With the ZF transaxle in my possession and the bare frame on my garage floor, it was time to get serious about planning in detail the modifications necessary to make everything work in my Valkyrie. As stated, there was a lot more involved than just swapping out the Corvair transaxle. So, I put a drafting table in a guest bedroom in my house, and I spent many hours there planning the necessary work that would follow. After determining how long the suspension arms should be in order to achieve a reasonable amount of camber change under cornering roll conditions, I drew a framework of 2″ square tubing to be added to the rear area of the Valkyrie chassis. This structure provided the surface for placing the suspension mounting points and the transaxle mounts.
My revised rear suspension design required half-shafts that could vary their effective length through the suspension travel. My solution was to use Nissan 260Z half-shafts. I had no idea if the 260Z parts would be strong enough, but they would at least get me on the road. I next designed adapters to mate the half-shafts to the ZF transaxle and the late 70’s Corvette hub carriers (see the drawings below). As mentioned previously, the cast iron part of the Corvette hub carriers was used in an upside-down configuration. This worked OK, but resulted in the 4-piston calipers also being mounted upside-down (in the 7-o’clock position). Later, during the second major rebuild, the rear uprights were modified to correct the position of the brake calipers and reinforce the coil-over shock mounting points.
Note: The drawings shown below are early concept plans and do not reflect changes that were made during the construction of the frame modifications.
Disclaimer: The images and drawings displayed on this website represent how I designed and/or implemented the construction of my car. I am a car hobbyist, not a professional automotive engineer and I am not representing that any images or text on this website are the best or correct way to do anything. The content on this website is only for thought provoking and entertainment purposes. I am not responsible for anything resulting after someone views this content. Enjoy the story.
Next: Engine moves further back 12 inches (to where it should be)
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