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also, do you guys have any specific recommendations for rod end spacers? there are quite a few of them out there. are the ones from JEGS okay? do you recommend aluminum or steel?

so i've gotten most of the rear rod ends changed out. one thing i found on disassembly was that the there was a stack of 9 washers between the rod end and bottom shock mount rather than a rod end spacer. before i buy the shoulder screws and spacers to complete this mount, i thought i'd ask about the optimum spacing. right now there's 1" spacer between the upright and rod end and 1/2" between the rod end and shock. i can see that 1/2" is required between rod end and shock to prevent binding, but does the rod end need to be 1" out from the upright? also, the hole in the cast piecefor the bolt is slightly larger than 1/2" diameter, and there's a little slop there that i'd like to get rid of. how do you guys address that? also, what can be done to make the fit tighter for the rod end mounted on the 5/8" threaded shafts (there are 4 of them).

nice grass too!

17x8 offset 38 73.1mm bore 17x9 offset 45 56.1mm bore will be coming on the lusitania, i believe.

jim, i ordered the wheels about 6 weeks ago.at the time i ordered them td estimated 8 weeks, so hopefully i will be receiving them in a few weeks. the rears with the subie hubs will be hub centric. unless i find a machine shop that can make centering rings with a radius, the fronts will be lug centric. that's not a very high priority for me now though so they they'll probably stay lug centric. i wouldn't think "support" would be an issue for the centering rings unless the lugs were loose. if the lugs are torqued down the load should be transferred to the hub face though static friction, right? i don't know how much shear load a small centering ring can handle, but if my lugs were loose i'd rather have a small centering ring than none!

bruce, i can't help you with the external pump -- i'm running a walbro high pressure in-tank pump, but have you replaced the fuel lines as well as reconditioning the fuel tank? i ask because i kept the original rubber fuel lines for a while after installing the new fuel cell and pump, which was a big mistake. i later discovered that the original hoses were only rated for 50 psi. the increase in pressure from the new pump plus years of alcohol blended fuel eating away at the lines from the inside resulted in rupture of the supply line, soaking me in gasoline. the hoses looked fine and did not feel soft. i now have braided stainless/ptfe lines.

here is heikki's video. the guy is amazing. and klasik, you looked great out there yourself!

mike, my understanding is that fumes coming back into the cockpit can be an issue if the exhaust exit is mounted too close to the body. that said, i don't recall there being an issue when i had the standard exhaust. my current exhaust extends further rearward and further out from the body, and it works well. were i to do it again i'd extend it out a little more -- only because now the hot exhaust has fried the paint at the bottom outside corner of the rear fender.

try http://shop.productinnovationsonline.com/ rob is contact there. he's a really nice guy and will make anything you want in a shift knob. whatever counter bore, height, etc. attached is a bead blasted delrin knob he made for my car, M10x1.5 counter bore.

john, thanks very much! i'll be sure to post here when i get the project done, though at the rate i go on these things that could be a few months from now!

john, i didn't get your PM but i did just look back to your original post re: trammel points. had i seen it earlier i would have saved myself a little trouble and gotten some trammels, but i didn't know term and probably ended up reinventing the wheel. i ordered some aluminum extrusion and a lockable sleeve bearing that slides on it and will attach shoulder bolts to it so that i will have an adjustable jig to duplicate the length of each rod. re: F1 vs F2, it sounds like there's not a single correct answer. the F1's may last longer, but the F2's will certainly be easier to install. the FK engineer told me that the F2 fit was still very tight and would exclude dust. i'm looking forward to the tightened up suspension and to getting rid of those annoying rattles and squeaks! cheers

xcarguy, thanks for the links. bruce, i spoke to someone in engineering at fk and he recommended F2 for our application, so that's what i ordered. i believe you and roman have the F2 fit. he recommended F1 for off-road racing. gary also mentioned that F2 fit is typically specified for sprint cars.

yeah i've seen pictures too but haven't seen one in the flesh. i'm sure someone else will chime in here. but the design of the bonnet and windscreens doesn't lend itself to an easy solution for foul weather gear.

dave, you could consider an ultralite. it has irs and a good track record pulling a trailer (one lap of america). exhaust is on passenger side. after adding a little insulation and sealing up my pedal box, the cockpit on mine is very tolerable. i suspect you would fit okay. with tilletts my butt is about 1 cm above the floor pan. the only issue would be wet weather. you would need to fit a full windshield and sort out a top.

very helpful posts everyone -- thanks very much. i just started to place my order with fastener specialties and was asked whether i wanted an F1 or F2 fit. i wasn't even aware there was a choice. F1 evidently is very tight, so that the ball is quite difficult to move within the race by hand. with F2 fit the ball is still snug but can be easily rotated by hand. i'm thinking F1 is probably the way to go, except that it will make assembly more difficult. roman, john, bruce -- did you specify F1 or F2?

i wonder how much the rattling would be subdued by simply swapping out the standard bolts for shoulder bolts, and retaining the chromoly heims. maybe that would cure the rattling and leave only the squeeking?

cool. thanks guys.

i am ordering parts for this upgrade, and see that the full nylon insert lock nuts offered by fastenal can be had in grades 2, 5, and 8. i'm not sure which i should order, or if it matters that much. i would just match the grade of the shoulder bolt http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/details/26352?searchMode=productSearch&rfqXref=&rfqKeyword=&rfqId=&rfqLineId= but i'm not sure what the grade of this bolt is. can anyone help me out? also, can anyone tell me what grades A, F, G, or 2H refer to in a lock nut?

i got mine through chris smith, a lotus guy who imports them but doesn't keep any inventory, so i wouldn't call it "quick". he's a nice guy though. pm me if you'd like his contact info. i have no experience with the csr260, but the B6 FXL is pretty wide. how much space do you have in the csr? i could fit one in the driver's side of my ultralite but there's no way it would fit in the passenger side.

the parking brake caliper was the worst rattle on my car, plus it was virtually useless for anything other than inspections. i took mine off a while ago.

i have the B6's in my ultralite. tillett indicates that the headrest on these seats is moved back slightly to accommodate a helmet. they are also designed to be used with a hans device. i wear a helmet on the street as well as on the track and have no issues with a bad head angle. the momo seat that was in the car before, on the other hand, pushed my head so far forward that i could barely look up to drive...

i don't have a spare dash but do have a suggestion, and that's to put some extra coats of clear coat on the cf panel before you install it. i have cf dash on my car and i like it, but it's porous and if it gets wet it fogs. some day i'm going to put some extra coats of clear on it but taking all the switches and gauges off is a pita.

thanks! and i will soon be using your parts list for teflon lined fk rod ends!

thought i'd post some pics of the finished cover. i think it turned out nice. thanks everyone for all the help.

i know what my next project's gonna be...