Okay, I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for years and until recently didn't really believe in it but then I read a thread by a mechanic with art in his soul. I contacted said artist and told him I wanted to make a soup to nuts thread describing how to have an LS Fox outrun anything in its class for piddly money on a road track and still be useful to haul groceries. I was happy to say this artist didn't ridicule me or lecture me on the subversive nature of a Ford/GM union, he basically said, 'Go for it'! Let's begin:
Everything starts with a plan and all plans have parameters and contingencies for when plans don't work but before we even get to that we need to describe the end goal. When we do, we find we can eliminate lots of work and expense. That's a good thing when your opening statement uses the term "piddly money". So what's our goal? We want a car that won't wake our neighbors and interrupt polite conversations as we drive by them on the street so we can rule out cams and headers. Ideally, we can keep the stock exhaust but that's a later decision on our list. We can also rule out independent rear suspension because it fails our bang for the buck ethos. This post will be updated periodically and additional list items will appear/disappear as we add them. I should mention that nothing in this guide aims to help you get your body and interior sorted out but there are plenty of other resources for that.
1. We want this car to be fast around a track and for that, we need to stiffen the Fox. The most effective way to do this is with sub-frame connectors. For those that don't know what these are, they are basically two long metal structures that tie the front and back halves of the Fox uni-body. Without these, any further suspension upgrades will be made mostly useless by the flexing body. The budget for these is anywhere from $0 if you can bend metal and spot weld to ~$300 for a pro to put them in. So let's make the entry below:
2. If you've done the first step then we need to discuss what comes next. We can't really do anything more with the handling because the drive train will be changing and that interrelates with the wheels/brakes/routing etc. so what do? Start shopping! You guys can help by identifying the junkyard donors for our longitudinal mount LS engines and transmissions. As you include them below, I'll update the lists. The list for transmissions will be subdivided for auto or manual and iron or aluminum for engines. We can start thinking about our wheels and tires. I like the look of the Fox without flared fenders and since we're likely to put reversible track bars on the rear we need to plan our selection to account for an additional 0.25" axle float side to side. This looks like a maximum 235/45-17 on 8" wheels with a 36mm offset if we want to eliminate any rub driving normally. Personally, I think 225/50-16's on 7" wheels is a more conservative choice and with the right rubber, sufficient for 400hp on a 3200lb car but it may limit our brake/rotor choices. I'm willing to hear otherwise, remember, this is a discussion
3. I'm looking to get around ~425whp in this project so the tranny question was put to the forum in another thread. Thanks to @FastDriver and his links, I am satisfied that a T5WC will serve this project. The costs and inconvenience of an upgrade didn't outweigh the competency of what is normally found in a fox. This relieved many headaches of shifter positioning and cosmetics but may introduce others, we'll find out as we move along. Entry made below:
4. In shopping for an engine to make the power I had two routes to take, NA or charged air. I preferred the NA route but ultimately ended up going with an LC9 which produces ~300whp with 9.6:1 compression, has variable valve timing, active fuel management and flex fuel. Adding just 8lbs. of boost should achieve my goal and the price of the engine tipped the balance in favor of adding a turbo. Along with the engine came the computer, its connections and radiator but one of the changes required will be a conversion from electronic to cable throttle control. That process is explained pretty well here. I'll be sure to post problems with this guide if I run into any. Now comes the challenge of planning the fit. Engine weight looks to be about 430lbs, nice! Entry made below:
5. The cross member and mount of the engine offers a weight saving opportunity I would like to take advantage of. Please provide your recommendations for this crucial swap in decision. The factors I'm mainly interested in are the consequences to the existing quasi-Macpherson front Ford uses and its suitability for future steering front suspension upgrades.
6. Some of you may have noticed that we don’t have a car yet J We know it’s going to be a Fox but which one? I currently have four choices, 2 GTs, one LX Lima hatch with a manual and an SVO. Two of these have the 7.5” axles in the rear. The aim is to get the platform down under $1,000 net after part out sales and assuming another $2,000 of upgrades not including the engine to bring those costs to $3,000 total. The 7.5 housing should fit the same 28s axle shafts and saves ~40 lbs and that’s also why I might like the 7.5” rear. Also discussed was the desire for a torsen differential. It would be helpful to know in advance exactly how the axles above would mate with a T2 differential if one can even fit in a 7.5” pumpkin housing. I’ll put it to you guys, which way would you go?
1. sub-frame connectors (a video explaining everything you're likely to encounter is in this link).
2. wheels and tires - under discussion.
3. the T5WC will gear the car
4. the engine will be an LC9 to start the project.
5. K-member - under discussion.
6. the car - under discussion
I chose my engine so now I'm looking for T2/T2-R potential donors so submit your candidates below and I'll update the list here.
Everything starts with a plan and all plans have parameters and contingencies for when plans don't work but before we even get to that we need to describe the end goal. When we do, we find we can eliminate lots of work and expense. That's a good thing when your opening statement uses the term "piddly money". So what's our goal? We want a car that won't wake our neighbors and interrupt polite conversations as we drive by them on the street so we can rule out cams and headers. Ideally, we can keep the stock exhaust but that's a later decision on our list. We can also rule out independent rear suspension because it fails our bang for the buck ethos. This post will be updated periodically and additional list items will appear/disappear as we add them. I should mention that nothing in this guide aims to help you get your body and interior sorted out but there are plenty of other resources for that.
1. We want this car to be fast around a track and for that, we need to stiffen the Fox. The most effective way to do this is with sub-frame connectors. For those that don't know what these are, they are basically two long metal structures that tie the front and back halves of the Fox uni-body. Without these, any further suspension upgrades will be made mostly useless by the flexing body. The budget for these is anywhere from $0 if you can bend metal and spot weld to ~$300 for a pro to put them in. So let's make the entry below:
2. If you've done the first step then we need to discuss what comes next. We can't really do anything more with the handling because the drive train will be changing and that interrelates with the wheels/brakes/routing etc. so what do? Start shopping! You guys can help by identifying the junkyard donors for our longitudinal mount LS engines and transmissions. As you include them below, I'll update the lists. The list for transmissions will be subdivided for auto or manual and iron or aluminum for engines. We can start thinking about our wheels and tires. I like the look of the Fox without flared fenders and since we're likely to put reversible track bars on the rear we need to plan our selection to account for an additional 0.25" axle float side to side. This looks like a maximum 235/45-17 on 8" wheels with a 36mm offset if we want to eliminate any rub driving normally. Personally, I think 225/50-16's on 7" wheels is a more conservative choice and with the right rubber, sufficient for 400hp on a 3200lb car but it may limit our brake/rotor choices. I'm willing to hear otherwise, remember, this is a discussion
3. I'm looking to get around ~425whp in this project so the tranny question was put to the forum in another thread. Thanks to @FastDriver and his links, I am satisfied that a T5WC will serve this project. The costs and inconvenience of an upgrade didn't outweigh the competency of what is normally found in a fox. This relieved many headaches of shifter positioning and cosmetics but may introduce others, we'll find out as we move along. Entry made below:
4. In shopping for an engine to make the power I had two routes to take, NA or charged air. I preferred the NA route but ultimately ended up going with an LC9 which produces ~300whp with 9.6:1 compression, has variable valve timing, active fuel management and flex fuel. Adding just 8lbs. of boost should achieve my goal and the price of the engine tipped the balance in favor of adding a turbo. Along with the engine came the computer, its connections and radiator but one of the changes required will be a conversion from electronic to cable throttle control. That process is explained pretty well here. I'll be sure to post problems with this guide if I run into any. Now comes the challenge of planning the fit. Engine weight looks to be about 430lbs, nice! Entry made below:
5. The cross member and mount of the engine offers a weight saving opportunity I would like to take advantage of. Please provide your recommendations for this crucial swap in decision. The factors I'm mainly interested in are the consequences to the existing quasi-Macpherson front Ford uses and its suitability for future steering front suspension upgrades.
6. Some of you may have noticed that we don’t have a car yet J We know it’s going to be a Fox but which one? I currently have four choices, 2 GTs, one LX Lima hatch with a manual and an SVO. Two of these have the 7.5” axles in the rear. The aim is to get the platform down under $1,000 net after part out sales and assuming another $2,000 of upgrades not including the engine to bring those costs to $3,000 total. The 7.5 housing should fit the same 28s axle shafts and saves ~40 lbs and that’s also why I might like the 7.5” rear. Also discussed was the desire for a torsen differential. It would be helpful to know in advance exactly how the axles above would mate with a T2 differential if one can even fit in a 7.5” pumpkin housing. I’ll put it to you guys, which way would you go?
1. sub-frame connectors (a video explaining everything you're likely to encounter is in this link).
2. wheels and tires - under discussion.
3. the T5WC will gear the car
4. the engine will be an LC9 to start the project.
5. K-member - under discussion.
6. the car - under discussion
I chose my engine so now I'm looking for T2/T2-R potential donors so submit your candidates below and I'll update the list here.
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