Loxus Eclat V8

[Nickp1]

1 hour ago, mikeeech said:

That's useful.

I reckon so, I do like a cheeky 'Yorkshire solution' 😉

[tom kilner]

On 25/04/2020 at 08:23, Nickp1 said:

Bought a little something (Race Technology Dash2) to modernise the old girls dash 😎

 

 

Are you leaving the original clocks in?

I wondered about a colour LCD screen looking like the  originals

I don't know how programmable these things are though,  but it could save a load of wiring 👍

[Nickp1]

3 hours ago, tom kilner said:

Are you leaving the original clocks in?

I wondered about a colour LCD screen looking like the  originals

I don't know how programmable these things are though,  but it could save a load of wiring 👍

I considered keeping the outer dials only but there's really no point with this dash as it'll do everything I need in one unit. It'll be mounted onto a black or carbon panel. I may incorporate a sat nav unit into there too.

 

[Nickp1]

The LCD one on Car SOS looked amazing but I'm guessing something so bespoke wouldn't be cheap 😳

[Chillidoggy]

With that engine installed, you’ll be going so fast you won’t be able to monitor the dash and the road at the same time.

[Nickp1]

True enough, I reckon the shift light and fuel warning migh be handy like 😳😉

[Nickp1]

Got it on it's wheels today 😃

[dmottram]

That big lump on the right is not going in is it? The front springs will collapse    😎

[Nickp1]

Yes, it's only a little all alloy V8 😉 Engine is set well back too, it's virtually mid engined 😎

Front springs are currently 300lb but will see how it sits on these first.

[Nickp1]

The 'Loxus' has landed 😀

Rear suspension / brakes all finished

Body back on chassis to sort a few more things out, steering column, pedal box etc etc

 

[dmottram]

Constructive comment...........

 

Just looking at the inner end of the trailing arm.......... all of the force needed to drive the car forward (generated by the Lexus V8) is applied through those two links. They have a welded section at the forward end. Are you confident that the weld is strong enough ? I cannot see any bracing on the inside of the corner which would help. Welds in tension like the outer "radius" of that bend are not a good idea. Possibly OK in a low powered light race car but when trying to shift a tonne or more of car with a high torque motor I would think carefully about the integrity of that weld.

[Nickp1]

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment, all observations are welcomed.

As the bottom arms are on roller bearings and the diff is hard mounted I'm hoping these trailing arms will actually have very little to do. Many hot rods with big V8s don't even bother with trailing arms and seem to manage ok apparently. So, fingers crossed I guess😉

[dmottram]

Nick, I must be missing something in the design, although looking at one of the earlier pictures I see that the bend in the trailing arm is actually braced with a small triangular piece which helps strengthen the corner..

If you removed the trailing arm altogether how would the force  of the rotating tyres be transferred to moving the chassis forward. The driveshaft can only locate sideways and not drive the chassis forwards. The bottom arms fundamentally again locate sideways. I can see that given their "T" shape at each end (of each arm) they can apply forward force to the chassis but the loads being fed into the inner points on the chassis would be very large due to the very small distance between them (the inner bearings). I guess if this was the only pathway used by Jaguar it must be strong enough in which case why do you even have the trailing arms?

[Nickp1]

The Jag uses a trailing arm at 90deg to the bottom arm with a big squidgy looking void bush at either end, probably does very little in the way of location control for the hub. The V12 Jag has similar power/torque to my V8 and if anything I've got it all located better than in the Jag.

When I researched the Jag IRS I also found that some Cobra replicas don't bother with trailing arms at all, like many hot rods, but apparently the better handling ones do hence why I decided to add them. Whether this is true or not I really can't be sure. I've added them as it seems the right thing to do and apart from adding weight I don't see any negatives tbh. The front mounting point is in line with the diff bearings that mount the bottom arm so the whole assembly forms a 90deg triangle that is effectively hinged off one of the short sides which means there's no tension in either trailing arm bush.

PS Yes there's a gusset on the inside of each of the bends. I would've preffered to do it in one straight section but it just wasn't possible.

[dmottram]

Fair enough, I guess you will soon know if it is acceptable when the car is presented for an engineers inspection on the modifications ( I presume that such an inspection has to be done in the UK.......certainly here Down Under it would be required).

[Chillidoggy]

As long as the trailing arm at the forward end is directly on the centreline of the Jag inner pivot shaft, it will describe the correct arc. There’s no resilience in those inners, because they’re needle roller bearings, hence it’s important to get the arc as near as correct as possible. Any movement would then be taken up by the trailing arm rubber bushes. My Dax Cobra had trailing arms similar to the above, although they were round tube. And hot rods didn’t always bother with them, they usually bolted the diff at the top, and had a spreader plate between the pivot shafts behind the diff. Nick, you’ll soon know if it’s OK when you drive it. If you disappear off into the hedgerows, then more work will be required!

[Nickp1]

Thanks mate I'll watch out for those hedgerows!! 😉

[Nickp1]

Pedal box now has a hydraulic clutch cylinder and fly by wire throttle 😎

 

[EXCEL V8]

Great work Nick - the pedal box is a tricky one!

Pete

[Nickp1]

Adapter, flywheel, clutch and gearbox all bolted in place now....

[EXCEL V8]

What gearbox is that Nick?

Pete

[Nickp1]

BMW Getrag from an E36, nice short, compact and strong. 

[Nickp1]

Body dropped on chassis for the final time #wishfulthinking and ready for its engine 😀

 

[Nickp1]

Could be some sibling rivalry now the Eclats little brother is back home 😉

[Straker]

What engine is under the stablemates bonnet? I assume the badge on the right is hinting at something from Munich?