1978 Kadett C 2l 8v Turbo Adventures...

[djivesp]

yeah, i've been looking at rons thread lots and lots . I know it wouldn't be as ideal as an actual RWD setup, but surely if it's on on the fronts of our cars then why would it be any different on the back?
the back end (specially on my car) only experiences about half the daily loads and shocks due to it's lack of weight when compared to an average corsa's front.

simps - the hub carrier and shocker are rigid at those angles, so any side-impact shock is transferred to the 3 points = bottom arm, track rod, and top of turret like on a fwd, or is that not what you mean ?

oh the possibilities! id does look pretty easy though just sitting the car on that calibra axle and welding it all up, hmmmmmmmmm what to do!

[Jack]

Should be fine in theory, but you'd have to make some compromises so that the hubs don't turn. You either fix the track rods in the middle (like Chip) and then have random toe-in and toe-out as the suspension moves up and down, or you make some brackets to replace the ball joints and fix everything solid and have the camber changing as the suspension moves.

Just seems like a crap load of hassle to me. Why not just cut your floor out, weld in a Cavalier/Calibra/Ron's Astra floor, bolt the diff and everything up, have a propshaft made up and go for a spin.

Or keep your existing floor and make brackets to fix the trailing arms...etc to.

[rc]

woooooahhh, dont start putting rwd suspension from a different car onto yours, espically if you plan to lower it to, VERRY sensitive issue around these parts lmao lmao lmao lmao

i know from reading chips threads he did have quite a few issues with the bump steer having fwd stuff on the rear, toeing out then toeing in then toeing out again as the suspension compressed, might be worthin asking him, he's tries resolving them with rosejointed links etc but still think he's not to happy, he could of sorted it by now though.

the reason im using calibra stuff is the calibra floor more or less goes 'straight' in an astra as theyre the same width and constructin how the go together, so it was happy days from then on. but your in a bit of a different situation, i dont know how a calibra floor would sit in something so differant. so might not be your best option, but i would be deffo looking at something purposely RWD with out the ball joints, something like the 325 as stated, or sierra (although i recon they'll be pretty wide and diff stud patten) best get ya tape measure out and get searchin lmao

[Gary_808]

why not just 5 link it??

all the mk1/2 escort still use this method when rallying,

and it's pretty cheap for the entire kit.

friends got one on his mk1, wasn't hard to fit either,

[sarah_cav_gsi]

im liking that m8

[patch16v]

Been reading your post for a few months as I was also watchin the kadett on fleabay. Why change from a live axle? HSR chevettes had 5 linked rear ends and handled as well as the mk2 escorts, some even say better than them on tarmac..... your car already has turrets as it is a saloon so why not 4 link/5 link or 6 link(watts linkage stops transverse axle movement) and run coilovers on the rear. Change your welded diff as this will be ****** up the handling, ZF plated LSD's are rare now and normally cost around £400-500 but can be found. Disc conversion on manta B axle is very easy and cheap, remove drums/backplates and all brake gubbins, fit nova front discs, ford or vw rear calipers and a set of mounting brackets also means you do not have to change the PCD / wheels.

I have pics of the brake conversions / rear suspension setups, somewhere!!! I will try to post the links.

keep up the good work

[djivesp]

Thanks guys,

Jack - thanks for the food for thought bud, i've realised now that all the toe problems will be linked to the vertical distance between the bottom arm and track rod (hence i flipped it over for the last rendering).
The lower the track rod is the less toe in/out there would be.

RC, thanks dude, your input is very much appreciated!.

I've looked at a few options - i think the whole calibra track would be wider than what i have now by an inch, also looked at omega rear frame and track width, 2 inches wider either side lmao. fail!

Gary - i wont be bothering with a solid axle . The only axle worth going for would be the atlas, but they're uber expensive because all you mk1/2 lot have deep pockets lmao..

I still think i could get away with it - and it would be pretty sweet if i lowered the track rod to the point where the change in toe is negligible (i'm only asking for about 50mm of suspension travel max lmao

anyways, finished the pistons:
went and over-ground one of them didn't i . So then had to enlarge them all to match, they're all 9cc's now which gives me CR or 9.65:1 or something, perfect squish and strong[er] rods, sweet! .

[Gary_808]

cheaper strong axel than an atlas, volvo? much cheaper also.

pistons look sweet,

how about some sort of jap rear end?

[Jack]

Pistons do look nice. Have you considered something like an MX5 rear end?

[djivesp]

oooh, do you know of any particular volvo's i could check out?

jack, yep i thought about it, but haven't looked into it - do you know whether the diff would be strong?

i have looked under stevies Z though, if not for the hicas active steering lark it would be a very good contender if they were a little cheaper . Some have lsd's too

cor that would do annoy him, 300zx rear drivetrain in a car half it's weight lmao.

think is whatever complete assembly i get, i'm likely to need new wheels too since they'l be different stud patterns. Different rear wheels than front FTL

[Jack]

There's a guy on VS making a TD'b XE RWD Mini with an MX5 rear end, might be worth checking out. Mazda do a naughty 160bhp 170ftlb MX5 on the stock diff AFAIK.

http://freespace.virgin.net/bob.carter/Mazda_mx5_V8.htm

This guy has put a V8 in an MX5 using a Sierra diff and shortened propshafts as an alternative.

[djivesp]

wow! that looks like an awesome read! thanks dude

[Jack]

http://www.vauxhall-sport-forum.com/...ect-t7410.html

This is the Mini.

[Gary_808]

i'll have to dig out what axles to use,

but, another idea, my friend is currently putting a 3litre 6 pot supra turbo lump in his capri, and the engine came with a free shell and running gear, i'll have a measure up cause i assume they're pretty strong, but he's also using a volvo rear axle.

so old shape supra's are silly cheap also. even cheaper with a front end smash or blown lump. and IRS but pretty wide.

[djivesp]

****! thats going to be mental!

I've read somewhere that the supra running gear are one of the strongest out there, ill have to dig around for more info on them. It was the mk4 i was reading about, but i'd imagine it to be out of my price range lmao. mk3 may be an option!

I was thinking today omega - if i found a 3 litre manual being broken i could nab the gearbox, prop, all the rear end gubbins, might be the best option for me.
+ now i kind of fancy the thought of an uber-wide rear end, i'd imagine it would make the rear even more grippy

[The Simps]

j lopez stylee - DO IT!!!!

[opelturbo]

****! thats going to be mental!

I've read somewhere that the supra running gear are one of the strongest out there, ill have to dig around for more info on them. It was the mk4 i was reading about, but i'd imagine it to be out of my price range lmao. mk3 may be an option!

I was thinking today omega - if i found a 3 litre manual being broken i could nab the gearbox, prop, all the rear end gubbins, might be the best option for me.
+ now i kind of fancy the thought of an uber-wide rear end, i'd imagine it would make the rear even more grippy

djivesp

I know you're keen to do stuff yourself, but you might want to try this guy out if you're struggling to get things sorted. Simon (the owner) restores/modifies all sorts of cars. He is well know in the Manta club and the quality of his work is excellent. He's done an IRS on his Manta A (the black 16v nitrous one).

Here is his website Suffolk County Mantas

Cheers, Bob.

[djivesp]

woah!! that must be near where i live (when im not at uni!). I might have to get in touch with those guys and pop over there to have a looky . That IRS pic looks lovely, rosejoints and all!

[opelturbo]

woah!! that must be near where i live (when im not at uni!). I might have to get in touch with those guys and pop over there to have a looky . That IRS pic looks lovely, rosejoints and all!

The car it's on isn't half bad either

[djivesp]

right, my mind's made up

going to go for a e30 325i rear axle and bits!. Found some on ebay breaking that aren't very far, IRS, track is only about 1" wider than now, strong diffs, possibility to stick an LSD in from a 325is in the future (iirc), possibility of an M3 finned diff cover (these look the nuts), disc brakes, 4x100 pcd .

Thanks eggman

The final deciding factor were these pics:



and this:



and this:


and this:


and this:


how piss easy does that look!
the spring seats may already be in similar places, may be able to use my shockers, just knock up some mounting points (and the one for the diff at the back) and bolt the wanker in

[Jack]

Ives, you are a ****ing hero of a man, and I am seriously thinking that I need a garage or a workshop or something with electricity and a welder so I can attempt a project on similar lines.

I can't wait to see how this turns out!

[LeNnOxLeWiS]

just be sure to take a thousand pictures of the whole transformation, it will be MAD!

have fun! we will just for watching!

[djivesp]

lol, should be good and simple, but you never know, stuff like this never turns out as planned does it .
going off to a scrappy now to see if there are any about, how much would you guys pay for the rear end (hubs/brakes/suspension/arms/diff (open)/shafts/prop)?
Eggman says £45 lmao, nice, but somehow i don't think they'd go for that.
£100 sound reasonable ??

[The Simps]

liking your plans!

[Jack]

Going to that one near Derrington? I quite often go and have a look, never actually bought anything from them. There is one in Lichfield that's worth a look too, and if you really want a result, you need to go to Looms in Derby.