SC400 Built to run in the desert
#1
Driver School Candidate
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#7
Driver School Candidate
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So far, the mods have been fairly simple, all about making it reliable and a little tougher. Visually, it has been trimming up the skirts, who doesn't like a lady in a short skirt!! I tucked the spare tire well at an angle to give more clearance at the very tail. I then deleted the rear mufflers, in favor of straight pipe sections for a little performance and again, ground clearance. The front end was bolting on a pair of FJ Cruiser shocks with 7/8" thick spacers on top. The only mod was redrilling the top of the tower, really just slotting the 3 holes towards the center. I went ahead and reinforced the tower top with 1/8" plate and a 1/2" tall center ring while I was at it. In hind sight, I wish I had used the 7/8" spacer as an adapter ring too, converting the FJ top hat pattern to the SCs, but either way it worked out fine. For the rear, I had to make custom arms for the where the shock mounts. As an engineer and someone who's built and raced a few rally cars in the South West, I just didn't like the OEM design. So, it was made with a single heim joint at the hub side, shock mount moved to the top of the arm and the inner side reused 1/3 or so of the OEM arm, welded inside the box arm. The picture is during a test fit, not the final piece. For the shock, it currently is using a BMW 5 series rear shock and spring from the early 90's model. But, I'm building a set of rebuildable off road coil over shocks with massive 7/8" shafts to replace those soon. The guy who drove it at the rally LOVED it, couldn't stop raving about the power and smooth handling.
-Jon
-Jon
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#13
Driver School Candidate
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I live in the desert SW, mud is not something I come across very often.
Besides, I've got a car like that already. (Yes, I realize the irony of the photo, after saying I don't see mud often...)
-Jon
Besides, I've got a car like that already. (Yes, I realize the irony of the photo, after saying I don't see mud often...)
-Jon
Last edited by jrally; 10-18-16 at 02:45 PM.