Baja Bug
Rear Suspension Update
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Page 3 Roll cage fabrication/install and rear shock installation
Trevor cut the wheel wells for shock clearance then installed the shocks to help identify the ideal locations for the upper mounts. With the shocks in place, we can build the support structure to fit exactly the way we want - it'll be very similar to the way we mounted the shocks in our 5/1600 car.
As the suspension articulates, the shock body will move forward and aft somewhat so the clearance hole must take that movement into account. In this photo, the shock is resting against the forward edge of the opening- it'll be more centered in the hole when we build the upper mount. The hole will be closed with a flexible seal to keep the road noise and dirt out of the interior.
This photo shows the beginnings of our roll cage and upper shock mount structure. The "B" pillar and rear diagonal hoop with supports are visible here. The shocks will mount near the juncture of the diagonal hoop and its support bars - there's still lots of structure to add there.... The loads from the shock mount will be carried into the remainder of the cage structure with the addition of the remaining elements - this is not the entire support structure, only what we got done this day.
This is the basic "safety" potion of the roll cage - the primary purpose is to enhance occupant safety in the event of a roll-over and other types of accidental events. The secondary purpose this assembly serves is as a "carry through" structure to distribute the rear suspension loads into the chassis. We've added gussets in several areas since this photo was taken.
This is the rear half of our roll cage structure; the "B" pillar hoop with diagonal brace and the shock support structures. The rearmost portion of the cage structure will tie in to the transaxle mount area at the frame horns.
At this point, the roll cage assembly is essentially complete - we have only the rear cage supports that connect to the "frame horns" to add. We're holding off on that until we have our transaxle mounted - we don't want to "build ourselves into a corner"......
This assembly is one of the upper shock mounts -
this is essentially identical to how we built the 5/1600 car shock
mounts and they have never given us any problems. This
location is well "triangulated" and provides a good support location
for the rear shocks.
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