phenryiv1's Rally Cross 87 325- Caged, B25 Swapped, Rear suspension refresh Last Page

[irish44j]

^^that is kind of surprising. That said, it's something that could always be added later.

kevin, I think this cage design is pretty popular with the LeMons/Chump guys, though I could be wrong. A full-on rally cage is FAR more extensive than most track cages anyhow.

[kts]

I will have to check on that, but as I will probably only do HPDEs in this car and with them not requiring a cage at all, I should be fine.

I would still check. Even with HPDEs certain clubs may want to inspect it and even though its probably plenty safe some inspectors might fail it for no diagonal support and not let you on the track. They can be anal to an extreme about that stuff at times. :(

[kts]

kevin, I think this cage design is pretty popular with the LeMons/Chump guys, though I could be wrong. A full-on rally cage is FAR more extensive than most track cages anyhow.

No diagonal in the main hoop is an automatic fail for passing Lemons/Chump rules.

See http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/userc...ntFriendly.pdf (figured 1a-c) and http://chumpcar.com/downloads/chumpcar-rules.pdf (appendix 3, section 4)

And yes most rally cages have far more bars than a track cage. The also usually will make an X with 2 diagonals in the main hoop.

The support bars on the sides from the harness bar to the trans tunnel definitely looks like a rally cage and makes that strong as hell there. In a side impact that bar is not going to move at all.

[phenryiv1]

S&W Racecars make a lot of chump/lemons cages, but this is NOT their dedicated chump/lemons cage. It is the basic 10-point, but they also do drag cars and other stuff. I could add (or could have added) more bars but I was a little unclear on what was there and what was not, so I bought the basic 10-point and will add as appropriate.

[irish44j]

No diagonal in the main hoop is an automatic fail for passing Lemons/Chump rules.

See http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/userc...ntFriendly.pdf (figured 1a-c) and http://chumpcar.com/downloads/chumpcar-rules.pdf (appendix 3, section 4)

.

sorry, I had thought Pat got the chump/lemons cage so figured that must be it, but he clarified below :)

[phenryiv1]

So I got the car picked up today and was able to examine it more closely. I am very impressed with the welds, though I am no expert. I am quite happy with the workmanship and RP was pleased with the quality of the e30 cage from S&W Racecars. As noted, the diagonal bars to the trans tunnel are somewhat uncommon, but they fit perfectly. As soon as I get today's pics up, I will get them posted here.

I did run into an issue with the trans that came with my m20b25, but a picture is worth 1000 words and I have not yet uploaded the pics.

[phenryiv1]

More pics, now that the car is home:

[phenryiv1]

So on to the next project: Replacing the transmission output flange on the new motor/trans.

I bought the B25 with a transmission attached, but though I was told that it was an eta trans (large guibo) it was actually an "i" trans (or at least flange). Since I have a large driveshaft, I wanted to swap the flange.

I purchased the recommended 30mm GearWrench 80826 deep well thin wall socket from Advance Auto Parts and was hoping for an easy swap. Not going to happen...

Started the swap last night and got hung up when the socket would not engage the nut. It fit perfectly on the old transmission, so I knew (or was pretty sure) that I had the correct socket. Worst-case scenario I was thinking that I could just swap my eta trans onto this motor, but I really wanted to avoid that, if possible.

After sending the pictures to some other e30 owners I found out that the locking plate was still in place.

Oops.

I'll use that info today and see if I can't get this swapped.

Pictures:

Socket:



Small output flange:



Socket NOT engaged properly:



Comparison shots of the small/large flanges with and without the guibo:

[EtaSport]

Hmm. I could use that small flange seeing as how it's almost impossible to find driveshafts. I should be able to help a little next weekend.

[phenryiv1]

Hmm. I could use that small flange seeing as how it's almost impossible to find driveshafts. I should be able to help a little next weekend.

Consider it yours.

[iwantspeed]

Here is how I dealt with that socket issue for the output flange.
Sometimes even with the locking plate removed the thin wall socket is to big.

http://garagistic.com/index.php?page=how-to-modify-a-30mm-socket-to-remove-the-output-flange

[phenryiv1]

Here is how I dealt with that socket issue for the output flange.
Sometimes even with the locking plate removed the thin wall socket is to big.
http://garagistic.com/index.php?page...-output-flange

It seems to work on the eta trans, but if something is amis once the locking plate is off I'll give that a shot.

Thanks!

[EtaSport]

I have the thinner wall sockets as well.

[phenryiv1]

So an unfortunate update related to the trans/driveshaft situation:

The nut on the exhaust flange is ON THERE. I did not have heat (out of gas) to try to un-set the locktite, but I did have a little free time and easy access to the original transmisison (which was fully functional) so I went ahead and pulle dit off of the B27 that I removed last week. My hope is to swapt it onto the B25 this week and be ready to do the install on Saturday.

The trans, removed:




I also went ahead and started some other minor install and cleanup. The only things that I have a picture of at this time is the Condor solid transmission mounts on the trans crossmember.





With my motor getting closer to being installed I am looking at getting the exhaust sorted out, so I pulled out some old downpipes that I had and checked them over. I am considering using either a 2-1 "y" merge/collector pipe or a dual 2"-in, single 2.5"-out muffler. I was removing the cat for recycling and decided to cut off the cat behind where the 2 pipes converge so that I can POSSIBLY apply some heat and persuasion and try to bend the oval portion of the merged pipe into a single pipe that is roughly round and has a dimaeter somewhere in the vicinity of 2.5" (I hope).

Here are the 2 pipe sets that I have:



Here is a thread where I discussed how to get the 2-to-1 convergence:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=279602

[phenryiv1]

It has been a LONG day. Quick update:

Last night I swapped in the eBay short shifter. Not a bad item, but the rubber o-rings were a PITA to position: