clarkspeed

I paid $1200 for my first Quaife 10 years ago. Then they jumped up to $1500-1600. If you want one cheaper, just need the exchange rate to get better.

That head had a hair cut. Make sure you have correct lash pads installed. And if you notch block, be VERY careful when dropping in pistons so ring doesn't hang up there. Learned that lesson last year.

Nothing wrong with removing rear bar to help put power down, but it is typically combined with a reduction in front bar stiffness to reduce understeer.

DLM printing a head is possible. Nascar is doing a lot of prototyping with this method. But it is not cost effective and I would never call it cheap. Figure 3 to 4x cost of castings, but no tooling costs. Dereck's approach is still most economical. In addition, I've never seen a machine capable of printing anything that long. EOS are the most common. The only way to do it right is to section a head and laser scan. Otherwise you will be guessing much of the internal passages. If you could produce an exact 3d model, the printing is easy IF you are working with someone who knows how to run the machine and is familiar with aluminum alloys, not a bunch of grad students. And dont forget you still have the challenge of adding all the machine surfaces to the correct datums after printing. Not an easy task, just ask Derek.

Like Johnc said, you will need to balance your braking aggressivness with trying to get about 2 hours of life out of pads. You would be surprised what lap times you can get by rolling on and rolling off the pedal. Solid, consistent, threshold braking will only gain a .1 or .2 seconds on most turns and is usually the last thing a pro driver tries to squeeze out. From turn in to apex is where the magic happens.

Keep on Racin' [/url]">http://s734.photobucket.com/user/clarkspeed/media/Car%20Ass.jpg.html'>

Scary. Glad you are ok.

Most importantly, never forget to take the pin out when on track. A SCCA racer in a 944 got burned to death at Daytona a few years ago. Its a long way from the banking to a corner working station. Check, double check, triple check.

I just returned from a visit to the largest casting supplier in Germany. Amazing stuff going on there, investment castings down to .4mm thick, 3 x 3 meter cnc'd sand castings, custom alloys mixed on site....but this project still blows me away. Derek thanks for taking us through the steps so people can see just how ambitious this really is. It definitely makes a statement to your skills and capabilities.

I saw this ad from QA1 in my new Circle Track magazine. They are now building a inverted strut for the fox body Mustang that is fully rebuidable or can be ordered sealed. I took a picture of the ad since there is not much info on the internet about it except for a video from SEMA. Anyway, looks on the surface like something that could be adapted over to an S30 spindle.

I had a 2.3 cobra stern drive in a boat I used to have. Always wanted to drop an Esslinger mini-stock motor in there. They even cast their own blocks.

I saw this website awhile back. Shows how to modify a Bilstein shock to make adjustable. Looks MUCH easier than modifying the Tein struts in that video. Plus all the valves are available with no modification. I know of 2 sets like this in existence and the guy who runs them is very fast indeed. http://farnorthracing.com/shocks_2.html

I met the CRP guys at the MSX Expo last week. They had samples of their metal infused plastic called Windform. Seems the way to go for a one-off intake manifold.

My 2 cents. You don't want the front CA's parallel, but at a slight angle down. That will keep the front RC above ground.

Sorry for multiple posts but I am at a bar typing. The reason you take 40 hours to do it is you will probably find something that it not what you thought it was. Lap times depend on what that thing is.

If you do decide to go down the measurement path, I found the FSM helps in establishing the datums. I also realized after spending a lot of time measuring the car out that I really didn't want to share the info with anybody because it's really car specific.

Its what you do if you are serious about alignment accuracy. For general guideline, make sure the front control arms are pointed down. And I made a cheap bumpsteer checker out of plywood and a piano hinge.

Yep, that's pretty much it. Can be very effective in the hands of the right driver.

In my experience, if you are lowering the car, the spacer seems to work best for restoring the roll center. Then a tiny slotting of the inner pivot is very effective at eliminating bumpsteer. But dont lower the car too much.

Good luck. Thats a nice rig. You are gonna love that diesel as much as the race car:-)

Sorry for the general advice, but I will now give more. There is not a hell of a lot you can do with McPherson struts from the 70'S. Like Jon says, shocks are the only things that have advanced. Good alignment is required, and "trick" parts to solve any problems with achieving desired alignment (camber/caster/toe/bumpsteer/ride height)

Maybe its me but that spring looks way too short. You can purchase 2-1/2 springs in 8 or 10" length in any stiffness you want. Those look like 6"?

Wow this was an old post. Anyway it is not unusual for custom race wheels not to have a true center hole. Most race tire shops spin balance with a Hub and lug nuts.

For what its worth, My research showed MTL about the right viscosity for the NWC T5 and MT90 about right for the Nissan box. But i was only looking at Redline products.

I still have one buried in the for sale forum about 6 months ago.