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WRXZook we want details on your Sierra
OK….
I’ll try and provide as much information as I can about this vehicle.
Firstly, I did not build this Sierra.
I purchased it from Steve Azzopardi several years ago. It was Steve’s first car. He bought it new.
In about 2000/2001 it was taken off the road for 12 months and rebuilt by Steve and an engineering workshop with the intention of entering Tuff Truck. I think there was a problem with entry on the day, and it didn’t compete, but was set up on the ramp and there are pictures of it from that event. Steve was a member of the Suzuki club and the car has been used very much for what it was designed and built for. To some, it may look a little like a show pony, but it is a very capable machine, especially considering it is almost all Suzuki.
Whilst Steve no longer works in the trade, he is a sheet metal worker and his skills can be seen throughout the vehicle.
Engine/Transmission
1998 Vitara 1995cc 4 cylinders and Vitara 4 speed auto which has a custom built or modified end housing and Sierra transfer case. The transfer case has series one gears. It has a Volvo radiator (I’ve no idea which model). The transmission oil is cooled through the radiator and also a cooler in front of the radiator. There is a 16 inch thermo fan behind the radiator. The transmission tunnel has been modified to fit and the body has been lifted 3 inches.
Brakes
The original front discs were replaced by 1998 Vitara ventilated discs. The rear brakes were replaced by the original 290mm front disc brakes. Handbrake is transfer case mounted drum.
Front suspension and axle assembly
The original front axle housing has been replaced by the original rear housing which has been inverted and increased in width by extending the nearside axle tube and drive axle by 100mm. The axle housing assembly has been reinforced to resist/eliminate bending and flexing. The housing ends have been re-aligned to provide 4 degrees of positive castor. It is fitted with a 5.1 Vitara diff and a Lock Right Powertrax locker.
Front shocks are Rancho 9000’s modified for coil-overs with adjustable height platforms. The original shock eyes have been cut off and replaced with Commodore panhard rod eyes. The top of the shock mounts to a pivoting arm that gives another 100mm of suspension travel on full droop. The pivoting action is controlled by 2 Honda CT110 shocks mounted on each suspension tower. The towers (made from twin 25mm cold drawn seamless tubes, plated and reinforced with 3mm mild steel) have a cross brace fitted between them at the top and there is also a lower brace between the chassis rails beneath the engine.
The front axle is located by 40mm cold drawn seamless tube control arms which are 930mm long. Each arm is fitted with a rotator at the chassis end to allow unlimited twist of the arms without loading the bushes, and also wheelbase adjustment. The left side arm attaches to a bearing around the axle tube, which allows zero bind up on articulation. Lateral location of the axle housing is controlled by a panhard rod.
It has a standard Sierra long side axle and a custom short side axle with standard Sierra cv’s. It has not broken many cv’s, which is quite remarkable, but probably mainly due to the smooth power delivery of the auto, correct gearing, and sensible driving practices. I have had new axles made for the front, and if and when they break, I will look at going for a better cv set up, but as said it hasn’t proven to be much of a problem over the years.
Front track is 1490mm.
Rear suspension and axle assembly
The original rear housing has been replaced with a 1995 Vitara housing inverted to provide correct pinion alignment. It has been reinforced to resist/eliminate bending and flexing. It is fitted with a Vitara 5.1 diff with a Lock Right Powertrax locker.
Both rear axles are custom made and are fully floating.
The axle assembly is located by two 40mm cold drawn seamless tube control arms, which are 1 mtr long and an A frame set-up on top. Everything has adjustability built in to fine tune.
Rear shock absorber set-up is similar to the front except there is one motorcycle shock absorber on each side to control the pivoting link. The chassis has been extensively modified to clear the out-board mounting of the coil-overs.
A 16mm anti-roll bar is used on the rear, with quick disconnects. For most circumstances, the roll bar would only need to be disconnected for ramp work where it is an advantage to have some flex in the rear so as the front can flex a lot more without fouling the coil-over on the high side. In the above picture on the brick retaining wall, the bar is still connected and the front right tyre has just contacted the coil-over, and the rear tyres are firmly on the ground. It will flex up a lot more with the bar disconnected. I may not have explained this very well, but when you see it, it all makes sense.
Wheels and tyres
15X8 American Racing mags with 35 inch BFG MT’s. And…. according to the engineering report, the track has not been increased by more than 25mm.
Steering
1995 Vitara power steering box. There is no fouling of the steering during any combination of steering and suspension travel.
I believe the steering arm mounted on the near-side swivel hub is from an FJ40 (slightly modified).
Body and Chassis
The chassis has been extensively modified to facilitate the steering, suspension and extra bracing. It has also been plated on the underside for sliding over rocks with minimum damage to the chassis integrity.
Front and rear inner guards have been fabricated to provide additional clearance for the tyres.
Wheel arches have been lifted and the fuel filler moved 100mm rearwards to provide additional wheel arch clearance.
A 6 point internal roll cage is fitted and extends through the floor to the chassis. The rear shock absorbers are mounted to the roll cage.
Front seats are from a Celica GT4.
It is engineered and fitted with both standard seat belts and harnesses.
The GVM has been increased to 1600kgs and it is now a 2 seater only.
Everywhere you look there are modifications, but for the main, that is pretty much it. It drives nice. I have a car trailer so there is no urgency to register it, but it will be re-registered this year.
I’ll try and provide as much information as I can about this vehicle.
Firstly, I did not build this Sierra.
I purchased it from Steve Azzopardi several years ago. It was Steve’s first car. He bought it new.
In about 2000/2001 it was taken off the road for 12 months and rebuilt by Steve and an engineering workshop with the intention of entering Tuff Truck. I think there was a problem with entry on the day, and it didn’t compete, but was set up on the ramp and there are pictures of it from that event. Steve was a member of the Suzuki club and the car has been used very much for what it was designed and built for. To some, it may look a little like a show pony, but it is a very capable machine, especially considering it is almost all Suzuki.
Whilst Steve no longer works in the trade, he is a sheet metal worker and his skills can be seen throughout the vehicle.
Engine/Transmission
1998 Vitara 1995cc 4 cylinders and Vitara 4 speed auto which has a custom built or modified end housing and Sierra transfer case. The transfer case has series one gears. It has a Volvo radiator (I’ve no idea which model). The transmission oil is cooled through the radiator and also a cooler in front of the radiator. There is a 16 inch thermo fan behind the radiator. The transmission tunnel has been modified to fit and the body has been lifted 3 inches.
Brakes
The original front discs were replaced by 1998 Vitara ventilated discs. The rear brakes were replaced by the original 290mm front disc brakes. Handbrake is transfer case mounted drum.
Front suspension and axle assembly
The original front axle housing has been replaced by the original rear housing which has been inverted and increased in width by extending the nearside axle tube and drive axle by 100mm. The axle housing assembly has been reinforced to resist/eliminate bending and flexing. The housing ends have been re-aligned to provide 4 degrees of positive castor. It is fitted with a 5.1 Vitara diff and a Lock Right Powertrax locker.
Front shocks are Rancho 9000’s modified for coil-overs with adjustable height platforms. The original shock eyes have been cut off and replaced with Commodore panhard rod eyes. The top of the shock mounts to a pivoting arm that gives another 100mm of suspension travel on full droop. The pivoting action is controlled by 2 Honda CT110 shocks mounted on each suspension tower. The towers (made from twin 25mm cold drawn seamless tubes, plated and reinforced with 3mm mild steel) have a cross brace fitted between them at the top and there is also a lower brace between the chassis rails beneath the engine.
The front axle is located by 40mm cold drawn seamless tube control arms which are 930mm long. Each arm is fitted with a rotator at the chassis end to allow unlimited twist of the arms without loading the bushes, and also wheelbase adjustment. The left side arm attaches to a bearing around the axle tube, which allows zero bind up on articulation. Lateral location of the axle housing is controlled by a panhard rod.
It has a standard Sierra long side axle and a custom short side axle with standard Sierra cv’s. It has not broken many cv’s, which is quite remarkable, but probably mainly due to the smooth power delivery of the auto, correct gearing, and sensible driving practices. I have had new axles made for the front, and if and when they break, I will look at going for a better cv set up, but as said it hasn’t proven to be much of a problem over the years.
Front track is 1490mm.
Rear suspension and axle assembly
The original rear housing has been replaced with a 1995 Vitara housing inverted to provide correct pinion alignment. It has been reinforced to resist/eliminate bending and flexing. It is fitted with a Vitara 5.1 diff with a Lock Right Powertrax locker.
Both rear axles are custom made and are fully floating.
The axle assembly is located by two 40mm cold drawn seamless tube control arms, which are 1 mtr long and an A frame set-up on top. Everything has adjustability built in to fine tune.
Rear shock absorber set-up is similar to the front except there is one motorcycle shock absorber on each side to control the pivoting link. The chassis has been extensively modified to clear the out-board mounting of the coil-overs.
A 16mm anti-roll bar is used on the rear, with quick disconnects. For most circumstances, the roll bar would only need to be disconnected for ramp work where it is an advantage to have some flex in the rear so as the front can flex a lot more without fouling the coil-over on the high side. In the above picture on the brick retaining wall, the bar is still connected and the front right tyre has just contacted the coil-over, and the rear tyres are firmly on the ground. It will flex up a lot more with the bar disconnected. I may not have explained this very well, but when you see it, it all makes sense.
Wheels and tyres
15X8 American Racing mags with 35 inch BFG MT’s. And…. according to the engineering report, the track has not been increased by more than 25mm.
Steering
1995 Vitara power steering box. There is no fouling of the steering during any combination of steering and suspension travel.
I believe the steering arm mounted on the near-side swivel hub is from an FJ40 (slightly modified).
Body and Chassis
The chassis has been extensively modified to facilitate the steering, suspension and extra bracing. It has also been plated on the underside for sliding over rocks with minimum damage to the chassis integrity.
Front and rear inner guards have been fabricated to provide additional clearance for the tyres.
Wheel arches have been lifted and the fuel filler moved 100mm rearwards to provide additional wheel arch clearance.
A 6 point internal roll cage is fitted and extends through the floor to the chassis. The rear shock absorbers are mounted to the roll cage.
Front seats are from a Celica GT4.
It is engineered and fitted with both standard seat belts and harnesses.
The GVM has been increased to 1600kgs and it is now a 2 seater only.
Everywhere you look there are modifications, but for the main, that is pretty much it. It drives nice. I have a car trailer so there is no urgency to register it, but it will be re-registered this year.
sorryDee wrote:I'm guessing it's a type of cantilever setup..?GRPABT1 wrote:Alright my coil knowledge is limited so WTF are those 2 little coil overs in the top of the wheel well for?
or the dampening of the coilover is dampened again via the upper mount? (triple rate?)
deadzook?
i didnt see this question.the go with the three coilovers on each side on the front is so the rancho coilover can drop another 4 inch's. think of it like a drop shackle- but its spring loaded so it doesnt onload or become unsprung. as the rancho coil drops the other two take up load.... if you see it work it makes so much more sence.
strap yourself in and feel the G's
A picture to help.DEADZOOK wrote:sorryDee wrote:I'm guessing it's a type of cantilever setup..?GRPABT1 wrote:Alright my coil knowledge is limited so WTF are those 2 little coil overs in the top of the wheel well for?
or the dampening of the coilover is dampened again via the upper mount? (triple rate?)
deadzook?
the go with the three coilovers on each side on the front is so the rancho coilover can drop another 4 inch's. think of it like a drop shackle- but its spring loaded so it doesnt onload or become unsprung. as the rancho coil drops the other two take up load.... if you see it work it makes so much more sence.
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