blue missile
Well-Known Member
4 link parts finally arrived will post pics soon.
Andrew
Andrew
Birth of the Blue Missile
- Thread starter blue missile
- Start date
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blue missile
Well-Known Member
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blue missile
Well-Known Member
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blue missile
Well-Known Member
OK
here is where I confess that changing to coil-overs, and not having all the pieces in place really impacts a not so well thought out design.
The cross member I built was wrong in a number of ways.
As soon as I put the pumpkin back in the axle and tried to jack it up to ride height the center of the cross member was it the way.So I cut that out.
Then when I put the coil-overs in place the conical spring retainer hit the cross member because of the angle.So I cut that out.I also needed room for the exhaust to get by. At that time I would have very little left SOOOOO.
I then removed the first one (its no fun removing anything I have installed permanently) and built one out of 1.5"x1.5" square tube, solving those problems.
I then put all the parts together, and bolted on the wheels , and the car was still to high off the ground.
SOOOOO, I removed the second one and re built the cross member from scratch, lowering the car another 1.5".
For those who are keeping tabs, the mount points are 4" in from the rails and 1.5" down from the deck.
The car now will sit 4.5" off the ground at the frame rails, and since I am in the bottom holes on the lower shock mount, I can raise it another 3" if needed.
Andrew
here is where I confess that changing to coil-overs, and not having all the pieces in place really impacts a not so well thought out design.
The cross member I built was wrong in a number of ways.
As soon as I put the pumpkin back in the axle and tried to jack it up to ride height the center of the cross member was it the way.So I cut that out.
Then when I put the coil-overs in place the conical spring retainer hit the cross member because of the angle.So I cut that out.I also needed room for the exhaust to get by. At that time I would have very little left SOOOOO.
I then removed the first one (its no fun removing anything I have installed permanently) and built one out of 1.5"x1.5" square tube, solving those problems.
I then put all the parts together, and bolted on the wheels , and the car was still to high off the ground.
SOOOOO, I removed the second one and re built the cross member from scratch, lowering the car another 1.5".
For those who are keeping tabs, the mount points are 4" in from the rails and 1.5" down from the deck.
The car now will sit 4.5" off the ground at the frame rails, and since I am in the bottom holes on the lower shock mount, I can raise it another 3" if needed.
Andrew
bjkadron
Well-Known Member
Looks good! And actually moving from leaves to coil-overs in the back is really a good choice.
Joe Mc
No Car Like A MoPar!
Andrew, Awesome work, I've been following your project for quite some time now = been subscribed for . . . w while. I scanned back a page and noticed the DM Products components. I searched for the company and got a hit, when it opened there were no links to go anywhere from the home page? Probably a server issue on their end? But, do you have a web-site you could share with me? Looks like pretty nice stuff - thanks and keep the **** coming.
blue missile
Well-Known Member
Joe,
They are tough to get in touch with, Im not sure why.
But her is what I have:
d-mproducts.com
[email protected]
office-330-962-5218
shop-330-962-5313
address:
379 fifth street
Earberton Ohio 44203
I should have pics of the final install of the roll bar in the next few days
Andrew
They are tough to get in touch with, Im not sure why.
But her is what I have:
d-mproducts.com
[email protected]
office-330-962-5218
shop-330-962-5313
address:
379 fifth street
Earberton Ohio 44203
I should have pics of the final install of the roll bar in the next few days
Andrew
Joe Mc
No Car Like A MoPar!
Thanks Andrew.
blue missile
Well-Known Member
Joe,
here are a few pics of the sway bar, having learned my lesson, everything is temporarily attached with sheet metal screws until ALL the pieces are in place.
Andrew
here are a few pics of the sway bar, having learned my lesson, everything is temporarily attached with sheet metal screws until ALL the pieces are in place.
Andrew
Jered
Member
I'm going to have to really take my time and go back and read this entire thread, but for the meantime I just scanned through a few pages and I've got to say that I really like what I see. This is definitely going to be a must see when completed. Good luck with the rest of your build.
blue missile
Well-Known Member
Here is some of the latest progress, I wasnt sure if I needed to actually work under the rear of the car in order to get the rear side markers in place, so before I put the rear axle in place for the final time I got the markers in. They are off of some BMW model, chosen for size and shape. Again no bondo yet just welded in.
first pic is of the cup, second is of the clamp arrangement, third is of it in place and the rest are primed and lit. Legal and not.
Andrew
first pic is of the cup, second is of the clamp arrangement, third is of it in place and the rest are primed and lit. Legal and not.
Andrew
blue missile
Well-Known Member
For those following here,
the rear axle and disc brakes are about done.The upper shock support is welded in place as well as the sway bar/ upper link mount assembly.
Im waiting on the caliper rebuild kit and some small parts so I can paint the calipers for the install.
I ran new hard brake lines on the axle, because I seperated the vent/tee into two different locations to get it out of the way of the exhaust.
Andrew
the rear axle and disc brakes are about done.The upper shock support is welded in place as well as the sway bar/ upper link mount assembly.
Im waiting on the caliper rebuild kit and some small parts so I can paint the calipers for the install.
I ran new hard brake lines on the axle, because I seperated the vent/tee into two different locations to get it out of the way of the exhaust.
Andrew
When you narrowed the 8 3/4 did you make it the same width as the 7 1/4, or did you narrow it a little more for the mini -tubs?
blue missile
Well-Known Member
Sir67,
I narrowed it to the standard A body length.
here are the final pics of the Disc Brake transplant. I will say this is going as slow as molasses. I still need one caliper rebuilding kit and one hose, will be in tomorrow.
I will say that putting the axle in, requires removing the parking brake parts for access. And getting the race spacer in is a little tricky. you have to get a punch and LIGHTLY tap the bearing into the hole far enough to give the free floating spacer a place to fit into then its easy to get the whole affair into the tube and bolted in place.
Its late now but Tomorrow I will post the list of parts with costs for others.
Andrew
I narrowed it to the standard A body length.
here are the final pics of the Disc Brake transplant. I will say this is going as slow as molasses. I still need one caliper rebuilding kit and one hose, will be in tomorrow.
I will say that putting the axle in, requires removing the parking brake parts for access. And getting the race spacer in is a little tricky. you have to get a punch and LIGHTLY tap the bearing into the hole far enough to give the free floating spacer a place to fit into then its easy to get the whole affair into the tube and bolted in place.
Its late now but Tomorrow I will post the list of parts with costs for others.
Andrew
blue missile
Well-Known Member
Here are the 4link install pics, poly bushings at the frame and Hyme joints at the axle.
Andrew
Andrew
blue missile
Well-Known Member
Bump
blue missile
Well-Known Member
First let me say that the invocation of the name 'Foose' is the greatest compliment anyone has ever given me about this project. I dont care if that was how it was meant that is how it is being taken. And for those guys that moan about not having the proper tools, my hero is Lepu, of Lepu and Bernie. 40 Bangladeshis and a 50 gal drum of bondo preforms miracles!:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D:-D
Now to the issue of rear seats:
I have been mulling this one over for a year or so.
Would I really need to put seats in the back,would there ever be anybody riding there?
The addition of rear seats REALLY complicates the roll cage issue.
Safety being a top concern, they would have to have three point belts at least.
Then there is the minitub, not as much room as there was to start with.
My wife insisted that we would be taking trips as a family to car shows and the such. BUT she can't take the .5Gs we encounter making the U turn under the freeway without complaining.
I explained to her that this car will be able to do a 90* turn at 60 MPH! She said the "Road Rally/cruise" thing could be enjoyable, I then explained that I was entering the 135MPH class, and unless she wanted to be the navigator, third passengers are not permitted.
I said all of this to say that on Wednesday I went and got two black leather front bucket seats from a Cadillac CTS and have installed them in the back of the Missile! We'll see if they ever get used!
In the mean time they were power everything and sat so high the head rests touched the roof of the car.
By cutting out the glides and all of the power accessories, fabbing up 1/8" steel bases, I lowered them5" and removed 52lbs of crap. I actually weighed the pile of stuff.
I now have 8" between the front of the rear seat and the back of the front one, and also have my rear view back.
The first pic is of the two just stuck in the car, the next few are of the bases I fabbed, and then there is one with mods next to one without. the last two are the finished project.
Andrew
Now to the issue of rear seats:
I have been mulling this one over for a year or so.
Would I really need to put seats in the back,would there ever be anybody riding there?
The addition of rear seats REALLY complicates the roll cage issue.
Safety being a top concern, they would have to have three point belts at least.
Then there is the minitub, not as much room as there was to start with.
My wife insisted that we would be taking trips as a family to car shows and the such. BUT she can't take the .5Gs we encounter making the U turn under the freeway without complaining.
I explained to her that this car will be able to do a 90* turn at 60 MPH! She said the "Road Rally/cruise" thing could be enjoyable, I then explained that I was entering the 135MPH class, and unless she wanted to be the navigator, third passengers are not permitted.
I said all of this to say that on Wednesday I went and got two black leather front bucket seats from a Cadillac CTS and have installed them in the back of the Missile! We'll see if they ever get used!
In the mean time they were power everything and sat so high the head rests touched the roof of the car.
By cutting out the glides and all of the power accessories, fabbing up 1/8" steel bases, I lowered them5" and removed 52lbs of crap. I actually weighed the pile of stuff.
I now have 8" between the front of the rear seat and the back of the front one, and also have my rear view back.
The first pic is of the two just stuck in the car, the next few are of the bases I fabbed, and then there is one with mods next to one without. the last two are the finished project.
Andrew
PanGasket
has cork sides
Hahaha, you give me bad ideas man. Shame on you! LOL. Good job! I really like it
Joe Mc
No Car Like A MoPar!
Looks great. For the "occasional" rear passenger they'll be terrific! I'm thinking where the shoulder straps leave the seat back may have to be tweaked for the cage, but I'm sure you've considered that already.
Looking great - rock on Andrew.
Looking great - rock on Andrew.
Man Andrew, this is definitely going to be a "one of none" when you are done! Mad skills son, mad skills!!!:cheers:
bjkadron
Well-Known Member
Looking good! I have been flopping back and forth about my back seats. It doesn't look like they have a lot of legroom. Are the seat belts part of the seats themselves?
dusterbd13
Well-Known Member
im digging this. you said the seats were out of a CTS? what year? and how do you think theyd work in the front? lastly, decent bolsteruing on the sides?
the welds on the seats look really good. in a couple of pics for the 4 link build, some of the welds looked a little pop-corn-ish. i dont know if its just the wat the pictuires make it look or not. (this coming from a guy that cant weld to save his life)
kep up the good work.
michael
the welds on the seats look really good. in a couple of pics for the 4 link build, some of the welds looked a little pop-corn-ish. i dont know if its just the wat the pictuires make it look or not. (this coming from a guy that cant weld to save his life)
kep up the good work.
michael
swisswill
Well-Known Member
Not a bad idea with the Cadillac seats. I'm either doing a newer GTO back seat or a pair of Gen 1 Viper buckets with some cushioning between the two. Looking good!
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