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Lining up the front suspension on 3 axes and getting it the right distance from the main frame was a tedious process of measuring, moving,
measuring, twisting, etc. My trusty digital level was used to keep it level in forward/backward pitch.
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| This is the passenger side trailing arm prior to welding. The rotor is vertical within .1 degree, and in line with the axis of the frame. The arm will be spaced such that the axle will fit into the two hubs with the drive pulley in between. There is a 3/4 inch round shaft inside the 1" square tube. The bearings can be seen on the end. |
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| This is the level positioned on the rotor. The rotor was adjusted to be exactly vertical, lined up with the chassis, and then welded in place. |
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| The second trailing arm was lined up and leveled. The axle is now parallel with the ground. |
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| This is the trailing arm assembly welded to the pivot shaft, attached by bearings to the frame. |
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| The trailing arms linked into a very rigid assembly, with the coil-over shock mount in place. Suspension propped up at ride height. |
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| Suspension in fully unloaded (dangling) position. The spring is fully extended here. The spring rate is 350 LB per inch (it supports the entire rear end of the car, about 900lbs with me in the drivers seat. |
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This is a big accomplishment. The Fiero front end is lined up with the main frame assembly in all three directions, leveled to keep castor correct
and .125 wall 1" square tubes attach it. It's mounted 12 inches further forward from the firewall as the normal Fiero position, to make room up
front for more batteries. The lower tubes are welded to the square lower Fiero frame rail flanges. Next I'll use the plasma cutter to cut most of
the top off the 2 inch Fiero square tube section and weld a secondary 1" diameter tube into the opposite inside corner, just for added stiffness.
The suspension is in the fully extended position, and the front springs may have to be changed to a lower rate if the weight distribution winds up
being biased more to the rear. Otherwise I might get lucky and be able to use the stock 190LB front springs.
Brakes come next. I found a dual Wilwood master cylinder setup with an adjustable balance bar. So I can use 2 different diameter master cylinders
for front and rear, and then further adjust braking force F/R with the balance bar. I'll only use 1 rotor & caliper in the rear to save weight, but
I don't know for sure how the stopping forces and traction will work out. So I went with maximum adjustability.
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| This is a top view of the Wilwood dual master cylinder setup mounted. |
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| The steering wheel is mounted to a frame that has some vertical adjustability. It turns out that interior seating dimensions are absolutely critical to a comfortable driving position. |
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Here's a shot through the firewall of the standard Fiero seat mounted on the driver side, and the JAZ lightweight racing seat on the passenger side.
The JAZ seat wound up being a full 4 inches higher than the Fiero seat. The JAZ seat makes entry & exit a lot easier, and it's the same height off
the ground as the '91 Mustang and the '04 Subaru. However, that will push up my roof height, adding 4 inches of height to the car. That's a big
increase in aerodynamic drag, and it added about 1500 watts to my 60MPH cruising power. The JAZ seats only saved me 9 lbs each when you add in the
frame rails and sliders underneath, so it looks like I'll ditch the JAZ seats and go back to the original Fiero seats. I could rework the JAZ seat
mounts and sliders to lower them about 1.75 inches, but I'd have to sink the seats into the 1 inch floor frame, which would be major reconstruction.
The Fiero seats actually have the main seating foam extending down below the sliders. They result in an extremely low sitting position, which will
help drag. As far as entry/exit ease, it looks like the side rail supports will form a convenient ledge, so you can sit on the side rail, grab the
steering wheel and slide in. Also, the Fiero seats are more comfortable than the JAZ seats. Once the side impact protection rail is added (5 inches
inboard of the outer rail), that will form a nice ledge to sit on to ease entry & exit. I'll have to see how that works out.
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| This is a close-up of the steering column mount. It's pretty solid and it's adjustable if I wind up playing with seating heights. The Fiero steering column also has the tilt-wheel feature that also helps a little. |
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| Front view of the car. The front suspension is about 6 inches off the floor. |
