Introducing Colin - a Mini-ature WRX

Attempt #2 at adapting the quickener to the column has it also wobbling.  Very frustrated.  Going to need to buy a new column, now, unless I can eliminate the wobble somehow.

Have a functional ford escort column if it's something you can use

Cut to size, hammer to fit, paint to match

One small piece and the front is donezo

Should be noted that all added metal is 16ga steel.  I never got a definite answer on if the floor rule was for the entire floor or just where the humans put their feet, so I am hedging bets and compromising.  Plus since the tunnel is kind of structural, beefier is better.  I also tried to use a minimal number of pieces to avoid the Frankenstein effect.

Really, I wanted to do the tunnel all in one big piece, but that is beyond my equipment and fab skill level.

There will necessarily be a false floor, too, since the R53 carpet/underlay is crazy thick.

Mating the tunnel to the firewall in a non dodgy way was one of my anxieties.  That is done.

Now the other anxiety.  Covering up this hole.

Need to make a vaguely trapezoidal shape that is 37" wide at the back and 44 1/4" wide at the front, with two bends, and a perfect fit because we can't just hammer this one into place.  And only one shot to do it.

Step one: The cardboard

The rails are straight 37" until this point here.

Which corresponds to this point here, 3/4" from the bend at 3 1/2" from the crosstube.

 Center is found, 18.5" line from center marked, 4 1/4" marked

Berk up the model because mismeasurement, look for the compass, fail to find the compass, make a better one

(Image: Better Compass Mk2)

Mark on cardboard, transfer to metal

Get pissed off at the phone that keeps taking photos in portrait mode even though i am holding it right

Better

Just for funsies while I sit here scratching my head at the problem of the floor.

Measured suspension compression in the rear and found it was about 2".  Add a half inch of spring preload and we get 2.5".  The springs for a WRX are different left to right, and to be honest I mixed them up because I put the left mount on the right side and vice versa so the strut towers would be horizontal on top.  But they average to 125lb-in, so let's go with that for now.  That means, I think, the back half of the car's unsprung weight is (5 × 125) 625lb.  This is slightly wrong because there are no springs in the front so the weight of the middle is levering against the rear, but we're going with first approximations here.

With a quick and dirty "jack the car in the middle and find the balance point" test, the car as it sits has so close to even distribution (47-48" from pivot to axles) that we will call it that.  Assuming that the front unsprung weight is the same as the rear, we have about 1250lb of chassis and subframes right now.

This is notes for later, as I go on to locate weights for the engine, trans, and diff, and plug that in.

Overarching goal is to try to get similar suspension frequency as, oh, a 2400lb GC on "pink" springs, because I know from experience that works very well with no stabilizer bars.  The compound issue is that I will like to have a little spring preload at full droop, and would like to have a roughly 60/40 droop/bump ratio from ride height, so figuring out the rates will also involve where the ears get placed on the struts.  I strongly suspect variable rate springs will be needed.

But man, wouldn't it be sweet if it really did come in under the magic 2000 pound number?  That was the goal with the GTI (see page 1).  I have been expecting 2400lb with the R53, color me pleasantly surprised...

Sheetmetal brake mk2, after straightening out the gentle bend mk1 made.

Astute viewers may recognize the bottom half of the device as my flywheel lever for tightening down rotary flywheel nuts.  150ft-lb plus 60 degrees.

Better fit than mk1

It turns out hitting bent sheetmetal with a hammer straightens out previously bent sections, almost like there are stresses that unstress.  Who knew?

After a lot of whackamole, we get to here.

Looks ready for weldin'

Yup, it was.

Halfway home, brain bubbles some of that background processing to the forefront.

Looking at this image with the tank:

The access panels for the sending units look like they will need to straddle the top horizontal section. (The bit between the two bends)  Because the sending units angle forward greatly, removing them for service would require removing the radiator anyway, so the Idea was that the bottom edge of the radiator duct/rear firewall closeout piece would be ahead of that.

And the battery would mount on a tray (nice) on the crossbeam/longitudinal beam.

Looking at the reality of the distances involved, and being fairly sure of where Adam will put the main hoop, assuming he isn't going to run away screaming like a sane person would at this point, that ain't gonna work.  At all.  Not with the nice big battery I want to use.

So.  The thought I am starting to have, which I don't like because it involves negative work, is to cut out one section of the fuel tank stays and attendant crossbeam, and insert a battery tray that will double as the fuel tank stay on that side.

I do not like doing negative work.  On the other hand, if this was to be my original idea, this was also pretty much the only order it could be done in.

Love your build!

Like that flag too!! Where did you get it?

TurboFource said:

Love your build!

 

Like that flag too!! Where did you get it?

Yes. I need one. For all three shops

TurboFource said:

Love your build!

 

Like that flag too!! Where did you get it?

The meme thread in offtopic

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

If you stick to my timetable, you've got at least 3 years from today to reach 80% complete.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) : I think I am on your timeline Angry....26 months at this point...maybe 40%

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

If you stick to my timetable, you've got at least 3 years from today to reach 80% complete.

Yesterday, Friday, aka "the day before New Year's Eve" was the one year anniversary of Evan dragging the WRX to Columbus.

The Plan going into this week was for him to drag the Mini up to Cleveland, where I can do a lot of the niggly little bits here and there after work instead of having a 5-9 hour round trip to Columbus to work on it, on Friday.  Then that got delayed because of reasons, but it would have made a nice project anniversary.  Even if the project technically started in November of last year when the Mini started to go under the knife.

I mean, up until a couple days ago the Mini was covered in snow, and right now the driveway and trailer turnaround at the Batcave are mud bogs, so a little delay is welcome.  Will be using this time to knock out a couple more little fabrication items that are best done down there before it comes up here, as my fabrication setup up here is rather light in comparison.

I still desperately WANT to get it done before the first event of 2023, whenever that is, and there are certain rollbacks in scope that I'm personally willing to accept in order to make that target.  Nothing that can't be reconsidered later, of course.  The SCCA eliminating Rallysprint 1 and 2 actually makes this a little easier because any vehicle legal for RX Constructor's class is expressly legal for Rallysprint 3.  Although looking at the rules a "Rallysprint 3" is basically a rallycross, anyway, with fewer classes.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

cghstang_chris said:

when snow nuts?

Just need to finish the steering column, which is probably next weekend because a lathe will be needed. (half-ding)

And build the floor.  Not sure how the rules mandated 16ga steel is going to get bent for that.  Going to start at the back and work forward. (ding)

And figure out how the cooling system will be plumbed.  Have several ideas but getting the suspension laid out needed to happen first.

Getting 1.8 Impreza brakes would be nice, or some 14" aluminum wheels. Preferably both.

The engine is still in pieces, want to put new exhaust valves in it but other expenses come first.

The trans really should be gone through, but not critical. What IS critical is building a trans controller. (half-ding)

Then the wiring.  And the plumbing.

Probably should sort the intercooler situation at some point too.

Then cage and seats.

After the cage we can worry about ducting to the radiator.

Somewhere in all that is modifying the brake pedal (ding), making and mounting the handbrake, sticking an air filter somewhere, and about eleventy dozen other things.

Simples.

So, yeah, stretch goal:  Get car finished while there is still snow on the ground.

Car is currently sitting on a set of 175/65-15 Blizzaks.

Using a press and an air hammer to peen out under the press head, I do believe I have the steering column straight enough to not bind.

Between the quickener and the reduced steering angle to keep the CV joints happy, it's only going to have one turn lock to lock, so it's not like it has to be precise within microns.  A couple thou' is good enough.  Now to make the bracket.

Rethinking the control arms because of course I am.  I am not 100% thrilled with the ball joint spud connection, I keep picturing slamming into a rut and breaking it out.  I want the suspension to be strong enough that the car flips over first, because a suspension that fails can CAUSE a rollover.  And I don't want to have to build a new shell.

I have a Better Idea but it will require a few hundred more dollars.  And a lathe.  Will revisit it after more pressing things are pressed.

Installing 6mm valve keepers without a valve springs compressor should be a spectator sport.

But glad I did it.

Both exhaust valves at #3 were showing signs of warping.  All exhaust valves were replaced.

Seats actually looked really good, as did the valve sealing surfaces (aside from this warpage).  Every other Subaru head I played with was an EJ253, so the nonturbo heads probably got cheaper materials for the valves and seats.

Looked really good for 200k for any engine, let alone a turbo engine.

Colin has arrived in Cleveland.  "It is cold! And WTF is all this white powder on the roads??"