piston Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) Finally had the time to build my 2jz cross member mount. It came out alright and hope it will hold at least 500-600hp. made it out of 1.5 inch square tubing .120 thick. Still need to finish it up and box it all together but just an idea for now. Looks like it should work. 3/4 offset towards the passanger side like original position and is dead on position. i will be using my blown na ge longblock for mockup. dont plan to use the stock manifold. looks ugly ass hell IMO. i used 1/8 inch steel rod to keep it together and finish later out of the chasis. makes life so much easier. back view... another front view.... Heres how it will sit. 3/4 clearance over rack but no pics on that area yet. but you get the idea. love the room i have for turbo. plan on running a t88. j/k. 1/2-5/8inch of firewall clearance. hope it will throw my shifter back more since its so close. i dont see why the stock manifold wouldnt work? seems to have more than 1/2 inch worth of clearance. should i be the first? or did someone already actually used the stock ge manifold? i hate the look of it anyways. havent seen one running yet in a s30. here you can see the oil pan hanging an inch or so under the factory cross member. look in between the red jackstands! and to back it up, i will be running a 8 point cage. heavy ass hell. 1 3/4 mild steel tubing .120 thick. its not welded yet.i just slap it all together for a quik pic and that is not how the center bar will look. the hoop is actually higher and the center angled bars will be mounted on the second level under thestorage box next to the tunnel. the cross bar actually sits 4 inches higher also where te bend is at. thats it for now. nothing until i get the cage welded in, fuel tank cage put together and weld in etc.. Edited November 17, 2009 by piston typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z_478 Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Dont mean to be rude but that cross member doesn't look that safe. Did you look into the beta motorsports one? I am all for doing it yourself but as you said your goal is pretty high HP and that doesn't look to safe. The welds should not have been butted together on the bars, the angle pieces welding to the frame should have been up top or all the way around. and the welds don't appear to have much penetration. Again sorry if I sound rude but that really doesn't look safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 (edited) you dont sound rude at all buddy, just a comment! im not sure how to explain this but im going to connect the 90degree area with a trangle 1/8 inch plate outside edge to egde and box in the plates on the frame inside corners. if you look at the beta motorsport cross member, it does not go over the frame rails however, it does reach the edges! hmmm... my plates are 3x3, i just slightly cut i line down the middle so i can fold it and welded that area back. thats why it looks like its two piece. trust me, i look into the betamotorsports piece plenty of times, in fact when it first came out, my buddy bought one! i looked into 5.0 mustang mounts, grits 1jz mount, and all kinds of other cross mounts, i don't see how this thing would snap before the motor mounts would! i really come to figure this should do the job! seriously, what does everyone else think? i'm starting to have second thoughts now but i'm working with this for now. oh, about the welds, it looks kinda funky because i grinded it down a bit but through the helmet lenses, the edges melted together to one so it should hold! Edited November 18, 2009 by piston edit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EviltoM Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Looks good man. Good choice on the GE motor. It will hold all the power you can throw at it. I love mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z_478 Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I was hoping you would take it constructively. I think it will hold after some gussets are placed in the spots your saying. I have also been looking into just making my own and the material you used is exactly what I would be using as well. I Think your on the right track just need to gusset and then add a few more gussets just because. The more the better! I personally would try to get at least a plate across the top of the L bracket where it connects to your frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 i went to double check the plates that will be welded to the frame and it almost reaches the top of the frame rail and only about 1/2inch of space. that shouldn't be a problem! remember the factory cross member is still in place to tie the rails from flexing too much! the piece is thick! as thick as my cage tubing!!! the cross member is not that hard to make IMO. its actually really easy and nothing to it. just line it up and tack, then take it out and weld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 The joints at the 90 degrees angle should be cut at 45 degrees and welded together. It will give you more contact area and therefore make stronger weld. The 2 round pieces looks like something on a bicycle. Why not use square tubes? The square tubes will give you much more contact areas for welding. How do you plan to attach the top to the frame rails? If you plan to drill holes into the frame rails to bolt this crossmember to then you will need to beef up the frame rails where you will bolt to. The bottom of the frame rails are thick enough but the sides are not. Check out my mount design here http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2079260/7 , I think it will help with your design. Good luck V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 vihnzxt, i seen your mount back when i was in the v8 scene and you first posted your pics! i agree on the 45degree corners. but the piece welded onto your frame to bolt the cossmember, i dont know if i would to that. it just relies on a 1/8 piece welded to frame rails with no gussets. not dissin your mount, just a thought even though the factory cross member has the same design. im going to weld this piece in like the betamotorsports one. i still have to box it up with gussets anyways and like i mention, if anything cracks, im sure the mounts will rip first. i know the betamtorsport one is all tig welded but still runs up to the frame plates and just tig around tube also, am i confuse? everythings all back and forth. wheres the hp going to really hit on the cross member? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) vihnzxt, i seen your mount back when i was in the v8 scene and you first posted your pics! i agree on the 45degree corners. but the piece welded onto your frame to bolt the cossmember, i dont know if i would to that. it just relies on a 1/8 piece welded to frame rails with no gussets. even though the factory cross member has the same design. im going to weld this piece in like the betamotorsports one. edit.... ok, i think i am just going to make another one using a cage tubing that i have left over and have it bent up then welded to wider frame plates. and use a angle square tubing to rest the mounts on like zgads. Edited November 20, 2009 by piston edit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 I put a lot of thought into my latest design. The first one was not that good/strong. The current design, the mounting tabs that welded to the frame rails are 1/4" and not 1/8" and you can see how I made those pieces. Check carefully if you have not seen how those pieces made up. In addition I welded more metal on top of the frame rails to strengthen them up even more. I decided to go with this design because it will help the ease of removal and installation of the engine. I have not seen Zgad's and Beta mounts so I can speak for them. I am not a race car builder but I am an electrical engineer and I know something is weak when I see it. The 2 round tubes you welded to the crossmember look very weak. The top where you weld to the frame rails I think it's strong enough provided. I am not saying any bad about your design. I am just showing you my mount design to give another option if you want to make it removable. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 the beta has the same design(tube mount support), thats how i got the idea. might be redoing another one since my weak point really is the 90degree corner area and it makes sense! but then again, i might just put gussets on it like the top of your(vinzxt) cross member mount area. the tube piece is is not welded yet, i hope you dont have the wrong idea that im using 1/8 steel rods to hold it to the cross member? i was going to add gussets and box it in like this. http://betamotorsports.com/products/products.php?cat=7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z_478 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I really think you have a good idea going here. I see where you are going with this and I think your headed the right way. I would change the 90's to 45's gusset them still, Add a piece to the top of the L metal or possibly make it so the L is actually a C and wraps that frame, and box in the round tubing like you stated you planed on. I think with those changes it would be a lot safer and would ease your mind a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketch_hs Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 looks like the 2jzge WILL clear. Why does everyone say it wont? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyZ Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 looks like the 2jzge WILL clear. Why does everyone say it wont?It does look like it will fit but it's not in yet. The throttle body isn't mounted, the hood isn't on and who knows if he's going to have to raise it later when it's officially sitting on isolators because the twisting action causes it to hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 26, 2009 Author Share Posted November 26, 2009 It does look like it will fit but it's not in yet. The throttle body isn't mounted, the hood isn't on and who knows if he's going to have to raise it later when it's officially sitting on isolators because the twisting action causes it to hit. thats a good point! however the GE throttle body is not any higher than the height of the manifold plus it sits in the center higher spot of the hood. the bottom has a good 3/4 clearance and the only issue i see is the oil pan because it has an extra piece of aluminum material with a bolt hole but no bolt in the front of the oil pan on driver side. that can easily be taken care of by shaving it down so it will not rub the u-bolt on the rack. not that im planning to use the GE manifold anyways, its just to give viewers an idea just in case someone plans to keep the factory GE manifold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketch_hs Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 nice. 2jzge motors are so cheap.... like 400 ish around here! what trans are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 28, 2009 Author Share Posted November 28, 2009 r154 trans.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketch_hs Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 r154 with the short shifter or the factory extension maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piston Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 i want to see where it will actually come up on the shifter hole to get a feel first before doing any mods for the shifter extension. i have a feeling i can live with it just couple inches forward. i look at my 4runner and my shifter is located farther foward but the shifter itself has a 45/60 degree angle. i wonder why noone has tried just modding the shifter with that angle. looks really similar to the hurst shifters for the domestic guys with that 45 degree angle. i had that in mind since day one i thought of the 2jz shifter fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketch_hs Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 updates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.