suspension brackets / steering rack woes from a new builder

[Ifix]

Hi guys,
Started building about a week ago, and I'm currently up to the point of making the suspension and shock brackets but noticed that the drawing seems to be wrong (or I'm missing something) for the shock bracket should the radius be 20 or should the overall length be 122, as I don't see how they can both be right? also I read on here somewhere that the backets needed to be modified to accept the shocks (is this due to the same problem I'm experiancing?)
Secondly I'm a bit confused about the escort steering rack thing. I get that the sierra rack is too long, but the book says that 'for absolute precision modifications to the rack are required' What I don't understand is that if I'm going to the trouble (and expense) of purchasing a new rack and making extensions then what else can be modified on the escort rack that I can't modify on the sierra one (if that makes sense) Sorry for the long message, thanks

[les g]

i wouldn,t bother making the brackets
become john at 3ge,s new best friend and part with some
cash and he,ll post you a set
the quality is excellent
cheers lesg

[james3004]

As for the steering rack i believe that the mk2 escort one is near on perfect for the the job, but to get it spot on it needs modifying, which nobody does cos it's good enuff as it is with the extensions and i believe it to be a complicated (expensive job)

No doubt some one wil correct me if i'm wrong:p

PS Welcome to the forum

[Ifix]

Thanks for the replys guys, Wouldn't the brackets from john still need modifying tho?

[james3004]

I have only heard of that problem a couple of times.
I think it's because he adds a bit more 'meat' around the hole than the book ones, Maybe it would depend on what shocks you are using.

[SeriesLandy]

Thanks for the replys guys, Wouldn't the brackets from john still need modifying tho?

I had a problem with the front lower wishbones where the bracket was to tall. That's with gaz shocks.

The brackets I got from dave oxley (eBay) were spot on and cheaper ( at the time don't know now)

[tkpm]

I use John's (3ge) brackets and they were spot on with Protech dampers from Saturn.

Terry

[Bonzo]

Thanks for the replys guys, Wouldn't the brackets from john still need modifying tho?

If memory serves me right, 3Ge's brackets have had a slight mod done, I am sure John will be allong to correct me if this is not the case :)

The suspension bracket dimensions confused me a little when I went to make them.
I'll try my best to explain !!

Don't have the book to hand & been a very long time sinse they were done :o
The bracket has a radius as described & one would assume that the hole centre would be the same as the centre point of the radius, however this is not the case ..... The centre point for the bracket hole is further up the bracket ( In my case, this is why I could not tally up the flat lenght of the bracket )

Some felt at the time that with the book bracket, there was not enough material left around the hole in the event of a suspension bolt becoming loose & opted for a revised bracket design.

It must be said at this time .... There is nothing wrong with the book design bracket provided the suspension bolts are kept properly tightened as they should be.

There was just a minor concern that if the bolt should ever become loose, it would not take long for such a narrow shoulder to wear away if the problem went un-noticed ( However unlikely that may be )

I spent the best part of two days messing with the brackets .... Folding by hand & not being able to obtain, consistent accurate results !!

It finally dawned on me .... What on earth was I doing wasting so much valuable build time making this multitude of brackets by hand .... Promptly ordered a set fro 3GE & put my build time to better use :D

The critical dimensions are inside width & hole centre position, if you have the eqiupment to make them, go for it :)

You will notice that with the slightly revised design, when using Gaz shocks .... You may need to fettle the corners of the front lower wishbone brackets ( Innermost edge ) as the stem of the shock tends to snag a fraction.

[davedew]

Your other option with the suspension brackets is to use some 100x50x3 box section. This will give you the correct 44mm inside dimension.

You can drill them while they are whole, then cut off the end and radius. All depends how easily you can get of hold of the steel, and if you really want to make them all.

Cheers

Dave

[ozzy1]

Just buy them from dave @ rogue engineering on ebay.Top quality and only 1.25 each.(this is where i bought mine):D

[Ifix]

Thanks for the further info, I was thinking along the lines of using box section as frankly, I'm a bit tight ;) and don't quite know where I'll stop if I go down the root of purchasing items to save me time. Also has anyone ever contemplated modifying the sierra mcpherson struts for use as the shocks instead of the dampers recomended in the book as I think £360 is a bit steep for a set of shocks

[les g]

the reason the shocks are more expensive than a standard set of coilovers
is the one inch extension
you could pad a shock bracket up by an inch and order a standard length
coilover if you really want/need to save a few quid
the choice is yours
cheers les g