Brunton M-Spec #008 Another Stalker Here? YES!

[lmtdconv92]

Hello All, Im new Se7ens but been a medium time lurker to the forum.

 

I am the new owner of M-Spec #008. Crocs thread has been fantastic on the seeing the different kinds of Sevens out there. Thanks for the help Croc.

 

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?9372-Ebay-and-Craigslist-ads-Lots-of-Sevens-for-sale&p=97234#post97234

 

After I won the car on ebay, I went down to test drive it and met the previous owner, an extremely nice gentlemen, Thomas in Houston. He let me drive the car for almost an hour before we sealed the deal.

Got the car shipped back via Horseless carriage. They were OK, I never got a tracking number after repeated times asking for one. It was picked up early, and delivered late, but it was delivered unscathed, so I will take it. Awesome news was it showed up in a snowstorm, but hey, its here. I also was able to work the price down. They initially wanted $1900, got the price down to $1600. Not horrible from Houston to Boston.

 

So far the car is everything I could have hoped for. Very excited to have one.

 

The plans are to Autocross the crap out of it. I am looking forward to beating my buddy on here, Stimpy, that has Stalker # 32, and another buddy Gary, that has a home built Lotus at Devens.

 

Future plans are to change over to 10" rotors and special brackets to facilitate running 13" rims with hoosiers, as the 17"s are very expensive. I also need to do some work on the steering wheel and steering shaft where it protrudes into the passenger compartment. There is way to much play there for my liking.

 

If anyone wants any Pics please ask, I will post them.

[slngsht]

where are you located?

[yellowss7]

I'd guess Boston area from his accent. :smilielol5: Mazda you must be working too hard. Get that BEC Caterham built and join us at NJMP. Sooner than later. That work thing is not all it's cracked up to be. Tom:seeya:

 

PS Nice looking car ...92 Welcome to the insane asylum. You are going to love it.

Edited March 16, 2016 by yellowss7

[slngsht]

As Jay Leno used to say...

 

The economy is so bad...

 

LOL

[Croc]

Congratulations on your new car! The snow is gone - drive it like you stole it! :rofl:

[xcarguy]

lmtdconv92,

 

Another Stalker owner here; chassis #85…again; yep, there's a story there. But moving along, welcome to the forum. We (all of us crazies) jokingly call Stalkers 'Storkers' on this site, so don't get offended if the moniker is tossed your way. BTW, does your buddy’s car (Ken’s old #32) still have the SC V6?

 

Cheers :seeya:

[lmtdconv92]

Sorry, I figured my accent would give me away. I am from Massachusetts.

Thanks for the welcomes guys, and Oh yes, I have been lurking for some time, so I know some of your back stories. Sorry about your troubles so far Xcarguy, sounds like you are almost through the worst of it.

 

Storker, Stalker, Storikie, whatever. All I know is it is hands down the fastest vehicle I have ever been in. Ive had some different sports cars over the years. A 92 LX mustang convertible, a 95 Ranger with a 5.0, a 2004 Z06. The Z06 was the fastest, until this.

 

Xcarguy, Yes, my buddie Stimpy still has it. It still has the SC V6. I know it now has a Kenne Bell on it as well. I think he said its putting down 325/340 to the rear wheels in it. He let me drive it last year at an autocross, and its what got me hooked on finding a M-spec. I wanted his car, but better.

[MightyMike]

Welcome to the forum! You have a real nice looking car.

 

Mike

[Shoe String Racing]

Welcome. always good to have another "black sheep" :jester: in the crowd. I'm brand new, so I'll be interested in your questions/observations.

[Stimpy]

Xcarguy, Yes, my buddie Stimpy still has it. It still has the SC V6. I know it now has a Kenne Bell on it as well. I think he said its putting down 325/340 to the rear wheels in it. He let me drive it last year at an autocross, and its what got me hooked on finding a M-spec. I wanted his car, but better.

 

Keep talking big guy. I'll let you smell my FTD jacket if you like.

[lmtdconv92]

Found out some more things about the car. It is a complete 1 off. After some emails with Scott, I found out it was built with the XL width, but the standard Stalker length.

 

Was going through the car last night. Found some things that needed to be redone or repaired.

 

To start off, the lines from the oil cooler and transmission cooler(yes, its an automatic) are leaking and need to be tightened up. Bottom of the car needs to be wiped down and just a general cleaning underneath so I can make sure that I have found and have fixed all the leaks. It looks like this car was built well, it just needs to be gone over now that it has 4k miles on it.

 

I do have some questions for you guys.

1) the last steering knuckle feels like there is a lot of play in in. I tightened it up at the pinch joint but it almost seems like there is even more play at the spherical joint. By play I mean movement, almost 1/2" to 3/4" from side to side. Has any one else had this issue?

 

2)The front lower control arms are only welded in by a double shear tab, but there is no vertical cross member to tie it into. It looks like its how all the other posted new stalkers are built, it just seems like it is not attached as well as it could be.

 

3) is the seat mounts. They are only bolted to the aluminum floor. Yes they have another strip of 1/8" aluminum that it is attached to, but it does not seem to be mounted strong enough. I am thinking I am going to re-enforce the area with strips of 1/8" steel and weld right into the chassis on both left and right sides, but I wanted to see if anyone else has a better option. I have looked through the stalker forums, and I saw xcarguy added in tilting brackets, but I dont need to go that route. Just a more secured base that would not tear through the soft floor in an accident.

 

Thanks for any help,

 

Chris

Edited March 27, 2016 by lmtdconv92

[xcarguy]

. . . Was going through the car last night. Found some things that needed to be redone or repaired.

 

1) the last steering knuckle feels like there is a lot of play in in. I tightened it up at the pinch joint but it almost seems like there is even more play at the spherical joint. By play I mean movement, almost 1/2" to 3/4" from side to side. Has any one else had this issue?

 

Chris,

 

A few questions/things to consider about the spherical joint:

 

Is the joint perhaps loose at its mount, allowing it to ‘rock back and forth?

 

Is the spherical portion worn, allowing the shaft to move inside the joint?

 

How much of the shaft’s spines are protruding into the u-joint?

 

Having said that, I would consider changing out the u-joint for a beefier unit such as those produced by Borgeson (see attached photo for example). As for the spherical joint, I personally don’t prefer them, especially if driving a car in a high performance environment (metal against metal in a harsh environment—they are going to wear). I prefer steering shaft support bearings (hence, the word ‘bearing’) as these have actual bearings. I’m currently redesigning the steering for my car (went to the Coleman rack) and am using a combination of three Borgeson shaft support bearings, part number 700010 (again, see attached photo). These bearings can be mounted at pretty much any angle (bearing sandwiched between two plates) and are an improvement over the spherical mount in the areas of smoothness, longevity…and safety.

 

 

 

 

 

2)The front lower control arms are only welded in by a double shear tab, but there is no vertical cross member to tie it into. It looks like its how all the other posted new stalkers are built, it just seems like it is not attached as well as it could be.

 

Your car now has 4K miles and these control aremounts have shown no sign of trouble. I’venot heard of/read about any other owner of the new chassis having any issue inthis area. The load imposed on themounts is an upward/outward force. Thosemounts also have a metal base that provides additional integrity in the HAZaround the weld. My personal (veryhumble) opinion is to simply move along with the current setup and performperiodic visual/tactile inspections of these mounts. However, if concerned, you can always addgussets.

 

3) is the seat mounts. They are only bolted to the aluminum floor. Yes they have another strip of 1/8" aluminum that it is attached to, but it does not seem to be mounted strong enough. I am thinking I am going to re-enforce the area with strips of 1/8" steel and weld right into the chassis on both left and right sides, but I wanted to see if anyone else has a better option. I have looked through the stalker forums, and I saw xcarguy added in tilting brackets, but I dont need to go that route. Just a more secured base that would not tear through the soft floor in an accident.

 

Thanks for any help,

 

Chris

 

Chris, seats are a sore spot for me (yes, there’s some pun in there somewhere :jester:). The tilting seats of yester-year are long gone, and I would not do it again; too complex. The current design for my rebuild has the seats mated to the chassis via welded-on mounting tabs. (And for those that are wondering, yes, I will be adding high-end foam padding to my seats for the next rodeo). With the seats mounted directly to the floor, the design is only as good as the floor to which they are attached. In our cases, the floor is nothing more than a thin piece of aluminum mated to the frame. Personally, I’d prefer the seats/seat mounts be mated to anchor-points on the chassis of the car, not the floor.

[lmtdconv92]

Chris,

 

A few questions/things to consider about the spherical joint:

 

Is the joint perhaps loose at its mount, allowing it to ‘rock back and forth?

 

Is the spherical portion worn, allowing the shaft to move inside the joint?

 

How much of the shaft’s spines are protruding into the u-joint?

 

Having said that, I would consider changing out the u-joint for a beefier unit such as those produced by Borgeson (see attached photo for example). As for the spherical joint, I personally don’t prefer them, especially if driving a car in a high performance environment (metal against metal in a harsh environment—they are going to wear). I prefer steering shaft support bearings (hence, the word ‘bearing’) as these have actual bearings. I’m currently redesigning the steering for my car (went to the Coleman rack) and am using a combination of three Borgeson shaft support bearings, part number 700010 (again, see attached photo). These bearings can be mounted at pretty much any angle (bearing sandwiched between two plates) and are an improvement over the spherical mount in the areas of smoothness, longevity…and safety.

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10673[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

 

Your car now has 4K miles and these control aremounts have shown no sign of trouble. I’venot heard of/read about any other owner of the new chassis having any issue inthis area. The load imposed on themounts is an upward/outward force. Thosemounts also have a metal base that provides additional integrity in the HAZaround the weld. My personal (veryhumble) opinion is to simply move along with the current setup and performperiodic visual/tactile inspections of these mounts. However, if concerned, you can always addgussets.

 

 

 

Chris, seats are a sore spot for me (yes, there’s some pun in there somewhere :jester:). The tilting seats of yester-year are long gone, and I would not do it again; too complex. The current design for my rebuild has the seats mated to the chassis via welded-on mounting tabs. (And for those that are wondering, yes, I will be adding high-end foam padding to my seats for the next rodeo). With the seats mounted directly to the floor, the design is only as good as the floor to which they are attached. In our cases, the floor is nothing more than a thin piece of aluminum mated to the frame. Personally, I’d prefer the seats/seat mounts be mated to anchor-points on the chassis of the car, not the floor.

 

Xcarguy, thanks for the insight. I am certain the bearing is worn so I will replace it. I wil also replace the split collar clamp with a borgason joint. My mustang has one of those so I'm familiar with that style. Thanks for the direction to go.

 

For the lower control arm mounts, I will just continue to monitor them. I just think.it could be mounted more securely is all.

 

The seats. I looked up some other older stalkers and they have a 1x1" bar stock welded in for the front seat mount, but nothing on the rear.

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=3769

 

I am going to leave it as is for autocrossing and street driving, but this winter i.will make it a priority to upgrade before i.start any track events. I want to see some other designs for added safety.

 

Again thanks and I'm sure I'll have more questions as I dig into this.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[lmtdconv92]

Hi Xcarguy,

 

I submitted a response 2 days ago, but the internet looks to have intercepted it.

 

The pinch joint definitely allows play. I will replace both that and the spherical. Thanks for the links.

 

For the lower control arm mounts, yes I will keep an eye on them, I just think they could have been attached better, Maybe I just am worrying about nothing.

 

The I reviewed some other seat mounts and saw the older style stalkers had a cross brace of 1" square tubing that the front seat mounts attached to.

I will leave it as is for auto crossing, but for next winter I will plan on a cross brace welded into the frame for better support.

 

thanks for the help!

 

Chris

 

BTW the auto cross season starts Sat, so I will have to post results and opinions on how the car feels next week. With this being the first event in it, I am very exited.

[xcarguy]

Good luck tomorrow, Chris. Looking forward to your report.

[lmtdconv92]

So it was a spectacularly bad opening to #008s autocross career.

 

Not only was it raining(pouring) and in the low 40s, 2 runs in the fuel decided it did not need to make it to the engine. I am leaning towards a clogged or kinked pickup, but a bad pump is not out of the equation.

 

All of a sudden it started sputtering and stalling, then I cruised through the run, to hear the fuel pump whining insanely loud. Fuel pressure was low, around 15 psi.

 

So I shut the car down, went to a friends house to get a pump he had laying around, found it was a different pump, then shut the car down for the day. 2 hours later I put it on the trailer, and the pressure was back to normal ~35 psi, and the whining was gone. I need to investigate this further before the next race on Sat the 9th, 4 days from today.

 

Until then!

[xcarguy]

Chris,

 

What fuel level in the tank during runs? Could be G-force pulling fuel off of the pickup point in the tank.

[lmtdconv92]

It was full minus the 2 runs as I filled it up on the way there. The pick up is where I am going to start