2018-02-07 Update
I've been lazy about posting.
Since last post,
1. The car is mostly a shell now.
2. I've taken a bunch of scans.
3. New parts have arrived.
no more excuses:
1. The car is mostly a shell now.
I've removed a measured 486.4 kg (1070 lb) of things that won't go back in so far.
I removed all of the floppy foam-backed noise insulation from the cabin as I talked about in the last post. I removed all of this because it was all crumbly. I plan to replace it with some new thermal/noise insulation matting under the carpet. [9.4 kg]
I also removed the entire rear axle assembly [105.2kg]
...And front suspension/subframe [84.8 kg]
... and obviously the engine/trans
...Rear Crash Bars - these will be useless with new suspension [5.6 kg total]
...And fuel pump, regulator bracket [2.6 kg]
...And I weighed the HVAC unit [11.6 kg]
...Power Steering Pump [7.0 kg]
The Volvo AC Compressor was surprisingly heavy [13.6 kg]
The Volvo brake booster and master cylinder [6.0 kg]. I haven't fully determined what I plan to do here. I want dual master cylinders with an adjustable bias bar, but I also want to have an option for vacuum-boost so I'm not always heavy-footing. I'll probably spend a bit of time designing something awesome for this system.
and the big ol' battery. [17.2 kg] - I'll probably replace with an AGM that's around the same mass, but mounted in the trunk.
Out of curiosity, I measured the mass of the LS6+T56 and was pleasantly surprised [256.8 kg]. This is without pressure plate, clutch, flywheel, but with AC, PS, Alternator, Cast Headers. It's only ~33 kg heavier than the volvo engine/trans (assuming 20 kg flywheel+PP+Clutch). not bad, huh?
2. I've taken a bunch of scans.
Highly-detailed wheel well scan:
Under-Chassis Scan - This is the most important scan I've taken so far as it will give me accurate positioning of the front and rear subframe mounting points.
3. New parts arrived.
I got a 2015 mustang hub in that I modeled up. I chose this hub because it'll probably be easier to find/make cv axles from ford spline to ford spline (guess), I like the wheel options at 5x114.3, and I like the bolt pattern for mounting the hub. I'm not sure, but if I use these on the front, I might need to run stub axles... tbd.
Probably the most exciting new part I've gotten: a Ford 8.8 IRS Aluminum carrier differential with a 3.73 LSD (supposedly) out of a ford explorer. This should handle all the power I can send to it, it has nice mount points, and it should give me plenty of options for aftermarket differentials/gearings if i'm unhappy. [38 kg]
I also received an electric steering rack from a 2015 camaro, but I don't think i'll be able to use it, as it's activated via CAN, and I don't know what commands to send it, or the pinouts on the connectors. I was really looking forward to using this rack as I've heard great things about its feel, but I think I'm going to need to find an alternate.
I'm currently looking into using an electric steering rack out of an NSX or S2000, as they're variable rate, and controlled without CAN, so I should be able to wire it up and control the level of assist pretty easily.
Until next time!