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[albitz]

Me too. ......would also be an intersting addition to the Omegas at next years Essex meet.

[Murph]

Great reading so far - keep it coming!   

[twiglet]

Mark, this is a fantastic thread, and exactly what is needed on the forum!  Keep up the good work, and keep posting the updates!  I for one, will be following it with keen interest. 

[markrnorton]

Me too. ......would also be an intersting addition to the Omegas at next years Essex meet.

No problem, would be good to get out !

[twiglet]

Me too. ......would also be an intersting addition to the Omegas at next years Essex meet.

As long as you don't bring the Cavalier... the rust might jump!! 

[albitz]

Typical. Flog me a car and then take the piss out of the rust on it.

 

Anyway,the rust has all been welded back into place now,so its all good.

[markrnorton]

The steering rack is one of the only bits of 'original' i will use, its again Triumph Spitfire. A compact rack and 'un-assisted'. Not many modern alternatives and to be honest there is nothing wrong with it.

Some of the more observant among you  may have noticed that i have reversed the Omega hubs on my car as the rack connects via the arms to the front, rather than the back.

I'll post up some pics in the next few days when i get it on, needless to say i am using new gaitors and track rod ends. I am also going to ditch the rubber mounts for some solid alloy ones.

In the mean time, bank holiday monday gave me a new purchase, it looks rough, and it is !!





I thought long and hard about the rear end, needed to be independant suspension and not a live axle. The Omega rear end was 10" to wide and hubs would have required to much engineering to make fit. So in the end i went with what the drift boys use ! a nissan s13 rear subframe set-up.
The one i bought is rusty as hell, soooo bad. but once i strip it of its components it should be ok. i only need the hubs, driveshafts and diff.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Christ, that rear end is as rough as a badgers arse, lets hope there is still some metal left after sand blasting!

[markrnorton]

Good plus points for the Nissan rear end are:-

• can take abuse
  many different diff ratios available
  Lots of cheap LSD's , open and two way diffs
  roughly the right width
  plentiful supply

Downside is it has a complicated set of connecting arms, but this can be overcome (also gives infinate adjustability) and it is only a 4 stud hub, so it will require a conversion to Omega style 5 stud pcd etc etc.

I will make up a 5 stud conversion in the next few weeks, this needs to be done first so i can get the width correct then reverse engineer again onto the back end. I will also use Vauxhall 5 stud rear disks, i need to research this before purchase to make sure offset and hub clearance is ok. I have removed the handbrake shoes from the original hub set-up and will make good with an alternative set-up. I really dont like the shoe in bell set-ups on some cars, really fiddly to change.

[markrnorton]

Christ, that rear end is as rough as a badgers arse, lets hope there is still some metal left after sand blasting!

Very true, most of the crud is on the subframe, which i have ditched. the hubs aren't too bad. i have started the clean up on one already and the diff is fine, (although welded).

It was also one of the heaviest bits of assembly i have ever tried to lift. Had to use the engine hoist to removed from the other halfs boot !
Then some gentle persuasion with a large club hammer, angle grinder, impact wrench and wd40 !

[aaronjb]

For the five stud conversion on the rear, will Z32 hubs fit on? I can't remember if the splines etc are the same (the rear suspension setup is almost identical, I know that much - I thought it looked familiar in the pictures before I read "S13"!)..

[markrnorton]

For the five stud conversion on the rear, will Z32 hubs fit on? I can't remember if the splines etc are the same (the rear suspension setup is almost identical, I know that much - I thought it looked familiar in the pictures before I read "S13"!)..

I believe the Z32 and the S14 hubs are the same as the S13 (all but), not sure if the drive shaft will fit plus the 5 stud on those is a different PCD. Its close but not close enough and too close to re-drill and alter. - if that makes sense

[aaronjb]

Ah yep, that makes perfect sense - I'd forgotten the PCD was different (5x114 on the Z32 IIRC? as you say, too close to 5x110)

[2woody]

Just a couple of questions ( please don't take this as criticism per se - I'm hoping to help you do a better job )

What are you doing about the suspension geometry ? those upper arms look mighty short from the photos.

Also, I can't see any anti-dive or anti-squat engineered in.

lastly, do remember that the Omega bottom ball joint is designed such that the spring and damper forces are going through the top of the strut, rather than through the joint itself. You'll be in a position where the spring/damper loads are trying to pull apart the ball joint, which it certainly wasn't designed for.

but, what a great project tho. I've often thought that the 54 degree engine was tailor-made for transplanting into such a vehicle.

[dbug]

Agreed great project - keep it coming mate