Suspension/ drive train setup

[OLSCHL]

Hi there guys,

How are we all??

I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction of someone who could give me a hand in my DRB suspension set up. With tax return time here i have a few mods to do on the car........

DRIVETRAIN:
1. Get rid of my single railer gear box- thus a top loader required ( gotta hate it when it jumps out of 2nd gear !!) Is it true that the toploader bell housing is the same as the 4 speed single railer gearbox bell housing??? Tremec opition may be a bit far out of my price range

2. Replace the banjo diff (darkside diff) with a Ford 9" LSD diff

BACKEND:
1. Replace current drum brakes with disc brakes

2.Correct the suspension and rear end setup (the cars tooo unpredictable!!!)
Does anyone know if i could put a watts linkage in to the rear end of the standard 1995 DRB cobra (GM- Dark side front and rear ends) ???? Cause this rear end is verrrry basic.

3. new rear tyres

Literally it is whole readjustment of the geometry of the rear and front ends.

I was wondering if anyone could help me with people who i could obtain some of the parts from to complete this big project both the suspension part and the drive train part?? I just want to do all the reserch so it doenst cost me a fortune and costly mistakes!!!

Thank you for your time guys, much appreciated!

Cheers,

Al

[400TT]

1995 DRB should be first of 3rd generation, which has the bigger rear guards and a few other nice changes. Easiest way to tell(except for the big guards) is look at the how the fibreglass body attaches to the rear wall of cockpit. If fibrglass body is flush with rear wall it's a 2nd generation car, if fibreglass body comes out further than rear wall(15-20mm) it's a 3rd generation car. Will need to confirm which one it is.

I'll start with the 9" rear. To save some bucks, just find a 2nd hand 9" shortened for LH/LX Torana. It will bolt in straight in. If 9" has drums on it, you can fit discs pretty easily, early commodore solid discs are cmmon fitment, get them blank and choose whatever stud pattern you require, probably Torana if you want to keep the same wheels. Width of diff will be the same, so wheels will still fit etc. Only 1 problem I can think of is that the rear crossbrace behind diff/in front of fuel tank had a substantial notch taken out to accomodate 9". Yep, 9" is a tight squeeze. Have a look to see if yours is notched, if not you will need to notch it. It will be easy to get the measurements for the notch. Will also need to change brake lines, even change flare fitting to suit metric commodore flexible lines that your will also need to buy. So a few extras to be done to fit in a 9 inch

Considering you will need a new tailshaft anyway, I would personally fit Borg Warner T5...beautiful box, 5sp and will handy power of a relatively healthy 302w. These can be picked up for a reasonable price now 2nd hand. Once you are talking a lot more than 250rwhp would you need to go to tremec. Tremec is a physically larger box and would be a tight fit in that tunnel of yours and I expect some mods to fit it in.

Watts Link...Warrick Harrison has fitted many of these to DRB Cobras...I'll try to remember to ask him at Club Meeting Sunday about it, he might be able to sell you a Watts Link kit. Watts Link worked very successfully in these cars. Warrick was king of modifying DRBs back when he was an agent of theirs. I was impressed that he is happy to help any kit owner...not just his own Harrison kits. Saw him fitting coil-overs to a DRB the other day...it's not the first time he has done that.

With suspension, do you know what current springs/shocks are. From memory they used lowered HQ springs. I might check with Warrick and see if he can remember what I used to recommend. DRBs handle really well out of the box, with just a good set of springs and gas shocks...it's plain Jane suspension, but works well. I'm guessing just some new springs/shocks and then wheel alignment(with right settings) will get it handling right.

Tyres will depend on percentage of street driving compared to track work.

Have I got everything. My memory is getting a bit hazy now as it was about 7 years ago that I was building a DRB(1997 vintage so 3rd generation) and have built a Harrison since then and now moved onto a GT40.

[400TT]

Have you got a build manual? It wasn't great and I know Warrick used to make a heap of changes to it, but might help.

[Aussie Mike]

Just a thought re the 9" diff. You might find the 9" is overkill. It's a big heavy diff and is saps a lot of HP compared to some smaller lighter diffs. Since you are only running a 5.0 litre motor you might find a VL or VN commodore BTR diff a cheaper and lighter option. they have a good range of ratios available for them and LSD options and the factory disc brakes are a bit newer technology than antything you will find on a factory 9" diff. The whole assembly is lighter and will use less HP than the 9" and still be plenty strong enough.

Cheers

[OLSCHL]

Gday Craig,

Thanks for all your help ill get right on to it. I do have build manual and all engineering reports its seems that the car is a 1992 build but as you mentioned the build manual is hopeless to tell you the truth. So thus is it a 2nd generation i assume?? Do you have Warricks number?? Could you PM message to me if possible it would be great ot get on the phone to him and sought out what exact DRB i have and how to go about the mods to the rear end.

Anyone else with any suggestions please id love to hear from you.

Thanks once again Craig for all your help.
Cheers,

Al

[400TT]

That's a good suggestion Mike and would work better, but would mean new rear wheels as Commodore diff is wider, let alone changing stud pattern etc. Plus diff would require quite a few mods to fit. There is a Commodore diff up here in a 347 stroker DRB, does heaps of km's and regular track and strip work(low 12's) and is holding up fine...so far. And yes, it's another Warrick build from eons ago.

Another thing to keep in mind is that I reckon 9" would help re-sell value and of course brag value. Keeps an all Ford drive train. You can't beat range and availability of 9" parts...the amount of bargain 9" stuff that I have walked past at swap meets.

Finding a 2nd hand Torana 9" would be cheapest and easiest option I reckon...but not necessarily the best, depends how you look at it.

Also I wouldn't bother doing diff swap without going LSD as well.

[400TT]

1992 means definitely 2nd generation. Not that familiar with 2nd generation...having never owned one.

Warrick Harrison Ph (07) 5529 2229.

Remember Warrick is a busy man, so see how you go. He currently has at least 3 bodies ready to go onto chassis(including another lightweight race body for race chassis), a Daytona and at least a couple of turn keys on the go.

Good Luck. Shame your not a local. Maybe find some help from Vic Club.

[OLSCHL]

Gday guys please forgive me im no expert mechanic so thats why ive come here to grab some help.

The box has finally had it so ive been hunting around for the various pieces for the project. Thanks Craig and mike for all your help much appreciated. Ive found a Borg Warner T5 from a EL XR8 with 100,000kms on it. Now i have a borg warner "single rail" gear box currently installed. My questions re the gear box are:

1. Will i need the full kit ie bell housing clutch assembly etc seen that i alreadty have a borg warner single rail gear box bell housing??
2. Will i need to cut a new hole to position the shifter correctly in the drive train tunnel?? i know this would be the case with a toploader.
3. How much should i be paying for the whole kit if required??? The guys asking $1950 for it.

Now in the case of the diff i have sourced (havent bought it yet) a borg warner 323 28 spline diff from the same car. Now i know itll be too wide to place straight in but the width can be taken in.

How would this set up work with the car??? And does anyone in victoria know who i could go to to get help??? Its just i want to do the research so i can get it right the first time with the set up.

[Gav]

The ford 8" rears seem to be all the rage at the moment.
They are cheap and apparently very strong, Geelong Diffs would be able to help you out. As for the gearbox why not a 5 speed? The Castlemaine Rod Shop will supply a conversion bell housing for just about anything.
Just a thought.
Gav

[iva bigan]

The XD Falcon had a borg warner 4 pinion LSD with discs ,standed with the 351. I had one for 11 years , changed the oil once, thats all i had spent on it. Could be an option.

[OLSCHL]

Thanks guys will look into it ASAP!!!

Cheers,

Al