I_Rally's Suzuki Swift GTi RallyCrosser

[I_Rally]

Well, finding a decent AWD Impreza for little cash was proving to be very difficult in this part of the country (they just didn't sell many GC Imprezas here, it seems, and even fewer in AWD + manual). Then I stumbled upon this beauty for short cash and snapped it up:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/2096459086_6b31d39571.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2411/2096459114_567e77f560.jpg

'91 Suzuki Swift GTi. 1765 lbs of fury :twisted:

It needs some de-ghetto-fication. First step was the intake. Hmmm... can you say vacuum leak?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2095/2095682095_a21f6d2906.jpg
The intake system was a nightmare. It's better now, but not 100% de-ghettofied. There's still silicone and zip ties holding the air filter to the hotwire meter. At least the vacuum leaks should be gone for now.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2387/2096459060_deb241c0e2.jpg

These cars have been used fairly extensively in stage rally competition, mostly by small teams in Canada and Europe. Suzuki sponsored the prepping of 10 cars (by Four Star Motorsports) for the Canadian Rally Championship when the model first came out. Their light weight and short wheelbase is a potent combination on tight courses/stages.

This car will receive low-buck rally modifications consisting of '95+ Geo Metro springs, a lower strut tower bar, urethane-filled engine and trans mounts, disconnected sway bars (for rallyX only), and possibly some interior lightening. Though you can't really tell it from the pics, the hood is jacked up from a fly-up incident. Therefore, I will be cutting it and adding cooling vents over the header/radiator areas :headbang:

[BorkedWRX]

that... is AWESOME!!!

[strat]

nice find!!! have you checked out ssgti.net yet? they offer quite a few parts for the swift (turbo kit ;) )

[Blix666]

wow...good rallyx platform

[carl]

that thing is pretty cool - how much hp and tq does it have?

[rollo]

That's awesome.. Swift GTIs rule. I'd love one of those - super light, easy to make decent power, strong community... an awesome platform for rally, rallyx and auto-x. Be sure to check out the international forums too, they're big into Swifts in the UK, Australia and (I seem to remember) Germany and Scandinavia. My brother had a Swift.. he just got an Ignis :D

This btw:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2095/2095682095_a21f6d2906.jpg

YIKES. Memo to P.O. - they sell bolts at Ace Hardware. What kind of thought process gets to "I'll hold it together with zip ties and caulk"?! Hopefully they didn't get too much further into the mechanicals, but watch out when you're going through the rest of the car.. try and keep that mentality in mind :D I speak from experience, my Corrado came with a grille held on with baling wire, but that was the tip of the iceberg - ten years later I still find weird P.O. stuff. In fact earlier this year I found a craft knife lodged at the bottom of the firewall?!

Congrats, that will be loads of fun. You gonna sell the rims or keep 'em? And what about the paintjob? I kinda like it actually. The colour scheme reminds me of the Lotus Sunbeam..

http://www.sunbeam.org.au/models/lotus.jpg

[I_Rally]

Thanks for the compliments!

that thing is pretty cool - how much hp and tq does it have?

100hp, 85(ish)tq. Not a whole lot, but decent for the weight of the car. I may look for a higher-tq cam grind since tq rules Rallyx.

The 17" wheels will stay for the street, even though they're a bit large for the car. Reason being, I'll be spending my money for rally-related gear including a rallyX wheel and tire package.

[sebhockey]

Ya the zip ties need to go, along with a new gasket.

[I_Rally]

nice find!!! have you checked out ssgti.net yet? they offer quite a few parts for the swift (turbo kit ;) )

Yeah, I've been living over there for a couple of days :lol:

I'm sure that I'll keep finding dreaded PO stuff. You guys should see the exhaust system... I'll get some pics when it comes out. On a related note, I thought that you would find it funny that a 1.75" exhaust is an upgrade on a Swift. Stock is 1.5"!!! From what I have read at TeamSwift.net, 1.75" and 2" make the most usable power. The larger you go, the more bottom end you lose and more top end you gain (especially over 2"). Since this car will be for RallyX, I want to retain the bottom end as much as possible. Therefore, the new exhaust will be 1.75." That is actually the next order of business for me, because the car is catless right now and we have emissions testing in Houston.

[I_Rally]

First off, my apologies for those who also read the GRM board. This is a cross post.

Anyway, I've been working on my carbon fiber hood vents today.

Start with this (floral foam):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/2100877421_f8c8bfa61c.jpg

Carve and add to this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2305/2101657928_6cca5de389.jpg

Then, cut a piece of this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2077/2101657966_bf44cd1050.jpg

Coat your mold with something that the epoxy won't stick to. I chose Saran Wrap. Mix up your epoxy and saturate your carbon fiber, and place it on the mold. I don't have a vacuum bagging setup, so small details of the mold are hard to capture in the carbon fiber. To remedy this, I used some drinking straws and weights to press the detail into the carbon fiber (the nail does not go through the board... my son was practicing yesterday):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2138/2101657996_70930a9dbd.jpg

Then, wait a while. The epoxy is still not completely cured, but I was able to pull the staws off and snap a pic:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2187/2100877547_28fe6acf15.jpg

Once it's really cured, I will pull it off of the mold and use a dremel to cut the actual vents in the piece. Carbon fiber is fun! http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/board/img/smilies/big_smile.png

[rollo]

DAMN COOL.

I just found this the other day and was itching to try it... doubly so now.
Instructables CF article (http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-methods-for-molding-fiberglass-and-carbon-f/)

The "lost foam" method looks very interesting.

[I_Rally]

DAMN COOL.

I just found this the other day and was itching to try it... doubly so now.
Instructables CF article (http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-methods-for-molding-fiberglass-and-carbon-f/)

The "lost foam" method looks very interesting.

Thanks! It really is a lot of fun. CF is more expensive than fiberglass though. Expect to spend ~$100 on epoxy (this will last a good while) and ~$5-$15 per sqft for CF cloth. Fiberglass can be done for 1/10 of that cost. And until you get the hang of it, you're really just wasting materials. But it's worth it once you pop out a nice piece that *you* made.

I've never tried the lost foam method, but I've heard good things. The bad part is that you only get one shot :shock:

[rollo]

Yeah that article actually covers both.. the intake he made from fibreglass using the lost foam is awesome. Of course it doesn't look as smart as CF :D

http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/F1W/WJ2P/F23Z3B3R/F1WWJ2PF23Z3B3R.MEDIUM.jpg

[I_Rally]

Yeah, that is very cool. The only ways to do vents like that would either be with the lost foam method or with a 2-part mold.

[lorenkb]

First off, my apologies for those who also read the GRM board. This is a cross post.

Anyway, I've been working on my carbon fiber hood vents today.

Start with this (floral foam):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/2100877421_f8c8bfa61c.jpg

Carve and add to this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2305/2101657928_6cca5de389.jpg

Then, cut a piece of this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2077/2101657966_bf44cd1050.jpg

Coat your mold with something that the epoxy won't stick to. I chose Saran Wrap. Mix up your epoxy and saturate your carbon fiber, and place it on the mold. I don't have a vacuum bagging setup, so small details of the mold are hard to capture in the carbon fiber. To remedy this, I used some drinking straws and weights to press the detail into the carbon fiber (the nail does not go through the board... my son was practicing yesterday):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2138/2101657996_70930a9dbd.jpg

Then, wait a while. The epoxy is still not completely cured, but I was able to pull the staws off and snap a pic:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2187/2100877547_28fe6acf15.jpg

Once it's really cured, I will pull it off of the mold and use a dremel to cut the actual vents in the piece. Carbon fiber is fun! http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/board/img/smilies/big_smile.png

Oh hell yes, someone willing to dabble in composites!

You can get an OK vacuum setup for cheap BTW. The bag, sealant tape, and breather cloth are all quite cheap, and all you have to do after that is get a one-way valve and modify a bicycle pump. I remember seeing an instructables article on it... I'll see if I can find the link later tonight. Once you vacuum bag you will never go back!

1800 lbs... damn! Gotta love small cars!

[I_Rally]

You can get an OK vacuum setup for cheap BTW. The bag, sealant tape, and breather cloth are all quite cheap, and all you have to do after that is get a one-way valve and modify a bicycle pump. I remember seeing an instructables article on it... I'll see if I can find the link later tonight. Once you vacuum bag you will never go back!

Cool, I'd love to find a cheap vac bag setup. This piece would turn out so much nicer with far less cleanup work if I could bag it. Thanks in advance.

[rollo]

This may be a really dumb question, but could you use a spacebag? It's basically a big zip-lock with a one-way valve that you attach to a vacuum cleaner. http://www.spacebag.com

[I_Rally]

This may be a really dumb question, but could you use a spacebag? It's basically a big zip-lock with a one-way valve that you attach to a vacuum cleaner. http://www.spacebag.com

You probably could as long as you used the other things you need inside the bag (breather cloth and release agent). However, Space Bags are probably fairly heavy gauge plastic and might not pick up the desired detail.

[409industries]

That is an awesome project car! little suzuki's rule.

[rollo]

You probably could as long as you used the other things you need inside the bag (breather cloth and release agent). However, Space Bags are probably fairly heavy gauge plastic and might not pick up the desired detail.

I'd think so too, but I just checked.. they don't use a particularly heavy gauge for the vacuum ones, it's about the thickness of the really big Target bags. The "roll-up" space bags are a lot thicker.

fwiw I did a quick test. I was too lazy to pull out all the baby clothes that are stored in the bag I found, so I just put in a piece of paper and whatever I could find in the garage that had some detail, which turned out to be a paint can gun thing.

Pic 1 (http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x234/rollog60/DSCF0090.jpg) / Pic 2 (http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x234/rollog60/DSCF0089.jpg)

Hmm..

[SReitsma]

This is probably a stupid question, but is the suzuki AWD or 2WD?
either way that car looks like its going to be a ton of fun both with experimenting with building AND driving it!!
nice find!

[I Like It Sideways]

Awesome awesome snag!! And excellent cf work, I'm digging it!

[I_Rally]

fwiw I did a quick test. I was too lazy to pull out all the baby clothes that are stored in the bag I found, so I just put in a piece of paper and whatever I could find in the garage that had some detail, which turned out to be a paint can gun thing.

Looks pretty good actually. That might work.

And the swift is FWD, although Japan (where the Swift was called the Cultus) had a version that was AWD.

[I_Rally]

Awesome awesome snag!! And excellent cf work, I'm digging it!

Thanks! It's pulled from the mold now, and I'm cleaning up the resin (which would be minimized with vacuum bagging) and cutting out the vents.

[vaderSTI]

that thing is awsome, i am always looking around on teamswift.net because my justy is that same as the sprints

[rollo]

Came across this Croatian AWD Swift... :D

1yB1gtB5ZTo

[WRR]

Phil -
you have got to stay off of those Croatian forums... I'm telling you that you are going to catch a virus that has no known cure -

[lorenkb]

Cool, I'd love to find a cheap vac bag setup. This piece would turn out so much nicer with far less cleanup work if I could bag it. Thanks in advance.

Found the link (sorry for the delay... stupid job gets in the way!)
http://www.instructables.com/id/make-a-manual-vacuum-pump-for-under-%2420-by-convert/

I have that exact bicycle style pump from Autozone. The same guy that wrote that article has another one for modifying the electric auto pumps as well. You can get a one-way valve (check-valve) from all sorts of places. I know ACP has them along with a bunch of other vacuum bagging goodies.
http://www.acp-composites.com/acp-vbes.htm


This may be a really dumb question, but could you use a spacebag? It's basically a big zip-lock with a one-way valve that you attach to a vacuum cleaner. http://www.spacebag.com

You could, but the results wouldn't be nearly as good. That, and I hope those bags are cheap, 'cause it's a one use kind of thing with vacuum bagging (the bag will be in contact with the resin).

[sebhockey]

Looks like an awesome project.

[I_Rally]

Found the link (sorry for the delay... stupid job gets in the way!)
http://www.instructables.com/id/make-a-manual-vacuum-pump-for-under-%2420-by-convert/


Thanks! I'll have to try that!

-Winston

[I_Rally]

Almost done with the carbon fiber hood vent. The "gills" are cut out and I just put on the final "flood" coat.

I'm enlarging the flange around the outside of the vent for easier mounting
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2106/2113048201_fe4a70762a.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2086/2113828108_7bbf82d9f0.jpg

Pretty My cuts aren't 100% spot on, though.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2056/2113048239_e00f09fb3b.jpg

[BorkedWRX]

wish i had the monies to get some carbon to play with...

looked at some prices and its expensive, unless im looking in the wrong places :/

[I_Rally]

wish i had the monies to get some carbon to play with...

looked at some prices and its expensive, unless im looking in the wrong places :/

It's about $80 for the resin (that lasts a long time) and $5 per square foot for the carbon fiber cloth. Not super expensive, but the cost of the resin keeps it from being cheap.

Try fiberglass first. MUCH cheaper, easier to work with, and you can still make all of the same lightweight stuff as with carbon. Then, once you get good with it, you can buy the expensive carbon and waste far less money learning how to use it.

[BorkedWRX]

oh wow, i guess I really wasn't looking in the right places for the carbon, $5 sf is waaay cheaper, though I could have been looking at the wrong grade of carbon...

That's a really good idea starting out with fiberglass, I will have to do that, there's lotsa stuff I want to try.

ok end thread hijack :D

[I_Rally]

oh wow, i guess I really wasn't looking in the right places for the carbon, $5 sf is waaay cheaper, though I could have been looking at the wrong grade of carbon...

eBay is just fine for CF. It all comes from one of just a few factories in the world. Here's one of the first auctions I found:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320193833735&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=011

So for $50 shipped, you get about 4' x 3', or 12 square feet, which works out to about $4 per square foot.

[I_Rally]

Almost done mounting the vent:

Hole measured and cut, mounting holes drilled.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2173/2116860080_af4566a179.jpg

Halfway over the header, halfway over the radiator.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2348/2116080101_68624bb0ca.jpg

Vent laid in place but not fastened. It's flexible enough that it will basically conform to the hood's contours once the fasteners are in place.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2245/2116080141_b70b7143e6.jpg

[SoCalBoomer]

You can also get all the stuff you want for CF or Fiber at www.mcmaster.com

[I_Rally]

Hood vent is done! Held down with stainless fasteners (should have used them for the hood pins too http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/board/img/smilies/hmm.png)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2039/2148259994_848377ff3f.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2197/2148260014_7a2a04a3e9.jpg

In preparation for RallyCross duties, I also removed the fog lamps today as well as the cheesy spring clamps that the PO put on to give it a little extra drop http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/board/img/smilies/roll.png This car needs a smaller wheel/tire package sooo badly.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2056/2147465871_c817d7d046.jpg

[rollo]

Spring clamps.. LOL..

Random thought.. did you try fastening the vent piece under the hood (so the vents stick through but the frame is hidden)? Maybe put some rubber sealing strip around the hole to blend it. Might look more 'integrated'.

Either way, the car is looking sweet, can't wait to see it tearing it up at the rallycross..

[RS-ti_Andy]

Spring clamps.. LOL..

Random thought.. did you try fastening the vent piece under the hood (so the vents stick through but the frame is hidden)? Maybe put some rubber sealing strip around the hole to blend it. Might look more 'integrated'.

Either way, the car is looking sweet, can't wait to see it tearing it up at the rallycross..


i was thinking the same.



also.. is it posible to get the fiber sheets and used fiberglass resin on it? just wondering

[I_Rally]

Because of the irregularities in the flange, I wasn't able to mount it up through the bottom like I had originally planned. I wouldn't have sat flush.

also.. is it posible to get the fiber sheets and used fiberglass resin on it? just wondering

Not sure I understand the question. Are you wondering if this could have been made from fiberglass instead?

Thanks for the compliments, guys!

[RS-ti_Andy]

Because of the irregularities in the flange, I wasn't able to mount it up through the bottom like I had originally planned. I wouldn't have sat flush.



Not sure I understand the question. Are you wondering if this could have been made from fiberglass instead?

Thanks for the compliments, guys!


first..omg! i love these cars! ive always wanted one since i saw this guy in wiscons killing everyone in his! lol you could make a escudo out of this! haha..



anyways.. you know how CF you have the sheet of fiber
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2077/2101657966_bf44cd1050.jpg

and then put fiberglass resin over it.. you know like a cross breed!

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:H8jjfQFOn9ljIM:http://www.heathershikinghiatus.com/files/PouringFiberglassResin.jpg (http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:H8jjfQFOn9ljIM:http://www.heathershikinghiatus.com/files/PouringFiberglassResin.jpg)

then u could make very affordable CF/FG lol

[Not All There]

cant wait to see it on the track

[I_Rally]

anyways.. you know how CF you have the sheet of fiber ...and then put fiberglass resin over it.. you know like a cross breed!

Unfortunately, you really must use epoxy with carbon fiber. Regular fiberglass resin is too brittle. You could lay up multiple layers, I suppose, but that defeats the purpose of carbon fiber IMO.

[RS-ti_Andy]

Unfortunately, you really must use epoxy with carbon fiber. Regular fiberglass resin is too brittle. You could lay up multiple layers, I suppose, but that defeats the purpose of carbon fiber IMO.


yes... hmm how about clear building epoxy? i can get it by the 5 gallon bucket pretty cheap..

[wolfman79]

I know I'm late to the party but wanted to say what an awesome find this thing was and you are dong a great job on the build. I know it's apples to oranges but seeing this makes me want to track down another Geo Storm like I used to have. I had similar ideas for that thing long before I was able to actually do anything about it.

BTW your CF vent is beautiful, I've always been intrigued about working with that/fiberglass just been too scared to do so. Yet.

Good luck, can't wait to see more progress.

[I_Rally]

Thanks for the compliments, Wolfman!