Targa Camaro update

[cheezer]

Well at least one person asked for it, (70rs), so here goes with the update to the Targa Camaro. After waiting for many stars to align, the project is a go for this year. The initial post canbe found here:

https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=24178

Info on the race can be found here :

http://www.targanewfoundland.com/

And if you watch this short teaser, you will understand why a roll cage is important at this type of event :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGxizok9DLI

I also got a lot of inspiration from this car and I wish I had the budget to have the same level of fit and finish :

http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicl...upe/index.html


When we last left off, we were finishing up the roll cage. Here is how the sidebars turned out. we used a square tube at the bottom because it was a perfect fit. he side bars may seem low, but they protect the pelvis area. Very important!



There are no subframe connectors as we feel that they are unnecessary at this point. The subframe bushings are Global West stock height solid aluminum.



This is what can happen when your welder has a bad day.



And the final result :





cheezer

[cheezer]

Here are some of the modifications we did to keep the cage away from the driver. We had to cut the dash, build the cage, and then repair the dash where it had been cut. Just posting the pictures for anyone inerested. Please feel free to comment as I am always willing to learn from members on this forum.












In this picture you can see the paint damage that was done to the A-pillar by a young welder who did not heed the warnings of his wise elders!





I had tried to keep the car as street as possible, and I have followed the recent debates of what constitutes a "street" car. It will have interior door panels, even though they pose a fire risk for a race car. But I will be forced to use race type switches on the trans tunnel because you cannot reach the dash when you are strapped in tight in the harness.

cheezer

[cheezer]

Up until now, this has been a pretty straight forward build. Here is where we veer off the beaten path a little bit.

We mounted the fuel cell above the rear suspension. This was done first and foremost for safety reasons. If you saw the short teaser of the race, you will see why safety is so important. This also allowed us to do the spare tire thing (see below), but we would have mounted the fuel cell here anyway.









Some of the panels were seam sealed:





We then made some panels to close off the fuel cell from the cockpit:













The final product will have a gasket between the panel and the fuel cell.



The car will be refueled through a Sparco fitting on the back cowl.




cheezer

[70rs]

Looks like you are making good progress Mark. Thanks for taking the time to post all of this. I will be following along. Good luck in the race itself and with the rest of the build.

[cheezer]

Originally Posted by 70rs

Looks like you are making good progress Mark. Thanks for taking the time to post all of this. I will be following along. Good luck in the race itself and with the rest of the build.

Thanks. I did not realize how much work it is to organize (resize, post, find file number conflicts, etc.) all these photos in a coherent fashion. I have even MORE respect for guys like Mark Stielow and others who take the time to post so many pictures and respond to so many questions.

cheezer

[cheezer]

Here are a few moreshots of the rear suspension.

This shows a mock up with the remote reservoir Penske shocks. The springs are for mock up only.



This is the Strange Engineering housing. It is part #1106A (?) for putting a 12 bolt into a third generation F-body, with torque arm rear suspension. You can see the bracket that LD made to anchor the center link. Since this is basically a prototype, there is some question as to the clearance between the diff cover and the watts linkage. That is why it was supplied with a cheap chrome cover. Also, where the bracket is attached to the upper part of the rear cover, it is shimmed with washers, for the reasons stated above.



We have mocked it up, but until the car is on the ground, sitting on it's own weight, with the links adjusted properly, we cannot know for SURE that everything will clear. Watching the video of the Bad Penny suspension sure helped a lot! It is amazing what you can see when you stand on the shoulders of giants ....

Our solution is to take a Moser diff cover, and machine the upper part to fit in the bracket. The Moser cover seems to be about an inch deeper than the current chrome pan, so it will be a tight fit. But like I said earlier, we MUST have a way of draining and filling the differential oil, without having to drop the rear suspension. And we don't want to drill and tap the flimsy chrome thing either.

cheezer

[cheezer]

Here is where the build gets slightly unique. When I first started this project back in 2005, the rules of the race dictated that the rear "differential" be of "OES" (Original Equipment Specification). At that time, the Lateral Dynamics 3 link was the hot set up, but only came with a Ford 9" housing. I called Mark at LD and explained my problem. He came up with a 12-bolt solution my problem. Even though the torque arm set up was only available in 1982, which is out of my class, I was going to try and get it in by invoking the rule that allows any attachment point in the rear suspension.

This is the only LD 3 link with a 12 bolt in existence to my knowledge.



All that was rendered moot when the rules were revised for 2009. Under the new rules, a 9 inch Ford would be allowed. In the meantime, I will try to get this thing working, even though there is an interference problem with the diff cover.



I have ordered a Moser cover and we will try and mill it to fit. Because the whole suspension has to come down to take the diff cover off, a way of draining and filling the diff is a MUST.

We also had problems with some of the threads in at the attachement points. After initially blaming a newly hired mechanic, we found we had problems with a second one, even after having proerly chased it first. Bt at this level of fabrication, small bumps in the road are to be expected. We redrilled the threads, put in some high strength, and high dollar ($10 each!) bolts and carried on.



That's all for now,

cheezer

[Swain]

Cool Project

[cheezer]

As with any build of this size, issues will arise from time to time.

The first issue is the one we have been workng on for a while : rear differential cover. We had a Moser cover machined for the bracket clearance. Then, we relocated the fill plug to allow for refilling with the suspension in place.





We now have to wait to check the clearance with the watts linkage. This will be done when the suspension is set up to check the pinion angle.




The next issue we encountered was interference between the Covan dash insert and the front cross bar of the roll cage. This was solved by cutting a channel in the insert and covering the bar with a piece of dense foam. Luckily, it is out of sight and will not contribute to any rattles.



There is also some interference with the passenger side front down bar and the ventilation duct. Since ventilation is important to a navigator during a rally, some solution for this must be found.



The interior is coming along. We decided to use an old console since access to control switches while buckled into a harness is a safety issue. I went into overkill mode, as usual, when it came to size of battery cable. The hole for the shifter will be enlarged. An inexpensive Moroso switch panel will be incorporated into the console, as well as the three switches for the Vintage Air heater/defroster. The steering wheel is for mock up only.





The custom interior panels have all been installed. Here are a few shots, including the cover for the suspension center link.







The battery hold down is a Billet Specialties unit. We added a piece of protective rubber, under the black hold down piece, just for added vibration protection.



The fuel system being mocked up is an Aeromotive SS (#11203) one, with two filters. It is a bit noisy, but has served me well so far in the previous car.



Under the hood, it has been a good news/bad news situation :

The center link interferes with the oil pan. The pan is a Milodon Road Race unit for SBC (#31505). I guess this should be dealt with.



The good news is that it seems the Lee steering box from ATS allows more room for header clearance.



Also, we added some rally touches to the engine. There are two pressure switches, one to monitor the coolant, and another to monitor the oil. But the switch has been set to monitor low oil pressure at a higher level than the regular "idiot light". This is done in order to monitor low oil pressure in high G turns. The coolant "idiot light" has been set to monitor any low pressure situation that might arise from a thrown belt or malfunctioning water pump.



That seems to be it for now. I am still questioning the need for such big brakes. I may have over built that particular system. I am thinking of switching to a brake system that would allow for 17" wheels with more sidewall. This race is on some pretty bad public roads where soft suspension settings and high ride height are the winning combination. The braking is not as intense as in an auto-cross or a tight track...... Hmmmmmmm.......

More seat of the pants planning ahead.

cheezer

[70rs]

Thanks for the updates. I always look forward to seeing this one.