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on May 1, 2010, 8:34 pm Joe wrote:
Here we go ... I know this will generate more questions than it answers.
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Got any pictures of how you narrowed the cage??
Got any pictures of the unit out of the car?
how are you mounting the cage to the frame??
is there any kind of rubber bushing in the mounts to reduce road and drive train vibration??
Please more details on the LCAs, did you make them your self or buy them??
I really appreciate you posting these pictures!!!!! I have spent a bunch of time looking at the pictures taking it all in, and now I want more Thanks for posting!!!!!!!!
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I do have some photos of the cage being narrowed. A little bit of history on this project. My brother and I have been working on cars our entire lives and it was because of him that I even got started with the Jag IRS. He has been an integral part of the entire project. Anyway, we spent a long time discussing the method/approach to mounting the rear end. Ultimately we ended up with a statement that I read in your write up regarding pinion angle. The Jag engineers did it this way for a reason so we might as well stick with it. The cage also made it a lot easier to fab up a bracket. I built a custom 'L' bracket that follows the contour of the frame rail and attaches to the top of the cage. My plan is use some a cushioning material between the cage and the bracket for noise vibration. I still need to box the frame with 1/8" plate but I have already fabbed up the pieces to follow the contours. You can see in the photos were I have used C-clamps to hold the brackets to the frame rails. The mock up was also reality check because we weren't sure if our approach was even going to work. The good news was that it worked even better than we had anticipated.
The LCA's our my own design and yes I did fabricate them myself. I have some photos of the the process and I am glad to share once I get a little better at posting. The really cool part about these control arms is that I used a heim joint with a double ended adjuster on the inboard side. This allows me to make toe and camber adjustments with everything still on the car. The new control arms weigh in at 10 lbs each so I saved 7 lbs on each side. Strength wise I am pretty confident that they will stand up. When we were designing the LCA's and the bracket for the cage we would ask the question, if you were going 100 mph and had to slam on the brakes suddenly, would the parts be up for the challenge. I have no concerns.
There is one area that I have not fully answered yet. I need to design a trailing/leading arm that attaches to the front of the cage. I read with great interest about the watts link but I haven't been able to visualize that install.
Since the mock up I have pretty much finished all of the detail work. Rebuilt the brakes, fabbed up new brake lines, new cover, powder coat the LCA's, new drilled and slotted rotors, new polished SS drain plugs.
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Thanks for the detailed response!! That mock up looks fantastic, what kind of material do you have in mind to go between the L bracket and the cage??
I think it was wise to box in the frame rail with some 1/8" plate. Are you welding it in just at the edges or are you going to drill holes in it and plug weld it to the frame for extra stability??
I am very interested in the LCAs. I know CWI offers a trick LCA like that, but as long as the welds were solid and the LCA was true any competent fabricator should be able to make their own as you have done. From what I can see of them they look fantastic and I can't weight to see more pictures and get more details such as material type, size, fab techniques, and so on ( I am not asking for much )
"There is one area that I have not fully answered yet. I need to design a trailing/leading arm that attaches to the front of the cage."
Just for your info here is my plan. I am going to run a piece of square tubing between the two front leaf-spring mounts on the inside of the frame. then I will be able to run two pieces of tubing from said bar to the front tie bar of the differential (made from cage parts) just inside the LCA pivits. this will add extra pinion support and will allow me a place to attach an inner pivot that is in line with the inner LCA pivot, which will effectively make the LCA a 3 pivot unit.
I machined some bushings for the front pivot out of UHMW plastic to match the ones I bought from CWI for the wishbone pivots.
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I would very much like to see pictures on your cage. I am having trouble try to figure out the best way to modify mine. I have a Falcon so it's close to your Mustang. I'd really appreciate your input.
Ed
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