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Project 2B

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>Project 2B: Install the rear end

Now, we finally get to start bolting bits onto the kit. If you made airfix kits as a kid you will know that the secret to a successful job is in the preparation, but we just want to get on...

Having removed the rear subframe from the sierra and the front macpherson struts you have all the bits you need to make up the rear end. Yep, no more bits to buy, but a little bit of ingenious scavenging transforms one rear subframe and some front macpherson struts into the kit's rear-end.

Installing the rear end

First you need to offer the rear-subframe up to the chassis and locate it on the mounting points.

	Locating the rear-subframe involves offering up the subframe to the chassis and locating the swing-arm points at the outer edges, plus getting the mounting bushes in the static section to line up with the holes in the chassis plates under the floor. You need to drill the floor yourself to match the holes in the chassis - this has to be done with care as the floor still isn't fixed - precision engineering this isn't
	An outer view of the swing-arm mounting point... For the fixed part of the chassis there are actually two mounting holes, the first allows you to locate the existing rubber mountings on the sierra subframe, once this is done you need to drill through the second mounting hole, through the subframe and out the other side...watch the video!
	...plus a plan view of the Diff mounting. Once everything is aligned then you drill the chassis plate and bolt the diff to it.
	The clever bit (or at least it looks clever, we will see how it handles) is that you cut of the bottom of the macpherson strut and remove the internals (having used a spring compressor to remove the spring obviously, cutting open a complete strut would be dangerous). Now, take the bottom of the strut and place it in the bottom of the rollover bar and you have the top part of you spring mounting. Note that if the donor car has aftermarket struts, this may not work as the strut body diameter may be different. Problems? Well the end of one of the rollover bars was a bit mashed and proved a problem to insert the strut body into. Robin Hood recommend cutting a slit up the bottom of the chassis tube to aid fitting. The next issue is ride height, as in what should it be. We can't really define this now, so we aren't going to...you need to drill through the chassis tube and the strut body to fix the height, we'll use a temporary fixing until we can set the right height.
	At the bottom left of the picture you can see the shock mounting point, you have to fabricate the top bracket, but the standard shockers are used. This picture also shows the clip used to temporarily helod the thing together - later, when we have the telemetry back from our track testing we'll be able to accurately fix this with a large hole and a dirty great bolt...
	And here is one I made earlier, have we finished yet?

The costs so far...

Still no more to spend, unless you want to paint up the rear subframe before installing it...


1	Get the Kit

2	Watch the videos

3	Find a Donor Car

4	Strip the Donor

5	Fit the rear axle

6	Fit the Engine/Gearbox

7	Build front suspension

8	Fit inner panels

9	Install wiring loom/rad

10	Fit exterior panels

11	Fit interior

12	SVA test, MOT etc

What we learnt this time...

Hhhmmm, not sure that Lotus suspension engineers would have come up with such a "flexible" solution, but we'll give it a try, for christ's sake the kit only cost £1300 - what do you expect when they say "adjustable ride height".

the next installment is Fit the Engine>