Midlana: First "Book" Build

Your welds are looking really good!

Thank you, they are definitely looking better than when I started.

The A arms are actually not too hard, just draw out the critical points and connect them together.

The first upper arm is taking shape.

Ugh, a week without updates... I need to get back on this thing!

The front suspension arms are DONE!! Sorry about the blurry picture, I snapped it running out the door to work this morning. I'll try and get some better ones that show the amazing craftsmanship.

Unfortunately welding on the tube at the outer end of the upper arms warped it slightly and my inner tube that slips inside now no longer fits. I need to find a 1-inch adjustable reamer to round out the inside again.

Senior Burrito- are you still willing to loan out those reamers you mentioned a few pages back? I'll PM you.

bgkast wrote: If the 1.8t intercooler was a mirror image it would be perfect.

I"m not sure which direction you need the intercooler mirrored about but the first generation Audi TT 225 edition had a pair of side mount intercoolers and the right side one is the opposite of the one that was linked previously NMNA:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MK1-Audi-TT-Quattro-1-8T-225-Right-Intercooler-Driver-Side-Genuine-Oem-2000-2006-/331185685588?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AAudi&hash=item4d1c348454&vxp=mtr

In reply to klodkrawler05:

That would work if one of the end tanks was flipped 180. I think the Daytona Intercooler loaned to me by turboswede will work, or if I want to go larger the RX7 unit I posted will be hard to beat, especially for the price.

bgkast wrote: Senior Burrito- are you still willing to loan out those reamers you mentioned a few pages back? I'll PM you.

Hey, now. Senior Burrito is my dad...

But, no, I don't have 'em anymore and the adjustable reamer "kit" at work seems to be MIA. I'm afraid I cannot help out this time.

Maybe next time. I ordered an adjustable reamer from the same place I got my others. They sent me a catalog, who was I to say no...

Here are a few more pictures of the upper arms. I added an extra, beveled hole for some bling and weight savings (but mostly bling)

Looks better in person. Shiny metal doesn't photograph well.

I made the last two suspension brackets for the front of the car last night. Now I need to fit them to the chassis.

I spent most of the evening last night mowing my big, stupid lawn. I did find some time to start fitting the suspension brackets to the car. I purposely left this one a bit long, because my measurement technique involved eyeballing the center of the hiem joint on my jig and I didn't want to end up short. A little grinding and it will be just right.

I am loving this build thread. You are such a good fabricator I am envious.

I mostly make it up as I go.

There was a question on the Midlana forum about how the heck my weird upper control arms work, and why. Here is a description that I wrote up:

This layout will allow me to adjust the upper ball joint (camber) without popping the joint free of the spindle (and wrecking the boot), and without having to disconnect the rear hiem joints from the car and spinning the whole arm. It will also give me finer control because I won't be required to spin the joint 360 degrees for each adjustment. The threaded inner piece slips into the back side of the sleeve at the end of the upper arm. There is a thick washer welded at the outer end of the upper arm so that it can not slide out the outer end. The ball joint threads pass through this washer and are threaded into the inner sleeve. A jam nut on the outside of the washer keeps it from self adjusting. To adjust camber the jam nut is loosened and the inner piece is turned to thread the ball joint in or out.

In reply to bgkast:

If I understand correctly, Allan Staniforth agrees with you with a similar design in his Race and Rally Car Sourcebook, though yours is extra-clever for using a normal ball joint. His was standard heim (or as he'd say, "rose") joints. I'm always pondering how to do this stuff and keep a "road car" maintenance schedule or something like it.

In reply to Ransom:

I actually got the idea from his Competition Car Suspension book. I am using "rose" joints on the inboard side, but bushings could be easily adapted to the design, or something like this if you want to be really fancy.

I spent most of my free, wrenching time in the Miata this weekend. I test fit both the Bride seats that came with the Miata and the stock seats in the Midlana. the Stock seats fit fine, the brides were tight and the shoulder wings rubbed.

I did find time to fit and tack the suspension bracket onto the car. Now I need to setup the jig on the other side.

I reached a minor milestone last night:

The car has a wheel!!!

The adjustable reamer worked great once I figured out how to adjust it, and how far to adjust it without it getting stuck.

I also got the right bolts for the job:

w00t! That's berkeleying awesome mang!

I played with shock mounting using a piece of pipe as a shock stand in. It looks like I will have to lean the shock over a bit more than I was hoping so that the spring clears my upper A arm.

I also set up the suspension bracket jig on the other side of the car.

Hmm, that is pretty angled. I can see why some look at using bellcranks or inboard shocks. Great progress though!

Why are you locating the lower end of the spring so far outboard? I suspect that your A arm is strong enough to move it quite a bit, even if it's still on your gusset.

Also, won't you be using some form of bracket to hold the upper end, moving it farther outboard?

In reply to tuna55:

I thought about that too:

The farther in you get from the wheel, the less distance the arm moves though, so I end up with about the same motion ratio with either of these options.

The latter one is a lot easier on the mounts, though.

You could always keep the lower mounting point and just move the upper one outboard if you run into motion ratio issues.

True, less outward force on the lower arm. The upper mount will take some beefing up though, being cantilevered out so far. I think I am being a bit conservative with my 4" OD for a 2.5" ID spring. Once I get a rough idea of what I want to do and order the shocks I can make the mounts to give me the most motion ratio (and as close to the upper A arm) as I can get. Shocks are probably a ways off though, I'm not quite ready to drop $1200.

So would you consider pushrod suspension? It would give you a lot more adjustment options and lower unsprung weight too...

I could...the plans have it as an option. It's heavier and more complex (and more work) though