The Mite
Part: 37

Setting Pinion Angle, welding brackets, checking engine clearance

 

	Here's the car on the wheels, with the hood (bonnet) in place
	Front view of the car. The windshield is an old one, Placed onthe car temporarily
	Here's the engine-to-hood clearance. I've got just about an Inch between the timing belt and the inside of the fiberglass hood. Tight.
	Another view of the hood clearance.
	I had to pop a small hole in the transmission tunnel to let the end of the speedometer speed sensor stick through. It also helped with the intstallation of the speed sensor. I'll make a small plate and rivit into place once the wiring is done.
	Now, on to setting the pinion angle..There's some different ideas about rear axle pinion angle vs. engine angle depending on the appoication. Drag racers want the pinion angle to be a few degrees downward to counteract the force of rotation on acceleration, while off-roaders just want to maximize travel. This is the angle of the engine in the garage. I used an Angle Finder similar to this.
	Here's the angle of the rear end in the car. I set the angle with the wheels on the car and the car weight on the suspension, but removed one wheel for this picture. I set the angles according to this: Pinion Angle The engine angle was determined by my mounting locations, so I had to adjust the pinion angle to match
	These were the axle perches I made a while ago, and they will be welded onto the rear axle to provide the proper angle.
	Now that the rear angle is determined, I need to make a mount for the bump-stop and the limit strap, as well as a new panhard rod mount on the rear axle. This is the stock bump-stop mount and the limit strap attaches to the rusty stud sticking out the left of the tape-measure.
	Here's the parts for the bump-stop mount with holes for the limit strap mounting bolts. I welded everything and took it down to get powdercoated before taking a picture. I'll post one in a couple of weeks when I get the axle housing back.

 

 

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