the trouble.

Mine turned powdery and didn't gunk up the wheel at all. But mine is a 70 CA car, so that crap was a little older and exposed to more dry heat in it's life I guess...

Ground control and others would disagree. By the way the needle bearing does more than deal with the rotation of the strut. What does the weight of the vehicle rest on with a needle bearing in place? What does it rest on in your camber plate?

He's talking about the double adjustable units that have an adjuster on the bottom of the strut. I seem to remember a thread where someone had drilled a hole in the side of the strut housing and run a rubber tube up and over the adjusting knob so that it could be accessed without having to pull the strut. Try searching and you might find it...

I remember seeing pictures and thinking the front end was screwed up on that Manta when you got it. Looks just a LITTLE bit different now. I wish you were documenting everything here, because it's always a learning experience to read your threads. Maybe you could share the URL of your manta build thread on their forum. Looks pretty damn good!

Looks like no needle bearing between the camber plate and the spring perch.

Agreed, so why not make it so that it doesn't have to handle those loads. If you read the section in Milliken and Milliken's book, it talks about how any twist in the arm loads the strut. So why not make it so that it CAN'T load the strut my putting the toe adjuster on bearings at both ends. Basically what I'm saying is that A arm and toe link > H arm. Double wishbone is a nice idea, but I think the argument against it is one of packaging in that unless you want to really cut up the back end of the car you'll probably end up with a really short upper which means you'll get more camber change under suspension movement. Also one has to consider the ultimate speed advantage of the one over the other. Has anyone gone faster with double wishbone in the back of a Z? Surely someone has tried it before. If not, you may be the brave guy who gets to prove your theory to the rest of us, but likely not since you're describing yourself as "mainly a street driver". On the street I don't think the effect is worth the hassle. On the track, then I'd give it a doubtful maybe. As to the taco gussets, they don't really have to be taco gussets. You could also just weld your flat gussets tangentially to the tube instead of right down the middle, with one on each side. Put a concave curve on the part that hangs out between the two tubes, just like they do on many motorcycles and bicycles.

But a bearing rod end will, which is what I was suggesting. You're assuming no flex in the control arm and a perfectly perpendicular relationship between the strut and the arm. Anything else is going to stress the arm and put a side load on the strut. Have you read this thread? http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=129154&highlight

So it sounds like the same thing I have but with a 5/8" shank. I guess that is 6 of one 1/2 dozen of the other if so. The clevis won't move freely with a bolt through it and tightened, unless you undersize the plate you're attaching it to. Also it doesn't allow any up/down motion, so any twist in the A arm will put a bending load on your toe link. Making it a rod end on the inside allows freedom of motion in every plane but in and out, and that's much preferable in this spot I think. I figured those would be regular rod ends.

Why a clevis on the toe link where it connects to the arm? That turns the A arm and toe link into a very weak H-Arm. I'd rather see a clevis on the arm itself for a rod end mounted in double shear. I'd use 3/4" rod ends with 5/8" holes, as they're a lot stronger. Finally I really do think there is a big benefit to the solid rod end being installed in the back. Also the gussets should be taco style. Flat gussets are so 1980's.

If you have those little bits that won't come off, take a propane torch to them until they start to bubble a bit, then let it cool and hit it with your wire wheel. Works on the bottom too.

I'm with you. I tried without a rotisserie first, then built one and it's so much better I can't even describe how wonderful it is. Plus whenever anyone comes over you can impress them with a trip to the garage and a spin of the car.

Don't think so. spinning the pinion should make both side gears turn in the same direction no matter what kind of diff, open, CLSD, VLSD, HLSD. Have the seller pull the cover and take a picture. Compare it to the pictures of the LSDs here. There is your answer.