Scorpion GT/Lithia GT Build Diary

And we now have headlights

There should be a metal tab on the floor that sets the pedal height and stops it from flopping.

1st item on the left

Well now that I am back from a week of racing I can get back to work on this car. Unfortunately now I am at a point where I am waiting on the new tank to be finished and the seats to be covered. Never fun waiting on others to get things done.

Oh well!

Hi Donnie,

I'm using a Seadog #351110 stainless flip up gas filler sold by several marine supply websites. Here's a picture of it installed.



Gary Hammond,

Problem solved . Drove over to west marine and got what I needed...haha

Index the rear torsion bars and either adjusters up front or dropped spindles.

The rear is real easy. I hope others will chime in because its been a while so I may forget some steps.

Where the rear arms attach to the axle there are a few bolts. First mark the relationship from the arm to the mount near the wheel. I use a cold chisel or hack saw to make a little line across both the arm and the rear bearing assembly. That was you can just re-align the marks. I then put a good size hydraulic jack under the end of the arm. Some people use a special tool, others use a chain. The reason being that those arms will want to spring down pretty violently when released. Then remove the bolts.

Then remove the cap that covers the torsion bars on the other end of the arm. I would then mark the relationship of the arm and the bar. You can then GENTLY pry the bar off of the lower stop that its resting on. Once its off the stop you can release the pressure on the arm by lowering the jack. Once the pressure is off the arm should come out and you can re-index the arm on the torsion bar.

The torsion bar has inner and outer splines. Each set of splines adjusts the bar in different increments. I would just go 1 notch on the outer part. Remember...you want to move the arm upwards. A little goes a long way. Do this for both sides. Then re-install the cap (sometimes you need a longer bolt to pull the cap in. Use the longer bolt to pull the cap in, then install a stock bolt, then another stock bolt, then remove the longer bolt and use a stock bolt). After the cap is on jack the arm back up onto the stop and re-install the arm onto your rear axle housing.

Overall its not hard. Use marks to establish your baseline. Some people use an angle finder on the arm (measure after you drop it off the stop) and then index it up and measure that angle and use for the opposite side. I never have used one. I just mark the torsion bar inside the arm and move it a notch. You can also measure how far it hangs above the level floor with no tension and make sure your equal on both sides.

You may have to do it more than once to get it right where you want it. Always settle for a little higher as it will drop over time.

probably the aluminun spacers that have the 1 offset bolt. I have them on my Avenger but am taking the rear ones off since they push my rims out to far.

Just take some measurements off the rim regarding the backspacing so you know what sized rims to get.

Thanks Wyn,

And this is why I do not like to mess with suspension ...

"Note: Reindexing a torsion bar is more difficult and dangerous than the average DIY mechanic may be aware of. The spring plate is under tension and has enough force to break bones, amputate body parts of kill you if you put your head under the plate. This job should not be attempted by those not thoroughly familiar with all the safety precautions involved with this task."

I like my arms and bones and think I might find a vw guru to do the rear of the car...haha

Some things even I will stay away from...hahaha

HAHAHA I am sure you are right . I might have at it this weekend.

Its all about rim size, offset and tire diameter. I would take a look at what you have and decide what you don't like.

For instance...how is the overall width? Does it fill the well? To wide? Not wide enough? If you take the tire size and go to tirerack you can get the specs on the tire for its width & height. You can then decide how wide of a tire you want. remember...a tire that is 1" narrower will be 1/2" narrower on each side.

For height (and more importantly is how they fit in the well left to right) how does that fit? Does it hit the fender lip when you turn it (or when the rear goes through its limited suspension movement)?

Last is offset. How does the rim fit in regards to hitting the control arm? Or extending past the fender lip? Do you want them to tuck in more or stick out more? Using what you have will allow you to decide what you want.

Another bit of wisdom is don't go too low profile on your tires. Too stiff of a sidewall will make the car ride even worse. A larger sidewall with the pressure down will smooth the ride out considerably.

I would rather use a 15" rim with a 60 series tire then a 19" rim with a 40 series tire.

I always liked the combo Jeff had on the orange GT he did a couple of years ago. Torque Thrust type wheels. 15's will obviouslt fit the rear just maybe some shorter tires. The fronts you could go with 14's unless you put disc brakes on it. I got some rims from a Blazer/S-10 that looked good and ended up putting them on the buggy. They look like mesh wheels.

Your car has such a great stance.