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New Chassis, Refurb or ?


Guest JabawokJayUK

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Guest JabawokJayUK

So I plan on doing a full not and bolt rebuild of the RH2B this winter and while I could take the current chassis back to bare metal and paint it, what other options exist?

Are new chassis better / reasonably priced? Should I go for a stainless steel chassis?

Literally no idea what the best option is!

Advice greatly appreciated!

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If you swapped the chassis on a 2B, even to another 2B one, half the bit probably wouldn't fit. If you're determined to do a full strip down, maybe powder coating would be an option but getting in to all the nooks and crannies might be challenging.

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Guest JabawokJayUK

My main issue with the chassis I have is that the engine, gearbox and diff all seem about 2" too low. I have a sump 3" below the floor pan level, a gearbox that is 3" below the tunnel top and the rear wheels, with the new style GAZ coilover conversion from GBS sit about 6" off the arches with the shocks having 1" of piston travel.

So the big part of the rebuild is literally moving the whole drivetrain from engine back, up about 2-3". Given that will mitigate pretty much all of the previous fitment of parts, does that change your statement at all?

I foresee a lot of plug welding to fill holes and then redrilling new mount points using the current chassis. Is there not an improved 2b chassis? what about the stainless one? was it a better chassis? lighter? stronger? weaker?

Appreciate the advice👍

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Diff position in a 2B chassis is pretty much fixed. Are you sure the ride height isn't too low? Where does the bottom of the chassis side tubes sit relative to the floor? 

1" of damper travel is nowhere near enough. 

Rear arches are always high on a 2B but can be lowered if it's a visual issue. 

Pictures would help visualise the problem. 

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Guest JabawokJayUK

I'll grab some pics later to show what I mean. The shock travel I know how to resolve. I just need to cut back the bottom of the roll bar in the arch a couple of inches and same with the adapters that GBS Supply. They use a longer shock on the rear which I personally think is a mistake.

I'll put pics up of the ground clearance and gearbox issues as well.

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the later chassis has a tapered rollbar like this wdkBaVd.jpg (not my pic). It also has a bigger engine bay than the older chassis, but it doesn't have the hoop up over the scuttle which i like as i think it adds strength in that area (could be completely wrong). 

be careful you don't have insurance problems if you swap the chassis. It's unlikely they would know but if your car was registered before the later chassis was in production it might cause an issue if they realise. 

In terms of whether it is better or not. It's pretty much the same in terms of suspension (unless you have the sliding pillar) so not really much need to change unless you want a bigger engine. 

If it was me i'd just chop about what you have. The sump is always low which needs a lowered sump (if yours isn't chopped) and the bar in front of that (the plough bar) could be cut and bent and rewelded at a higher level. 

You could also look at changing the mounting points for the front upper suspension moving the mounting down to create better geometry and moving it rearward to get more caster.

At the rear you could create your own rear subframe to hold a double wishbone setup. Don't think anyone has done this yet but I've discussed this with others on here with the idea to use the 'build your own sportscar' plans with a bit of modification. For interests sake there was a chassis 'the hood' with a few built that had a full rollcage and double wishbone suspension on the rear. It was a pretty good looking chassis but i'm not sure if anyone has one on the road.

hope thats useful

 

 

 

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