Posted: Thu Jul 15, 10 12:32 am
Well it has been a while since I posted an update on the Bee and as mentioned in previous posts I have had a few setbacks which have delayed the project to the point where the plans to run the car in Pro et have been scrapped for this year.
Following the problem with the rockers when the gearbox was re fitted the dogs were not engaged and the gearbox pump was buggered.
I then ran the engine and basically welded the pump and torque converter together.
It took 30 minutes of dropping the whole gearbox on two pieces of 4 x 2 wood to get the converter to drop out of the box to find the pump bush welded to the torque snout.
that meant a complete strip down of the box, a converter rebuild and another months delay.
To say I was disheartened is an understatement and I must admit to considering junking the project and giving up.
I must thank Blue again for digging me out of a hole and the drive train is now back together.
The last thing to bug me was the alignment of the new purpose built front end, it was giving some serious bump steer and after 2 days of trying to set the castor camber and toe on a set up that has never been done before was proving a real headache.
A good friend mentioned a small garage that could possibly help me and after a couple of calls I trailered the car all the way to the other side of town not 10 Min from my house.
Wayne the operator got stuck in to the job and spent most of a day getting his head around my design and understanding the adjustments available which were basically a rose joint at the end of each A frame some top ball joint shims and the original Chrysler snail cams on the upper wishbone which I had assumed I would not be required and set them to max out position.
The rig he has utilises an attachment on each wheel rim and each attachment reads the others and talks to a computer.
It was a revelation to see the three axis come up on a screen and to see the effect tweaking each component has in real time, it was just fantastic.
To cut a long story short the drop down brackets I fitted to the front of the upper A frame were inducing the bump steer and making it impossible to get a starting point from which Wayne could dial in the front suspention.
So I removed the leveling brackets and all my adjustable rose joints were wound right in and locked off.
The good old Chrysler snail cams did the rest, those boys certainly knew what they were up to, the front cam did the castor and the rear cam set the camber.
Finally had to cut 10 mm off the passenger lower front a frame to induce a bit more castor and she now has 6deg of castor 0.2 degrees of camber and a smidgen of toe in, and almost no bump steer.
In addition raising and lowering the ride height, does not change the settings significantly.
If you want your car set up and want to know for sure it is correct then Wayne is yer man
If I have no more problems you never know the Bee might still make it to the Nats who knows?
Following the problem with the rockers when the gearbox was re fitted the dogs were not engaged and the gearbox pump was buggered.
I then ran the engine and basically welded the pump and torque converter together.
It took 30 minutes of dropping the whole gearbox on two pieces of 4 x 2 wood to get the converter to drop out of the box to find the pump bush welded to the torque snout.
that meant a complete strip down of the box, a converter rebuild and another months delay.
To say I was disheartened is an understatement and I must admit to considering junking the project and giving up.
I must thank Blue again for digging me out of a hole and the drive train is now back together.
The last thing to bug me was the alignment of the new purpose built front end, it was giving some serious bump steer and after 2 days of trying to set the castor camber and toe on a set up that has never been done before was proving a real headache.
A good friend mentioned a small garage that could possibly help me and after a couple of calls I trailered the car all the way to the other side of town not 10 Min from my house.
Wayne the operator got stuck in to the job and spent most of a day getting his head around my design and understanding the adjustments available which were basically a rose joint at the end of each A frame some top ball joint shims and the original Chrysler snail cams on the upper wishbone which I had assumed I would not be required and set them to max out position.
The rig he has utilises an attachment on each wheel rim and each attachment reads the others and talks to a computer.
It was a revelation to see the three axis come up on a screen and to see the effect tweaking each component has in real time, it was just fantastic.
To cut a long story short the drop down brackets I fitted to the front of the upper A frame were inducing the bump steer and making it impossible to get a starting point from which Wayne could dial in the front suspention.
So I removed the leveling brackets and all my adjustable rose joints were wound right in and locked off.
The good old Chrysler snail cams did the rest, those boys certainly knew what they were up to, the front cam did the castor and the rear cam set the camber.
Finally had to cut 10 mm off the passenger lower front a frame to induce a bit more castor and she now has 6deg of castor 0.2 degrees of camber and a smidgen of toe in, and almost no bump steer.
In addition raising and lowering the ride height, does not change the settings significantly.
If you want your car set up and want to know for sure it is correct then Wayne is yer man
If I have no more problems you never know the Bee might still make it to the Nats who knows?
Well done Bob and all involved! 
