Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

Slightly smoother than Hellboy? Bit of a "euro" look. just a thought.

Is that Hellboy's jock strap???

Congrats of the alignment!

[Effeckt]

Very cool! Love following your builds!

[sparkydog]

Size matters in slot cars

[NONHOG]

1/32nd? Hard to tell. Heck of a set up. I've been talking about taking down my boys track in the shop loft. I use it the most. But that's few and far between.
They are a hoot!

[sparkydog]

The 944 is back up in the air again and the Mustang K-member is out. I burned in the main connection points between the Mustang front end and the remnants of the Porsche frame/horns. I'm rattle canning the bare metal with epoxy as I go. The white will be my visual flag that I have to seam seal these areas before I shoot the entire engine bay in red in a few months.

With the front frame welded in solid I was able to remove two of my cross braces and slowly the engine bay is beginning to look more normal.

[sparkydog]

I am continuing to mock up what a 944 swing arm and Ford axles/spindles/rotors would look like. I've got both a Mustang rear rotor and a Cougar rear rotor and it looks like either one will clear the Porsche swing arm. And a caliper adapter bracket looks straight-forward as well. In the pics the Coug rotor is the vented one and the Mustang is the solid style.

[ejn74]

Very Impressive Man!! Keep up the awesome work!!

[1Bad 37]

Great work! Sounds like a fun build!

Shorter struts should just be some homework to figure out what works...

Does a mustang have the shock inside a tube, with the tube having the bracket for the spindle? Or is the does the shock itself have the spindle bracket welded on it?

If it is the first case you could do like people in the E30 ( the 80s BMW 3 series like mine) and "stanceworks" world do to lower a car further than the bump stops... Just shorten the tube and stick in a shorter shock... LIke here...http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=22708 Or here...http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=20850
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=233644 These are bag installs mostly but a coil would fit similarly in a bag's place...


Is there something in the spindle preventing you from just cutting the spindle bracket off the shock and rewelding it higher?


Food for thought, probably useless for your uses but there is always a solution to the problem.

[sparkydog]

Wow 1Bad that is a nice pickup! The first thing I ever tried to work on was a '36 Dodge PU when I was 18 or so.

The Mustang struts have a lower bracket that attaches to the spindle. The bracket can be cut loose (I think) and the tube slid lower. It looks like that would give me about 2 of the 3.3 inches I am looking for. And I hope that with a little more effort on my part I can find a supplier of a shock cartridge series but shorter so that I can put together a combination of 1-2" shorter shock plus slid lower in the bracket.

I have some coil-overs off the front of something that def have a shorter shock but their lower bracket is not the same as the Mustang. So another possibility is to harvest their shocks, ditch the coils and swap over the Mustang upper and lower mount hardware.

Someone also suggested I think about just using the shocks off the Porsche struts but adapted to the Mustang spindle. This would also work. Ultimately I am keeping my eye on what will the replacement cost for new shocks be when the time comes that whatever I use wears out. I'm trying to avoid paying for "exotic" (real or imagined) Porsche spare parts prices.

[Jonboy]

Would struts for a lowered Mustang be of any benefit? I don't know if they are different, but it seems like the Cobras may have had a shorter strut. There are tons of lowering springs for a mustang, so it may stand to reason there would be struts as well?

Also, I think Koni can build a strut to your specs as well. It might not be cheap the first time, but they offer a rebuilding service as well. Since you are starting with an existing strut, the cost might not be too terrible.

[1Bad 37]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Would struts for a lowered Mustang be of any benefit? I don't know if they are different, but it seems like the Cobras may have had a shorter strut. There are tons of lowering springs for a mustang, so it may stand to reason there would be struts as well?

Also, I think Koni can build a strut to your specs as well. It might not be cheap the first time, but they offer a rebuilding service as well. Since you are starting with an existing strut, the cost might not be too terrible.

That's a good idea...

I doubt that mustang people lower their cars enough to run out of travel to the bump stop like the BMW people do... My e30 is about 3/4 inch from the stops on flat ground, and its not even low...
IMG_5175mm by Der E30, on Flickr
I never hit the stops though as I'm running coils with springs ~3x stiffer than stock at 500lbs/inch. Rides nice though. Bags shoud fix the lack of low later though

[Zoomin]

Very clever, and nice fabrication. Necessity makes it a mother to invent, or something like that.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Very clever, and nice fabrication. Necessity makes it a mother to invent, or something like that.

No, no, no... It's "necessity is the mother of invention"..... I almost like your version better..

LockDoc

[sparkydog]

I managed to put a couple more hours on the build today. I did a preliminary trim on the strut tower tops and was able to set the hood back on!

Now it's time to figure out how to tie the Mustang tower into the remains of the 944's upper fender.

[Frizzle Fry]

You gotta love a good challenge. Nicely done!

[sparkydog]

Holy geometry nightmare Batman!

It took me awhile to figure out how to tie all this stuff together but the strut towers are done and I'm burned out on them.

[sparkydog]

I figure this whole strut tower top deal cost me 2 calendar months and about 20 man hours of work to put to bed. Wasn't in the plan.

I need to try and avoid any more of these on this build. OK on to the next task which is constructing a new firewall that creates more room in the engine bay.

[Effeckt]

Not in the plans maybe but came out awesome. Nicely done! Looking forward to the next part of the process.

[sparkydog]

Oopsy

[hopped up]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

Oopsy

Need a new windshield? And some wiring too

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Wtf ?!?

Yeah for about 30 seconds there I was busier than Bambi's dad in a forest fire!

Originally Posted by hopped up

Need a new windshield? And some wiring too

Windshield was coming out anyway due to cracks. The thing that actually burned was the plastic drain tube for the sunroof.

[sparkydog]

I figured out what caused the fire to start. It was either a fire imp or a fire nymph. I can never keep the two straight.

[Zoomin]

Wtf ?!?

[67ChevyRedneck]

This is slack for you! Figured it would be doing donuts by now?

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

This is slack for you! Figured it would be doing donuts by now?

I know, I know! I gotta suck it up.

Here's a couple of pics of where I'm at with the firewall renno. Passenger side is well along. On the drivers side I'm wrestling with the trade-off between a deep footwell for clutch/brake pedal travel and a shallower footwell to create as much room out in the engine bay as possible.

And I have to remember to find a place to weld the VIN stamp back in sometime soon.