Matt's S12

should be welded.  cutting some out would be a bitch tho, as my cordless sawzall is done (batteries) but I'm sure something could be figured out.

A large rough cut with a torch or plasma would work too. It's not very thick material, only 14ga IIRC.

Let me know bud, no rush... Still got lots of time before I'll need them!

Gotta find either OEM struts or aftermarket coilovers, a new brake bracket, ball joints (though they might only need new boots), though pads and rotors I can reuse from the S12.

And I need to figure out something on the drive shaft too, which depends on where the subframe ends up exactly.

Ricer!

Other issues, drive shaft.
Stock S12 won't work, it's about 5" too short (long nose diff vs. short nose diff) and flanges are different (short nose R200 is MUCH larger and splines are bigger, so I can't just swap flanges).

The right thing would be to get a custom shaft made, but I can't spend that kind of money on it (not right now anyway), so I have another solution that I can do in the mean time.
(https://i.imgur.com/dfEMugz.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/JLAhzdF.jpg)

Now, the question is, should it be made out of steel with a through bolt flange, or should it be make out of a high alloy aluminum with taps for the bolts instead and the whole piece solid (instead of a smaller tube as shown).

I was thinking aluminum at first, but aluminum would be a pretty large chunk (about 4" od, 5" long), and obviously steel would be much cheaper.

I'd do the steel, so it has the capability of possibly bending on failure, instead of completely fragmenting.  It would seem safer for the occupant =P

With as solid as the aluminum piece would be, I'd think it would have a u-joint fail or the flange bolts sheer first. I donno.

Other option would be to machine the mating flanges, then weld in a tube between them, much like a drive shaft.

Lots of options, I guess I'll have see what materials I have to work with.

The aluminum needed would be around $50 (4x5 round solid stock), steel would be about $40 of 4340 chromoly , and $30 for 1018 mild steel.

I might do the tube option, since I can make the flanges out of flat stock, but we'll see.

word

since you'd only be doing it cuz of the expense of a 1 piece i'd say do it the cheapest way possible.

True that.
It's a temp fix anyway, I'll get a one piece some day.

The material will be...
Grade: 520
Inner Diameter: 1.625"
Material: Carbon Steel
Outer Diameter: 2"
Specification: ASTM A513/5
Style: Drawn Over Mandrel
Thickness: 0.188"
Type: Round Tube

I was gonna get .120 wall, but it was $10 shipping, and this stuff was $7 and I gotta pick it up at our local fastenal store.

seishukuThe material will be...
Grade: 520
Inner Diameter: 1.625"
Material: Carbon Steel
Outer Diameter: 2"
Specification: ASTM A513/5
Style: Drawn Over Mandrel
Thickness: 0.188"
Type: Round Tube

I was gonna get .120 wall, but it was $10 shipping, and this stuff was $7 and I gotta pick it up at our local fastenal store.

have you tried a s13 driveshaft?

making part of a driveshaft, unbalanced, is very... eh i dunno

That short of a piece isn't going to affect balance, run-out is more of an issue, but that's what a lathe and dial indicator is for.

I did think of maybe trying an S13 rear section, but I don't have one on hand.

Another quick rendering
(https://i.imgur.com/4p1gM4p.jpg)

More or less what it'll look like.

seishukuAnother quick rendering

P.S. I love Fastenal. They're my main people for anything pretty much. Just went down there today to get some nuts and bolts and washers. spent 4 bucks, and now I have a 240 seat in my car.

Oh, of course. I'm gonna try to keep it to 0.001" or less run out, Nissan's max run out for the drive shaft is 0.024", so that will be more than good.

The pieces will be pre-machined, then welded, then faced off to maintain proper run out.

I'll probably spin it at the lathe's max speed to see what the balance is like, but like I said before, it's so short that it's not likely to mess up balance.

seishukuOh, of course. I'm gonna try to keep it to 0.001" or less run out, Nissan's max run out for the drive shaft is 0.024", so that will be more than good.

The pieces will be pre-machined, then welded, then faced off to maintain proper run out.

I'll probably spin it at the lathe's max speed to see what the balance is like, but like I said before, it's so short that it's not likely to mess up balance.

Heh, if this turns out well, I should give making my own drive shaft a go.

Know of any place I can get Nissan trans yokes for Spicer u-joints from?

seishukuHeh, if this turns out well, I should give making my own drive shaft a go.

Know of any place I can get Nissan trans yokes for Spicer u-joints from?

Yeah, especially when you have to replace universals.
They do make replacements for "non-serviceable" types, like ours, but I'd still rather have one that's proper.

seishukuYeah, especially when you have to replace universals.
They do make replacements for "non-serviceable" types, like ours, but I'd still rather have one that's proper.

Was bored and had some time today, so I put in "proper" exhaust hangers.

mmmmnn... bagelkatz

I think I'm gonna take a different approach to the shocks/springs...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CMB-15-0063/?image=large (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CMB-15-0063/?image=large)

Got a better plan than putting in strut towers, can anyone guess what?

looks like the springs were spec'd at 150 in/lb which is pretty close to stock, if thats what you want.  close to stock is ok for me for ride quality, but for handling a bit stiffer perhaps, just depends on your style/preference.

as long as the shock portion alone is replaceable/rebuildable  id say looks good...

14" springs are long, but it depends on the end setup...

Stock rears are 129, but being a 2.5" coil, you can pretty much get whatever you want.

The total length that I need is about 20" at full droop, for where I want to put the upper mount. Keep in mind, that the 240 rear spindles have the strut bolt on about 40mm higher than where the S12's shock bolts in, so it's quite a bit lower of a point than where the S12's spring seat is.

Stock S13 struts are pretty long at full extension.

BTW, do you (or anyone really) know what the full rear suspension travel is? I was going to pull out one of my rear springs today and find out, but it just started to downpour and the garage has 240 rear parts scattered everywhere.

holy camber lol slammed

ur gonna have a sweet rear setup

DUDE!!! are we like building exact cars.....high comp sr20's+ turbo and now s13 rear conversion....keuuuulllll lol

(http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k435/tuhsty/DSCF0460.jpg)

Nice!
Are you going to adapt the chassis for the subframe too, or are you going to modify the subframe?

Just for fun:
(https://i.imgur.com/58sQ47J.jpg)
R160, R180, and R200.

The R200 isn't that much bigger than the R180, but the diff carrier is HUGE compared to the R160/R180 carriers.

I didn't take a pic of them, but the big difference in strength on the R180 and R200? Stub axles (though the spider gears on the R180 aren't very strong either). The R180 (which are integrated on the CV half-shaft) are well, tiny, about 3/4" in diameter. The R200 on the other hand, are damn near over an inch, they're monsters!

Edit:
Oh, and the R200 is going to work with me tomorrow, weld 'er up.

seishuku Nice!
Are you going to adapt the chassis for the subframe too, or are you going to modify the subframe?

Welded and partly reassembled R200:
(https://i.imgur.com/kaErjoJ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/cPuPzam.jpg)

gorgeous weld job. i love blueing

whats the r160 from?  looks like a lsd

I always love the heat coloring from TIG welding... Especially on titanium.

The R160 is a VLSD out of a WRX/Legacy, same spline count and shaft size as our R180, but the circlip locations are different, so it was kind of a bust.

Think this might have been causing problems?

It was having problems with breaking up under full boost/high load.

seishukuI always love the heat coloring from TIG welding... Especially on titanium.

The R160 is a VLSD out of a WRX/Legacy, same spline count and shaft size as our R180, but the circlip locations are different, so it was kind of a bust.

The clip grooves on the R180 are set 52mm in, but on the VLSD R160 it's 38mm and 50mm.
The long side could be done, but the short side wouldn't because 52mm in is the viscous coupling.

I wouldn't mind trying to cut new ones, but we don't really have the tooling for cutting hardened materials.

Also, the half shafts are 1/2" shorter than they need to be, which might not be a big deal (the CV does stretch some) but with out proper clips, they'd probably pop out.

seishukuThe clip grooves on the R180 are set 52mm in, but on the VLSD R160 it's 38mm and 50mm.
The long side could be done, but the short side wouldn't because 52mm in is the viscous coupling.

I wouldn't mind trying to cut new ones, but we don't really have the tooling for cutting hardened materials.

I thought of that too, you might be able to swap out the inner CVs and make a hybrid shaft, but I don't know if the CV joint splines are the same or not.

seishukuI think I'm gonna take a different approach to the shocks/springs...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CMB-15-0063/?image=large (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CMB-15-0063/?image=large)

Got a better plan than putting in strut towers, can anyone guess what?

I got the suspension all blown apart, getting new ball joints and stuff cleaned up.

Now while I have the knuckles disassembled, should I put the dust shield back on or not? They're a little beat up, but could be fixed.

might aswell rip them off, you might get more airflow to your rotors, too

God knows that those solid rotors could use all the airflow they can get too!

If I had the money, I would do the vented rear Z31 conversion too. But that can come later, or maybe Z32 rears.

(https://i.imgur.com/YMHs3wy.jpg)

Cleaning up the backside of my stock alloy rims, they had some BAD salt corrosion on the hub bore and the back had a nasty mineral buildup.

I forgot to take a pic of it before I cleaned them, but Sterling might remember how bad they were.

Just picture this: The nasty salt residue that you get on your car during the winter, only about 1000% worse.

I used some industrial lime remover (acid blend) at full strength, which actually did etch the metal slightly, but it was the only way to do it short of actually blasting them.

Now I just gotta remove the super tough wheel paint on the other side, then coat them.

Some fall-out from running water+meth injection:

Quit fuckin around and install the s13 rear end already. I mean its not like it doesn't bolt in or anything lol.

I'm workin on it! I gotta drive to work too ya know.
I still need ball joints and springs/shocks, ball joints I might be able to get in the new few months, but bills have been super tight lately.

Yeah I feel you on money being tight. I can't wait till you finish this though it will be one of the very few s12's with a multilink rear.

the gasket degradation is from residual meth pooling in the intake?