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#151 |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Above Seattle
Posts: 124
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Great work! Sounds like a fun build!
Shorter struts should just be some homework to figure out what works... Does a mustang have the shock inside a tube, with the tube having the bracket for the spindle? Or is the does the shock itself have the spindle bracket welded on it? If it is the first case you could do like people in the E30 ( the 80s BMW 3 series like mine) and "stanceworks" world do to lower a car further than the bump stops... Just shorten the tube and stick in a shorter shock... LIke here...http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=22708 Or here...http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=20850 http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=233644 These are bag installs mostly but a coil would fit similarly in a bag's place... Is there something in the spindle preventing you from just cutting the spindle bracket off the shock and rewelding it higher? Food for thought, probably useless for your uses but there is always a solution to the problem.
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-Christian '91 318IS AW2 on black slow daily build 1Bad37: C5 Corvette Meets '37 Chevy |
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#152 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Wow 1Bad that is a nice pickup! The first thing I ever tried to work on was a '36 Dodge PU when I was 18 or so.
The Mustang struts have a lower bracket that attaches to the spindle. The bracket can be cut loose (I think) and the tube slid lower. It looks like that would give me about 2 of the 3.3 inches I am looking for. And I hope that with a little more effort on my part I can find a supplier of a shock cartridge series but shorter so that I can put together a combination of 1-2" shorter shock plus slid lower in the bracket. I have some coil-overs off the front of something that def have a shorter shock but their lower bracket is not the same as the Mustang. So another possibility is to harvest their shocks, ditch the coils and swap over the Mustang upper and lower mount hardware. Someone also suggested I think about just using the shocks off the Porsche struts but adapted to the Mustang spindle. This would also work. Ultimately I am keeping my eye on what will the replacement cost for new shocks be when the time comes that whatever I use wears out. I'm trying to avoid paying for "exotic" (real or imagined) Porsche spare parts prices. |
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#153 |
Slots go on anything!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 5,957
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Would struts for a lowered Mustang be of any benefit? I don't know if they are different, but it seems like the Cobras may have had a shorter strut. There are tons of lowering springs for a mustang, so it may stand to reason there would be struts as well?
Also, I think Koni can build a strut to your specs as well. It might not be cheap the first time, but they offer a rebuilding service as well. Since you are starting with an existing strut, the cost might not be too terrible.
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1974 Jimmy- 5.3/4L80e/NP241 |
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#154 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Above Seattle
Posts: 124
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Quote:
I doubt that mustang people lower their cars enough to run out of travel to the bump stop like the BMW people do... My e30 is about 3/4 inch from the stops on flat ground, and its not even low... ![]() ![]() IMG_5175mm by Der E30, on Flickr I never hit the stops though as I'm running coils with springs ~3x stiffer than stock at 500lbs/inch. ![]() ![]() ![]()
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-Christian '91 318IS AW2 on black slow daily build 1Bad37: C5 Corvette Meets '37 Chevy |
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#155 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
There it is ladies and gentlemen! The world's only Strut Tower Chop Welding Jig Thingy. It took many many hours to create it but it only took about 1 hour today to make it obsolete. I have both of the new strut tower tops tack welded into place and the original tops are... well.. topless!
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#156 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Miscellaneous pics of the process.
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#157 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Thanks very much "Strut Tower Chop Welding Jig Thingy" - you were an important step in my path to recover from Hellboy strut towers.
Next time I graft an entire engine bay from one car into another I'll have to remember to think about the strut tower height in addition to the other measurements I was taking! ![]() |
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#158 |
Man of Mini-Talents
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Posts: 4,295
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Very clever, and nice fabrication. Necessity makes it a mother to invent, or something like that.
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Steve Project - Ruth 66 Skylark Project - Lola 60 Biscayne Project - Iron Ox 54 GMC 100 Project - Darth 69 Camaro |
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#159 | |
The Older Generation
![]() ![]() ![]() Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Montezuma, Iowa
Posts: 25,483
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Quote:
No, no, no... It's "necessity is the mother of invention"... ![]() ![]() LockDoc
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Leon Locksmith, Specializing In Antique Trucks, Automobiles, & Motorcycles (My Dually Pickup Project Thread) http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=829820 - |
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#160 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
I managed to put a couple more hours on the build today. I did a preliminary trim on the strut tower tops and was able to set the hood back on!
Now it's time to figure out how to tie the Mustang tower into the remains of the 944's upper fender. |
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#161 |
Registered User
![]() Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hillsboro Oregon
Posts: 6,449
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
You gotta love a good challenge. Nicely done!
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#162 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Holy geometry nightmare Batman!
![]() It took me awhile to figure out how to tie all this stuff together but the strut towers are done and I'm burned out on them. ![]() |
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#163 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
I figure this whole strut tower top deal cost me 2 calendar months and about 20 man hours of work to put to bed. Wasn't in the plan.
![]() I need to try and avoid any more of these on this build. OK on to the next task which is constructing a new firewall that creates more room in the engine bay. |
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#164 |
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 341
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Not in the plans maybe but came out awesome. Nicely done! Looking forward to the next part of the process.
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#165 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Oopsy
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#166 |
Man of Mini-Talents
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Posts: 4,295
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Wtf ?!?
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Steve Project - Ruth 66 Skylark Project - Lola 60 Biscayne Project - Iron Ox 54 GMC 100 Project - Darth 69 Camaro |
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#167 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: los angeles,ca
Posts: 3,617
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
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#168 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Yeah for about 30 seconds there I was busier than Bambi's dad in a forest fire!
Windshield was coming out anyway due to cracks. The thing that actually burned was the plastic drain tube for the sunroof. |
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#169 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
I figured out what caused the fire to start. It was either a fire imp or a fire nymph. I can never keep the two straight.
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#170 |
Hittin E-Z Street on Mud Tires
![]() Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Greenville, SC
Posts: 23,090
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
This is slack for you! Figured it would be doing donuts by now?
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Jesse James 1967 C10 SWB Stepside: 350/700R4/3.73 1965 Ford Mustang: 289/T5-5spd/3.25 Trac-Loc 1968 Pontiac Firebird: Project Fire Chicken! 2015 Silverado Double Cab 5.3L Z71 2001 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L 5spd 2020 Chevrolet Equinox Premium 2.0L Turbo 2011 Mustang V6 ~ Wife's ride ![]() American Born, Country by the Grace of God ![]() 1967 CST Shop Truck Rebuild! My 1967 C-10 Build Thread My Vintage Air A/C Install Project "On a Dime" Trying my hand at Home Renovation! 1965 Mustang Modifications! |
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#171 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Quote:
Here's a couple of pics of where I'm at with the firewall renno. Passenger side is well along. On the drivers side I'm wrestling with the trade-off between a deep footwell for clutch/brake pedal travel and a shallower footwell to create as much room out in the engine bay as possible. And I have to remember to find a place to weld the VIN stamp back in sometime soon. |
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#172 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
OK I sucked it up today. I've got a firewall now and I cut out the metal tubing that has been inside the cab for several months. It probably still looks like a train wreck to most of you guys but there's a lot of detailed progress buried within.
![]() Edit: and a shot of the interior tube bracing I put in before starting all of the cutting. (Mid October of last year.) Last edited by sparkydog; 03-15-2014 at 09:52 PM. |
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#173 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Some random pics of the details.
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#174 |
GEARHEAD
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: MN
Posts: 6,122
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Doing a hell of a job. Really looks good.
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If no one knows what you're doing, they can't tell you you're doing it wrong HG's Dream Car Build - Shelby Cobra Kit Build your own adjustable track bar 71 ![]() 72 ![]() HG's Plow Truck '78 ![]() Bigass Farm Truck HG's thread of miscellaneous stuff |
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#175 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Marana, Arizona
Posts: 3,416
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Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Looks pretty cool to me. I love watching the details of this build!
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"I feel the need for speed!"... as soon as I am done with my nap. |
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