 
     |
| NS F355 Project (Page 46/73) |
|
Yarmouth Fiero
|
SEP 07, 07:04 PM
|
|
Well, after a long day of drilling, cutting and grinding, the driverside strut tower is off.
Interesting, the trunk well, once removed from the chassis is just large enough to hold all the parts and scrap metal I cut out of the engine bay. Is it possible the engineers at GM planned it this way knowing one day, some owners would get the urge to butcher their cars and require a collection bin for the discarded parts? 
|
|
|
|
Bloozberry
|
SEP 07, 08:11 PM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by Yarmouth Fiero:
The lower frame rails were in pretty good condition and may even show up in another project at some point. |
|
You crack me up... your lower frame rails have already shown up in another project! Mine!
| quote | Originally posted by Yarmouth Fiero:
Interesting, the trunk well, once removed from the chassis is just large enough to hold all the parts and scrap metal I cut out of the engine bay. |
|
LOL! I'm using mine for exactly the same thing. Great minds think alike.
|
|
|
|
fierogt28
|
SEP 07, 08:47 PM
|
|
|
|
|
Yarmouth Fiero
|
SEP 07, 09:12 PM
|
|
Blooz, once I dump the scrap out of the trunk well, I'm going to save it for use as a large ice bucket to keep the beer cool in the garage when company comes over. 
Fierogt28, yes, those silver covers seem to pop up in a few places on the Fiero. Its pretty inetesting to slowly dissect a Fiero piece by piece. Its certainly gives you an appreciation for the engineering that went into the many little pieces that make up the space frame. It would be cool to completely dismantle a fiero chassis and lay the pieces out on a large floor. I wonder if GM had ever done it for a publicity photo?
|
|
|
|
Yarmouth Fiero
|
SEP 14, 08:59 AM
|
|
I have completed the task of removing the old strut towers, lower frame rails and cleaning up what used to be the engine bay. I have all the material in to fabricate the new lower frame rails and have begun building the new rails as per my new design. I have also refined the design a bit to locate the wide portion of the rail that will intersect with the rear end of the future new engine cradle. I have also added a transverse frame of 3" x 1" x 1/8" HSS which will be located just forward of the stock bumper. The purpose for this extra transverse frame is to tie the two lower rails together at their farthest end rather than rely on just the bolt on bumper, especially during fabrication. I want everything to remain as square to the chassis as possible. Also, as I had mentioned earlier, I am hoping to completely do away with the transverse frame that originally ran between the stock strut towers. This will open the engine bay considerably.
I have also begun working on the design for the new strut towers. It's all just preliminary until my QA1 Coilovers arrive. I also purchased the QA1 Camber/ Caster strut bearing and that will have to be accommodated into the new strut tower design. Unfortunately, QA1 doesn't supply detailed drawings of the parts ahead of time so I'll have to wait until they arrive.
As I mentioned, I am hoping to make the new strut tower design robust enough to elliminate the transverse strut frame. To do this, it is necessary to ensure that there is adequate load distribution from the strut towers to both the upper and lower frame rails. This includes two gussets per tower as well as boxing in the entire length between the upper and lower frame rails from fire wall to rear bumper. With the widened track of the rear wheels, there is plenty of room to enclose this space thus maximizing my engine bay space. Some of this will eventually be opened up to allow air into the engine and engine bay from the 355 side scoops. There may even be room for a couple small radiators similar to what Blooz has planned.
Here are a few pictures showing the design from different angles. I will probably end up lowering the top of the strut towers, especially on the top outside edges to accommodate the 355 body. I have also included a couple pics showing the stock strut towers as ghosted images to emphasize the difference in size and location between stock and revised. Note that with the wider track, there is room to expand the sides of the engine bay outwards. In the images showing the SBC, you can see the new design will get me some much needed space in the engine bay.
|
|
|
|
Bloozberry
|
SEP 14, 10:15 AM
|
|
|
Wow... if there isn't enough room lengthwise for a longitudinal V8, then you should consider a transverse V10 given the room between the rails! (Nice drawings BTW)
|
|
|
|
Yarmouth Fiero
|
SEP 14, 10:30 AM
|
|
|
I have been racking my brain trying solve the longitudinal V8 issue. Do you think its too late for us to do a second 3" stretch? I always felt the 355 was a few inches too short.
|
|
|
|
Bloozberry
|
SEP 14, 10:42 AM
|
|
Not too late for you, but it is for me! Here's some inspiration for you if you go ahead:
|
|
|
|
RCR
|
SEP 14, 11:12 AM
|
|
You're going through all that trouble moving things around, why bother keeping the struts?
Bob
|
|
|
|
Yarmouth Fiero
|
SEP 14, 11:23 AM
|
|
Tandem axle Blooz? That is crazy talk. I was thinking something more along these lines.....,
Bob, are you refering to eliminating the struts and doing a set up like Blooz and others? I think that is beyond my skills and I think the 85 set up will give me all the suspension performance I'll ever need. But I certainly have considered the idea a few times.[This message has been edited by Yarmouth Fiero (edited 09-14-2014).]
|
|
|
|
