Elio Type Vehicle Resurection --- AKA the BEX

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

So went through the parts racks today, and good news: The most suitable rack, that turns the right way this time (and the left way too!), is the same donor make and model as the front and rear spindles, hubs, brakes and suspension I am using, pleased about that ... I didn't consider it to begin with because I thought it turned the wrong way, DOH!

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

Ze steering rack is going to work very nicely as far as I can see so far.

Simply cut the steel tube off at the red arrow, move the pinion housing to the right hand side so the pinon shaft points to the center of the car, flip the steel tube over so it bush in the swaged section, yellow arrow, is at the left far end, and job done, just make up some mounts next.

The hardest part is stripping it completely down and washing it in gasoline, because it's all greased inside, and cutting the steel tube of course fills it up with grindings, sigh.

It takes time to sought out the steering geometry, it's not just a case of making a rack for it.

[JEBar]

I asked Mark ....

for production, will you have to setup an area to make the necessary modifications or, once you need a stIeady supply, do you think the manufacture may take care of it for you ??


Mark's response ....

Either. It's easy enough for me to modify them if I have to do batches at a time. Great thing is there's no modifications required to the existing parts, other than the one cut (and the darn cleaning), or additional parts required. In future, anyone needs to replace the rack, can buy one 'off the shelf', slip the individual parts such as the main shaft, pinion and the bushings out the new rack, and just slip them into the old rack.

I doubt a company would want to make such small quantities, but at least they might supply them un-greased, which is where the largest chunk of time is lost (the cleaning). Maybe even disassembled, i.e. just the parts.

[JEBar]

Question from a friend ....

Mark, would it be safe to say…. That working out the steering is one of the more unique and challenging aspects of this 3-wheeled, centered steered vehicle?


Mark's response ....

I've done all the geometry plenty of times before, been doing that since I was a teenager, setting up race cars etc, just takes a bit of time, the hardest part is an economically priced rack for center steering.

As I posted above, the few that are available, are either too expensive, or not good enough quality.

Steering, as in the total sum, is very important to get good feel and stability in a car, it's worth the effort put in, and only as good as the effort you do put in.

[JEBar]

Another question for Mark ....

VERY hypothetically…is there an estimate when this may be in production/available to buy? ‘24? ‘25? just curious, i’m ready to buy


Mark's response ....

I literally can't afford to not release in 2022., it's not that I'm just spending money doing this, I'm also not earning., that can only go on for so long.

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

I am still on setting up the steering, it was always going to be difficult, and it is proving to be so.

For example: Today's issue I came across is lower ball joint travel, or lack of it not allowing enough steering angle. The ball joint is not perpendicular to the KPI (king pin axis) and so swivels when the wheels are turned, rather than rotates, and it swivels too far ...

It's all surmountable, it just takes time, frustration and a few skinned knuckles. Luckily being Australian, I have all the swear words I need.

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

I sorted the ball joint binding I think, without any actual modifications other than what I was modifying anyway, that's good I hope.

I will be sorting out the steering for a bit, you can see here all the bits of steel I have for testing and making patterns, locating where things will eventually go.

Quite the mess ..

[JEBar]

I made the following comment to Mark ......

Mark, don't know if you are aware but EM couldn't come up with a good steering/suspension in house .... to do so they ended up paying Rousch Racing (NASCAR) to take care of designing/building/ testing their Elio .... that couldn't have been cheap


In response, Mark responded .....

I love designing front ends, have a few of them under my belt, no problem.

My aim, as usual, is to use 'off the shelf' parts, so can get a bit tricky sometimes working out how to get it all working in harmony when you don't want to modify the parts, rather using a method of introducing further simple to make parts to tie everything together.

Elio Motors' pull rod front suspension has been around since the 1970's btw, but remember, even in a light accident, in which the front suspension is likely to be the primary damage area, you are bound to Elio's mercy to source those front suspension components.

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

modified steering rack in place

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

the picture shows the correct angle of the steering pinion pointing towards the middle of the car, to facilitate the angle of the steering shaft from the steering wheel.

All be mounted by Monday so you'll see it then anyway as I designed the mountings, and gave the file to the laser shop today .

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX .....

popped those parts out, made a little welding jig for the clamp, and test fitted it to the crossmember.

Although it fits perfectly, thanks to "measure 37 times and cut once", I realised a faster way to do the clamp for production that is weld'less. But this will do for testing.

So for the production clamp, instead of all the mucking around with welding, I'll just laser one shorter, fold them, and overlap them, as roughly per this drawing ... I'm annoyed I didn't see this way before ...

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

You know I have spent a bit of time on setting up the steering, hard to explain all the details and geometry as to why it takes a bit of effort, but am advancing well.

Was good to get it back into the car today and find that geometry wise it seems to be doing the right things, as in bump steer and ackermann, degrees, ratio etc.

BUT ... it isn't finished, there are some issues and I need to revamp it already, not as bad as it sounds as the fundamentals are good, I just need to move it the main pinion housing 1" towards the middle (which is actually good as it also improves the steering shaft angle), but does mean a new clamp design, not a biggy, will design it tonight and laser it tomorrow.

The steering has to be right, first time, no compromise.

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

The steering is intrinsically finished. This is a major step, and I am happy

I still need to do numbers of things with mounts and dust boots, but the design has worked, it's importantly uses 100% OEM 'off the shelf' parts, even though there is some mods to the rack itself, it's nothing more than any handyman can easily do, and no special bespoke parts made or introduced to the parts.

The inner and outer tie rods are also OEM 'off the shelf'.

Ackermann, bump steer and caster gain are all within respectable range of what spec I sought.

I am pleased the pinion housing is to the right side, clear of all the pedals.

[JEBar]

I asked Mark .... just to confirm .... are you planning on it having power steering ?


Response Per Mark BEX ....

Doubtful, but I'll drive it before looking into it.

Can't see why it would need it with the low weight, and I think there's about 2" of scrub radius at the moment, which will help to keep the steering light.

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

1950s large American cars had as much as 4" of scrub radius, that's why.

Scrub radius means the center of the tire is further from the center of the turning pivot.

If you hold a tire still and just rotate it on it's center pivot with your hands, you will find it hard to rotate because the tread is gripping, but if you put the tire on a stick and rotate it in a circle around you, it's very easy to turn. That's scrub radius.

And that is why scrub radius affects the weight of the steering in car parks and slow speeds.

Problem is the more scrub radius you have, the more the wheel deflects when you hit a bump because of the leverage factor, balance must be found, or add power steering.

This is the sort of scrub radius older cars with no power steering had (example only), you can picture in your mind that the wheel rolls around the steering axis (thick dotted line). Most modern cars have very little, and will leave blacks marks on the road when turning stationary, but the power steering overcomes that, and front wheel drive cars are mostly inside the steering axis for other reasons.

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ......

It's the little things that count.

One of the only issues left on the steering rack, is where the steel tube (black) sits in the now reversed pinion housing (red arrow), the issue being the steel tube is much smaller than the housing hole so is sloppy.
I have been scratching my head, and tried a number of methods of how to rectify it without modifying it, but today got a win!

A standard 32mm/1.25" threaded female water pipe connector is an interference hydraulic press fit over the steel tube, and the threads grip into the steel, perfect, no glues, no welding, no rivets or pins, and the large end needs just a touch on the grinder to fit into the pinion housing, and all for a $1

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

And it works.

Quite happy as I mentioned, no glues, welding, rivets or pins, just a tight press fit over the steel tube. A bit of luck involved to find the right piece that is made in the millions all over the world.

However, that "luck" also has come at a cost of thousands of hours over decades sifting through junkyards, parts' shops and shelves of stuff seeing what's usable and remembering bits that may be handy for the future.

.... and that I own a small hydraulic press

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

Hopefully this is the final mounting set for the steering, and it's actually simpler than it looks.

For those technically interested, I have been also experimenting with how to lower time on the laser.

A chunk of time of the laser cutting is first piercing it's way through the metal before it can start it's run. So the parts here with the red dots are a single piercing, and a continuous non-stop run all the way around, and the green dot is 3 piercings rather than 7.

All goes to saving time and money, and the laser shop charges me for each piercing.

Another tricky trick, is I need to weld a flange (blue dot above) on the end of the minor end mount to hold the rack tube in (just a bit of the roll cage tube), and the weld around it, blue arrow, creates a proud step that stops the tie rod boot from slipping off. Love it when a single item performs 2 functions

[JEBar]

Per Mark BEX ....

Slow on updates, but just want you to know there is no slacking off at this end ...

Besides the other little items I have been attending to, I have been trying to figure what to use as isolation rubbers for the 2 bolts at the back of the front main crossmember.

After constantly glancing around at what I could use, I just grabbed an old tire and cut out what I needed in just seconds, perfect and free.

I was going to make nice round ones, but it took ages for the hole saw to get through the steel belts, and the saw teeth kept getting caught on the wire. But the 4" grinder did it in seconds.

... and I did fill the factory up with burning rubber smoke/smell! It was tiring work ..

[JEBar]

​I commented to Mark, "tiring work" indeed .. .. and asked what types of things are you focusing on next ??


His Response .... I am finally getting happy with the steering, which has turned out to be a nightmare time wise, mostly trying to simplify it to keep time and costs down to make it repeatable for production. If it was a one off build, I would have had the steering finished a week ago, it's just so much different when you intend to make a bunch of them.

Next is brakes, and once I have a steerable chassis with brakes, I might get the engine in and get it drive'able.​