The Frankenprotege rallycar worklog

[Blazin674]

is there any way you can make 2 sets of mounts?
________
Lovely Wendie99

[jay]

We'll see. I was sorta thinking of making 2 of everything just to have spares, if it isn't too much of a PITA. Assuming it isn't, maybe we could make 3. What are they worth to ya?

Said the guy who thought he was gonna get his junk to the machine shop today, and who with every passing day sees the chances of running Mt.Hood diminish....

[jay]

I have the shortblock and freshened head back from the machine shop. Went back there again today though, flywheel and pressure plate in hand. They're gonna take just the slightest touch off, and then it and the plate go over to the balance shop. The guy there wants to balance that assembly and is including it in the price paid to balance the crank/rods/pistons, so yeah I'm OK with that. I'll be curious to find out how much correction is needed on a fidanza wheel and act plate, but I figure it can't hurt anything.
Ordered the custom clutch disc and a set of ARP head studs. Once those are here and the flywheel's back, it's time to start assembly, baby...then all I need to find is the "sugar cube" part of the shift linkage, a toyota clutch slave cylinder, and some front halfshafts..
And a driveshaft.
And prolly some other crap I've long since forgotten about....

[808]

Come on Jay!!! 2 more weekends before the event... You can do it!

[jay]

Got started on the rear end. Figured since now my engine is baaaaack and almost totally put together (less manifolds and disty but we're putting that lot in after it's in the bay), I better get on this crap. I looked at replicating the awesome tubular rear subframes JPmotorsports makes, looked at the number of opportunities such efforts would give me to completely screw up my suspension geometry, and folded my hand and modded my existing subframe instead. This damn toyletta rear end is, like, big. The halfshafts won't install without removing those upper suspension bolts. You have to cut away at both the front and rear of the subframe to make room for the damn thing. I decided to use part of the toyota subframe, so as to reuse those 4 bolt holes at the front, and just welded that to my subframe after cutting off the front mount bits and reinforced it with those 2 square braces. They aren't anything like as crooked as they look in the pic, there's some pinbarrel distortion in the photo. The surplus ends of the Toyota bit are gonna get Sawzalled and plated. I'm gonna tie the back of the diff into those 2 mount points on the frame and mod the mazda diffcradle to bolt to the diff. I'll also seamweld the whole damn thing before it goes back on the car.
We also started in on bolting the trans to the block but got no farther than confirming that yes indeed the transfer case has to come off before bolting the tranny to the engine. We held off doing that till I was able to get confirmation from the guy who built it that no there aren't any surprises involved when you do this. So later this week I'll be doing the bellhousing mod needed to clear the startermotor nose, bolting the plate to the block, removing the xfer, and trying to get this stuff together.

[SgtRauksauff]

lookin' good! I wish I was closer, I'd stop by and give a hand, just to see it up close and personal, so when/if I do my own, I'll have a bit of it under my fingers already...

--sarge

[white-lightning]

From what I understand would it not be better not to fully seam-weld it? I mean for every inch of seam-weld an inch that is not seam-welded. This would allow some flex in the subframe so that it helps to keep it from cracking along the welds. I know when JPmotorsports seam-welded his strut towers he did it that way. Nonetheless it look great and I really like the build.

[jay]

Yeah I think I wrote that I plan on seamwelding the whole thing...

[jay]

Rear end is in, at least in test mode. I decided against seamwelding the whole thing, just mostly where I modded it instead, cuz there's no sign of it coming apart and it's heavy enough as it is. I may change my mind later.
I know the guys that have done this swap with GTR's have had to use spacers tween the diff and the halfshafts but I didn't... if anything there's less slack in the inner CV's than there should be. Protege has less track than GTR? ST205 halfshafts are longer than st185? I'd like to find out. You can see where I cut the toyletta front subframe mount points off and plated the ends, and where I found I need to reroute the exhaust a tad to clear it and the diff. In back, you can see where I ran outta black paint and improvised for now. That rear mount is prolly a touch overdone. The toyota part is one thin sheet mounted in rubber fergodsake. That angle iron has a backing plate under it so it's almost 1/2" thick...
Gad this is ugly, I throw myself at the mercy of the court but would like to point out that (1) it's a rallycar and (2) what I have for tools here is a sawzall and a welder so there dammit.

[worldhazard]

Gad this is ugly, I throw myself at the mercy of the court but would like to point out that (1) it's a rallycar and (2) what I have for tools here is a sawzall and a welder so there dammit.

that's the only thing that matters damnit. if you need a hand on stage if anything happen, i'm sure I'll be near

[TheOnenOnly]

this is going to be a sick build

[therieldeal]

woo woooo get to it jay!

you do know about modding the oil pan and block skirt to clear the rear transfer, right?

[jay]

That bit is already done. We'll see if it's done enough, when we take the xfer case off and bolt the rest of it to the block.

[SgtRauksauff]

oh man!! I like!!! good job, especially with just a sawzall and a welder!! I doubt anything I made would be better, as that's basically what I've got too, plus a torch.

hmm.. maybe I'll get a second adapter plate...

--sarge

[JPmotorsports]

Great job Jay!! I doubt that diff mount will ever fail!