Build Thread: 97 Van Diemen

[jphagood]

Figured I should start a build thread to get advice and have people check my work. After going to Waterford Hills (which was wonderful) I ended up buying Cade Wilson's '97 (original owner was Justin Pritchard, will attach a photo of the original car as well).

I had him fit the new aluminum belly pan for me, so I just got it to my garage this weekend. I've spent the past few days cleaning the chassis and taking measurements (hoping to put the chassis into Solidworks and use photogrammetry to get the body in Solidworks as well) while I wait for my suspension bolt kit + owner's manual to arrive from Primus. At the moment I've got a few quick questions about things I saw while cleaning.

1. Some of the rod ends (on the front suspension in particular) are definitely in need of replacement, but most look to be in good shape. Do I need to/should I replace the rod ends anyway, or would just the rod end bearings suffice?
2. I have the inverse problem of everyone, and might be a bit small for the '97. I've attached a photo of my vertical visibility from the cockpit, should I try to get myself higher up?
3. The rear suspension has the number 297 on the upward-facing side of the a-arm. The front suspension has the number on the downward-facing side. Is this just...how it works, or is it just on upside-down?
4. A few things I noticed in the deep clean - There is a rubber ring sitting on the steering rack, where could it have come from? Similarly, the gasket on the top of the swirl pot appears to be flaking, does it have a dedicated gasket or should I make my own?

Will post again once I get the suspension bolts on with photos so you guys can check my work. Excited to see you on the track!

[Mike B]

1. Some of the rod ends (on the front suspension in particular) are definitely in need of replacement, but most look to be in good shape. Do I need to/should I replace the rod ends anyway, or would just the rod end bearings suffice?

If you don't know the age or history of them you should err on the side of caution. It can get expensive to replace them all but it's cheap peace of mind

3. The rear suspension has the number 297 on the upward-facing side of the a-arm. The front suspension has the number on the downward-facing side. Is this just...how it works, or is it just on upside-down?

If you're talking about the upper a-arms, they are symmetrical so they can be used on either side. It's virtually impossible to install them upside down.

4. A few things I noticed in the deep clean - There is a rubber ring sitting on the steering rack, where could it have come from?

It's possible that this is for a steering input sensor. It would go around a pulley as part of that sensor.

Similarly, the gasket on the top of the swirl pot appears to be flaking, does it have a dedicated gasket or should I make my own?

Coolant or oil?

[2BWise]

2. I have the inverse problem of everyone, and might be a bit small for the '97. I've attached a photo of my vertical visibility from the cockpit, should I try to get myself higher up?

I usually aim to get to a point where I can just see the tops of the front tires. In a single seater you'll be sitting lower than any production car you'd be familiar with driving. You should be looking far enough ahead that you dont need to see right in front of the car anyway.

[jphagood]

I usually aim to get to a point where I can just see the tops of the front tires. In a single seater you'll be sitting lower than any production car you'd be familiar with driving. You should be looking far enough ahead that you dont need to see right in front of the car anyway.

Sounds good. It was a similar position to my schools FSAE car, but figured I should double check.

[jphagood]

If you're talking about the upper a-arms, they are symmetrical so they can be used on either side. It's virtually impossible to install them upside down.

Good to know. Guess it's just a quirk of the car.

It's possible that this is for a steering input sensor. It would go around a pulley as part of that sensor.

Steering input sensor. Duh. I bet that I have a rotary potentiometer in the pile of Pi system 2 parts I have.

Coolant or oil?

On the very top of the oil swirl pot.

[jphagood]

Finally finished rebolting the front and rear suspension, and am rebuilding the dampers this weekend (will use Anze next time, but at the moment a school sponsor has offered their facilities for free). It seems logical to install the sidepods next, so the cooling and oil can be plumbed. When doing so, should I place the bolts so that the head is above the sidepod or below the sidepod? Either makes sense for different reasons. Also (if anyone knows), what size fasteners should I buy from Primus for the sidepods + 2 missing from the engine cover? since they seem to have the same rating for tension and shear, I was going to get simply the smallest offered by Primus (.42 inches overall length), does that logic hold?

[Purple Frog]

Just get Brad's number at Primus. And, text him pictures. He'll send you the right pieces, and answer a lot of your assembly questions.

[Miatamike203]

Very excited to see how this goes. Funny enough we both bought cars in Michigan around the same time.

I must say it looks like both cars need about the same amount of work to really be at their peak again. I currently have mine stripped down as well so that I can go through all of it as the more I dug the more I found that needed to be fixed but again I'm a bit OCD.

Hope to see you out there this coming season.

Mike,