Frequently Asked Questions of the 442 design 

Question:

Hi Jim,

The 442 chassis... will it be capable to a 1600 pinto to a type 9 box onto a Mark 2 LSD Rear diff and if so can you think of any thing that i will have to change at all?

Regards,
Simon Smith

Answer:

The layout of the 442 is nearly identical to the "book" chassis, the only real difference is the length of some tubes. I have not studied the strength characteristics of the 442 as it compares to the book, but there are a number of builders that have a 442 on the road and I've not heard of anyone having any trouble.

Not being concerned about strength is especially true in your case because the powertrain that you've decribed is no more powerful than what would normally go into a "book" sized chassis. If you were fitting a V8 for instance that is both heavier and more powerful, then I would have some concern about whether or not it would work.

Just make sure you follow the book's recommendation to add the triangulating tubes that are not shown on my 442 plans... specifically, the TR1/2,TR3/4 and TR5/6 tubes.

With regard to whether or not everything will fit... well... that's a different question. It very much depends on where you choose to position the engine within the chassis. I've never actually seen a type9 and I don't know anything about it's geometry, but I suspect that the Type9 gearbox is not very long, so the extra length in the 442 might cause the shift lever to be farther away... suggesting that you might need a remote shifter of some kind.

Seeing as how the passenger compartment and the firewall are wider, you might choose to set the vertical tubes on either side of the bellhousing farther apart and then set the whole engine assembly back farther. This will improve your weight distribution and put the shift lever closer to the driver. Setting the engine back farther inside the firewall does cause the tranny tunnel to be wider at the feet, which reduces the footwell area. However, again, the 442 is wider all around and the firewall is set more forward than in the book, so there should be a lot more room in the footwell to start with. I always recommend building the transmission tunnel long after you have the rear end and the powertrain firmly planted in the chassis at which point you can start to make up the geometry to fit your needs.

Like the type 9 and other donor-specific parts, I don't know anything about the geometry of the Mk2 rear axle. However, I can tell you that no matter what axle you use, you want to be sure that there is at least 2" clearance between the chassis and the inside of the tires. What I recommend when choosing a rear axle is that you also choose the wheels and tires that you plan to run at the time. Assemble everything (at least in your mind's eye) and measure the distance between the tires. In the case of the 442 chassis on my website, this distance must be at least 50 inches. You might choose different wheels (with a different wheel offset) or place wheel spacers between the axle and the wheel to customize this distance if need be.

The scuttle will need to be wider, and the angle on the sides of the scuttle probably won't agree with any fiberglass bits that are pre-fabricated. I recommend forming the scuttle out of aluminum. A standard nosecone will fit, although I recommend finding one that is taller along the bottom half to better cover the front of the chassis since the chassis is 15" tall. A standard nosecone (as far as I know) only covers 10" of the front of the chassis (from a front view), leaving a big gap at the bottom to be filled with sheet metal.  

Keep those questions coming!

jim@mcsorley.net