To Todd

[Frederic Breitwieser]

> Thanks for the exact model # of the welder ya picked up, will see how

Welcome :)

> HOBBIES....  A HOBBY carist would 'do' a car like a Fiero body
> swap(re-body), or VW kit(Dune Buggy) and the like, ya know?

Its a hobby from the point of view that you don't make a living doing
it, but its not a hobby as far as tools.  I'd much rather overspend
slightly, than to purchase a tool that I outgrow in a year... and
welding together a tubular chassis that I will be sitting in, driving on
the street, and driving at Limerock, I'd like to have nice welds. 
Considering my life as a driver is worth more than a $1000 welder, guess
what I bought :)  Maybe the logic isn't very sound, but emotionally, it
allowed me to part with the wallet-housed green stuff and get a nice
welder.

> I'll most likely be using an older 70-81 Camaro for my

For my mid-engine chassis, I considered getting a 92 Caprice chassis for
$125, from a local body shop.  Then, I decided instead of fabricating
all these crazy things to fit the curvature of the chassis, it would be
less of a headache CAD wise just to build from scratch.

> suspension/chassis which will reduce my cost considerably.... MAY even
> use parts of the original body as support for the Defender 'glass ....

Well, GM suspension parts are fine, however they are heavy.  This is why
I went with the aluminum corvette pieces.  Got four A-arms, half shafts,
spindles, ball joints, rotors, calipers, strut bars and a whole bunch of
stuff for about 800 bucks... so I couldn't complain.

Another good choice for independant suspension front/rear are the
tubular GM racing parts - Howe and Comeman machien have them for 60
bucks or less for a lower, and 45 bucks for an upper.  use 2wd S-10
front spindles in the front, and 4wd S-10 front spindles in the back.
And you can use eldorado/toronado CV shafts for axles, attaching to the
transmission of your choice fairly cheaply.  Also, by coincidence, the
S-10 spindles I have do fit inside corvette rims.  Go figure :)  I went
for the fancy aluminum vette stuff simply because its high performance,
lightweight, and looks cool, however nothign wrong with the tubular
a-arms.

To keep the rear wheels straight, since you'd be using front spindles in
the rear, do what most cars nowadays do, they use a tie-rod like thing
from the spindle to a calculated mounting point on the chassis, to keep
the toe in/out constant (or deliberately varied, depending) during
suspension travel.  Quite easy.  Two tie rods, and a threaded rod
between them, and that's it.  Don't forget jam nuts.

> doesn't want it anymore...  A SILVER Viper GTS ACR(Racer) with 5 point
> harnesses and all was sittin on the showroom floor!!

There ya go. :)

> When lookin at it the width of the Viper isn't too far off of that of an
> older style Camaro....

Yes, but the length is different.  Someone makes a viper body that bolts
to an 80's up corvette... which on occasion you can find in the 5000
buck range if the body or interior is in shitty condition.

> can contribute to any differences....

On the rear yes, but in the front, you introduce bump steer more often
than not due to the spindles steering rotation angle (kingpin angle) by
moving the wheels out.

> have to snag one or two of their IRS and install one in the first or
> second Defender just to make it look and ride like the REAL Viper...

I don't like the jag rear AT ALL.  THink about the GM tubular stuff, I
can give you some more info if you email me... its fairly inexpensive
all things being equal.

> Wonder how much tehy'd take for the entire rear....

I found one in Milford CT, and the yard wanted 800 buck for it.  The
vette stuff was 800 front and back.

> Can't WAIT to F.I. and Turbo the Mopar as well!

Yeah, I got the engine started during the week with the 730 ECM, with a
camaro chip, and slightly larger injectors.  Ran real lean, sputtered
upon starting, but at least it started, so I'm heading in the right
direction.  The participants of this insided I was nuts not to keep the
predater carb attached.