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IMSA GTU vintage racer build


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9 hours ago, AydinZ71 said:

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. Yeah i figured race car and all...might as well save a pound or more just sizing the wires appropriately. I will start looking for those while searching amazon. Appreciate it!

Im guessing the crimper is an Irwin? I have a nice racheting style that is easier on hands and crimps to same force each time. But i have multiple terminal brands so it ends up being inconsistent. 

 

I just sourced my battery wire at 4 ga. I had a hard time with that one. Hope its not too small.

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@clarkspeed yeah I was told From a few sources to try welding cable. I believe it is 1awg? I just remember running the calcs and estimating the FLA draw of the starter motor (not the solenoid, I think that’s only 20-30A) and it checked-out. We’ll see! On the bright side, it’s not like you engage the starter for very long so it’s unlikely to overheat if it’s only 1-2 sizes small. 

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Shout out for help. Maybe there are some electrical experts reading. I am looking at expanding the capability of my data system. I am using a Race Technology DL1. I have 12 analog inputs which are fully utilized. It also has the capability to log multiple CAN channels on top of the analog sensors. Think connect to an OBD2 and log what ever channels you desire. But my custom race car does not have an OBD2.

 

My desire is to connect a couple CAN multi-output tire temp sensors along with a multi-output RS485 yaw sensor. Seems like Arduino hardware to support this can be sourced easily and I am familiar with using them but not writing my own code.

 

I think this requires setting up my own independent CAN network with H/L output to the DL1. It can be programed to read the CAN configuration. And an Arduino to convert the RS485 to the chosen CAN rates. Seems easy enough for someone who knows what they are doing, but hours of research on the net did not get me there.

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Hi Clarke,

 

Have you contacted any of the dealers that sell Race Technology equipment for help?  I was thinking RT and Veracity perhaps as a start.  I have some code from an FSAE project that used Aurduinos and CAN to send along data into a CAN stream.  It has sample code but I haven't verified if it works or not.  I'll look for that and forward to you.

 

Cary

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  • 1 month later...

I've been working but not much to show. Dealing with many interferences in the engine bay. So it is all rework at this point. Hopefully some success and photos soon. 

 

In the meantime, clutch parts arrived. Ordered the Flywheel from UK and it is a nice unit. Clutch is 7.25 Quatermaster 2 disk V drive. I went with 7.25 because my tranny ratios are soo tall. Pretty sure I would burn out a 5.5, just driving around pits. But not I need to order 8mmx1.25x45 bolts to mount.

 

TTVracing.com

 

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Edited by clarkspeed
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  • 1 month later...

One step forward, ten steps back. Sorry no cool pics to post. Dealing with all my latest problems. Radiator outlet hits the alternator, oil pan hits the steering rack, exhaust hits the brake lines, control arm geometry wrong in front, steering geometry wrong,  excessive bump steer, need a custom pilot bushing, new damper direction and renovate another set of strut casings, maybe more I am forgetting about.

 

Had to pull the engine back out and now methodically fix each problem 1 by 1. The immense frustration only lasted 3 or 4 days then back at it. Mentally hard pushing through 10+ major problems I didn't plan quite well enough for. 

 

On plus side, all the plumbing and electrical done.  Engine done, induction system done. Exhaust still needs a coating.

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Bummer, Clark…sorry to hear all that.  You do one thing, and it affects ten other things.  And the more custom you make it, the worse it gets!  ☹️

 

At your convenience, would you mind elaborating a little on the control arm and steering geometry being “wrong”?  (Causes, planned fixes, etc?)

 

Good luck with all the sorting!

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10 hours ago, jhm said:

Bummer, Clark…sorry to hear all that.  You do one thing, and it affects ten other things.  And the more custom you make it, the worse it gets!  ☹️

 

At your convenience, would you mind elaborating a little on the control arm and steering geometry being “wrong”?  (Causes, planned fixes, etc?)

 

Good luck with all the sorting!

Sure thing. I will try to describe without diagrams. As you add caster, imagine strut top moving rearward, it raises the steering link angle with it. So the arm to tie rod link is now much higher in relation to the control arm ball joint. I did not plan for that. Didn't even cross my mind. So now, even with all my adjustability, I don't have a way to get the tie rod parallel to the control arm, which is needs to be close to eliminate bump steer. So my choices are 1) slot the inner control arm pivot down, not sure I have enough room 2) raise the steering rack, not possible 3) add more spacers to the tie rod to steering arm rod end, not possible, hits the wheel or 4) remake my adjustable steering rack adapters. I chose #4. I think there is a picture of them in this thread somewhere. 

 

The control arm problem is a little harder to describe because of my design. I have a 1.2" bump steer spacer AND a pin below the steering knuckle that drops the ball joint, spherical bearing actually, in relation to strut and steering knuckle. This is all about control arm angle which drives roll center and camber gain. I have just a little TOO much correction resulting in a large downward angle on control arm and a front roll center quite high. To correct I need about a 3/4" bump steer spacer so I will mill down a pair after I am sure of the dimension it needs to be.

 

Too much information? 

 

Edited by clarkspeed
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11 hours ago, clarkspeed said:

Too much information? 

 

Nope....good explanation.  How much caster are you shooting for, if you don't mind me asking?  I'm guessing that remaking your steering rack adapters is a lot easier than making custom steering knuckles, as long as you can maintain clearance between the rack adapters and engine peripherals? 

 

One thing I found when adding adjustable steering arms/knuckles and adjustable tie rod ends...using offset bump-steer spacers gave me extra clearance between the tie rod ends and the rims.  Kind of like thick wheel spacers, without all the negative impacts of using thick wheel spacers.  Without the offset, I would have had significant interference between the tie rod ends and my rims (15" diameter), like you described in your option #3 above.  T3's new "evolved" design even has multiple mounting positions to tailor the amount of offset to one's specific needs.

 

I think I've got some spare 3/4" bumpsteer spacers (plain straight/non-offset) lying around -- you're welcome to them for the cost of shipping.  LMK.

 

Thanks for the additional info!

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Hey @clarkspeed.Bummer on the re-work and fit-up issues. I know how you feel! I’m experiencing similar difficulties, but I’m relying mostly on the OEM geometry. The sway bar is the only 100% custom aspect of my suspension.

 

I placed my regulator mount too close to my filter and have to do a loopty-loop of hose to make the connection. Annoying, but not worth the extra time just to make it “look” right. Hope you get everything worked out! 
 

speaking of bump steer spacers: Greg said he had two 1” AL pieces welded together to get a 2” spacer. I guess Sam Neeve struggled to get his bump steer correct. I’m starting off with a 1” (since that’s the biggest off-the-shelf unit) and going from there. I found plenty of tutorials on setting roll center, but I have not found a decent one specifically for McPhersons yet. Let us know how you end up dialing that in on your car. 

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On 8/31/2023 at 10:54 AM, jhm said:

Bummer, Clark…sorry to hear all that.  You do one thing, and it affects ten other things.  And the more custom you make it, the worse it gets!  ☹️

 

At your convenience, would you mind elaborating a little on the control arm and steering geometry being “wrong”?  (Causes, planned fixes, etc?)

 

Good luck with all the sorting!

 

On 9/1/2023 at 9:43 AM, jhm said:

 

Nope....good explanation.  How much caster are you shooting for, if you don't mind me asking?  I'm guessing that remaking your steering rack adapters is a lot easier than making custom steering knuckles, as long as you can maintain clearance between the rack adapters and engine peripherals? 

 

One thing I found when adding adjustable steering arms/knuckles and adjustable tie rod ends...using offset bump-steer spacers gave me extra clearance between the tie rod ends and the rims.  Kind of like thick wheel spacers, without all the negative impacts of using thick wheel spacers.  Without the offset, I would have had significant interference between the tie rod ends and my rims (15" diameter), like you described in your option #3 above.  T3's new "evolved" design even has multiple mounting positions to tailor the amount of offset to one's specific needs.

 

I think I've got some spare 3/4" bumpsteer spacers (plain straight/non-offset) lying around -- you're welcome to them for the cost of shipping.  LMK.

 

Thanks for the additional info!

I went ahead and bought a pair of 1" spacers not knowing any 3/4 existed. Let me measure where I exact need (nominal) to be and I will let you know.

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On 9/2/2023 at 3:36 PM, AydinZ71 said:

Hey @clarkspeed.Bummer on the re-work and fit-up issues. I know how you feel! I’m experiencing similar difficulties, but I’m relying mostly on the OEM geometry. The sway bar is the only 100% custom aspect of my suspension.

 

I placed my regulator mount too close to my filter and have to do a loopty-loop of hose to make the connection. Annoying, but not worth the extra time just to make it “look” right. Hope you get everything worked out! 
 

speaking of bump steer spacers: Greg said he had two 1” AL pieces welded together to get a 2” spacer. I guess Sam Neeve struggled to get his bump steer correct. I’m starting off with a 1” (since that’s the biggest off-the-shelf unit) and going from there. I found plenty of tutorials on setting roll center, but I have not found a decent one specifically for McPhersons yet. Let us know how you end up dialing that in on your car. 

 

 

If you dig around on the  forum you can find an excel roll center calculater I posted awhile back. It works for S30 z's. I still use it for a quick estimate. Yes, Greg uses 2 spacers welded together, and he runs a very low ride height. But I don't know what his front RC height is. I could probably guess. I'm sure it is above ground. And no trickery in the rear. His rear inner and outer control arm pivots are at or close to OEM location. Possible he runs higher RC in front than rear.

 

I have a 1.2" spacer I bought a couple years ago from TTT. I looked on their website and not see it for sale anymore.

 

Edited by clarkspeed
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I feel arduino or raspberry Pi could induce  latency to cause timing issues causing some data points to skew along a timeline.

 

On the ford GT LSR car, we used Aims Evo4 with smarty cam from 2009.  

I had suspension ride height sensors and even a few spots left over to check the pressure/vacuum of our intake boxes.

That's a 14 year old solution so I'm sure there is better now from the likes of Vbox.

 

 

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Couple pics. I had to fab my own pilot bearing. Bought something close from MacMaster Carr. Drilled it and honed the last .003" out to fit the tranny input shaft. 

 

Also got a very large blast cabinet into the shop on a trade. Next job is to blast another set of strut housings for paint and then the exhaust system.

 

Many more pics coming.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Well, I had some major setbacks the last couple months. A triple heart bypass put a little delay in the build progress. I thought I was a little young for this but such is life with family history. Feeling much better now 6 weeks later but still on the recovery. Not really ready for heavy lifting yet so trying to complete some of my easier projects.  Anyway, here is a pic of the new Redshift dampers that arrived just before my hospital visit and a pic of the front struts I am prepping for the dampers. Sorry for the crusty bed sheet they are staged on. I am motivated to get stuff done, so hope to be back on the car in another week or 2. 

 

The dampers are essentially custom valved BC coilovers to my specs. The single adjustment controls both compression and rebound combined. They came with full dyno graphs. I have to say the BC hardware looks to be of very high quality in the adjusters, hats, and camber plates. Chris at Redshift was incredibly patient and answered my 20 or so questions with detailed explanation and honesty. He seems to like emails to communicate but is very responsive. Can't wait to try these.

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