so, many of you know what i have been up to gathering parts and what not. here is the basic list......

 

what parts i have:

1987 hatchback

EJ22 carbied motor

one locked 4.44 diff

one open 4.44 diff(i have an lsd for it, but it may get traded for something even cooler)

low mileage 5spd d/r

suzuki transfer case

235/75/15's hankooks

rear discs

custom bumpers

6 inch bill omlin monster lift

several of my own lift pieces that i have been constructing to add into the suspension

umm.....thats basically the parts.

 

i will be adding some pics ,but most of them will be hosted on photobucket.

 

ok,so far i have started the engine crossmember...seen here

 

and i redrilled some front hubs so that i could have 6 lug all the way around

 

then today i started installing the lift for the front,i have the lower pieces inthe struts,and the steering rack crossmember down as well,i mounted some frame rail reinforcement to be able to weld the engine crossmember to something....

steering rack crossmember stuffs^^^^

 

strut extensions,i am adding some to the top to not only help with camber,but give me just a bit more.

 

i am still trying to decide how i want to mount the tranny,i left the radius rod plates/tranny crossmember mounts in the stock location as this is where i want the drivetrain to be.

 

the options at hand are to leave them where they are or lower them with smaller 2 inch lift blocks and run the subframe off of those blocks..and make new radius rods out of the originals with sleeves of schedule 40 or,make some new ones with .120 wall DOM like the big boys do it for their suspensions.

 

or, to use the 6 inch blocks and just use the radius rods as they are.

 

i am leaning towards "links",but i do not know if i will be able get the heims quick enough to accomplish it.we shall see.

 

welp,its official.:lol:cheers, brian

Edited January 15, 200917 yr by monstaru
DOH...

I think with small 2" blocks, it'd make a good spot to build the subframe off of, just need to watch for clearance with only a 6" lift.... but the sammy tcase should help.

i am kinda leaning that way myself mick,i will be "stuffing" the zooki case much as you did......as i want to be able to add some flat sheet metal as far back as i can and make channels for the drivelines to run through

 

i like the idear of being as flat bellied as possible.it will be a little over 6 inches though....:)cheers, brian

If you need any help Brian, just call me man. Ill help you out.

 

-Jaren

Interested in those sturt extensions. Are they bolted to the struts or are they welded?

ok, so i was not satisfied with the fact of having to use blocks for the tranny/radius rod crossmember.

 

so i went downstairs and put together some radius rod plates and a transmission crossmember i had layin around.sos i could get an eye on it.

 

well , as i was thinkin and lookin at it(don't say a word) ,it occured to me that the rearmost bolt hole was simply an extension provision for the sway bar mounts.so, i can utilize that body hole mount for the subframe mount.......

 

and keep the radius plate/tranny crossmember piece.hence allowing me to leave the front at stock level.WOOT.....less blocks..........

 

should work as the top holes in the picture will be closest to the engine.

 

i was comtemplating the use of the 5 spd crossmember as i have one of those as well,but as you can see the fabrication would have been more involved because the mount lengths on the sides of the crossmember are not the same(not centered).

 

cheers, brian

bolted,if they were welded i would not be able to change struts.jerry(bratrus1) has had them on his hatchbrat for years no,and never had an issue.cheers, brian

 

Interested in those sturt extensions. Are they bolted to the struts or are they welded?

For your radius rods I would do something like what I did for my suspension links on the Turd wagon, weld a mounting point on each side near the center of the wheelbase and use beefy Heim joints and 1" Schedule 40 or thicker pipe. This will also give you bind-free flex

-Bill

Hey, for the 5 speed crossmember I cut off the ends, matched it up to the 4 speed crossmember w/ a little trimming and some BFH action and drilled holes to bolt up in my '81 wagon. Cause there was no way I was going to reuse those puney 4 speed mounts. Jesse

Looks good Brian! Can't wait to see the progress!

Hey, for the 5 speed crossmember I cut off the ends, matched it up to the 4 speed crossmember w/ a little trimming and some BFH action and drilled holes to bolt up in my '81 wagon. Cause there was no way I was going to reuse those puney 4 speed mounts. Jesse

 

i have a 5spd kit that allows me to use the 5spd mounts.so that is not a problem.thanks though.

 

 

"For your radius rods I would do something like what I did for my suspension links on the Turd wagon, weld a mounting point on each side near the center of the wheelbase and use beefy Heim joints and 1" Schedule 40 or thicker pipe. This will also give you bind-free flex "

 

what part of "link" did you not understand?:grin:that is the way i am going seeing as how i have wanted to forever anyway .once i cut the crossmember down i pulled out my cut up radius rods and did some figuring as well.where did you order your heims from again?cheers, brian

yeah, my trans crossmember is only attached with the middle bolt. Chris cut the others off to lighten it, and it's only supporting the trans now.... and really cleans it up underneath....

 

I got my Heims from Speedway Motors, they are $9.99 apiece or something like that for the 3/4"x3/4" ones, which is what I got. I think I bought the fine thread nuts from Fastenal.

-Bill

bolted,if they were welded i would not be able to change struts.jerry(bratrus1) has had them on his hatchbrat for years no,and never had an issue.cheers, brian

Cool, just interested really as no one here in Australia would dare to anything different to the norm. That's why I like it here, learn different and new things all the time.

 

I done this to my EA82 5sp crossmember to work in my EA81 sedan

 

Done one before just like it for my FT4WD EJ D/R in the Brumby as well.

that looks awesome fizzy......

i was just trying to keep it as simple as possible....as my fab skills are still growing:lol:.it just made more sense to me to go the "bolt on" route as i need all the help i can get at this point seeing as how i knew i would "actually" work today,and will like three days next week.so my time once again may be started to get limited.

 

i am really excited about the transference of this "little" rig into a "big " rig....:grin:cheers, brian

ok, so i got another day of fab time with the woman gone.........

 

before i got started i wanted to check out the options for new radius rods.after a bit of deliberation i chose DOM tubing at 1" .120 wall.these will be coupled with rod ends and mounted how space allows....

 

i had to weld test it to see if the machine could do it.i should have never doubted......

 

 

i then decided after a short visit with a friend that i was going to tackle the rest of the engine crossmember,well, i at least got it tacked together....

 

 

i will be gusseting the back 90's,but i have to order some gussets that i want.......i will take it all out and finish welding in the next couple of days......i am actually working again tomorrow.......cheers, brian

this project excites me :slobber:

well, i got the engine crossmember out of the rig today and started welding it together,it does not nearly look monstaru-ish enough yet.i ran out of wire in the tip size i have....can't find my other tips for some reason

 

like i said, i will be adding some gussets........so i am going to order those pretty quick.....cheers, brian

ok,so this week i got the base of the subframe(2x2 .120 wall square tube) built.i got it mocked up today,as i have to attach the radius rod links to it.

 

the nephew and i got the rear lift done today and the diff in,put longer shocks on that i had layin around for just an occasion like this......

 

this week i am down for doing the tabs to mount the subframe to the body,make the connecting pieces to attach to the rear lift blocks(will be welded) and try to buy some more metal so i can z the frame up front.

 

here are some pics.....

 

 

 

what do you think about turning the diff upside down? i realize i would have to have more gear oil in it,but do you think it would damage it in any way?as long as i make sure the pinion stays lubed?just curious......cheers, brain

Edited February 1, 200917 yr by monstaru
addition and subtraction

I have heard of several rear diffs mounted upside down for this type of application. And I've never heard of it being a problem. This project is looking awesome! It makes me want to do something to mine once it gets rusty enough! Looks awesome so far!!

 

 

what do you think about turning the diff upside down?

 

 

it would turn the ring gear to the other side amd your car would go in reverse when in a forward gear

it would turn the ring gear to the other side amd your car would go in reverse when in a forward gear

 

I thought he meant running it in the front

i just went and looked at some diffs side by side,i they are bulged to one side,i was initially thinking of flipping the ring gear to the other side of the case......but i don;t think it is possible now.

 

i just happen to look at that pic,and think high pinion is all......

 

however diffs mounted like that would do cool burnouts.

 

i'll have to adjust the level of that diff.i was gonna use longer axles anyway.cheers, brian

 

 

 

it would turn the ring gear to the other side amd your car would go in reverse when in a forward gear

wouldn't flipping the diff upside-down make it turn the other way? unless you've got a tcase that reverses the rear output direction (I've never heard of one...).

 

also, you'd have to either flip the rear cover upside-down (might be just that easy, I don't remember how symmetrical the cover is), or relocate the breather.

 

 

planning on leaving it IRS as well?

, ya know chux,i been thinkin about that real hard.i have some crazy idears runnin through my brains......i'd like to believe that i am gonna make a solid turn into this project......but,it won't be quite what is expected if i do it...

 

and i am gonna tear a diff apart and see if there is room to flip the ring gear.

 

i know, i know, it's preposterous ,but i am going to at least look damnit.....:grin:cheers, brian

 

wouldn't flipping the diff upside-down make it turn the other way? unless you've got a tcase that reverses the rear output direction (I've never heard of one...).

 

also, you'd have to either flip the rear cover upside-down (might be just that easy, I don't remember how symmetrical the cover is), or relocate the breather.

 

 

planning on leaving it IRS as well?