wild idea but can it work ?

[dguzzardo22]

so im needing a custiom made rear suspension and what i was thinking was..




i can buy a ford 9" rear end or a chevy or toyota . something that i can bolt to the driveshaft .


and i can get it shortened to fit the rear .( yes it will be alot shorter )

and i would do a 4 link or 3 link to tie it in to the subframe and mount my bags on bars and make a shock mount.


now is it possable to put a rearend under the ti to bolt it up . and also if it were to be possible what woul dbe the best to use.?






please dont clown me it was just a idea . any imput would help . Thanks!

[familytruckster]

I think a 9" would be an overkill. A toy rear would be a good bet...

Now, nothing will be bolt in. Fab work is gonna have to happen. But- for a 3 link w/panhard bar wouldn't be too difficult to pull off. A custom driveshaft would be needed also- but at least the BMW already has a two piece shaft...

I'd think modding the stock arms to work in a better arc might be a tad easier.

Though you could narrow the stick axle a bunch and that would make it easier for you to tuck the rears and not have to worry about the insane neg camber.

[dguzzardo22]

i was thinking a narrowed toyota would be good enough and yes i would needd to know how to make the driveshaft work . and also the link setup is no problem with the bags i just want no camber !!

[budget76]

Guz, you're still running the M44 right? If so, a Dana30 or AMC20 would hold up just fine, and is smaller than a 9". A toy axle would be overkill strength wise, but would work just fine.

IF you need info on narrowing an axle housing/custom parts/etc, go to pirate4x4.com/forum. It's a offroading/rockcrawling site, and stuff like you're talking about gets posted daily. I'd suggest lurking though, they don't take kindly to newbies, especially non-wheelers.

I know jeeps are 5x4.5" lug pattern, toy is 6 lug so wheels wouldn't match unless you had your axleshafts drilled. Maybe there's a solid axle out there that's 5x120? Time to search

[budget76]

OH!, I forgot. Don't plan on having anything bolt up to the d-shaft. You'll wind up having to either lengthen/shorten your shaft, and have a custom made yolk for the solid axle to match the BMW pattern.

[dguzzardo22]

so what would gearing be ? also if i were to plann more on this what about a lsd while im at it .


i mean i will go s52 by next year. the m44 will only go so much .

also as strength you mean even a toyota with a 5 lug and disk brake conversion should work or what does a dana 30 come out of? mabey the all common s10?

[budget76]

Gearing would be whatever your donor axle has in it, or whatever you regear it to. Could be 4.20, could be 2.72, it's up to you.

Dana 30's and AMC20's are typically found in older jeeps. The ford 8.8 is a common swap into smaller pickups, and is found in the older explorers.

Aftermarket LSD's are available for most all common solid rear axles. The ford 8.8, dana 30, Dana44, AMC20, Toyota SA, all have a decent aftermarket following.

In strength, the Ford 8.8, Dana44, and Toyota are all similar and have their strengths and weaknesses, and more than you'll need. All have aftermarket support for chromoly axleshafts etc. . The AMC20 and Dana30 are smaller and weaker, and probably not a good idea with the S52.

Any idea what the WMS is on the TI? I may be able to find out what axle is near that width, if it exists

[pdxmotorhead]

Why not just have a camber kit put in? it will fix the camber problem and be way less fab work...

Dave

[familytruckster]

Originally Posted by pdxmotorhead

Why not just have a camber kit put in? it will fix the camber problem and be way less fab work...

Dave

Might be a little less work- But his suspension is using the full travel of the arm, and even a camber kit won't get rid of all of the camber change through the complete arc.. And I have a feeling that the CV joints don't like that much travel either.

[ti-billy]

didn't the mid to late 80's camaros (3rd generation) have the same bolt pattern we do? im sure i seen a guy on here running old iroc rims.

[roadrash]

Originally Posted by ti-billy

im sure i seen a guy on here running old iroc rims.

I think you're correct there... can't remember the user name at the moment, but I'm pretty sure he's in NC. Oops, make that SC.

EDIT - I think we're referring to "projekt EPiK"... I'm checking to see if I can find him mentioning IROC wheels.

EDIT 2 - Bingo. Pix of the Camaro wheels on his 318 sedan are here.

[spidertri]

The GM bolt pattern is 5x120.65, it is not quite the same as 5x120 but people have been known to make it work. Corvette wheels can work with appropriate spacer/adapters.

[dguzzardo22]

well ok glad to see ppl understanding where im going with this .

well i know i have a local junk yard that has plenty of camaros in there .

and now

i need to learn on where to start as to bolting it to my driveshaft.


also ive been serching on centering up the rearend after i get everything ripped out .


what would you do to properly center the rearend under the car and between both wheelwells then measure for the drive shaft or ?


should i mount everything except the drive shaft and made yoke and then bring it to a shop and get them to male one for me ?

and what i mean is

get rearend shortened to the width i need on both sides keeping the diff (pumpkin) in the dead middle .

then mount the link bars wether be a 4 - 2 or whatever link with adjustable bar ends .

mount bag and shock brackets .

run brake lines and mount the wheels whether i need adapters or not.

then the last is find a way to bring to a shop or mount the ti drive shaft to rearend.


also is there any difference in the second section of the ti driveshaft comparing the auto to 5 spd or m3 5spd .
as if i wanted to swap to 5 spd later down the road

[familytruckster]

Actually the camaro set up would be decent, 2 lower control arms, a torque arm, and a panhard bar.

To center it....measure a lot of times. You could put a plumb bob right were the current center of the diff is- the center of the pinion, that way you can line the new axle up to that centerline. Any driveshaft shop can make the shaft up. Just have the chebby yoke/universal put on the BMW shaft.

Before you hack everything up though- You should see if you can just mod the stock arms to give you the travel you need without the camber arc.

Ugh, so much typing for all the ideas and descriptions on how to do these mods...I don' think I can adequately convey my ideas...

[dguzzardo22]

i was gonna keep my arms like they are in case this solution just wont work .

but it sound like its worth a shot .

also your saying a 2 link with a pan hard bar will be best? i kinda would like to do at least a 4 or wishbone 3 link. and as far as pinion change do you think it would be alot due to the short link bars