Finally getting around to rebuilding the wrecked 02. The frame is tweaked so I'm looking for a new frame. Since EVERYTHING has to be torn down, I'm looking for suggestions/advice on what i can fix/modify/add etc as I'm building it back up.

Plans for the truck are more of a "Streetfighter" if you will, focus. There are no tracks of any sort very near me so track visits will be slim to none. I plan to drive this truck as a DD rotating it out with my other truck/bike. My main focus will be handling. I want it to stick! I plan on staying with the stock block with some reliable mods.

So fire away. I need to start my research. I don't want to discuss them here, I'll search for them, I just need some pointers, probably from the 1% more than anything

 

Step 1: buy one of the last remaining X-Factors before they are gone!

I would also plan on a c-notch and fabbing up an full-length panhard.

 

Which end is tweeked? Back half it and do a 4-link with coilovers, pandhard, etc. Box the remaining frame and add some extra cross bracing.

 

Hey Tim:

I noticed on your site that you like the X-factor, but it doesn't work with the metco's. Do you currently run any traction bars? Any suggestion for something that works well with the X-Factor?

Anyone have a list of which exhausts work with the X-factor? (or none?)

 

I'm not running any traction bars right now. I will probably add them back one day, but it will probably be the very last rear suspension bit after I get everything else worked out.

 

To go all out, I would recommend a custom 3-link.

Better yet, go with a truck arm setup like Nextel Cup cars and Craftsman Trucks. The only hitch would be relocating the gas tank. Split cells with a crossover tube, or a single cell behind the axle, would be ideal. PSR

 

The front "horns" are bent over and the rear took a whack too. I'd feel better with a fresh frame.

I don't really want to go all out but an economical 4 link would fit in my budget. I figure for a bit over 1K I could have a decent 4 link setup. Compare that to shackles, hangers, leafs, bushings, traction bars, shocks etc. And they would never handle as well as a 4 link, correct??

If I do that, the X factor would need to be modified. So what about building one from scratch?

 

I'm not sure this is correct. A 4-link is fine is a straight line, but it inherently binds on any corner. To make your statement accurate, actual testing would be needed to see if the pluses of a 4-link outweigh its minuses from a handling perspective.

That would be too ambitious for me. But since you are going to have a bare frame sitting in front of you, why not WELD IN as much as possible the triangulated bracing that the X-F provides? You could also improve on the design with things like a built-in DS loop.

 

Ditto on both accounts, Tim's recomendation for a truck link NASCAR setup seems to still be the winner if you can relocate your gastank.

 

Spyder II……



The new 19” Panhard….



If'n you stay sort-O stock dat is...........

 

No offense to your plans but to me it seems like the square peg into the round hole here. You are trying to make a truck handle like a car which means you are looking at twice the money it would take to do to a car and in the end you will not get the same results.

If it were me I would reinforce the frame where ever possible to stiffen it up, take some of the money you were going to spend on suspension and put it under the hood. You might loose a bit in the corners but you will make it up on the straights. In the "streetfighter" world it really isn't going to be about who can take the turn the fastest, but who can get to it first.

 

Not true. The L is actually very well balanced vehicle. Going from memory but when I corner weighted mine stock and after lowering it was basically a 52%/48% front to rear weight bias. For a front engine rear drive that is good. For a truck it is incredible.

Personally I think a 4-link would be a big improvement over stock however Tim's suggestion would be an improvement over a 4-link. Time, money, and skills is all it takes.

 

While that logic is undeniably accurate, it's worthless here. A truck is not a performance platform. It's heavy. It has a high CG. It has a massive beam axle. It has horrible chassis flex. It has terrible Cd. Drag racer, road racer, or "streetfighter," we are all trying to keep rolling with SVT's plan -- to make a truck do what it was not designed to do.

Anyone on these boards could have bought a Vette or Mustang and had a vehicle that performs better than his truck in just about everything but towing and payload.

 

I've never weighed mine, but with a 1/2 tank of gas, and a 145 lb driver, the corner weights of JJ's SVT stock Lightning were:

LF 1,477 / RF 1,301 = 2,778
LR 1,080 / RR 1,036 = 2,116
Total = 4,894

That's about a 57/43 bias.

I'm sure lowering the rear has helped my weight distribution, but I've also removed way more weight from the rear than the front. The next time I'm at the track, I'm going to hunt down a set of high-capacity scales.

 

Look at any SVT brochure and you will see that weight distribution is actually 57/43 which is certainly less than ideal. If you remove the spare, hitch and heavy rear bumper you actually worsen that weight distribution.

To demonstrate how weight distribution is important, we had an interesting observation at the track. With driving skills being equal on a tight handling track, an 03 Mustang GT (despite antiquated solid axle) was significantly faster than 03-04 Cobras (also with 57-43 weight distribution but much lower CG than a lightning) and no contest compared to even my bolt with a highly modified suspension.

That's with highly skilled drivers switching the same vehicles. So yes weight and weight distribution is very important. If you get the opportunity, drive a BMW M3 with perfect 50/50 distribution and suspension 50 years ahead of any solid axle pick-up truck.

The new M3 will make any truck or SUV (and many cars too) feel like hay wagons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1c8gezURYQ