Hackster's LSA / T56 2 door

[oldschoolvolvo]

http://www.sellholmshop.se/chassiede...mologerad.html

not cheap, but a potential solution for your front control arms.

[hackster]

Well, I am getting to the end of my proverbial rope with this thing now.

Continue to be impressed by the killer stuff these guys have helped me out with on this car. Huge shout out to STS Machining's Scott and Taylor for helping with my idea.

I was having issues with the rear rubber bushings on the lower control arms. I hatched the idea of a delrin bushing for the rear that was captured in the cup, Taylor made the first set, a 2 piece design that would not be able to be pulled out the front of the cup.

Here is what the end result is. A 2 piece delrin bushing, the cup welded into the actual bucket that bolts to the car. For the first time I can without a doubt tell you that this is not moving around at all.

Getting machined



Parts cut and fresh out of the freezer ready to be installed.



This cup was cleaned and welded in place so that it cannot get pulled out.



Assembled







When I took these current bushings out, the one on the drivers side had come out of the cup so far that the flange on the backside was not even holding it in any longer. The passenger side had started to pull the cup out of the bucket.

No its not the Fancy Sellholm arms, maybe those can go in someday in the future.

SO now I have lower control arms that are not moving around, great should be problem solved right.....wrong.

Still does the same ****.

You can center the steering wheel, go out for a drive and it will move from left to right depending on what you are doing.

It seems to be getting worse. If I go hard on the gas, the steering wheel will be off center to one side, if I go around a hard turn, brake or something then it will be off center to the other side.

I checked all the front crossmember bolts and they were not crazy tight, drove it again this morning before work and same problem.

I installed new hardware on the steering rack when installed. Considering that it changes on hard launches, I am leaning towards something loose in the rear suspension.

Might have time to look at it over the weekend but have graduation activities from this afternoon through Sunday.

Any good opinions I am all ears.

Sean

[Lord_Athlon]

Can you dab some paint on the rack and see if its walking around?

You have fresh paint on the boxes for the bushing. Are there witness marks suggesting its moving around in space?

[culberro]

I had similar issues with the v8 drift car, the rear end was moving around a bit under hard acceleration. The rear alignment might be playing into this as well.

When doing your alignments, are you taking it to a shop, or doing it with strings?
If a shop, which one?

[hackster]

Originally Posted by Lord_Athlon

Can you dab some paint on the rack and see if its walking around?

You have fresh paint on the boxes for the bushing. Are there witness marks suggesting its moving around in space?

I started putting paint pen marks on all hardware to ensure its not moving. The boxes for the bushings are not moving at all, the underside of those bolts are knurled and lock it in really well.

Originally Posted by culberro

I had similar issues with the v8 drift car, the rear end was moving around a bit under hard acceleration. The rear alignment might be playing into this as well.

When doing your alignments, are you taking it to a shop, or doing it with strings?
If a shop, which one?

This is where I am heading now, is going over everything in the rearend to make sure that things are not moving around. Yesterday was the first time I saw it move and it was after a hard launch, that got me really thinking about rear links and hardware.

Done both. AR Auto did the first real alignment, other ones have been strings but its pointless really as stuff moves around upon the first drive.

Thanks for chiming in, its much appreciated.

[M.H. Yount]

Is it possible the engine is moving around enough under accel/decel to contact something or move something else around?

[122power]

If that doesnt work maybe try a stabilzer bar from the front like older ford style set ups. But thats a lot of work to redo that whole area.

[hackster]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

Is it possible the engine is moving around enough under accel/decel to contact something or move something else around?

Nope.

Originally Posted by 122power

If that doesnt work maybe try a stabilzer bar from the front like older ford style set ups. But thats a lot of work to redo that whole area.

It took me a day to figure out what you were talking about, then I recalled my dads 64 ranchero and I totally get what you are talking about. A forward facing stabilizer bar for the lower control arm. I hope I dont have to add anything like that, I already dont love the srut setup that I have...

Well, only had about 2 hours to work on the car this weekend with 2 Graduations to attend. One in Seattle on Friday, another in Portland for our Steamfitter apprenticeship program and then a bbq on Sunday for the Neighbor who graduated Friday night.

Got a little time to work on the coyote swap for my neighbor though, just about ready to set the motor in for the first time one night this week and I can finish up the motor mounts that I got started on.

I went through the entire frontend Saturday afternoon. I cleaned, torqued and put paint pen marks on every fastener. The only thing I found that even remotely budged was the 4 bolts on the Driver side steering arm. I got maybe 1/4 turn from 3 of the 4 bolts, but that was it. Not enough to cause anything to move.

I torqued all of the motor mount hardware as well as every nut and bolt on the crossmember, and all steering stuff. Nothing in the front is moving so its time to head to the rear.

I got the car up in the air, frustrated still..

I checked every nut and bolt on the rear axle, panhard bar, shocks, upper and lower links at the axle, nothing was moving. I reached up and put a wrench on the chassis end of the upper control arms and it wasnt more than hand tight.

I continued to find 4 loose bolts for the fronts. Uppers got torqued to the proper spec. I found the lowers loose as well. They had stover nuts on them but the stover nuts were not really tight.

I purchased new washers for the bolt, new stover nuts and installed with Blue locktite.

I took it out for a trip around the area to see what I had. For the first time ever the steering wheel was in the same spot the entire drive. I was hard on it too, accelerate hard from a dead stop, hard braking, steering left and right abruptly.

I paint marked all the hardware on the body for the rearend to see if it moves at all moving forward.

Never did I think that the rear suspension moving around could cause that bad of an effect on the steering. I am really curious to see what it feels like on track now. It feels so much tighter than it every has.

Live and learn right?

So, working out the little bugs now. I have a shake in the steering wheel at about 62 to 70 mph. I think its a front hub issue, but going to tear into it this week and start measuring things out with a dial indicator to measure runout.

Gave the old girl a bath yesterday and enjoyed it being mostly trouble free for a day



Looks pretty meaty sitting there.

Happy Monday and thanks for those who have provided help and feedback on this thing along the way, its much appreciated.

Sean

[culberro]

In the v8 drift car with a torn trailing arm bushing, I could change lanes while keeping the wheel completely straight if I romped on it. Rear steer is a thing.
Glad you got it sorted.

[hackster]

Originally Posted by culberro

In the v8 drift car with a torn trailing arm bushing, I could change lanes while keeping the wheel completely straight if I romped on it. Rear steer is a thing.
Glad you got it sorted.

Its crazy to think how much it can change steering geometry by a small change in rear suspension. It kind of sucks to think that anything I do from here on our suspension wise is going to require an alignment. Going to get expensive fast.

Dropped the **** box off for another alignment today. Hope its the last one for a while.

Have to order up a couple of tires to replace the fronts soon. Think I am going to rotate front to rear here soon and see if I can flatten out one of the fronts and keep it for a while.

I need a tire sponsor.

Sean

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by hackster

Think I am going to rotate front to rear here soon and see if I can flatten out one of the fronts and keep it for a while.

I need a tire sponsor.

Sean

Ha ha ROADKILL!

[M.H. Yount]

Originally Posted by hackster

It kind of sucks to think that anything I do from here on our suspension wise is going to require an alignment. Going to get expensive fast.

Dropped the **** box off for another alignment today. Hope its the last one for a while.


I need a tire sponsor.

Sean

There's a reason people do it themselves with jackstands, string, ruler and a smart phone. Checking toe, camber and doing a "nut and bolt" of critical fasteners was just a normal part of prep for a race/track weekend, back when....oh, and anyone spending time at the track needs a tire sponsor. ;) Nice to see you sorting through the details. That's how you'll find the (never ending) next weakest link.

[Duder]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

There's a reason people do it themselves with jackstands, string, ruler and a smart phone. Checking toe, camber and doing a "nut and bolt" of critical fasteners was just a normal part of prep for a race/track weekend, back when....oh, and anyone spending time at the track needs a tire sponsor. ;) Nice to see you sorting through the details. That's how you'll find the (never ending) next weakest link.

This is key to keeping operating costs under control on our Lemons E36 camper with the 5.3 swap. We do all the alignment ourselves and have a tire sponsor - it's a racer discount (not free) but it adds up quickly!

Alignment tools we use are homemade toe plates w/ 2 tape measures, and a bubble level camber/caster gauge that sits on the face of the wheel and is adjustable. It's the kind that requires turning the wheel left & right to find caster, but camber is pretty simple, you just have to zero it on a plumb surface first and make sure the car is level. No idea how accurate our methods are but it's good enough for what we do.

Like this one: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sps-91000

[hackster]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

Ha ha ROADKILL!

Pretty Much =)

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

There's a reason people do it themselves with jackstands, string, ruler and a smart phone. Checking toe, camber and doing a "nut and bolt" of critical fasteners was just a normal part of prep for a race/track weekend, back when....oh, and anyone spending time at the track needs a tire sponsor. ;) Nice to see you sorting through the details. That's how you'll find the (never ending) next weakest link.

Yep, figuring this stuff out as I go. Nut and Bolt is now on my to do list after every track day. I am going to need a lift soon =)

Originally Posted by Duder

This is key to keeping operating costs under control on our Lemons E36 camper with the 5.3 swap. We do all the alignment ourselves and have a tire sponsor - it's a racer discount (not free) but it adds up quickly!

Alignment tools we use are homemade toe plates w/ 2 tape measures, and a bubble level camber/caster gauge that sits on the face of the wheel and is adjustable. It's the kind that requires turning the wheel left & right to find caster, but camber is pretty simple, you just have to zero it on a plumb surface first and make sure the car is level. No idea how accurate our methods are but it's good enough for what we do.

Like this one: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sps-91000

I could not agree with you more, I gotta figure something out for tires. I am ordering the alignment tool this week, I cannot continue to pay between $100 and $200 a pop for the alignments. Thanks for the input man, it really helps.

Well, got the car almost all the way to Pacific Friday night...its about 180 miles from Portland north. I made it 178 miles when I took the offramp a guy pulled up behind me and told me my trailer was smoking......I bail out and get to looking.

What I found is with the side door, the fender just sits in two little pockets to hold it in. The entire fender just fell over, would have been just fine but it wedged itself between the car and the tire and destroyed the inside of the tire, not to mention hot rubber all over both the car and the trailer. Good fun.

Moved the fender and limped it to the track. Later in the evening I swapped out the spare. ATC is going to take care of a new inner fender and replacing the spare tire for me already.





3 hours and 45 minutes to get there......ridiculous traffic. I pull in, they moved start times up 20 minutes. Literally unload the car, get safety gear, drive to tech, drive to grid, last car in the line and roll onto the track. Maybe 10 mins between arrival to on track.





I ran the first session, car feels ok, steering is awesome, no more moving steering wheel, the car feels suspension wise tight for the first time ever and I was able to focus on driving this time out instead of worrying about what the hell was going on with the car. Rear feels loose though, a little floaty. Ran 20 min session, had one stoppage for a blown tire.

Came back to pits, no leaks, check tires, hot was up to 42 lbs......woah, thats way to high. Drop pressures down to 35 front and 34 rear. Have a little coolant coming out from the overflow, so drain that, not much in it and throw a zip tie on the hose. Add in 5 gallons of fuel. Car still leaks fuel out the filler neck by the way so I cannot fill it full without it getting really bad losing fuel.

Back on track, car is ****ing dialed , little bit of push if I am off my line or come in too hot but I think thats a driver thing not a car thing. Things are running really well, I run my 20 minute session, we have a driver blow an engine on the back straight in a honda, didnt oil the track down, just blown up. So we get brought in while the wrecker gets him.

Finished the session car was working really well.

Came in, threw in 3 gallons of fuel, check tires, all good. Go out for 3rd session and its fast. I got in three or four good laps, but then get a black flag waved at me. I come in to hot pits to see whats up, they say nothing, we didnt flag you at all. Just as I am waiting to come out of hot pits an ls swapped e36 comes down the straightaway smoking like mad, pulls off just after the wall so we wait.

Track was Red flagged so thats a stop all on track for fire. I ended up being the pace car and brought all the cars back in to hot pits.



Get the next 10 mins on track, had some fun with a Focus RS that I got around, then an m2 that I got around and finished up the session.

Hands down the best the car has performed since its been done, Gaining a little confidence in it now.

I left the track about 9 pm and rolled into the driveway at home just before midnight. Long day, but got to hang out with some great friends and have a killer evening.







So now what, give the garage a wonderful cleaning, worked on a buddies Buick Lucerne replacing a motor mount, detail up the jeep and figure out plans for next weekend =)



Oh, yeah, Cam, Pulley, 102mm CNC ported snout, 95 lb injectors, valve springs all should be here tomorrow. Should be good for at least another 100 wheel if not a little more.

Sean

[M.H. Yount]

Good outing....trailer excursion keeps things interesting.

Tune update to go with cam/pulley change?

[adomz]

Good going buddy! Love your 242! ;)

ADam

[hackster]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

Good outing....trailer excursion keeps things interesting.

Tune update to go with cam/pulley change?

Yeah its gotta get retuned for the 1000cc injectors.

Originally Posted by adomz

Good going buddy! Love your 242! ;)

ADam

Thanks Adam.

Goodies showed up yesterday at the house, now if I can just figure out some time to get them installed. Lance Draeger has been awesome to work with on the LSA Stuff, always available for questions, wonderful shipping and just good to deal with. At this point it might be August.





Whats going to give up the ghost first after the cam and pulley? Any bets?



Sean

[M.H. Yount]

The motor.

[andyb5]

Originally Posted by hackster

Whats going to give up the ghost first after the cam and pulley? Any bets?



Sean

The rear tires 😂

[Texas240]

Originally Posted by hackster

Whats going to give up the ghost first after the cam and pulley? Any bets?

You.....

[hackster]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

The motor.

I was really leaning towards the Trans or rearend first.

Originally Posted by andyb5

The rear tires 😂

That is a give....so second thing =)

Originally Posted by Texas240

You.....

That cuts deep


No time for these upgrades now, got too much stuff planned for the summer. Looking like it might be a early fall change out.

Sean

[Stiggy Pop]

Originally Posted by hackster

No time for these upgrades now, got too much stuff planned for the summer. Looking like it might be a early fall change out.

Sean

summertime is for fun and driving! plenty of other months to get buried in projects.

[M.H. Yount]

Originally Posted by hackster

I was really leaning towards the Trans or rearend first.

Sean

I’m just extrapolating the trend of most of the swapped and boosted cars on this site and facebook. Get em going, turn up boost, and promptly go get another JY motor. It’s a Steely Dan moment - go back Jack and do it again. Stay conservative on the tune and keep rpm down a bit.

[hackster]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

I’m just extrapolating the trend of most of the swapped and boosted cars on this site and facebook. Get em going, turn up boost, and promptly go get another JY motor. It’s a Steely Dan moment - go back Jack and do it again. Stay conservative on the tune and keep rpm down a bit.

Tune on the current setup is very conservative on both fuel and timing. I have no need to rev above like 5500 with the current setup. I have limiter set at 6k and have only hit it 2 or 3 times.

I feel that poor tunes and RPM kill engines.

[M.H. Yount]

^^Dead on Sean.^^ Although, often, there's only so much one can do to overcome the 'tiredness' of the usual 200k+ mile 6.0's and 5.3's that are being put into everything because it's cheap and easy to do so.