The Project Pad

tossed in a couple parts, just to get a visual of the space i may have created around this motor to see if i gained anything. and i would have to say yeah, maybe just a lil access room.

"hey, can we bleed that slave cyl for the clutch? "
"i dunno if i can reach it from up here. lemme check"
"ummmm, if you cant reach that then something is wrong."

I like the strut towers

MikkiJayne wrote:I like the strut towers

If its pretty, it ain't fast...if its fast, it ain't pretty.

Eric

Aaron,
With all that room, how tough would an LSx or turbo LSx be? Where's Haydn when someone has a bad idea? :-D

Eric

piece of cake.

soooo, i got a complete VW MK3 rack and column, etc. and i think i will be using it instead.

it doesnt have T-rex arms LOL, the pivot points are about 6" inboard each side, compared to the B5 rack. i actually have to shorten the arms that are on it, too. and ADHD sometimes is not so great. after spending ~$75 on metric male AND female M14 x 1.5 heim joint rod ends, buying a die, figuring out how to take 4" out of each steering arm and then find material to sleeve the joint after welding it, for more strength, it hit me. DUH!!!!

using the same material that i would be sleeving it with, i will just make the lengths out of it, cut the steering arms short, weld it all up, and weld the correct nut on the end to use my standard, regular, have-plenty-of rod ends. as i have a lot of them. and the tube to fab this, will fit the bill just fine.

no pictures, it is not a car work on type of night. back to minimal movement time :-(

@ "Back to Minimal Movement Time"

I like that term. Kick back and have a :cheers:
You've done some good work over the last week.

yeah, so i got the steering stuff figured out and moved forward with it.

step 1: square off the ends with my manual lathe cutoff tool.
step 2: prep the inner diameter with my other manual lathe ID beveler.
step 3: set the weld in bung (wheel lug nut LOL)
step 4: insert bung, square it up/tack it, and weld in
step 5: cut to desired length

next work? cut threads off stock tie rods, and measure/fit the new pieces. weld on. then fabricate rack mounts to new removable crossbar. fit and weld in steering column. relax.

Nice trick with the lug nut

why don't you move engine and gearbox more to inside the car?

i actually could now, mechanically, i could move it in some. up to the point the axles arent going to be hurt. BUT, then i would have to build a new manifold as well as all the piping and all. and that is more work than i want to do.

what i have done now is even more than i have planned.

just postin dinner. make fun of it allllll you want.

i am gonna chow before goin out and making this steering become a reality.

I want to see you post after drinking 12 beers.

The car is, ummm, ridiculous. Keep up the amazing work.

i only got 5 beers last night. but i started drinking the rest of them at lunch today

so, i did some layout and comparing the racks i have on hand. and i chose the VW Mk3 rack. had to shorten the arms, and now i am fitting them to the stock tie rods.

compare racks.



layout the throw of the rack, and get center.





lay out the new arms and the tie rods needing shortened.



cut off the new rod ends with my manual lathe, and the tie rods.



layout the plug weld holes. i dont just want one weld at the end of the rod. and in all honesty, i dont think it would go anywhere, but hey my time is free so what the hell. put three holes, both sides, in the rod ends. and then put a chamfer/bevel on them for welding.





get them put in place on my centerlines, with a little angle as thats how it will be in the car, and tack together.



weld out all sides, and wash/rinse/repeat for the other side.



set back up on my design, and make sure everything has good measurements. has plenty of room and support for toe changes during alignment.



and then for shits and giggles i tossed it into the car to see how it looks. i will remove the mock up motor stuff before i get in and weld up the stuff for it.


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and yeah, i am drinkin a fruity beer with a straw, and a piece of fruit in it as well. i even have a Peach smelling candle to make my work area have some Ambiance. now what?

I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm kind of a big deaall. People know me. My garage smells of rich peach scent.....

Hey, fruit in beer is awesome. For me this awareness happened in a street bar in Playa Del Carmen.

its actually peach/mango..... and the beer is Shock Top Raspberry Wheat with an orange slice in it.

its allllll good.

soooo, got some work done. and yes, with my peach/mango candle.... smells so nice. did a little more cleaning, and i finished up the lower crossbar and rack mount and got the rack all mounted up. now to finish the column another day, but i had to take out from the u-joint section a couple inches and about 10" or so from the column itself LOL. that is another day.

lets see. started by measuring the tube, and cutting it to length, then slotting it for some plates.



welded plates in



now checking the car for level and the new crossmember for level. (kinda blurry the second pic)





got the crossbar tabs tacked in and then welded out.





made the mounting plates for the rack, and messing around with angle and center. took it in and out a couple times until i finally locked the thing down with vicegrips on either side to keep center. tacked the mounts to the crossmember, then pulled it out to weld it on the bench (easier to do than in position)





finally, tossed some color on it, put it back in, and mounted the rack. tested the lock-to-lock steering, and i will need to space the rack a little bit back. i cut the slots for the crossmember a little deep into the angle so it put it closer to the uprights on full lock turns each way. now i can also figure out what pedals i want to buy, and the firewall, etc. after i install the seq shifter box onto the trans that is

and now, after starting off the evening with a little Ambiance, i got to work. and have steering.

and yes the Ambiance is started with a propane torch haha. it IS after all the garage you know.



and like pretty much everything i do, it all starts somewhere. this time, its a couple flat pieces of metal and a small pile of nuts and bolts.



and the end result is: a working steering column mount!







and i have plenty of room now to pick some pedals.


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i would have long been done with this and moved on, but i am taking it easy. some days not working on the car, even. like yesterday.

You know they make man candles right?



How many turns lock to lock did you end up with? Too big a project for me to take on at the moment but maybe down the road...

3.30 or so lock to lock. the B5 A4 one was about half lock closer. i didnt end up using it though.

so i didnt gain hardly anything for steering ratio.

and haha on those candles LOL

yep, i would say it works. as well as the old Fox manual rack did. i guess i will find out next year at speed what it does!


Link to video

Beautiful! I'm interested to see how that will end up. How far back does it sit from stock?

Eric

a few inches. but the real gain is not having the steering rod knuckle on the front in the way of the trans. not a mod for a stock car, though. i can toss in the stock rack about where it used to sit if you want.

speeding-g60 wrote:yep, i would say it works. as well as the old Fox manual rack did. i guess i will find out next year at speed what it does!

Hmmm.. Wonder how hard that would be to set up on a non-tube-front B3...

VWAudi4Life wrote:

speeding-g60 wrote:yep, i would say it works. as well as the old Fox manual rack did. i guess i will find out next year at speed what it does!

Hmmm.. Wonder how hard that would be to set up on a non-tube-front B3...

This was my thought!

Eric