Projects on my auto-x / trackday car

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Which is a Cavalier... Im pretty new around here so I thought Id share some stuff that Im currently working on. Yes, its a cavalier, but Im hoping most will be pleasantly suprised by the car and the work Ive done and/or is in progress.I wont go into a ton of detail on the car, but my current project is a slight redo of the rear suspension. A few years ago I swapped to a Beretta style torsion beam (its lighter and supposedly stronger), and created my own jackbolt style adjustable spring perches, added some Mustang double adjustable race shocks and single rate Eibach springs, Daytona rear disc brakes etc.Here are some pics of that setup before I started the current project(s)Fully assembledCustom lower articulating perch that I designed (but had machined)I dont have any pics but the upper perch is height adjustable via a jack bolt that goes inside the trunk. Anyway, Ive been shedding a bunch of weight off the car the last year or two (I think Im down close to 2380) and the rear just wouldnt go low enough. I discussed running a shorter spring with Koni, but they didnt think I would have enough travel. Rather than modifying the chassis any more, I decided to make some offset hub plates to lower the car without chaning the suspension geometry and keeping the same travel. Also I wanted an adjustable rear swaybar (which also shed another 13lbs and removed almost 20lbs of unsprung weight)New setup:I designed the swaybar mount in SW and had it laser cut. And the beam finished up.Any constructive criticism, thoughts, comments etc welcome. I will continue to add to this post. Hopefully I can learn something while Im here. Dan
Reply:Did a final test fit of the beam sunday, all is well. While that is off at the powder coater Im back to the front of the car working on the lightweight quick release front end. Back to working on the front end. I picked up the steel brackets for the core support from the laser cutter on the way home from work. Managed to get them welded together, and welded to the car. The new upper core support mainly done, including tabs for the hood pins. And welded up what will be the new bumper support. There is still a lot that needs to be done, but I almost have enough to start working on the bars for the headlights and grille. Im hoping to have complete by the end of next week. The plan is for the bumper cover support and the upper core support, headlights, grille etc to all come out as one assembly by simply removing 4 pins. Dan
Reply:Welcome to WW Juiced-n20junkie from nyspeedSyncrowave 350Coolmate 3Millermatic 251Spoolmatic 30A
Reply:Cool project, keep the pics coming!
Reply:Sweet!
Reply:Thanks guys. Hoping to get some more done on the front end stuff tonight. Again, any comments or critique of my fab / welding skils would be appreciated. Thats one of the reasons I joined here. Hopefully to learn something while sharing my projects. Dan
Reply:On your rear suspension work, all of the welds are undercut pretty good.  Your heat looks pretty good, you need to add more filler, maybe switch to a larger diameter filler rod. Make sure the tungsten is sharp, im sure it is, but a blunt tungsten will make undercutting worse. Many people shoot for pretty welds, that are concave, but you need to add filler to the joint to at least maintain material thickness or increase it slightly in the weld area.  Not only is it a thickness issue, but you have a heat affected zone that has increased carbon content from the heating.  You need to add filler to help that area out.  Due to the heavy bracing it looks like you will be fine.  But i have seen many a pretty tig weld fail because of poorly fit (no bevel) and poorly penetrated (pretty much a fusion weld) and over heated high carbon alloys.  Your alum work and engineering is very solid.  I would love to check that car out some time, you have some really good ideas. Only cause you asked. Syncrowave 350Coolmate 3Millermatic 251Spoolmatic 30A
Reply:Thanks, this is exactly the response I was looking for. The tungsten was definitely sharp. I try to keep it that way.I was using a fairly small rod on the steel work, I forget which size exactly). There is no reason I cant make another pass over them with a larger rod. In fact, I think I will do that based on your recommendation, even if its just to see how it turns out. Ive TIG welded WAY more aluminum that steel. For whatever reason I never liked TIG welding steel. Ill play around some tonight and report back Dan
Reply:A second pass will be ok, as long as your adding filler.  Your torch control and pace looks really nice, some thicker filler and your all set.  I buy a bunch at a time and use 2in pvc cut  to rod legnth and put one cap on, and on the other end, i use a cap, but cut it 3 times so that it doesnt grab tighht to the tube. Getto rod holders, but they work, and i keep everything from .035 to 1/8 on hand.  That could use 3/32 filler easily.  Good welds are not always the pretty ones.Syncrowave 350Coolmate 3Millermatic 251Spoolmatic 30A
Reply:Ok. Glad Im doing something right. I did bevel the tube out really well and did two passes with some smallish filler. Probably near 1/2 the size you suggested. I think I have 3/32" "in stock". Dan
Reply:wicked setup!syncrowave 180 sd
Reply:Thanks!n20junkie:       So I did one more pass over the tube to plate beads last night using the larger 3/32" filler, it turned out pretty nice. Pretty much no more undercut and a much more substantial bead. I didnt get any pics but the advise above definitely helped out. Dan
Reply:Thats awesome to hear.  Sometimes its a change of something small that makes all the difference.  Pics on request.Syncrowave 350Coolmate 3Millermatic 251Spoolmatic 30A
Reply:very nice build! looks like you do some awesome work keep it up!
Reply:Pylon junkie! I run in 30-40 autox events a year.
Reply:A CAVALIER!? my freaking god!(just kidding bro)Nice welding and nice engineering, looks pretty solid. What HP do you have in that rig? any specs?My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Thanks everyone. Well I havent had the car on the dyno in a few years, acutally its spent more time on jackstands than it has on the road in that time. My hope is that it will make 400whp and 400+wftlbs. This is going to be the year I can finally get it tuned with my newest setup and put some real miles on it. Im hoping to be on the dyno in late April or early May. Whenever the salt is all washed off the roads and I can make it up the "mountain" to the dyno. I dropped the beam and my door panel interior skins off sat am for powder. With any luck they will be ready this friday, if not next monday. Hoping to get a ton of work done tonight on either the front end stuff, or the new exhaust. Dan
Reply:Every time I see pics of this car my bone stock 2004 Cavalier w/ 14" steelies cries "Why cant YOU make ME feel that way" Awesome work Dan
Reply:I got the new 3" midpipe and mufller welded up on tues night. I still need to create a hanger for the muffler and make the aluminum Y and side pipes. It hangs down like an inch or so, not bad. Adding things up this new 3" exhaust should be 17lbs lighter than my old 2.5" with the cutout. Not bad. Dan
Reply:Nice work, Dan!  What class are you preparing this car for?  I'm going to take a wild stab and say street mod, maybe?  Looks like very nice work.PS - If you're in a minimum weight class, and if your car is lighter than the minimum class weight, it would be hard to add ballast that is any lower than the exhaust system.Last edited by jakeru; 02-03-2011 at 09:49 PM.
Reply:We are gonna need a video clip with sound
Reply:Originally Posted by jakeruNice work, Dan!  What class are you preparing this car for?  I'm going to take a wild stab and say street mod, maybe?  Looks like very nice work.PS - If you're in a minimum weight class, and if your car is lighter than the minimum class weight, it would be hard to add ballast that is any lower than the exhaust system.
Reply:Bring it up to Devens, Ma. for some autox when it's done. Some of the clubs that run here have courses that are a full 2 min long, and often 10-12 runs a day. I run in ASP. Also instruct for a few of the clubs, and also course designer for a few of them.
Reply:Originally Posted by Sputter FizzleBring it up to Devens, Ma. for some autox when it's done. Some of the clubs that run here have courses that are a full 2 min long, and often 10-12 runs a day. I run in ASP. Also instruct for a few of the clubs, and also course designer for a few of them.
Reply:Finished up the midpipe and its hanger tonight. Just need to paint it up now. Also finally cut out the plates (again, with my trusty bosch jig saw) for the monoball setup. One is basically all done. I just need to make some relief cuts between the control arm holes so it can go all the way in (its short by about 1/8"). The other still needs the cup welded and the reliefs cut. monoball plate vs. stock balljoint.Danpretty clean work, apart from the undercut that was already discussed. Now if only you could put the power to the proper end of the car you would be al set.
Reply:Thanks. I took care of that before powder. Picked up the beam and my door panel skins from powder yesterday. Managed to get one door panel on. Which I think look much better than the raw alum.Dan
Reply:Nice rework. I have a ? for you. Whats a good local place for powdercoating. I have a few things for the race car that need some coating. Thanks.Syncrowave 350Coolmate 3Millermatic 251Spoolmatic 30A
Reply:Thanks.I use a place near my house out in Palmyra (20min east of Rochester). I dont think that would be too convenient for you.Dan
Reply:Juice love the build make me miss my neon. what turbo you running? I had a gt35th on my neon, boosting 28 psi andmade  557 HP and 513 lbs/ft. this was great for drag racing but not so much for auto crossing. The car auto crossed much better on a super 16g because of when boost would come in.Last edited by 4x4Rick; 02-09-2011 at 12:27 PM.
Reply:Thanks man. Im running a T3/T4 50 trim. The boost comes in pretty quick. I still dont have it tuned yet, so its yet to be seen really when it comes in at. Dan
Reply:Pretty good progress this week. Tues I finished welding up the ball joint plates. I also got the bearings pressed in and painted them. Tonight I bolted one in. The new flywheel came today. Tonight I got the flywheel, clutch, transmission, starter, cables, mounts, driver side suspension subframe etc etc all back in. I also pulled the struts and knuckles out so I can ream out the ball joint holes and Im going to shorten the strut tubes 3/4".Im headed over to my buddies race shop sat am to bend up a bumper support tube. Im really hoping by the end of next week Ill have that on, and most of the suspesion together. Dan
Reply:Bent the new bumper support tube today. Its obviously just sitting there as it still needs some trimming etc. As is its 18lbs lighter than the stock support. More to come on that in the following week.Dan
Reply:nice work
Reply:be carefull with that spec clutch....they like to spit those springs out..i have 2 disks hangin on my wall from spec customers.lookin good dude!
Reply:Ya, hopefully it will be ok. I dont have much of a choice it seems. Tuesday night I shortened the front strut tubes by 3/4″. With the new ball joints I will be able to lower the car and keep a reasonable camber curve, or hopefully one that at least doesnt go positive. So they are all reassembled and back in the car just waiting for the axles and knuckles.I also reamed out the holes in the knuckles for the new ball joint studs.After two annoying and long nights of screwing around I finally finished up the new jackshaft bracket. The old one I had made sorta sucked for reasons I wont go into. (for non j-body people the 2.2 never came with a jackshaft. I adapted the V6 setup to work on the 2.2)Anyway, here is the new one. Modified the stock V6 bracket and welded some nuts in place to make bolting it together easier. The rediculous bracket. Its only two pieces... a piece of rectangle tube and a flat 1/8" plate. So I just need to install the front knuckles and the axles and the whole front suspension will be back together. Then the car can come off jackstands and I can finish up a few little thigns on the rear. Dan
Reply:Wow, nice project, keep the pictures coming, this is a great thread.Working on cars and bikes is my hobby, learning to weld the pieces together is my quest.
Reply:Thanks!Progress has been slow as of late, but not for a lack of trying. Took me a bit to figure out just how I was going to mount the bumper cover. Its more or less done now. I just need to add a couple alignment pins at the top that will connect to the bumper tube.Im SOOO glad that I went with the Skybolt camloc type hardware. They were a bit pricier than dzus at almost $7 per set, but so easy to install and the adjustable socket made adjustments a snap.  Few pics of the progress Dan
Reply:really comin together man! lovin the fasteners.
Reply:nice work on the car, top notch fabricating all around.  I did a similar thing with my one piece rear axle bar.  I think I went a little overboard with it though.  The car now 3 wheels a little too easy for my liking, I'm gonna have to remove a little more material to soften it up a bit.Chuck Norris was born in a log cabin that he built with his own bare hands.
Reply:If you ever come to race at Mosport or Shannonville, please let me know.Regards to all.Working on cars and bikes is my hobby, learning to weld the pieces together is my quest.
Reply:Diggin them fasteners DanI would have probably  just used zipties
Reply:Thanks guys. DavidSim: Ill let you know if I head up that way. Dan
Reply:Ive been sick for a couple weeks so progress has been quite slow. I have the front suspension all together, finally, after battling (and ignoring) a clearance issue with my monoball plates. The only exception would be the pass side axle. I had it all in and then realized that a hole magicaly developed in the outer boot while resting in my shed the last two years. So Im still tracking down the right boot. Also finally got a replacement rear wheel bearing with the right size splines for my ARP studs and got those pressed in sunday. I dont know whats with some of these mfgs using oversized splines.Got the car down on monday night, finally. Still a lot to do but its nice to see it on the ground (or the scales as it might be). Current weight is 2330, but I have 18lbs or so of exhaust to put on still. So it should end up ~2350.Finished up mono ball plateWooo... wheels down!Yes, the one rear shock is missing. Still a crap ton to do, but at least progress is moving forward again. Dan
Reply:Interesting car. Definately some top notch fab work on your behalf.
Reply:thats some good work you are doing. looks really nice!
Reply:Took the day off of work last friday and got a crap ton done. Finally made up my mind about the rear shock spacers and got them made, painted and installed. Next I pretty much got all the rear suspension together: shocks in, swaybar all tightened (at least on one side until I can scale and align everything), K brace bars in. I mainly just need to get the brakes finished up, but Im not gona mess with it until after the rear alignment is done, which is a total pain unbolting the hubs to change spacers. Then I bolted the battery back in, and did a little touch up painting where I cut the hinge brackets out on the inner tire wells. This afternoon and tonight I worked on my alignment setup. I was totally tired of having to setup the string bars on jackstand and double check them everytime I roll the car or whatever.  The front is all done. I have most of hte rear done, at least all the welding. I need to pick up two conduit elbows in the am to finish it up. Should be pretty slick and very easy to setup and make repeatable measurements with. The best part is it didnt cost much at all. Conduit and the parts are just so cheap. I cut a compression union in half and welded two to the front bumper tube, and two to the rear frame rails. To make the Ts, I just used the cheaper unions and ground out the little nipple inside, then welded a short piece of conduit on.
Reply:Finished up the alignment setup. Its hard to tell but there is a string there, acutaly fishing line (obviously)I also painted the exhaust that I have done so far, bolted the tie rods up, installed the pass side engine area splash guard thing, redid some wiring in the trunk, and cleaned the hell out of the rest of my garage, hah. Dan
Reply:Finally got to the headlight mounts. They are basically done, I just need to do the final welding and drill and tap the lower bracket where it bolts to the bumper tube. I think the pics explain it well enough. Dan
Reply:Vary cool string line set up. Way too simple. I WILL BE stealing this idea. lol