mAydAy
11-06-2005, 01:21 AM
I've been kind of keeping it under wraps here, but a friend of mine convinced me to write something for his board, so I figured I'd better post it up here too. Here is one of my two works in progress, Enjoy!
It started life as a 1987 Volvo 240GL, picked it up from a friend. He runs the automotive education department at a school in MD, the car had been donated and had sat there, and had actually sat since '99. Dropped in a battery, a few cranks and she came to life on old crapass gas. Took place one nice saturday in June this year.
Threw her up on the trailer, and since then I've been poking at it.
I picked it up a week before Hyperfest, and I damn near killed myself trying to prepare it for it. I failed, all because of a broken alternator ground strap.
In that week it got:
-Freshened motor swapped in, with all new gaskets, bearing clearances checked, new PCV, etc
-Stiffer motor mounts
-Volvo "A" Grind camshaft
-Custom intake
-Exhaust hacked off
-Rare Volvo 'R-Sport' super stiff competition struts
-Kaplhenke Racing camber plates
-2.5"x8" 350# coilover springs up front, on my own mount setup
-5"x11" 300# rear springs, mounted on hacked up and retrofitted stock mounts
-Gabriel Max Control shocks for the front of a Suburban, retrofitted to the rear.
-23mm front swaybar, 23mm rear swaybar
-Brembo blank vented rotors
-Axxis Ultimate Ceramics up front, Axxis Semi-Metallic rears
-ATE Super Blue Racing fluid
-New plugs, rotor, cap, wires, etc
-E-fan
-15" Volvo "Nova" wheels (OEM for 1984 760 Turbo's)
-205/50-15 BFGoodrich kD's
-Strut-strut brace, strut-firewall brace, lower control arm tie bars
Well, apparentally swapping the motor was enough to agitate the alternator ground wire's rotten innards, and after I towed it up to Summit Point, WVa it decided to die, because it wasn't recharging anything. I located an alternator (Well, uh, I "borrowed" one from a junk car nearby), and put it on there (Its hard to find alternators in West Virginia at midnight on a Friday night.) Still no luck. Ended up working that weekend.
I decided after that not to rush things, and I've been slowly poking at it ever since.
Since then:
-Completely gutted interior
-Installed 6point Autopower rollcage
-Swapped out factory automatic for a Volvo M47 5-Speed with a custom home-brewed short shifter. Retained auto rear end ratio of 3.73:1, providing a nice improvement over the stock combo of the manual and 3.31:1
-Installed Corbeau Forzas (I've redone the seats, also) on custom brackets
-5 point G-Force harnesses
-Removed all sound deadening from the car
Soon to come (This winter, most likely before the NASA Event in Feb. at VIR):
-Polyurethane bushings (I've got them sitting here, but, not sure if they'll ever go on, I'm doing my best to replace everything bushed with nice FK Rod ends :D)
-Custom made, adjustable, rod ended endlinks, panhard and torque rods
-Seam welding
-Megasquirt'N'MSD
--Raise redline to ~7000RPM
-Custom dash (It'll be impressive, trust me)
-Completely rewiring everything (Only wiring up necessities. Everythign will be neatly done in harnesses, and will be connected with plugs for ease of repairs)
-Possibly a custom header (Depends how much time I have, if I find some time I'll weld one up)
-LSD.
-Grant 12" steering wheel w/ Quick-Disconnect hub
-Howe 1.5:1 steering quickener
-Playing with rear end gear ratios! That'll take place probably much of next year. (Available factory ratios I can get my hands on that would be viable options are 3.73, 3.91, and 4.10. I'm leaning most likely toward 4.10's, since that will yield a speed of ~125mph at 5k rpm, I'm not likely to ever exceed that speed with this setup on any track I'll be on). It'll all boil down to RPM's and gear points at exits of corners. Unlike most cars, I can't exactly just go ask others what setups they've found to work for their cars.....
In the works for the more distant future:
-Playing with rear end gear ratios! (Available factory ratios I can get my hands on that would be viable options are 3.73, 3.91, and 4.10. I'm leaning most likely toward 4.10's, since that will yield a speed of ~125mph at 5k rpm, I'm not likely to ever exceed that speed with this setup on any track I'll be on). It'll all boil down to RPM's and gear points at exits of corners. Unlike most cars, I can't exactly just go ask others what setups they've found to work for their cars.....
-I'm working out some designs for custom made stiffened rear lower trailing arms integrating true coilovers (Height adjustable, adjustable dampeners, and not just sleeved crap) and something along the lines of monoballs to replace the bushings
-Custom lower control arms, using front and rear rod ends, integrating roll center correction (increase height of ball joints, to allow the car to be lowered more, and prevent the control arms from being inverted, causing a camber decrease upon compression), and setting up the balljoints to work with some sort of universal coilover setup up front, allowing real coilovers to be used and increasing suspension travel while decreasing ride height. Having adjustable rod end mounts allows them to be adjustable to dial in even greater amounts of camber and caster.
-Bump-steer correction. Easy to do on these cars, just make ~1" spacer blocks for the steering rack, put em in and bolt 'em down.
-Also in the distant future, new drivetrain. While I'm learning the ropes and working my way through the first few steps toward licensing, I'm keeping the power down and keeping it as whats known as a Momentum car. Low power, but hauls ass in the corners. Once I master the car, I'll continue to challenge myself to learn, by increasing horsepower accordingly. Along with the engine swap, there will be a trans swap to a close ratio 5 or 6 speed, with a few options in mind. I'm keeping my ideas to myself, but expect far down the road (3-5+ years I'd guess) if I continue on the path I'm on right now, expect something providing 4-600hp turbocharged and hopefully a near 50-50 weight balance.
The car will make its first outtings on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4 for two NASA-X's at VMP. These will be used as "Test'N'Tune" days for the suspension and a break-in and learning period, letting me see what I need to change on the setup. So far, the suspension is all calculated and theoretical, real world application will determine how it works. I'll adjust bar and springrates accordingly (I'm expecting to see upwards of 450-500# fronts and 350-400# rears by the end of the year I'd guess).
Oh yeah, got an alignment printout here, here are the current specs for the front:
Camber: -1.78 Left -1.84 Right
Caster: 3.66 L 3.63 R
Toe: .01 L .02 R
I'd like to see some more camber, and I'll have to expirement with caster to see how this car reacts to different levels.
I'm missing lots of stuff I'm sure, but this provides a nice general overview of it all
OK time for pictures. All these are like 6 weeks old, I've done a bunch of stuff since then, but they're something to show for all the talk. Sorry about the crappy pictures, a friend of mine took them and somehow he messed up "Point and Shoot," don't ask me how.
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181620/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181634/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181636/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181641/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181643/medium.jpg
It started life as a 1987 Volvo 240GL, picked it up from a friend. He runs the automotive education department at a school in MD, the car had been donated and had sat there, and had actually sat since '99. Dropped in a battery, a few cranks and she came to life on old crapass gas. Took place one nice saturday in June this year.
Threw her up on the trailer, and since then I've been poking at it.
I picked it up a week before Hyperfest, and I damn near killed myself trying to prepare it for it. I failed, all because of a broken alternator ground strap.
In that week it got:
-Freshened motor swapped in, with all new gaskets, bearing clearances checked, new PCV, etc
-Stiffer motor mounts
-Volvo "A" Grind camshaft
-Custom intake
-Exhaust hacked off
-Rare Volvo 'R-Sport' super stiff competition struts
-Kaplhenke Racing camber plates
-2.5"x8" 350# coilover springs up front, on my own mount setup
-5"x11" 300# rear springs, mounted on hacked up and retrofitted stock mounts
-Gabriel Max Control shocks for the front of a Suburban, retrofitted to the rear.
-23mm front swaybar, 23mm rear swaybar
-Brembo blank vented rotors
-Axxis Ultimate Ceramics up front, Axxis Semi-Metallic rears
-ATE Super Blue Racing fluid
-New plugs, rotor, cap, wires, etc
-E-fan
-15" Volvo "Nova" wheels (OEM for 1984 760 Turbo's)
-205/50-15 BFGoodrich kD's
-Strut-strut brace, strut-firewall brace, lower control arm tie bars
Well, apparentally swapping the motor was enough to agitate the alternator ground wire's rotten innards, and after I towed it up to Summit Point, WVa it decided to die, because it wasn't recharging anything. I located an alternator (Well, uh, I "borrowed" one from a junk car nearby), and put it on there (Its hard to find alternators in West Virginia at midnight on a Friday night.) Still no luck. Ended up working that weekend.
I decided after that not to rush things, and I've been slowly poking at it ever since.
Since then:
-Completely gutted interior
-Installed 6point Autopower rollcage
-Swapped out factory automatic for a Volvo M47 5-Speed with a custom home-brewed short shifter. Retained auto rear end ratio of 3.73:1, providing a nice improvement over the stock combo of the manual and 3.31:1
-Installed Corbeau Forzas (I've redone the seats, also) on custom brackets
-5 point G-Force harnesses
-Removed all sound deadening from the car
Soon to come (This winter, most likely before the NASA Event in Feb. at VIR):
-Polyurethane bushings (I've got them sitting here, but, not sure if they'll ever go on, I'm doing my best to replace everything bushed with nice FK Rod ends :D)
-Custom made, adjustable, rod ended endlinks, panhard and torque rods
-Seam welding
-Megasquirt'N'MSD
--Raise redline to ~7000RPM
-Custom dash (It'll be impressive, trust me)
-Completely rewiring everything (Only wiring up necessities. Everythign will be neatly done in harnesses, and will be connected with plugs for ease of repairs)
-Possibly a custom header (Depends how much time I have, if I find some time I'll weld one up)
-LSD.
-Grant 12" steering wheel w/ Quick-Disconnect hub
-Howe 1.5:1 steering quickener
-Playing with rear end gear ratios! That'll take place probably much of next year. (Available factory ratios I can get my hands on that would be viable options are 3.73, 3.91, and 4.10. I'm leaning most likely toward 4.10's, since that will yield a speed of ~125mph at 5k rpm, I'm not likely to ever exceed that speed with this setup on any track I'll be on). It'll all boil down to RPM's and gear points at exits of corners. Unlike most cars, I can't exactly just go ask others what setups they've found to work for their cars.....
In the works for the more distant future:
-Playing with rear end gear ratios! (Available factory ratios I can get my hands on that would be viable options are 3.73, 3.91, and 4.10. I'm leaning most likely toward 4.10's, since that will yield a speed of ~125mph at 5k rpm, I'm not likely to ever exceed that speed with this setup on any track I'll be on). It'll all boil down to RPM's and gear points at exits of corners. Unlike most cars, I can't exactly just go ask others what setups they've found to work for their cars.....
-I'm working out some designs for custom made stiffened rear lower trailing arms integrating true coilovers (Height adjustable, adjustable dampeners, and not just sleeved crap) and something along the lines of monoballs to replace the bushings
-Custom lower control arms, using front and rear rod ends, integrating roll center correction (increase height of ball joints, to allow the car to be lowered more, and prevent the control arms from being inverted, causing a camber decrease upon compression), and setting up the balljoints to work with some sort of universal coilover setup up front, allowing real coilovers to be used and increasing suspension travel while decreasing ride height. Having adjustable rod end mounts allows them to be adjustable to dial in even greater amounts of camber and caster.
-Bump-steer correction. Easy to do on these cars, just make ~1" spacer blocks for the steering rack, put em in and bolt 'em down.
-Also in the distant future, new drivetrain. While I'm learning the ropes and working my way through the first few steps toward licensing, I'm keeping the power down and keeping it as whats known as a Momentum car. Low power, but hauls ass in the corners. Once I master the car, I'll continue to challenge myself to learn, by increasing horsepower accordingly. Along with the engine swap, there will be a trans swap to a close ratio 5 or 6 speed, with a few options in mind. I'm keeping my ideas to myself, but expect far down the road (3-5+ years I'd guess) if I continue on the path I'm on right now, expect something providing 4-600hp turbocharged and hopefully a near 50-50 weight balance.
The car will make its first outtings on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4 for two NASA-X's at VMP. These will be used as "Test'N'Tune" days for the suspension and a break-in and learning period, letting me see what I need to change on the setup. So far, the suspension is all calculated and theoretical, real world application will determine how it works. I'll adjust bar and springrates accordingly (I'm expecting to see upwards of 450-500# fronts and 350-400# rears by the end of the year I'd guess).
Oh yeah, got an alignment printout here, here are the current specs for the front:
Camber: -1.78 Left -1.84 Right
Caster: 3.66 L 3.63 R
Toe: .01 L .02 R
I'd like to see some more camber, and I'll have to expirement with caster to see how this car reacts to different levels.
I'm missing lots of stuff I'm sure, but this provides a nice general overview of it all
OK time for pictures. All these are like 6 weeks old, I've done a bunch of stuff since then, but they're something to show for all the talk. Sorry about the crappy pictures, a friend of mine took them and somehow he messed up "Point and Shoot," don't ask me how.
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181620/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181634/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181636/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181641/medium.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/stylngle2003/image/50181643/medium.jpg