Well, I didn't make it, but I own it now. It came with the IMSA I bought from gusshotrod. This is the pic he sent me way back when.
It has 3/4" lowering built in, the toe link mounts are moved back 1" to line up with the lateral link mount (so they are the same length) and it has a place to mount a splined tube sway bar. It also has 2 trailing arm mounts locations.
Doug had intended to put a V8 on this cradle and I also got a V8 kit with the purchase, but I ebayed that. The mounts he put on the cradle were for the V8 and none of them worked for my 2.8. So I had some made (I'm not a welder).
I also fabbed up some brackets (chopped up 87 rear caliper brackets) for the parking brake cables and took it in for powder coating. It only cost $50 for the powder coating. The place does hand railings and gates and such. The guy told me if I used black texture it would be dirt cheap. You have to look real close to see the texture. My front cradle is next. I went ahead and mounted up the motor. A Spec 2 clutch was also installed. I think I can squeeze a power steering pump under the AC? Hmm...
I have a few other things goin on with this car (ignore all the sanding dust).
[This message has been edited by SCCA FIERO (edited 05-30-2007).]
IP: Logged
09:20 PM
PFF
System Bot
Erik Member
Posts: 5628 From: Des Moines, Iowa Registered: Jul 2002
I didn't make this cradle, gusshotrod did (he built that tube frame Fiero). When I said he should make more to sell, he said there is no way anyone would pay what he would have to charge. Not sure if he's still around and not sure if he has CAD files for it or not.
[This message has been edited by SCCA FIERO (edited 07-01-2007).]
I didn't make this cradle, gusshotrod did (he built that tube frame Fiero). When I said he should make more to sell, he said there is no way anyone would pay what he would have to charge.
understand where he is coming from. people complain about our prices but they just dont know how time and engineering goes into making custom parts.
Well, I had to remove the stock overflow bottle since the hood vent hit it. I got one from Billet Specialties. Nice looking unit, but real hard to mock it/mount it without scratching it.
[This message has been edited by SCCA FIERO (edited 07-01-2007).]
IP: Logged
11:15 PM
PFF
System Bot
Jun 5th, 2007
Davidds86GT Junior Member
Posts: 5 From: South Jordan, Utah Registered: Feb 2007
SWWWWWEEEEETTTT!!! Keep us updated. Any ideas where I can get that insert to vent the hood??? I just painted my 86gt viper red and it stands out butI want the reverse scoop on my hood.
There are several people that make hood vents. V8 Archie, Driven Visions, Rockcrawl(?) and some others. This one is all hand made. Basically all you do is make the cuts and push the area inside the cut down and glass it in.
IP: Logged
04:49 PM
Jun 6th, 2007
lou_dias Member
Posts: 5388 From: Warwick, RI Registered: Jun 2000
I guess you could say it has more room for custom exhaust. The front crossmember is moved forward about 8", the rear crossmember is moved up about 5" and back about 5".
IP: Logged
07:13 PM
Jun 7th, 2007
lou_dias Member
Posts: 5388 From: Warwick, RI Registered: Jun 2000
still curious on prices for one of these... I'm sure someone like Archie or other quality Fiero venders (Rodney, Fiero Store) could get them mass produced to help with the price...
It's a worthwhile mod to get the 88 rear suspension on a pre-88 car. Now if Held's strut tower retrofit adapter kit would come down in price...
I plan to make a lightweight cradle for the LSP. In order to do so, I'll have to make a jig, & with that it's easy enough (although time consuming) to make more cradles. I'm a little concerned about the rigidity of this design, with the crossmembers so far apart. Also, I'm REALLY concerned about how the control arm brackets are just welded in a vertical position without any gussets of any kind. I think they will fatigue over time & break off. If I *do* make these it'll be 2 or 3 months, & I'd prefer to test mine awhile before making others. But if someone wants one in the future I'll need to start a list of possible interested parties. I'm thinking around $500 to $700 each, & it *will* be possible to build-in lowered mounting points for the control arms. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Dont sweat the petty things; don't pet the sweaty things.
IP: Logged
03:31 PM
FastIndyFiero Member
Posts: 2546 From: Wichita, KS Registered: Aug 2002
I plan to make a lightweight cradle for the LSP. In order to do so, I'll have to make a jig, & with that it's easy enough (although time consuming) to make more cradles. I'm a little concerned about the rigidity of this design, with the crossmembers so far apart. Also, I'm REALLY concerned about how the control arm brackets are just welded in a vertical position without any gussets of any kind. I think they will fatigue over time & break off. If I *do* make these it'll be 2 or 3 months, & I'd prefer to test mine awhile before making others. But if someone wants one in the future I'll need to start a list of possible interested parties. I'm thinking around $500 to $700 each, & it *will* be possible to build-in lowered mounting points for the control arms. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Dont sweat the petty things; don't pet the sweaty things.
I noticed the CA brackets too. Chris, if I had noticed earlier I would've recommended that you weld little triangular stiffeners onto the outer sides of each bracket, it's a little that would've gone a long ways. Already PC'd now though
Been thinking about designing my own cradle for a while now also. Paul, if you have any drawings, you can send them my way and I'll CAD them and do some FEA.
IP: Logged
03:44 PM
Unsafe At Any Speed Member
Posts: 2299 From: Cheyenne, WY Registered: Feb 2003
Not to move the thread away from its original topic, but if you could post up/send me some more pictures of your hood vent that would be great. I'm still trying to figure out which style vent I want for my car. Thanks.
Not to sound like an authority but those control arm brackets won't hold up. They need to be boxed or supported at the top and at the bottom. The CR attaching points also ned to be precisely located for proper alignment. Even an 1/8" misalignment will cause controlability problems.
------------------ 87GT 3.4 Turbo- 0-60 5.2 seconds 2006 3800SC Series III swap in progress Engine Controls, PCM goodies, re-programming & odd electronics stuff " I'M ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
I know these pick up points look a bit flimsy in the pics, but they are pretty beefy. The steel used is twice as thick as the steel in the stock cradle. Not to mention the stock cradle is only spot welded. The forces these will see are side to side, not front to back.
The pick up points are in perfect alignment, I checked them. This in an 88 design based cradle - there are no rear control arms. The stock lateral link is fixed, but the toe link is adjustable, giving more than enough adjustment.
Doug is the one that made this. He has built many race cars and is an engineer by trade.
However, I am not an engineer and will have it looked at by a local race shop or an engineer.
I noticed the CA brackets too. Chris, if I had noticed earlier I would've recommended that you weld little triangular stiffeners onto the outer sides of each bracket, it's a little that would've gone a long ways. Already PC'd now though
Been thinking about designing my own cradle for a while now also. Paul, if you have any drawings, you can send them my way and I'll CAD them and do some FEA.
No drawings: I'll decide how to make it once I have the jig made. I would have boxed the control arm brackets across the back & with a triangle on each side kinda like this: /|-|\ (imagine the center line at the top) - all one peice of course. OP: I know it's an '88 & not a *single* control arm; it's used as a generic term. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"
Scientists say we only use 20% of our brains. But if they're only using 20%, how would they know?
Not to move the thread away from its original topic, but if you could post up/send me some more pictures of your hood vent that would be great. I'm still trying to figure out which style vent I want for my car. Thanks.
This vent is pretty big, but it does catch your eye. The brake master resevoir and coolant bottle had to go and the front bulkhead had to be cut out because this vent is so big. I guess it could be done in a smaller version, but that would be for girls Here's the only other pic I have right now.
Yea, I love the hood scoop, it really follows the body lines. Some extractor scoops I see are way to small, or they don't follow the body lines, or like the driven visions scoops they completely obstruct or cross lines. I also feel they should somewhat proportionately match the nose inlet. There again some I see are way to narrow, once again see driven visions scoop, looks like it obviously doesn't belong. You know you've executed a great clean mod when people ask "is that stock?", or "didn't they all come like that?" It is a little big, but I'm sure it's what you wanted, and it still looks like it belongs. Still it looks great from what I've seen, keep up the good tasteful work. Some of you other guys take notes.
IP: Logged
02:33 AM
Byron Member
Posts: 416 From: Abbotsford, British Columbia Registered: Mar 2008
Do I understand correctly? You took a custom cradle designed for a V8 and went to the trouble to modify it back to a stock configuration for a 2.8? Why not get a stock cradle and save yourself the trouble?
IP: Logged
11:49 AM
CTFieroGT87 Member
Posts: 2520 From: Royal Oak, MI Registered: Oct 2002
Do I understand correctly? You took a custom cradle designed for a V8 and went to the trouble to modify it back to a stock configuration for a 2.8? Why not get a stock cradle and save yourself the trouble?
He described the differences in this cradle vs stock up at the beginning, but basically it has lowering and revised suspension geometry built into it. To modify a stock '88 cradle to get the same features would be a whole lotta work.
