Finish the MR2’s front steering knuckle modifications #192

I am now ready to finish the front MR2 steering knuckle modifications. I know I say I am adding a 1/8″ piece of steel tubing but it is actually 1/4″ thick. These half pieces of tubing will be used to prevent the reworked mounts from crushing due to the strut bolt. After everything is welded together I smoothed it off with some bondo and paint. They are now ready to be refit.

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Clean up the MR2 strut mounts & show adjustability #191

The newly modified MR2 front steering knuckles are now ready for trial strut fitment. I have ground down the welds so the struts can be mounted as well as have some adjustability. I still need to add some steel to the center of each strut mount to avoid crushing the assembly with the strut bolt.

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Set up and weld on the new MR2 steering knuckle tabs #190

Now that I have the steering knuckle tabs built, I need to weld them in place. I calmped the tabs to the MR2 front knuckles and wrapped everything up in my welding blanket. I then welded everything together. I will have to gring down the welds where they line up with the strut mounts.

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2 new slide shows…See the “MR2 VW Bug Pics Page 4” page.

Full strut compression and some front end work.

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Grind to shape the new front steering knuckle tabs #189

With the steel plates drilled and cut to fit on the MR2 front steering knuckles, I need to trim them up and make them fit and look better. I bolted all 4 of them together and grinded them smooth and clean.

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Start the modification of the MR2’s front steering knuckles #188

I can now stat the modifications on the MR2 front steering knuckles. The VW bug fenders are directly above the front tires and the struts need to be tilted in just a bit to get the strut mounts to fit under the VW bug hood. I have trimmed down the knuckle mounts to be able to use two 1/4″ steel plates on either side and a hardened slug in place of the original mounting bolt. I will weld this all together.

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Mark the MR2’s front steering knuckles for modification #187

Now that I have the VW bug front strut link figured out, I will need to modify the MR2 front steering knuckles to accommodate for the greater strut angles. I have marked the steering knuckle as it sits right now. I will now remove them and start my modifications.

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Determining the height of the VW bug’s front strut link #186

The foam board template is in place under the VW bug front strut link, I need to make sure that all the MR2 hardware will clear and I don’t have any major surprises later. The location I have here seems good so I will create another foam board template to get the exact size and shape of the lower frame support.

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Plan lower support for the VW front strut cross-member #185

After cutting and tack welding my VW bug front strut link, I determied where the MR2 strut bolt holes will be and drilled them out. I went ahead and tacked the strut compression tops to the crosslink to try and figure out the exact location of the link. I will be using the foam board template to get the shape and size of the frame connector tubing.

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Determine front strut mount angle and cut out pipe #184

After determining the VW bug’s front strut mount angles, I need to transfer the markings to my 1.5×1.5″ steel tubing and cut them out. Again I am using a cut-off wheel in my angle grinder. After cutting out the angles I will need to bend the tabs over and weld them on.

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