Hmmmm... DeadSkunk's Challenge Corolla... may need flares

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

Found a picture of the finished shock and spring assembly......

Also, if you look at this photo and compare the frame to the earlier photo of the front clip you'll see that I changed it to allow the sway bar to pass through the green tube. Space is tight on a small car like this and you may as well have one piece of steel do two functions rather than add more brackets to hold the sway bar. I had to reduce the diameter of the Delrin bushings to fit in the end of the tube , but I don't have a lathe to turn them on, soooooo......

Keep this post in mind when you do your presentation at the concours. It's a great example of being clever and frugal. Also, the $50 sets of wheels and tires.

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

In reply to 03Panther :

It's already left my garage and you can buy it from John Brown as part of a package that includes a Panhard Dyna !

No you cant! I'm already in line!!! 

nocones, I'll keep the panhard in my driveway for you for a few weeks before you come to pick it up. ;)

Uhoh, is the Dyna entering the bad decision triangle.  We should talk if you really want the table.  

nocones said:

Uhoh, is the Dyna entering the bad decision triangle.  We should talk if you really want the table.  

Oh, I really want the table. PM sent. 

I can almost see my garage floor already!

Another lesson learned from other competitors is to buy entire lots of stuff to get your parts prices down. I needed parts to set up a four link rear end and found an ad for a guy selling his left over circle track stuff. He had it in his daughter's garage and he needed to clear it out. I went trying to buy only what I needed to build my suspension, but he suddenly throws out a low, low price for the whole pile, so I bought all this ( except the 3 pull bars) for $100.....

Out of this whole lot I've currently used two of the blue links (right side of pic) and two of the black links (middle) and eight of the Heims. I spent an afternoon inventorying all of it and then pricing it all at three or four online vendor sites. The lot would retail for $1196.01 and I paid $100. Prorating that to what I actually used yields a budget hit of $12.13 for the four links and Heim joints to locate the rear axle. 

The same seller offered me his entire inventory of coil springs for another $100. There were 106 springs ! Unfortunately, they were all large diameter (5"?) and soft for dirt track use. The other issue I've found in buying from circle track guys is they use four different spring and shock rates and never seem to have a matched pair of anything. However, a circle track swap meet is a great place to buy stuff cheap IF you can find two of anything. They will even run four wheels of differing offsets.

I just realized that I have the same “lathe” as you. 

GoLucky said:

I just realized that I have the same “lathe” as you. 

I like the "tool post" I haven't done that (but will!)

Is the tool a cut down screwdriver, or a woodlathe chisel?

03Panther said

I like the "tool post" I haven't done that (but will!)

Is the tool a cut down screwdriver, or a woodlathe chisel?

It's a chisel from a set that I got when my father-in-law passed. It's a typical lower end set, but worked fine for "machining" Delrin.

Since my engine is a base 290 HP truck motor, I went looking for parts to see if I could make a bit more power at Challenge friendly prices and I found an ad for this......

It's an LS7 cam for $40. Since it's for a fourth generation engine , and mine is a third generation, I'll need to use a front mounted cam sensor, a new cam sprocket, a harness extension, and a 4th gen timing cover. All of which pushes a $40 cam well over $100. I'll need some yellow or blue valve springs to go with it ,too, but 0.100" more lift should wake up the truck motor nicely. If I should get into budget trouble I can always go to Gainesville with the motor left internally stock.

This build is an ongoing series of spatial issues. From very early on I had decided I wanted this car to be low, like Miata height or less and I wanted the weight distribution to be Miata like, too. The flange running across the firewall is currently 27" from the floor. A stock LM4 truck motor sits 30" tall on the floor, so I had to reduce the height enough to slip the engine under the cowl and windshield while trying to maintain at least 3" of ground clearance under the oil pan . All that math says is the motor needs to about 24" tall. 

My son and I had gone to the Goodguys car show in Columbus in 2018 and I had the foresight to take a notebook and tape measure with me. I spent a considerable amount of time in vendor tents measuring LS crate motors and accessory drives to see if 24" was even possible. It is......just. Between an LS1 intake from a '99 Camaro , and a Corvette "Bat wing" oil pan you can get to 24". In the picture above the engine is shoved over to the right side of the car. My measuring had led me to believe my first point of interference would be the cylinder head hitting the strut. With the "Bat wing" pan the edge of the pan is currently about 3/8" from touching the inner edge of the lower control arm. So that's as far right as it'll go.

I haven't been able to find a confirming dimension, but I believe the engine is sitting closer to the road than a C7 Vette . The crank center line is 10" above the floor, which is 1.5" below the axle center lines. That should help keep the CG low.

This is Magical

DeadSkunk (Warren) said:

This build is an ongoing series of spatial issues.
...The flange running across the firewall is currently 27" from the floor.
...A stock LM4 truck motor sits 30" tall on the floor,
.... All that math says is the motor needs to about 24" tall. 

...

With the "Bat wing" pan the edge of the pan is currently about 3/8" from touching the inner edge of the lower control arm. So that's as far right as it'll go.

Eerily similar to the discussions in my shop before we walked out today.

This build rocks

Man oh man. I think you and I are related! Neither one of us take the easy road on building a car. And I like this. This is definitely a road less traveled, and fould that building a corolla has very little support for builds such as this. Rear end was a challenge, oil pan, transmission tunnel, motor mounts, headers, all had zero aftermarket support and all had to be built. Its a long road but is very rewarding.

Might I suggest a later model corvette/f-body/cts-v oil pan. They may be the same height but much narrower. Or.......it seems like you are pretty resourceful, build your own pan. 

In reply to Blacksmith :

Well, I did consider trading the Batwing pan for a narrower one , but the next thing to contact would be the starter and the right frame rail. The starter is only 3/4" from contact now, so a narrower pan will only net me a quarter inch, or so. I'll just leave the engine offset as is.

I ended up using an oversized heim and additional joint in my steering shaft to go around my headers. Looking at one of the photos it would allow some room for the motor to be moved over to the drivers side. Or... any chance the square right angle behind the tire could be reworked and gusseted so the whole corner could be cut out? Looks like it is close to where the starter would be. Just some ideas. Love this build.

I do need to relocate the steering shaft a little bit, just for clearance, but there's no wish to move the engine toward the driver's side. I pushed it as far right as I could for weight distribution,which will still be biased to the left with a 200# driver in the seat. At full lock the tires get very close to those 90 degree areas of the frame. They could have been angled but there isn't enough room to clear the front of the starter and create extra room to slide the motor further right. I've spent many, many hours staring at this thing trying to fit everything in.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Notching the tubing for clearance and boxing it back in? Just thoughts, no pressure. My corolla wound up being right under 2800 with me in it, and I'm a good 250ish. My #1 spark plug was also behind the strut tower and this meant the header tube was awfully close to my shoe. Got a little hot.

The engine-side footwell in my V8 Firefly was VERY hot, but I never did insulate it.  The header tube was fractions of an inch from the sheet metal.

Make sure this thing is servicible.  Can you physically remove all the spark plugs? Can you remove the starter? Pull the engine?

I'm really loving this, but it makes me miss the Firefly.

In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :

I've spent a lot of time sketching and measuring, and have had to re-do a couple of things when I realized components were "trapped". Engine removal will require removing the intake first, I think. Starter can be changed from underneath the car or from the top if the right side fender is removed. Spark plugs will all be reachable but will likely be a PITA on the driver's side 3rd and 4th plugs. The dipstick for the transmission is way under the cowl. It may end up inside the passenger compartment. As I progress with the build more issues will certainly crop up as I'm trying to pack 10# of E36 M3 into a 5# bag.

Transmission dipstick on mine was way back as well.  I did make the trans tunnel removable from inside the car, which made pulling the trans way easy. The air filter was -just- under the cowl, and I could actually service or even remove the distributor - not your problem with an LS.  I would have done an LS if one had fallen into my lap. 

Before I blew the 305, I debated swapping to an LS, but ultimately decided going 350 was the easiest button.

Will this be a street car? It's SO fun to drive on the street.  Mine was "legal" in that it "had not been pulled over."

In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :

While it is possible to license almost anything in Michigan, this is really only a Challenge car and maybe I'll hit some autocrosses with it afterwards. It would be kinda fun to cruise into the local Saturday morning "Cars and Coffee" and park it between the shiny Corvettes and Porsches though.

You're in Michigan?!  The V8 Firefly is in Michigan!

If your profile is up to date, the Firefly is within 30 minutes drive of you.