Archive Dump - Stand Back

Swift DB1

Archive Dump - Stand Back.... The following is a massive unorganized dump from the archive I collected when contemplating the purchase of a DB1 during the January '07 timeframe. A majority of this info was cut-and-pasted out of previous DB1 postings on ApexSpeed.

Chassis Upgrades: * Sleeved uprights (Fast Forward, Protech) Prevents wallowing of wheel bearing in upright. Must inspect upright in order to determine if this upgrade has been made. * Hub redesign, to improve durability (Swift used VW parts; not suitable for racing; they crack). Must inspect hub to verify. * Fast Forward drive flange conversion, to improve durability (Swift design cracks at the CV snap ring groove). Fast Forward drive flange design has the CV visable on the inboard side of the rear upright. * Protech bell cranks & sway bars. $500 to convert both cranks, plus $50 per sway bar. * Protech a-arms * Top braces added to frame? Early cars did not have this. Beware: these bars may interfere with hands if not designed properly. * Kevlar body panels * Widetrack suspension (avoid) * Tubular or honeycomb crush box * Modified belt anchor points for HANS * Adjustable rear sway bar * Cockpit adjustable brake bias? * Check the module (bell) condition, especially the forward leg of the rear lower a-arm. * Steel engine torque stay (steel is better than aluminum). Connects to cylinder head.

Recommended DB-1 Upgrades: Bell Cranks - Ray Germain (Protech Engineering (602 275 1710; 800-326-6857). He modifies the oem unit. Per Ray G: bell crank parts and labor is about $500 to do both left & right, plus $50 per sway bar (different rates available).

The pro-tech bell-cranks required different anti-roll bars also. They were really nice because you could adjust corner weights easily without preloading the front bar. Also, it was easy to eliminate function of the bar for a rain set-up (with the stock set-up you had to have a seperate bar with the splines removed from one end. Front a-arm - the original a-arm had a non-adjustable outer pickup point which made adjusting camber very difficult. Original LBJ was a spherical. Everybody makes arms that utilize a rod-end and barrel nut type set-up. It is unlikely that there are any of the old style arms still in use.

Top brace on frame. A piece of tubing running from about the base of the front brace on the rear rollover hoop the front hoop. Original design didn't have this but SCCA mandated it in later cars. Good safety step and strengthens frame, which wants to crack just about where the shift linkage passes through the frame. The dash roll-hoop structure would crack at the point by the shifter. Adding these tubes is pretty simple. Only thing you might be careful about is how closely these upper bars conform to the body work... some intrude into the cockpit area by the steering wheel more than others - just make sure they don't interfere with your hands on the wheel. Also, be aware that if you have broad shoulders a DB-1 may not be the car for you.

Upright / Hubs / Bearings / Rear axle/ CV joints - Best bet is Fast Forward (Doug Learned 831 899 3636). He also has sleeved uprights and hubs. Per Doug: round hub with extra holes is not his design. His four-bolt design has the studs protruding from a hub that is shaped like a plus sign.

The Fast Forward rear axle/CV upgrade is a must if you have single-lug, center-lock wheels (as opposed to four-bolt). Without it, you'll have to Zyglo the rear hubs every few races to check for cracks. You can identify this upgrade by looking at the outboard ends of your rear halfshafts. If you see the CV outside the upright, you have it. If not call Fast Forward. If so, call Fast Forward anyway for simple maintenance instructions for the upgrade. Rear axle / CV upgrade kit you can install yourself, with Fast Forward doing the mods to your uprights. Per Jeremy: the standard hubs were known to break.

Per Bob Devol: The DB1 uses the front wheel bearing from the VW Rabbit, which were either 36 or 37 mm ID. There were all sorts of problems with the hubs breaking in the rear early on in the life of the cars. We, the later non-DB1 Swifts(I think), and others all went to the slightly larger (39mm) Dasher setup. Per R.Pare: My understanding is that it really wasn't the bearing itself that was the issue, but the strength of the hub. It may be that a better grades of hub from places like Fast Forward corrected the problem enough for FF useage, but I still doubt highly that it would still withstand FC loadings. Per Doug Learned: rear upright bearing bores will get wallowed; use sleeved uprights. Shocks - replace the Koni's with Penske or similar. Joe Stimola is a good source, also. Per Jeremy: the original shocks on these cars were steel bodied Koni double adjustables. stock cast iron brake rotors can be upgraded with floating rotors using AL hats supplied by Neil Porter. Ray Germain has this, as well. TDI has nice floating rotors also. 815-389- 4599

Body Work: original body work did not have the kevlar panel along the side of the driver. Buy new or modify what you have.

Wide Track Suspension: do be careful of the wide track conversions. They increase the length of the front rockers which can lead to more flexing of the rocker, which is the biggest disadvantage of the rocker type suspension. Crush Box: a front crush box is a very good safety idea. Ray at Protect has a tube version (~$200) and Tony J has a alum crush box available for about $300. Do a search in the classifieds. Per Ray G: his Protech front diagonal brace bar is $145.

HANS: Neil Porter has a bar for mounting the shoulder straps closer and lower for a HANS. Good idea for saving your neck. ~$100

Bell Housing / Module: per Jeremy: another thing to look for is any repairs to the module. One place in particular is where the forward leg of the rear lower wishbone attaches. Many have been repaired. Both of mine had been and the repairs had problems. However, when done right is probably better than the orignal set-up. The original was a double shear mount with a bolt that screwed in from the bottom into the module itself. The repaired ones I've seen eliminate the blind hole and use a nut on the top side of the clevis instead. I believe this is because it is not possible to drill and tap and hole in material that has been welded or built back up by welding. A good repair is probably stronger than the original....just take a close look for cracks, proper bushings, etc if it has been repaired.

Per Jeremy: Engine torque stay has a tendency to crack. (It is the piece that connects to the engine head at the front.) We have jig for the steel fabricated style and can repair. Just check it and keep checking it. The original ones were made from aluminum plate. Those cracked even quicker than the steel fabricated parts everyone has now.

July 22nd, 2007, 12:38 AM #6 Ken Rozeboom Senior Member

Join Date: September 5th, 2002 Location: California Posts: 122

Jon, great summary. I have addressed most of these since buying my DB1 in 95.

Front rocker mounting ears. The mounting bolt holes can get egged out over time and will need to be replaced or install a bushing. I bought replacement ears from Ray Germain after being bent in a crash.

Steering wheel shaft support piece. This is located under the gauge panel. The original piece was plastic and subject to breakage. My car had one made out of aluminum. When it developed too much slop Neil Porter bushed it.

I had Ray Germain replaced the Apex joints in the steering and shift linkage. Neil Porter replaced the bushings in the steering rack. Radiator. The trick is to let it float a bit. If you clamp it down it will crack. I use a bit of old radiator hose at the bottom on each end to provide a soft cushion so it doesn’t get pounded by the frame.

Swift fuel cells were made by Aero-Tech services in Santa Fe Springs, CA. 562-696- 1128. 8354 Secura Way Zip 90670. Send them your old one and they will send back a new one using your hardware. Expensive, but they do it right.

Front upright bottom stud. Doug Learned has them as does Ray Germain. Last edited by Ken Rozeboom; J