Work-in-progress shot of a new bumper for our off-road Audi TT
Posted by david_scothern@reddit | Battlecars | View on Reddit | 6 comments
Posted by david_scothern@reddit | Battlecars | View on Reddit | 6 comments
BrilliantMonochrome2@reddit
I know this is an old post but can you walk me through your suspension mods?
Smart_Damage4882@reddit
Sure :) The rear is standard, but got big spring spacers made out of two Land Rover Discovery 300tdi spring seats welded together back-to-back to increase the ride height.
At the front, I swapped the TT lower control arms, which are forged, for Golf arms which are welded from pressed sheet. I turned and welded some extensions for the struts. The strut plugs into the extension and is clamped in place, and then the extension plugs into the suspension upright. That gave more lift, but also meant that the wheels had positive camber and looked ridiculous. It also meant that the suspension arm bushes were always distorted as on flat ground the arms were pointing down due to the extra lift.
So... I took the arms, cut out the middle section, formed new ones freehand on a sheet metal bender and welded the arms back together. The new section: a) made the arms slightly longer, to correct the positive camber, b) made the arms sort of Z-shaped so that the ends with the bushes in were level and all the lift happened in between, and c) moved the front wheels forward 20mm so that the wheels didn't hit on the back of the wheelarches. I welded reinforcement plates over the joints, fully welded all round so that my life doesn't depend on a single butt-jointed weld.
I did a lot of careful tapping and adjusting while I was welding them to keep them in shape, but nonetheless I was astonished when the second one came out within 2mm of being a perfect mirror image of the first, despite being done on my drive without a jig.
BrilliantMonochrome2@reddit
Btw my daughters are both super excited about this build so I showed em you videos. They were super happy to see your daughter working with you
Smart_Damage4882@reddit
That's really improved my day :) Time invested in your relationship with them is always worth it.
BrilliantMonochrome2@reddit
How’s the car doing these days?
BrilliantMonochrome2@reddit
Dude I JUST watched your video on this builds and that’s insane. Well done but out of my wheelhouse for sure