My new ugly betty, '84 Maxima, not diesel.

[HRH]

And another!

 

[datzenmike]

As promised!  There's another uploading. ;)

 

 

I've ridden with Matt....... he's like this.

[Farmer Joe]

^^ its true... 

 

i rode in the 4x4 D21 in 2012 when it had the KAZ.. braaaaap

[HRH]

Oh yeah!  I forgot about that!

[HRH]

New videos!

 

 

 

[HRH]

More videos (daylight this time) uploading to youtube.  I weighed the Maxima today at the scales, Joe was working on his van so I couldn't borrow his cornerweight scales.  Ugly Betty weighs 2430 without me in it, that's with a full tank of fuel.  Still a little heavier than I would have liked, but 300 pounds lighter so not horrible.

[Farmer Joe]

for the l24, it gets going pretty well... 

 

wonder what it would be like with a stroker l28? hahaha

[HRH]

Oh much better but then I'd be in modified class.  I'd be better starting off with a 280z, but what fun would that be? ;)  I need to redo my limiting straps.  They have both wrenched the tabs I mounted them to out a little, resulting in not quite limiting.  Going to try and find a rear strut that has the same dimensions as the Maxima rear, just shorter.

 

Also wiggled the rear trans mount with the prybar, it's definitely weak. Needs a solid rubber replacement.  And now, for videos:

 

 

 

Note, there is a chicken lift here, I'm not that comfortable with the new setting yet.  I think the bang may have been the heel of the cam in the floor pan.  It was shielded in cardboard but was resting against the back of the sheetmetal, may have jumped a little when I shifted.  Or it could have been the transmission shifting and banging the exhaust into the floor or something.  Not quite sure.

[HRH]

Aaaaaand one more:

 

 

Didn't attack the top of the hill as there's a street at the top.  If you go fast enough you'll catch air at the top.

[HRH]

Here's what Ugly Betty looks like now:

 

 

 

 

[datzenmike]

Did you remove the windo regulators in the rear doors?

Replace heavy glass with Lexan? (not the windshield)

Un-needed seat belts?

[HRH]

I removed everything except the door locks in the doors.  Only other glass I can lexan is windshield and backglass. Paid for a new windshield when I got the car, not wanting to remove it.  Sealed it in pretty well, and that's structural rigidity unless I add a cage.  No more seat belts except for mine.

 

The dash and other stuff would probably take off another 50 pounds, but I like having a heater core. Mainly because of those first and last events and autocross.  Kelsey (my competition) does not have a heater, and he froze his ass off in April and October.

 

I will be loosing 30 pounds or so of battery weight when I switch to a smaller battery, so that will be good off the front end.

[HRH]

See EDIT below:

 

So I got to thinking on the struts today while attempting to make the 96-99 Maxima rear struts work on the 810.  And all of sudden I realized something.  I was initially correct when I was thinking that putting a spacer inbetween the spring and the lower or upper perch would, in fact, take up the slack, but NOT raise the ride height.  I had convinced myself anything put inbetween the two points would add the section of spring I just cut out, thus making the ride height too high.

 

For some reason today it clicked.  It won't raise the ride height because the spacer I'm using isn't IN ADDITION to the spring.  It's IN PLACE of the spring, and it'd DEAD.  If it were active spring, yes it would raise the ride height back to where it was.  But because it's dead, its the same as moving the spring perch.

 

Short of it is, I went to the hardware store and found some pvc that should be able to make the exact spring spacer I need to fit on the top perch, thus eliminating my spring travel at full droop, and the need to find a shorter strut.  I'll have more pictures after the superbowl or tomorrow.

 

EDIT:  Nope, I'm a dumbass.  Started realizing it's still going to raise the ride height.  At full extension it makes sense, but considering it's where it needs to be when compressed, any addition will raise the height.  If I wanted to lower the ride height with an adjustable perch, I'd LOWER the perch, not raise it.  Consequently, we're back to the problem of the spring just being too short for the strut length.

 

SO, I may see about using the stock rear springs I took off since they are much longer, but also softer.  However, given I've removed weight, they may be close to right and I might be able to cut a little off those and make it work well.  I haven't measured the coil diameter to see if they are indeed a smaller coil.  They look similar to the lowering springs.  Not sure if it's the same rate just shorter spring or if its a heavier and shorter spring.  Hoping I don't find the stock springs work better with the weight reduction since then I will have ruined the lowering springs for nothing.  Oh well, we'll see.

 

[HRH]

Oh boy, what a non-productive day.  Ended up getting interrupted when the shuttle screwed the store today for an important account.  So I broke away and ran down to the main store and got parts and drove them up to Cheney.  My valve springs came in today so that was good.  I was going to have them shuttled around, but considering the mess with the replacement shuttle driver, I didn't want to chance $200 worth of valve springs and retainers getting lost on the shuttle.  The regular driver had his hood fling open on the highway and smash his windshield so that sucked for him.

 

Anyway, kept banging my head on what to do with the struts in the rear.  I don't like the limiting straps.  I thought I found a set of 90-96 300zx front struts that would work, but they ended up being too short.  I decided I could probably disassemble the mounting pod from the Maxima strut though.  Turns out I was right!  Welded some tabs on the upside down perch, then welded some welds on the tabs to further cinch up the spring.  Not my finest welds, had a little ground issue I didn't figure out until the end.

 

Anyway, had to get the spring compressor on to cinch up the too short race springs and she sits WAY too high now, but I think another coil off or so and it should be just about right.  I still have the original coils as well if it happens to be too stiff.  The good news is I think this will work.  It better anyway, or I'm up the creek! :)

 

 

 

Just take a hammer and tap the cup off.  The cap to the strut I put in the vise and just wiggled the body to get it loose.  It serves as a plate for the bumpstop, otherwise it would run into the strut seal.

 

 

 

 

Using the base plate from the old dead original struts for the tabs to weld on the inside of the perch after I flipped it upside-down.

 

 

 

 

[HRH]

And now, as usual, after I've slept on it, I realize I went up instead of down, which means of course the ride height would raise given the same length spring.  But the real question is, am I fighting the same problem now that the lower mount is 3" higher?  I don't want to have a 4" tall spring to accommodate the smaller distance between points now, and then have it go to full droop and end up right in the same spot with 2" of space before the spring hits the perch.  My thought was shorter spring, easier to make work.  Now I'm thinking it doesn't matter.

 

I'm thinking what I'm fighting is the ratio of compression and extension, in which case we're back to the original premise of needing a 2" shorter strut.  So now, I'm in a shitty mood considering I didn't get anything done yesterday.  Thinking I may need to seriously consider making a coilover setup to work, or find a lower spring rate longer spring.  The other thing I could do is return it to the way it was and then add some take up springs to the bottom.  Which wouldn't be a problem except for Nissan's oddball spring diameter.  Grrrr...if anyone has any better thoughts, I'm all for hearing them.

[HRH]

Okay, so now I'm looking at coilover setups.  Thinking I may just have to bite the bullet and re-engineer everything.  Which now makes me annoyed since I already cut the front springs.  Hmm.  Oh well.  At least I'm getting ideas and seeing how to make them come to fruition.

[captaingamez]

Okay, so now I'm looking at coilover setups.  Thinking I may just have to bite the bullet and re-engineer everything.  Which now makes me annoyed since I already cut the front springs.  Hmm.  Oh well.  At least I'm getting ideas and seeing how to make them come to fruition.

Nothing you really need to completely re-engineer. just copy all of our engineering thats already done!! haha.

 

Use a rear camaro or mustang shock on the back, shorten front strut tubes and get better, shorter dampers.

[HRH]

Yeah, I've been working over the problem with the Datsun guru.  Getting some coilover kits from Day Motorsports and going to investigate some spring options, then figure out shocks.  Front aren't an issue, the rear are.  Think I'm going to end up finding some more front housings that take an insert and cannibalizing those and then welding the pre-made strut mount on the bottom, then using that as the rear so I have replaceable inserts at all corners.  Didn't want to spend more money, but looks like I'm going to have to!

[captaingamez]

yup.

 

You cant ghetto good suspension.

[HRH]

Alright, the coilover kits came, ordered up springs yesterday.  I went over to dad's last night to start on the rear struts.  Ended up finding a '91 Celica strut insert is about the right length for what I was wanting to do.  So I took the rear '92 Maxima strut housings over to dad and we cut the big iron chunk off the bottom, then removed the perch with dad's really nice plasma cutter.  So much easier.  We made some plates for the bottom and used some washers from the original strut assembly as spacers for the bottom of the strut insert.

 

The Celica insert is about 2 inches shorter than the 810 Maxima insert, and the stroke is much shorter.  Hopefully it will work as I'm thinking.  It's made for a 120 lb spring and we're going to start with a 140 lb spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So after shortening the tubes we had to weld a plate to the bottom of the strut tube.  Then I went back home because it got too late last night.  This morning I cut off the bottom of the original strut insert for the mount.  As luck would have it we were able to weld on the vulcanized rubber mount to the bottom of the strut tube by tacking in three spots, then doing three sections of welding.  We put aluminum foil around the rubber to make a heat shield, then after every 60 degree weld circle we put it in a tube of water to cool it off.  Ended up working great, rubber didn't get burned at all!  Eventually we may replace that with poly or something, but for right now, it's completely functional.

 

Dad can weld a lot better than me and has a much nicer Tig machine.

 

 

 

I stopped by The Long Ear on the way home to get Independent Worm Saloon (Butthole Surfers) and some fool had turned this back in!  In the bargain bin for $5.99!  Had to scoop that up.  

 

 

And this is in pull and save in the valley, going to see which side Archetype needed.  Passenger is rusted out, but I think the driver's side was decent.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Thanks for letting me know I would still buy that fender looks a lot better than mine plus it's the same color could save me lots of time and money if I put that one on for now and the hood too!

[HRH]

Yeah, I re-checked the photo.  1" of rust around the wheel arch with no fender material left.  The rest is good but you'd have to do some major fixing.  Not worth shipping to send.

[HRH]

So here's something interesting.  The rear strut is really a shock, due to the semi-trailing arm design.  The problem I'm running into now is the upper mount.  All the inserts I'm finding were meant to fit into the front strut which moves longitudinally only in a very linear plane.  The semi-trailing arm has a lower mounting point on the side, which moves in an arc.  The top of the strut has a perch which is meant to be rubber-mounted on both sides to allow flex of the shaft.  If I static mount the top mount on the Toyota front shock inserts I have in the rear shocks, the strut will either bend or break or bend or break something else due to not having enough movement.

 

Right now I'm trying to find a factory style strut like the stockers, but skinny enough to fit in the tube I made.  Then I could cut off the bottom mounting and it's essentially an insert. Other possibility is some nice threaded body shocks, but those fuckers are expensive.  And I'd have to adapt the mounting points.

 

At the moment, it's looking like my clever idea was doomed from the start.  If there's a way, though, I'll find it. 

[q-tip]

Hmmm, interesting, I would have to get under a maxima to understand it completely to give any suggestions.

[HRH]

Same as a 510 actually.  You know how the rear shock attaches to the semi-trailing arm?  It's the same in the Maxima or Z car for that matter.  Except they made it a "strut" by adding a collar to the body of the shock and making a mount for the top that incorporated a spring seat.  It's also the same as a 240sx.  What I'm doing (probably) is getting some rear 240sx struts in tomorrow and I'm going to modify the spring collar to mount the adjustable coilover on it and use it that way since I cut my existing Maxima struts up for the mounts.  D'oh.

 

Interestingly, the 240sx struts are near identical to the Maxima except in a few respects.  Overall length is .25" shorter, which isn't any worry.  So I probably should have just adapted the original strut to a collared perch but I was trying to limit stroke as well.  The stroke is a bit shorter on the 240.  It should work just fine.  We'll know after this weekend.

 

I quote Snatch:  "It was a rhetorical question Harold, what have I told you about thinking?"  (In reference to my own hair-brained idea being bad.) ;)