New guy from Kansas City

[ronholm]

I am Ron.. and I am an addict, seeking a bigger better stronger fix. This looks like a good place.

I have a bad problem with fix'n up old Shelby Dodge junk from the 80's. My current problem is an 85 Shelby Charger I have converted to mid engine, powered (hopefully soon) by a 16v Chrysler/ Maserati Engine.

I have worked in a tool and die Fabrication shop.. Ran/Programmed CNC machines and YAG and Co2 lasers..


and generally like fixing stuff..

My dad is an autobody guy... I never really took to it.. I always preferred to hang out under the hood.. But recently I have kind of taking a liking to metal repair and fabrication.. It seems to suit my creative side.


and just this week.. I am pretty sure I am going to add a Miller 212 to the collection.. (if I can ever make up my mind)...


Just browsing the forum it looks like ya'll know how to have fun.

[HEATNBEAT]

Hi and welcome Ron!
Do you have any pictures of your projects?
We love pictures here

[ronholm]

OK...


I started with this..





Added the front subframe from an 88 Daytona






A Dodge Omni Fender















And added the Amazing Chrysler Maserati engine... (Cosworth head, Forged Crank, Casar rods... ect)

and it looks like this..









And I am having a blast...


Having a ton of fun building it.. The build has gone a bit slow due to a Bad Hobie 16 sailboat racing problem.. But yeah..


I have learned a ton during the process of this nutty build.. and hope to learn plenty more.. So fire away.

[invision]

Welcome to the site Ron! Looks like you're having a great time with this mid-engine project. You've made excellent progress.

Looking forward to some more photos! Thanks for sharing.

[ronholm]

Ok... invision.. I have been reading through your thread here.. and taking in the pictures on Face book..


Holy cow!

Is that a money maker or just a hobby.

There is a serious amount of not only skill, but determination and vision going on there.


It makes me feel a little underwhelmed by my own project. I seriously need to step it up a bit!



But then again.. My little project posted here is being built for the Grassroots Motorsports 2012 (hopefully) dollar challenge.. It is buy, build and race the car for less than 2K.. It is an autocross, drag and show competition... no tube frames or custom built hardware allowed... (kinda)... Just radical engine swaps.. and grassroots engineering.

Supposed to be production based cars.. but all they are looking for is good editorial. So some rules are bent from time to time.


Anyway...


Very neat build you have there...

[David Gardiner]

Hi Ron welcome to the site!.

David

[invision]

Originally Posted by ronholm

...
Is that a money maker or just a hobby.

There is a serious amount of not only skill, but determination and vision going on there.

It makes me feel a little underwhelmed by my own project. I seriously need to step it up a bit!

But then again.. My little project posted here is being built for the Grassroots Motorsports 2012 (hopefully) dollar challenge.. It is buy, build and race the car for less than 2K.. It is an autocross, drag and show competition... no tube frames or custom built hardware allowed... (kinda)... Just radical engine swaps.. and grassroots engineering.

Supposed to be production based cars.. but all they are looking for is good editorial. So some rules are bent from time to time. ...

Thanks for the thumbs up Ron. This project is just a hobby for me...call it therapy for every day life :P

As I was nearing the end of building the first one - Rhythm - there were a few things that I already wanted to do differently. And rather than cut up what I had almost finished, I made the decision that the changes would have to take place in the next one. Otherwise...well the project would never reach completion.

As for the skill, as you have experienced yourself with your build that comes with just working away at something till you're happy with the results. I think you've done a awesome job with your mid-engine Daytona. Great idea to use an existing front sub-frame assembly and graft it into the rear. Then after locking the tie rods, everything you need is all there. I can't tell from the photos and I'm sure you've crossed this bridge already, but did you check the geometry for the 'bump steer symptom' before locking the tie rods?

Once your Daytona is painted, it'll take a really good eye to spot the fact that it didn't come this way from the factory. I hope that you also have a great time at Grassroots!

Thanks again for sharing it on the forum.

[ronholm]

SO that is just a HOBBY

Wow...

Looks like a bunch of fun... But you already know that..



Daytona Front clip in the the back of 85 Charger BTW... (daytona stuff shares the famous K car platform.. the Charger "L" body stuff is same design.. but different.. The daytona stuff uses a wider track.. by about 2 inches.. )


and yes.. for now the Rack has been disassembled and welded in place.. It would work alright for a fun street toy as I made sure to at least preserve the factory geometry.

the problem is the factory Geometry is 'designed' for the front of the car.. and well.. Lets just say they dealt with many compromises and the bean counters won just a few to many times. Not all bad because it means until scrap steel went way up there were plenty of cheap parts around.

I have altered the "anti dive" under braking geometery of the Lower control arm and made that into a very slight 'anti squat' setup.. and made some crude adjustment to dial that all in..

and I have plans to make the toe link adjustable in several directions. Studying the MR2.. 88 fiero vs 87 models.. Even pulled a Boxster in the shop and took lots of measurements... And you would be really surprised at the amount of toe in/out in some of these designs..


Then of course trying to balance Roll centers with a strut design which... well... It makes it tough to end up with the kind of track machine I am hoping to end up with...




The trouble is my projects often suffer from the "Paralysis of Analysis." and then I end up diverting from the project to work harder to swing the extra tools I now "need" which I didn't even know existed... yada yada yada...


Replacing the cheapo welder this week.. So I can soup up a HF bead roller and then GET TO WORK...

[invision]

Ahh yes ... Charger. I did see the emblem on the hatch...dunno why I said Daytona.

btw ... we never have enough tools. hehe

Why don't you start up a build thread showing the metal work you've done on your Charger...got it right this time... Will be cool to see your design/build process.

Cheers!

[ronholm]

Originally Posted by invision

Will be cool to see your design/build process.

Cheers!

yep... uunnnhhuunnn errrrr...