tube frame/cage mini sprint build

Hello to all.  Just joined the forum.  

An interesting mix of projects here, from Studebaker to Ferrari.

I've been looking for a venue to post my current project.  Seems like it might fit somewhere in the mix.

Get my material organized a bit & get on with it.

Perhaps the word sprint is a bit misleading in regard to this project.  I use it because I haven't come up with a more visually descriptive word for the build...could call it a buggy, I suppose.

The design of the frame & cage is strongly influenced by my attraction to the outlaw sprint dirt track cars.

The suspension design, however, is of '70's era F-1 cars.

My text book for the suspension is Carroll Smith's "Tune to win".  Carroll was the crew chief on the Ford team when they won class at 24 hrs at LeMans in the late 60s-early 70s.

Power will be Kawasaki KZ650 with 5 speed.

I found the bike in a shed where the owner had parked it after college.  It's an 82 with only 22K on the odometer.

I've had the cam covers off & it's absolutely spotless inside, so I'm encouraged that when the time comes, it should run well without too many problems.

I decided to integrate the engine cradle from the bike in the build, in that I won't have to engineer engine mounts from scratch.  

Welcome to the asylum!

Crazy is on the left, ludicrous on the right, and finished projects are somewhere down the hall!

You can't go wrong with Carroll Smith. Duster is right, but there really are quite a few that have made it down the hall.

Yes, Carroll was very articulate in his explanations of how the different suspension configurations worked regarding roll centers & their movements, etc.  Not just suspension, though, but the total setup for a competitive car.

The plan is for this project to make it down the hall.  Kinda slow going in that it's a hobby & only spare time & money get invested in it.

I've got the templates ready for the seat.  Just  need to source the materials here locally.

Control arms are fitted & tacked for the back of the car.  Weld them solid after I'm sure they don't need any changes.

My original intent was  to use rod ends for the suspension, but good ones are too expensive for my budget so went with off the shelf ball joints & urethane bushings.

In for bike engine goodness! Are you using OE automotive uprights for the suspension or fabbing your own?

Great stuff! I like how you're approaching the design and layout.

I've had one of those KZ650 bikes but it was years ago; 30 of 'em. Probably good for about 50-60 horsies.

In my garage, I've got a 2001 Suzuki GSXR750 engine car kit; literally soup to nuts. I've had the thing for 15 years, came off a crashed bike (wow, a crashed sportbike? Who'd a thought?) in about 2002 so it's got  3k miles or so on it. When I got it, I had a 2000 GSXR track day bike (not remotely street legal) and the idea was to build it into race engine. Sold the bike about 12 years ago and this engine has been taking up space in the garage since. As it sits, it's good for about 120-130 horsies so about double the KZ. If you really build it, they'll put down over 160 but I don't think you need to do that; it'll scare the E36 M3 outta you stock.

These Gen1 water-cooled 750's shared the bottom end with the 1000's, so they're pretty bulletproof. And being water-cooled are much easier to fold into a car. Especially a mid engined car.

If you're interested, I'll give it to you. All you gotta do is cough up the shipping. Depending on where you are, that could range from zero, I'll drive it over, to around 300 bucks, you're in Madawaska, Maine.

Lemme know if you're interested. I'd like to get it outta my garage and even more see it put to good use.

gumby, I'm fabbing them.  I've got pics of development for next couple of posts.

rd, according to Kaw, this one is factory rated at 84 hp.  It's Calif compliant for smog so I figure that with some tweak on fuel, timing & exhaust there's a few more in it than that.  I appreciate the offer but I've got some time in this package already so figure I'll save the shipping cost for parts.  Unless you're  in K.C., Mo....

Very cool 

This is neat. Looking forward to your uprights. That's where my ideas always fall apart when I'm considering something like this. 

Really appreciate all of the positive feedback from everyone!

Mazdeuce, I wrestled with how best to do it for quite a while.  Wanted something clean & very simple in design.  I'm pleased with what I've come up with.  Looked at a lot of utube searching for ideas.

Wheels for the back.  Nascar style  centers kinda matches the vibe of the build.  Aluminum would have been more friendly to the unsprung weight aspect but at about 3 times the cost.  Did I mention I'm on a budget here? 

Junkyard parts for the final drive.

Pull the center section out of the housing & fab a "can" to hold it...replace the ring gear with the chain drive sprocket.

Pressed the wheel bearing hubs out of the stock cast pieces & discarded them.  Axle shafts will have to be shortened.

Template for hub backing plate.

I like where this is going...

Thanks for looking preach.

I needed tapered seat bosses for the ball joint studs so hacked some plugs off a piece of bar stock & jigged them up in the mill for facing & squaring.

Met a guy who runs a one man grind shop where he mfgs & reconditions machine cutting tools.  I took him my drawing with measurements along with a new 3/4" end mill & he profiled it to my specs.

Drilled on center to the small diameter on the ball joint stud & then ran the cutter in after that to cut the taper.  Fits perfect.

Moar!

Nice work! What kind of mill is that?

wvumtnbkr said:

Moar!

Indeed

RossD said:

Nice work! What kind of mill is that?

Thanks!  It came from Grizzly Industrial.  Not super heavy duty but it's what I could afford.  As long as I take my time with light cuts, it has done everything I've asked it to do.

Stiffener ribs that will taper down to the bearing hub to help eliminate flex.

Lengths of angle will hold both ends in good alignment after clamping while things are tacked in place for final welding.  Depth gauge will assure that everything is accurately centered on the backing plate.

Those look up-righteous! Sorry if I missed it; what was the hub and axle donor? 

Impressive!!! Following along.

GoLucky, rear drive components are Subaru.  Ball joints are Mini Cooper.

Hubs were 5 lug, wheels I chose are 4.  Pressed the flanges out of the hubs & re drilled.

This is looking fun!  Is it going to be an autocrosser, or different goal?

Really liking the work on the knuckles so far! this should be an absolute blast, how wide are those wheels?

Lof8 said:

This is looking fun!  Is it going to be an autocrosser, or different goal?

Autocross is probably the most accessible application for it.  I prefer asphalt over dirt & want both right & left turns with both acceleration & braking.  Drag racing doesn't present the type driving challenge I'm looking for.

I've been offered access to a corner of a small private airport that's not too far away, so skid pad & figure 8's will be the first order of business for getting it sorted out & dialed in.

A lot to do between now & then, though...