My Type 54 to sort of 47 Conversion

[skippopotamus]

I should have mentioned this.  That roll bar goes inside the car against the firewall.  Which is what I like about it so much. 
The other bars I had seen go outside the firewall through holes and up around the outside of the rear window.  Then the braces goes through the deck lid.

[RoddyMac]

Skip,
I have thought about fabricating a roll bar for the car and using it as a mount for the seatbelts.  But it would be behind the cockpit/rear window.   A friend has a Europa with the roll bar in the cockpit and I could barely fit in the car.  I dont know if the bar was the Safety Devices one, but the bar in his car pushed the seats forward about 4 inches.  My feet were right at the end of the pedal box, there was no way I could drive. 

I'm now thinking more and more about making a brace that ties the upper mount back to the chassis, but I'll have to plonk the body back on the chassis with all the manifolds in place in order to make sure they fit.

[skippopotamus]

Yeah, four inches is a deal killer especially in a little car.
That one goes around the outside edges of the seat but there's still a bar going across right below the rear window.  So there has to be about a two inch penalty.  The person who owned the car was definitely taller than me.  Maybe 6'- 6'1". 
I might make mine out of smaller tube.  I want more to improve the seat belt mount rather than true roll over protection.
Any way, something to chew on.

[RoddyMac]

Time for an update, dear old dad has allowed me to bring the chassis to his place (where I have all my tools and space to work).  The goal was to have a running chassis by the end of this past long weekend.  Long story short, it's not running.  But, I did get a ton of work done, though when you step back and look at the result there isn't a lot to see.  I now have all the cooling pipes sorted, a new rear body mount set up including a battery tray:





I've modified the shift cable brackets so that the cables don't share the same space as the inner CV joint:



And sorted the serpentine belt routing/alternator mount & adjuster:



The belt does clear the chassis on the alternator side by at least an inch, the photo is deceiving. 

The little thing that took the most amount of time was sorting the remote oil filter adapter on the block, the hoses had to point somewhat rearward, but tightening the adapter enough to keep the oil in had the hoses pointing in every direction except where I wanted them.  The oil filter adapter required some careful turning on the lathe which sorted that out, but it took nearly 6 hours to get right.  I can say that the used Zetec (condition really unknown) does show 75 psi when cranking on the starter, so fingers crossed it will run. 

Next weekend I hope to have the carbs mounted firmly on the manifold, the fuel pump plumbed in and the ignition computer wired up.  I really want to make smoke....

[BDA]

I've been waiting for another update about your car, Roddy! She's starting to really take shape and she's looking really good!
So you're going with carbs rather than the injection? Now might be a good time to do a leak down test on your motor.

[RoddyMac]

BDA,
The plan all along was to use carbs, and I had picked up a set of Honda CBR900RR carbs when I started the project.  Whether or not that was a good idea wont be found out until it's on the road.  I have been toying with the idea of Megasquirt and throttle bodies, but the cost is a bit outside of the budget.  I can always swap the carbs for bike throttle bodies sometime down the road as the manifold should accept both carbs and throttle bodies.

[SwiftDB4]

Great job on your fabrication. On the oil filter adapter they do make 2 piece 'adjustable' ones that allow the hoses to be cranked to the desired position before tightening the adapter to the block. They're only about $25 and I have an extra one if yours doesn't work.

[Bainford]

Excellent work. Great craftsmanship, and the project is coming along quite nicely. I'm very glad to see carbs instead of FI.

[Rosco5000]

More great progress Rod!  I really like the 47 style rear suspension.  Did you get the rear geometry from 47 plans or did you work it out yourself?  I have been trying to find 47 plans with rear suspension geometry so I can figure out if I want to go that route and get rid of the rear swing arms.

[RoddyMac]

Rosco,
Here's a comparison of my car vs 47 vs stock:



The 47 certainly had some wide tires.  Also, check your email, I sent you a note.

Rod

[Certified Lotus]

Lots of suspension adjustments, you should be able to dial in any kind of handling you want! I’m assuming this is a track car and not a street car?

[RoddyMac]

I’m assuming this is a track car and not a street car?

It's a "rattle your fillings out" street car.  If I find it too harsh I might make up some new suspension pieces with rubber or poly bushings, but that would be once I have it dialed in.

[LotusJoe]

[RoddyMac]

Joe,
I had to check my CAD model to remind myself, with the length of the shortest trailing arm (top) the vertical displacement at the upright is 5.2" each way (bump and droop) with the arm horizontal, but the upper arm at ride height angles up towards the rear.  I still have to swap out the suspension bolts on one side, so I'll have a look to see if there is any is any issues when I have the shock bolts out.  Turning the clevis is as easy as loosening the nut and rotating. 

[LotusJoe]

Joe,
I had to check my CAD model to remind myself, with the length of the shortest trailing arm (top) the vertical displacement at the upright is 5.2" each way (bump and droop) with the arm horizontal, but the upper arm at ride height angles up towards the rear.  I still have to swap out the suspension bolts on one side, so I'll have a look to see if there is any is any issues when I have the shock bolts out.  Turning the clevis is as easy as loosening the nut and rotating.

The one at the upright looks to be an easy fix (if you have to anything), however on the frame end it looks to be a different story, since the attachment fixture is welded.   
If need be, you could add misalignment spacers. They would give you a much as 30 degrees or articulation.