stylus history

[02GF74]

quickie - what can you tll me about a 1997 chassis? How do they differ to the latest ones?
wouold it have in-board shocks at the front.

The rear is for live axle - is it easy to change for IRS? i.e. wishbones and components avaliable from SSC - I realise that the rear would need some chooping and welding.

what uprights does it have? and what is used on the modern ones?

when was the first stulys launched?

any other info. appreciated.

[stylussprinter]

The chassis itself is identical in all measurements but very early ones have straight rear trailing links not concave for longer shocks plus lowering ability. Then the lower front wishbones on cars 4 years old approx'ly have kinked tubes on the outer upright pick-up , to avoid the knuckle rubbers getting split. The rocking arms , common to all Stylus chassis from the start , have changed several times over it's production from steel fabtricated to tube fabricated and laterly to lazer cut 3 piece fabricated/lighter. The angles of these rockers have changed slightly to accomodate lowering of the chassis but are essentially the same spec' . All bushes from 1997 were poly bushed and rocker's pivoted on needle bearings from that date too. Later cars had some rear poly bushes/some metalastic bushes from 2003/4 . The very latest cars went out with metalastics all round at the rear.
Extra chassis strengthening was used between the front top/bottom chassis rails/short tube welded vertically between them. Rocker towers had an extra 45 degree strut welded next to the existing one. Also a 15mm tube was welded between the bulkhead and the front lower rail on the passenger side. Pedal boxes also changed from FORD to SSC made floor pedal sets.All the above started about 3 yrs ago.

Changing from Escort live axle to SSC independant isn't impossible but would only be worth doing if YOU did the work / read - very expensive so wouldn't make sense unless you bought your car for peanuts Jeremy Phillips SYLVA AUTOKITS was the original designer and fitted the Stylus body onto a FURY chassis to start with , around 1994/5 then sold it on to SSC in 1996. Uprights are EscortM2 and later on some were Sierra but SSC reverted to EscortM2 due to weight and set-up problems/geometry. There was a Triumph upright tried on one or two , being so light weight but no great numbers/production runs. Chris (On this forum & worked with SSC for a few years) rather liked the Triumph option

Mine is a Sept. 1997 chassis too

How's that for starters

[MattD]

Rob

What are the difference's between Classic & RT chassis bolt-on bits to give the wider track ??

Matt

[stylussprinter]

Rob

What are the difference's between Classic & RT chassis bolt-on bits to give the wider track ??

Matt

The RT chassis is identical to the Classic . At the rear -- spacers are used on the English Escort axle and up front the rockers are longer on the outboard end , as are the lower wishbones to achieve the 50mm wider car.

[acrobin]

Regarding the axle in the RT - I thought the "atlas" axle was used to give the wider track (out of capris and many other donors)?

[stylussprinter]

Regarding the axle in the RT - I thought the "atlas" axle was used to give the wider track (out of capris and many other donors)?

Not so Some people chose to go this route but it was not a factory standard. If big power/torque is planned , it could be a good route but baby atlas axles are heavy plus damn expensive , also the choice of ratios is limited compared to English Escort axles which is a serious consideration if racing is intended or any form of motorsport/trackdays etc.(3.6/3.89/4.1/4.4/4.7/5.1/5.3 )
Tim reckoned the English axle was strong enough and that's what's in the SSC Demo RT with 225bhp/180ft/lbs torque . My car also uses the English with 232bhp / 170ft/lbs torque .
For a road car , I can't see it matters -- looking at these figures and what both cars are used for --- the only question being the use of spacers but they are fine as long as you use the race spec' plus high quality bolts

[02GF74]

wow - that is very useful - thanks for taking the time to write that all up!!

presumable parts such as the rocker arms are still avaialble for the older cars or can the newer ones be used?

(from photos I have seen, the early ones are pressed steel and later ones being made of tube).

[Pete&Matt]

When we first enquired about the Stylus, Tim told us that it was the capri rear axle to use in the RT....never any mention of spacers! but hey ho!

[Werner Van Loock]

Regarding the axle in the RT - I thought the "atlas" axle was used to give the wider track (out of capris and many other donors)?

Not so Some people chose to go this route but it was not a factory standard. If big power/torque is planned , it could be a good route but baby atlas axles are heavy plus damn expensive , also the choice of ratios is limited compared to English Escort axles which is a serious consideration if racing is intended or any form of motorsport/trackdays etc.(3.6/3.89/4.1/4.4/4.7/5.1/5.3 )
Tim reckoned the English axle was strong enough and that's what's in the SSC Demo RT with 225bhp/180ft/lbs torque . My car also uses the English with 232bhp / 170ft/lbs torque .
For a road car , I can't see it matters -- looking at these figures and what both cars are used for --- the only question being the use of spacers but they are fine as long as you use the race spec' plus high quality bolts

Regular atlas and baby atlas are different items, the baby atlas is just as wide as the english axle only a bit heavier and a lot stronger and stupidly expensive, while the regular atlas axle is wider, stronger and heavier then both english and baby atlas

And then there's a Koln axle, utterly rubbish, but looks like a baby atlas, only that it is made of cheese and found in the rest of europe

So i guess you had some stuff mixed up.


Here's a bit of explanation about ford rear axles

[Cerberus]

Here's mine with the spacers.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=181

[stylussprinter]

Werner , I didn't mix them up in my head , just my typing . Some guys used the Baby Atlas in the Classic when using V8 power . I intended to say the 'Atlas' for RT use by some.

Sorry for any confusion chaps

[stylussprinter]

wow - that is very useful - thanks for taking the time to write that all up!!

presumable parts such as the rocker arms are still avaialble for the older cars or can the newer ones be used?

(from photos I have seen, the early ones are pressed steel and later ones being made of tube).

The rocker towers are part of the chassis and as such/as I said --- nothing's changed apart from the points I mentioned. All rockers , of whatever design , will fit any chassis .

Tim / SSC no longer opperates the business , although still owns it plus obviously all the jigs etc etc .He has another more profitable business to earn him a living . However , if someone is serious about buying bits to complete/re-build / repair a Stylus --- I think he'd listen but he's not going to spend hours on the phone giving advice/prices , only to waste time and no sale. It's ok for me to offer advice because it's not my living/being retired now plus I enjoy helping people in connection with our cars.
He has ordered for me a half body , to be made from SSC moulds still housed at Tim Duffey's own rally car manufacturing business in Wales so if push comes to shuv' he will help . He's still a racing enthusiast so wont part with SSC --- there's always a chance that kit sales conditions may change as they did in the 1997 to 2003 surge of interest just before he bought SSC
With his business doing well and a little more time for himself , he might just build a Stylus race chassis for himself so's he can 'kick arse' on track That in itself might just be the catalyst to start SSC as a business all over again you never know Mean while , this forum keeps the interest going in the marque & a source of info and advice to those who already have Stylus's