Not sure where to put this. #LSCort
07-17-2016, 08:22 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Not sure where to put this. #LSCort
I introduced myself a couple months ago and said I was going to have some sort of thread to corral my updates in one spot. If im not breaking any forum rules that is. This seems like it would be the only appropriate subforum.
Ill try to paraphrase this story so its not a TL;DR situation.
My first car was a 1991 Mercury Tracer given to me by my dad at the age of 18, this is the car that taught me the basics, it punished me with anything from a locked up waterpump to a catastrophic strut failure at speed on the freeway. It never was expensive to fix, or really challenging for that matter. But nonetheless it taught me nearly all of the basics.
Fast forward a couple cars and Ive picked up a far superior vehicle to start playing with. 1997 Eagle Talon TSi AWD
Before
After
Eagle Talon by Andy Brennan, on Flickr
After 4 years with this and doing just about every bolt on imaginable. Tubular subframes, Lancer Evo Brakes, full engine management, and traveling the country for work I decided it was time to retire it from road duty. So began the search for a new car. I was always brought back to the Escort cars, I loved how cheap they were to operate/insure/fix so I hopped on CL and whaddya know. First page brings me to a PRIME sedan for sale. It was meant to be. I was making better money at the time so I treated the car to some nice wheels, full coilovers, tubular chassis braces everywhere possible, and replaced all suspension bushings with spherical aluminum bushings. The car was a blast, would eat up well modded Subarus at AutoX all day long. But it was lacking power, it needed more GO in the straights.
I read some stuff on the interent (rollseyes) that the drivetrain for a Toyota Celica GT4 shared the right dimensions and spline counts etc. to be able to work with the available OEM AWD hubs available overseas. Long story short, after collecting all the parts and having a grip of custom subframe work done, that it wasnt so easy. Would have to get all 4 axles engineered to one off specs. And even then I would be left with a 30+ yr old Toyota motor that is lacking in aftermarket support. BLEH, what to do now?
Was talking to a buddy of mine about fabbing up some RWD guts to the chassis. I was thinking Cobra Mustang (terminator) stuff and he said "You could always use a C5 driveline and have superior handling and aftermarket support. BAM. I started googling things. Would require a widebody (who doesnt love a widebody?), and is only four inches longer in the wheelbase. Checked out prices and around the same time I got my end of year bonuses from work. I was in business. Picked up this sweet 99 6 speed rolling chassis from Cleveland Power And Performance.
Untitled by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
And around the same time I wound up getting a good deal on some 16x10.5 -32 Volk Racing TE37Vs. Wrong lug pattern, I know, But I will be purchasing a set of SKF X-tracker hubs at the end of this week and having them redrilled to the 5x4.5. Against everything I was told it turned out they cleared the brakes and suspension front and rear.
A day late for TEtuesday. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort upload 1. Stripping the Escort shell, checking clearances on the TE37Vs and the SPEC P-trim Twin Disk Clutch. Things are slowly getting started. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
Now that being said, lets get to talking about the shell. I have it stripped and cut down to here, there really isnt much to do besides start pulling measurements to begin a frame build. So you can definitely say I am past the point of no return. Hahah.
#LScort Chopped the floorboard out and dude some measuring to (roughly) figure out how things are going to fit. I do believe it's going to fit mighty well! I mean, considering the immense differences between the original cars and chassis'. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort Chopped the floorboard out and dude some measuring to (roughly) figure out how things are going to fit. I do believe it's going to fit mighty well! I mean, considering the immense differences between the original cars and chassis'. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort Chopped the floorboard out and dude some measuring to (roughly) figure out how things are going to fit. I do believe it's going to fit mighty well! I mean, considering the immense differences between the original cars and chassis'. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
My, very broad, end goal for the car is going to be something along these lines, still open for interpretation along the way.
-Ridetech Shockwave air suspension, cantilever arms in the rear. Will lay frame/rocker panel when aired out.
-Widebody to be Box-flare styled, think Ford Festiva SHOGun
-"2 door sedan" Ill explain further in future posts
As of right now I dont plan on any motor mods, the chassis and shell, once built, should be plenty light enough for this to be fun to drive. If it is decided that it needs more power I plan on doing a wild port/NA/ITB setup and leave it at that. This car certainly wont need anymore go juice.
I know some of you are probably wondering what my cause/purpose is here, like whats the car going to be good for? Im not really concerned about it being a competitive chassis by any means, i like my cars to be fun and safe, So if this car achieves those things I am A-ok with that. And really, If i dont do this who else will?
I know I make it sound like its going to be a walk in the park. Just trying to keep this post short is all. If anybody has any criticism (constructive or otherwise) feel free to share it and Ill do my best to mingle!
Happy motoring!
Ill try to paraphrase this story so its not a TL;DR situation.
My first car was a 1991 Mercury Tracer given to me by my dad at the age of 18, this is the car that taught me the basics, it punished me with anything from a locked up waterpump to a catastrophic strut failure at speed on the freeway. It never was expensive to fix, or really challenging for that matter. But nonetheless it taught me nearly all of the basics.
Fast forward a couple cars and Ive picked up a far superior vehicle to start playing with. 1997 Eagle Talon TSi AWD
Before
After
Eagle Talon by Andy Brennan, on FlickrAfter 4 years with this and doing just about every bolt on imaginable. Tubular subframes, Lancer Evo Brakes, full engine management, and traveling the country for work I decided it was time to retire it from road duty. So began the search for a new car. I was always brought back to the Escort cars, I loved how cheap they were to operate/insure/fix so I hopped on CL and whaddya know. First page brings me to a PRIME sedan for sale. It was meant to be. I was making better money at the time so I treated the car to some nice wheels, full coilovers, tubular chassis braces everywhere possible, and replaced all suspension bushings with spherical aluminum bushings. The car was a blast, would eat up well modded Subarus at AutoX all day long. But it was lacking power, it needed more GO in the straights.
I read some stuff on the interent (rollseyes) that the drivetrain for a Toyota Celica GT4 shared the right dimensions and spline counts etc. to be able to work with the available OEM AWD hubs available overseas. Long story short, after collecting all the parts and having a grip of custom subframe work done, that it wasnt so easy. Would have to get all 4 axles engineered to one off specs. And even then I would be left with a 30+ yr old Toyota motor that is lacking in aftermarket support. BLEH, what to do now?
Was talking to a buddy of mine about fabbing up some RWD guts to the chassis. I was thinking Cobra Mustang (terminator) stuff and he said "You could always use a C5 driveline and have superior handling and aftermarket support. BAM. I started googling things. Would require a widebody (who doesnt love a widebody?), and is only four inches longer in the wheelbase. Checked out prices and around the same time I got my end of year bonuses from work. I was in business. Picked up this sweet 99 6 speed rolling chassis from Cleveland Power And Performance.
Untitled by Beau Anderson, on FlickrAnd around the same time I wound up getting a good deal on some 16x10.5 -32 Volk Racing TE37Vs. Wrong lug pattern, I know, But I will be purchasing a set of SKF X-tracker hubs at the end of this week and having them redrilled to the 5x4.5. Against everything I was told it turned out they cleared the brakes and suspension front and rear.
A day late for TEtuesday. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort upload 1. Stripping the Escort shell, checking clearances on the TE37Vs and the SPEC P-trim Twin Disk Clutch. Things are slowly getting started. by Beau Anderson, on FlickrNow that being said, lets get to talking about the shell. I have it stripped and cut down to here, there really isnt much to do besides start pulling measurements to begin a frame build. So you can definitely say I am past the point of no return. Hahah.
#LScort Chopped the floorboard out and dude some measuring to (roughly) figure out how things are going to fit. I do believe it's going to fit mighty well! I mean, considering the immense differences between the original cars and chassis'. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort Chopped the floorboard out and dude some measuring to (roughly) figure out how things are going to fit. I do believe it's going to fit mighty well! I mean, considering the immense differences between the original cars and chassis'. by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort Chopped the floorboard out and dude some measuring to (roughly) figure out how things are going to fit. I do believe it's going to fit mighty well! I mean, considering the immense differences between the original cars and chassis'. by Beau Anderson, on FlickrMy, very broad, end goal for the car is going to be something along these lines, still open for interpretation along the way.
-Ridetech Shockwave air suspension, cantilever arms in the rear. Will lay frame/rocker panel when aired out.
-Widebody to be Box-flare styled, think Ford Festiva SHOGun
-"2 door sedan" Ill explain further in future posts
As of right now I dont plan on any motor mods, the chassis and shell, once built, should be plenty light enough for this to be fun to drive. If it is decided that it needs more power I plan on doing a wild port/NA/ITB setup and leave it at that. This car certainly wont need anymore go juice.
I know some of you are probably wondering what my cause/purpose is here, like whats the car going to be good for? Im not really concerned about it being a competitive chassis by any means, i like my cars to be fun and safe, So if this car achieves those things I am A-ok with that. And really, If i dont do this who else will?
I know I make it sound like its going to be a walk in the park. Just trying to keep this post short is all. If anybody has any criticism (constructive or otherwise) feel free to share it and Ill do my best to mingle!
Happy motoring!
07-19-2016, 02:45 PM
#2
This is fvcking awesome.
07-25-2016, 01:30 PM
#3
Racer
Thread Starter
Slowly but surely it will get better!
To explain a little farther on the Two Door sedan mentions I made earlier. This should help explain what im talking about.
All two door Escorts released in America were hatchback cars. Big ugly hatch window and body lines leave much to be desired. A while back i saw some Instagram goodness from Jakarta, Indonesia and couldnt help but get excited. Somebody had taken the doors/quarters/quarter windows from a 2 door car and put them on a 4 door shell, something that ford never did with this chassis. And I knew I had to have it!
Here is an example of the regular 2 door hatchback car. Skinny little rear end, big bubble hatch window, just looks neutered when compared to a sedan shell.
1995-ford-escort-hatchback-2 by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
The top car here is where this crazy Indonesian molded the sides off the two door car onto a 4 door chassis, leaving the trunk in place and looking fly as these cars can. The longer doors from the two door will also help with cabin access since the engine will take up more room near the firewall. So these are all good things.
The bottom 4 door is my car a couple years ago on its first set of wheels and cruising around "on its nuts" so to speak.
11925802_761746023937454_2001248865_n(1) by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
After a little bit of searching I found my donor car! Cant argue with a $500 car that has all gears and ice cold AC, haha.
11910363_988296424547380_1023709390_n by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
I didnt end up buying the hubs this week, but I was able to collect all the hardware (12x1.5 high tensile screw in wheel studs, hubcentric rings, and Rays Formula lug nuts) for the redrill on the X-tracker hubs when I do pick them up. Which will be at the end of this week.
To explain a little farther on the Two Door sedan mentions I made earlier. This should help explain what im talking about.
All two door Escorts released in America were hatchback cars. Big ugly hatch window and body lines leave much to be desired. A while back i saw some Instagram goodness from Jakarta, Indonesia and couldnt help but get excited. Somebody had taken the doors/quarters/quarter windows from a 2 door car and put them on a 4 door shell, something that ford never did with this chassis. And I knew I had to have it!
Here is an example of the regular 2 door hatchback car. Skinny little rear end, big bubble hatch window, just looks neutered when compared to a sedan shell.
1995-ford-escort-hatchback-2 by Beau Anderson, on FlickrThe top car here is where this crazy Indonesian molded the sides off the two door car onto a 4 door chassis, leaving the trunk in place and looking fly as these cars can. The longer doors from the two door will also help with cabin access since the engine will take up more room near the firewall. So these are all good things.
The bottom 4 door is my car a couple years ago on its first set of wheels and cruising around "on its nuts" so to speak.11925802_761746023937454_2001248865_n(1) by Beau Anderson, on FlickrAfter a little bit of searching I found my donor car! Cant argue with a $500 car that has all gears and ice cold AC, haha.
11910363_988296424547380_1023709390_n by Beau Anderson, on FlickrI didnt end up buying the hubs this week, but I was able to collect all the hardware (12x1.5 high tensile screw in wheel studs, hubcentric rings, and Rays Formula lug nuts) for the redrill on the X-tracker hubs when I do pick them up. Which will be at the end of this week.
11-20-2016, 12:31 PM
#5
Racer
Thread Starter
Heres one for ya!
Got some things sorted on the car on my last trip home. One more trip and I will most likely have everything sorted to drop off for fabrication and let the real fun begin!
With the help of some Detroit Speed Engineering Ford pattern front hubs I was able to get the front wheel setup totally situated for mockup. The OEM brake rotors will be swapped for some 2 piece later down the road, so have no fear about the manner in which I hogged out the lug holes. Haha. With the wild wheel specs it turns out the car will, as thought, need some CRAZY metal work to cover these bad boys up. And Im okay with that, here are a few pics to keep this thread a little more lively!
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
One of the reasons redrilling a factory hub is out of the question. These things are swiss cheese straight from the manufacturer! I ordered SKF X-tracker hubs to have machined, but it turns out Detroit Speed sent me the exact hubs I had asked them not too. Still in the process of exchanging them and then the correct hubs will go to machining and have new wheel studs installed at the proper lug pattern, as there are no off-the-shelf solutions for the rear. Had to drill a temporary stud in the rear to fit up the wheels under the rump.
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
Now to the pics that show some meaty goodness!
Can you say WIDE?
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
And a couple shots to give an idea of engine fitup/location. The torque tube will NOT be shortened, as that will take away too much cabin space. Custom front crossmember here we come!
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
Well, thats all for this checkup, hope youve enjoyed this chapter! Happy motoring!
Got some things sorted on the car on my last trip home. One more trip and I will most likely have everything sorted to drop off for fabrication and let the real fun begin!
With the help of some Detroit Speed Engineering Ford pattern front hubs I was able to get the front wheel setup totally situated for mockup. The OEM brake rotors will be swapped for some 2 piece later down the road, so have no fear about the manner in which I hogged out the lug holes. Haha. With the wild wheel specs it turns out the car will, as thought, need some CRAZY metal work to cover these bad boys up. And Im okay with that, here are a few pics to keep this thread a little more lively!
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on FlickrOne of the reasons redrilling a factory hub is out of the question. These things are swiss cheese straight from the manufacturer! I ordered SKF X-tracker hubs to have machined, but it turns out Detroit Speed sent me the exact hubs I had asked them not too. Still in the process of exchanging them and then the correct hubs will go to machining and have new wheel studs installed at the proper lug pattern, as there are no off-the-shelf solutions for the rear. Had to drill a temporary stud in the rear to fit up the wheels under the rump.
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on FlickrNow to the pics that show some meaty goodness!
Can you say WIDE?
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on FlickrAnd a couple shots to give an idea of engine fitup/location. The torque tube will NOT be shortened, as that will take away too much cabin space. Custom front crossmember here we come!
#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on Flickr#LScort stuff. Had a mixup with the rear hubs, but was able to makeshift a fit up in the rear. Enjoy! by Beau Anderson, on FlickrWell, thats all for this checkup, hope youve enjoyed this chapter! Happy motoring!
11-21-2016, 11:37 PM
#7
This is amazing.
11-22-2016, 04:17 PM
#8
Race Director
I'd be replumbing lines and wires to be accessible during maintenance down the road. Like, replacing the oil pressure sensor? Use a remote line to the sensor... Stuff like that.
04-06-2017, 10:31 PM
#11
Racer
Thread Starter
I know its been a damn long time. Im here for an update!
See below.
04-06-2017, 11:00 PM
#12
Racer
Thread Starter
Alright, so, where to start?
After getting ahold of a half dozen brake companies I was finally able to get someone with the cajones to machine a 2 piece rotor assembly with the appropriate lug pattern for my project. They changed no other specs for these rotors, the center hub bore, hat/rotor offset, everything is the same. This particular set was sans parking brake. An option you can have on their typical brake setups. After paying for their costs to program and machine a fixture for the corresponding lug pattern we were off!
Without further adieu, here is the one off set of brakes made by Performance AFX out of west Chicago, IL.
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
As of now I only have the one picture of my actual brakes, they shipped to my brothers house and he has been "too busy" for the last week to take more than one picture for me.
With that part out of the way, and the fact that I (still) cant do much work to anything. I decided to have a render made to start on the body design.
I got in touch with a graphics engineer by the name of Benny (@axesent, if you Instagram) who has done some work for alot of friends in the past and I knew he was just the guy for this task.
As he started mocking things up we realized to make the coupe door and quarter window fit on a sedan that the door actually had to be shortened, so we came to a happy medium that required the least amount of glass work.
And it wasnt until yesterday that I had a EUREKA moment. With the C5 chassis I am using having the wheelbase is approx 6 inches longer than the Ford Escort wheelbase, just how much longer is the coupe door and quarter window and C-pillar going to be. As it turns out the SOB is right about 6 inches longer and If I lengthen the Escort body to accommodate it I wont have to modify the wheelbase on the C5 goodies. I am stoked to know that this will be able to maintain the Corvette weight distribution! Here are a few renders to illustrate!
This shows the general proportions of a shortened coupe door on a factory length Sedan body.
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
And this illustrates the amount of (at least close) body stretch that will need done to accommodate both the Corvette wheelbase and the longer Coupe door and quarter window package.
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on Flickr
I know I dont have much to show in here, ive been ridiculously busy with a new transition at work that will soon require me to haul my cars over a few state lines. Once I get settled in I will actually have some good progress to show.
Thanks for looking!
After getting ahold of a half dozen brake companies I was finally able to get someone with the cajones to machine a 2 piece rotor assembly with the appropriate lug pattern for my project. They changed no other specs for these rotors, the center hub bore, hat/rotor offset, everything is the same. This particular set was sans parking brake. An option you can have on their typical brake setups. After paying for their costs to program and machine a fixture for the corresponding lug pattern we were off!
Without further adieu, here is the one off set of brakes made by Performance AFX out of west Chicago, IL.
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on Flickr[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on Flickr[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on FlickrAs of now I only have the one picture of my actual brakes, they shipped to my brothers house and he has been "too busy" for the last week to take more than one picture for me.
With that part out of the way, and the fact that I (still) cant do much work to anything. I decided to have a render made to start on the body design.
I got in touch with a graphics engineer by the name of Benny (@axesent, if you Instagram) who has done some work for alot of friends in the past and I knew he was just the guy for this task.
As he started mocking things up we realized to make the coupe door and quarter window fit on a sedan that the door actually had to be shortened, so we came to a happy medium that required the least amount of glass work.
And it wasnt until yesterday that I had a EUREKA moment. With the C5 chassis I am using having the wheelbase is approx 6 inches longer than the Ford Escort wheelbase, just how much longer is the coupe door and quarter window and C-pillar going to be. As it turns out the SOB is right about 6 inches longer and If I lengthen the Escort body to accommodate it I wont have to modify the wheelbase on the C5 goodies. I am stoked to know that this will be able to maintain the Corvette weight distribution! Here are a few renders to illustrate!
This shows the general proportions of a shortened coupe door on a factory length Sedan body.
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on FlickrAnd this illustrates the amount of (at least close) body stretch that will need done to accommodate both the Corvette wheelbase and the longer Coupe door and quarter window package.
[/url]#LScort[/url] by Beau Anderson, on FlickrI know I dont have much to show in here, ive been ridiculously busy with a new transition at work that will soon require me to haul my cars over a few state lines. Once I get settled in I will actually have some good progress to show.
Thanks for looking!
Last edited by Xav!er; 04-06-2017 at 11:05 PM.