NS F355 Project (Page 68/73)
85-308 JAN 29, 03:08 PM
well isn't that clever...
were you planning on leaving the end open? If you prefer, you can get grease extension lines; they are used on mechanical equipment (fan shafts and bearings etc) all the time when 'far side' grease fittings aren't accessible, or readily accessible. If you wanted to close up that end of the frame, that is.
Yarmouth Fiero JAN 30, 08:09 AM
My plan 85-308, is to make an aluminum cradle and typically we don't weld aluminum structures completely closed. Plus it will be going in the oven for powdercoating so I will leave some strategic drain/ vent holes in the structure. One of those holes will likely be in the end so I can get a socket in to fit the zerk and a grease gun periodically. I'll look at how close the body is going to be to the end of the cradle and if there is an issue, I'll perhaps locate the zerk and drain hole in the bottom of the bushing / cradle. Although 5" of ground clearance doesn't leave much room to get at it.



Yarmouth Fiero JAN 31, 09:35 AM
Here are a few pictures of the rear control arm assembly with sway bar and hardware in place. While I'm waiting for my DOM tubing to arrive, I'll start building a jig to assemble the control arm for welding.
Bloozberry JAN 31, 12:32 PM
Bit by bit it's coming together... well, in the cybersphere anyways. It'll be nice to see some actual parts! (I remember being at exactly the same stage... it sucks after a while of not actually turning wrenches.)
Yarmouth Fiero JAN 31, 02:06 PM
You got that right Blooz. I've been tweeking the parts for the strut towers and lower frames rails all day while in a holding pattern for my welder. I really need to get better at it so I can do the welding myself. As soon as the DOM tubing is in I'll jump on the control arms. I have everything I need for the aluminum cradle as well. With any luck I'll be able to roll this thing into the sunlight once the snow is gone.
fieroguru FEB 01, 09:13 AM
Looking good!

The one suggestion is to add a triangulating link between the lower tab for the toe link and the bolt hole on the wheel bearing. Right now the bracket is double cantilevered and might flex some with excessive loading, adding a small bracket back to the outboard side of the wheel bearing mounting bolt would help stabilize the link more.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 02-01-2015).]

Yarmouth Fiero FEB 01, 12:19 PM
Thanks Fieroguru. I agree that having that structure hanging out there is certainly a point of concern. Perhaps something like this would help. Just run a tap right through the spindle casting and fit a longer bearing bolt with a nut on the end to help support the toe bracket. The back side of the casting is quite flat so it might be a good place to mount the extra gusset.
seajai FEB 01, 02:09 PM
YF, I have a question. If you are going through the effort of building a new custom engine cradle and suspension, why try to integrate the stock 84-87 rear knuckle? It seems like a lot of thought and design has gone into just trying to eliminate the bump steer issue with the placement of the tie-rod connection points. Not to mention the extra gussets needed to keep it from flexing too much. If you are going to fabricate your own control arms, why not just use the 88 knuckle or even use one from a completely different IRS setup that doesn't rely on a tie rod end to keep the knuckle steady. You have what is essentially a blank canvas in the custom rear section of our car, and the skills to design and build a custom IRS. Something outside the box would compliment all the other mods you've done to this point and bump up the cool factor a whole bunch. Just my 2ยข on this.....this build is in my favs.
Yarmouth Fiero FEB 01, 03:25 PM
Wow... good question Seajai. I'll try to answer this now otherwise I'm not going to be able to enjoy the game this afternoon.

First, I will be the first to admit there is a big difference between "drawing" suspensions and "designing" suspensions. I certainly will never claim I can do the later. While I have the ability to produce drawings that are both accurate and visually descriptive, I really don't have any suspension experience with regards to different arrangements, setups and analysis. I have been reading all I can on the subject but that isn't a replacement for experience. My plan originally was to stay with stock components. Then I started looking at semi custom control arms because of the change in track width that I wanted to incorporate in order to get the proper fit for the car body. As you may know, Blooz and I plan to use the same plug/ molds for our individual projects so that set some significant constraints. It then became apparent that it would be difficult to purchase control arms that suited my needs exactly so I started designing my own, based on my general engineering knowledge and the basic suspension knowledge I have slowly acquired. This brings me to where I am today. I guess you are correct in that I have missed an opportunity to start with a clean sheet of paper and come up with a unique and effective design. However, that is well outside my comfort zone on a project like this and like everything regarding this project, it's been a slow gradual developement to get where it is today as opposed to starting from scratch and building everything fresh from the ground up. I am hopeful that what I eventually build has reasonable performance and is safe to drive on the roads. Also, because I will eventually need to get this project inspected and certified to drive on the street, I have been conscious to use as many stock or off the shelf parts as possible, hoping to fly under the radar of the inspector when the day comes.

There are many very talented and experienced builders and fabricators on this site and its been a very positive experience to follow their builds and recieve their comments on my project. I have a great deal of respect for their abilities and knowledge.

I hope this answers your original question.

Edit: many typos

Edit : Go Pats

[This message has been edited by Yarmouth Fiero (edited 02-01-2015).]

seajai FEB 01, 04:05 PM
That makes sense to me, especially if you factor in inspection process. I'm gonna keep watching....so many good ideas...keeps my brain churning. Been thinking about doing a custom cradle for the Chrysler swap. Wish I had your cad skills, I took drafting in high school but that was in the paper and pencil days. Software is so expensive.