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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: May 29, 2017, 2:31 pm 
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Hmm. Late may, vs. mid april since I last updated.

Between demanding work, a painful commute, trying to organize a convention, two daughters (one under 2 years old), a milestone birthday party for my wife and medical issues with the in-laws, I feel like I have made progress. That is to say, the glacier has moved.

Since last time, I pulled the engine off the table, took the frame down and welded parts of it I could not get to in its prior position, got it back on the table (thanks to my brother here for the birthday party), welded in the upright section of the rear (engine bay), and got the new rear sections mostly gussetted. It turns out, the outboard side of the frame is a little too close for full bump, so I pulled in each side about 1.25" for tire clearance.

I did a whole lot of little stuff too. Made some light triangulation bits that were no-regret, welded in the seat mounts on the bottom side, etc. ad nauseum.


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PostPosted: May 29, 2017, 2:36 pm 
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I ran out of welding wire during all of this, so on the recommendation of Dismantalus (who was whining* about welding wire not working for him), I got the Lincoln stuff at Home Depot. He was right. This stuff welds like laying down butter. Beautiful! Even my welds look gorgeous.

*It should be noted that Dismantalus is a friend who would not have gotten such grief above, had he not asked if my daughter did these welds when I showed them to him.


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PostPosted: May 29, 2017, 6:59 pm 
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C'mon, dude, fess up. She DID do them, didn't she...
And for the record, that was not whining about the wire, it was a full on rant!
All kidding aside, the welds look great. I told you it would come. It's like a Jedi with the Force, all of a sudden, it just "Works"! The wire is obviously a major factor, but having the machine set correctly, travel speed, tip to work distance, comes with time. As Yoda would have said, "Good, the welds look, Lumpy, they are not"! :headbang:

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PostPosted: May 31, 2017, 1:23 pm 
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Looking good. Are you still moving forward with the miata rear uprights? I'm still trying to decide on them or my cars originals. Custom axles doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy.


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PostPosted: June 2, 2017, 7:37 pm 
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Evlshnngns wrote:
Looking good. Are you still moving forward with the miata rear uprights? I'm still trying to decide on them or my cars originals. Custom axles doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy.


Hi E,

Until further notice, yes, I am going forward with those uprights. I am curious why custom axles give you a bad feeling (what might I be missing?), but my other options are not so hot. I suppose I could use MR2 spindles, but that means struts :ack: and while that would be killer for packaging, I wanted to go a arms at all 4 corners, even if just to say I did it.

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PostPosted: June 2, 2017, 11:57 pm 
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Its my wallet that would rather not get custom axles. I definitely understand not wanting the struts poking out.


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PostPosted: June 25, 2017, 2:32 pm 
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Progress! Well, not much compared you guys, but quite a bit for me. Pictures on Friday because getting them on here is a PITA today and I have to run for a flight. But I did get the rear motor mount done, which looks pretty straightforward, but it took a lot of measurements, a lot of thinking (I can't get the engine off the table if I weld the mount in, etc., etc.), and in the end, just a few hours of work.

Now on to McMaster Carr for some weld nuts so that when I get back from the trip, I can get this puppy in its permanent home and work on the other side.

Terry

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PostPosted: July 10, 2017, 7:43 pm 
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More progress. I dabbed up the trans mount over the weekend. Used a bushing, welded it to the chassis, welded two ears onto the existing trans br@cket and 6 hours of work later, it works! Crappy cell phone photos to follow.

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PostPosted: July 10, 2017, 7:46 pm 
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Oh, I noted Kurts comment about the car having to be a source of joy. Bloody trans mount took 6 hours, maybe more to think, measure, measure, cut, drill, etc ad nauseum. It was awesome. I'm slow as molasses in January, but the few hours of progress bring unexpected and outsized joy. I pray that continues.

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PostPosted: July 12, 2017, 9:09 pm 
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Threatened photos have arrived! Enclosed shows the progress (including engine sitting on 2 mounts and one wood block).

1. The engine mount is not completed. It is far too spindly, and will be beefed up with boxing and gusseting. But as noted, it holds the weight of the engine just fine while I am completing the other engine mounting points.
2. The trans mount is the bushing. I welded ears onto the existing transmission mounting plate, welded the bushing itself to two cradles, welded the cradles to the chassis, and then finagled the engine so that the holes matched up. Works OK, but probably not the easiest alignment. I may have to open up the holes a little (slot them basically).
3. Looks horribly incomplete, but feels pretty satisfying. I have an engine cradle, without the back rail and triangulation. That won't get completed until I am ready to take her off of the table, and maybe even then, because I don't have enough ceiling height to crane the engine out of the bay while the car is on the table.

Terry


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PostPosted: September 1, 2017, 7:48 pm 
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Wow, MUCH brighter with the lighting!

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PostPosted: December 18, 2017, 9:52 pm 
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Hmm. It has only been 3 months since my last post, give or take. That's OK, we had the in laws over every week for months (treatments), the eldest competed in the Wushu KungFu world championships in China (bronze with her nunchucks :cheers: ), plus about a half-dozen other things.

All is not lost, however. I spent money, for example. You will recall a few pages back that my transmission had a hole in it. So, I splurged on a used one, rather than buy a new case for, you know, about the same amount. The new trans has Slightly different gearing, so mix and match may be in my future.

Likewise, I spent money on suspension parts (rod ends, tube ends, etc) for the rear.

I also monkeyed around some more with vsusp and have tweaked the design just a little bit more.

And today I spent a few hours in the garage making upper outboard mounting points for the Miata uprights. Pictures in the near future.

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PostPosted: December 19, 2017, 8:36 pm 
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Omterry wrote:
...so on the recommendation of Dismantalus (who was whining* about welding wire not working for him), I got the Lincoln stuff at Home Depot. He was right.
Dismantalus, please share your welding wire rant with the rest of us. It sounds like useful information. And if Dismantalus doesn't feel like repeating himself, Omterry, perhaps you can summarize.

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PostPosted: December 20, 2017, 1:55 pm 
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JackMcCornack wrote:
Omterry wrote:
...so on the recommendation of Dismantalus (who was whining* about welding wire not working for him), I got the Lincoln stuff at Home Depot. He was right.
Dismantalus, please share your welding wire rant with the rest of us. It sounds like useful information. And if Dismantalus doesn't feel like repeating himself, Omterry, perhaps you can summarize.

The rant was about the inferior wires that seem to pervade the industry now. I don't have to tell you the country of origin...... I did a welding certification earlier this year, two guys doing a 3/8" vertical up plate, short circuit GMAW (Mig). They got set up and started making some practice runs. Dog Sh*t. No matter how they adjusted the machine, they could not get a nice consistent weld. I checked the wire, and it was something I had never heard of. Talked to the distributor, he had not had any complaints about the wire. Had the customer go out and get a spool of Lincoln Superarc L56. It is an ER70s-6s wire. Had them do a couple of practice runs, made a few adjustments to wire feed and voltage, and BAM, ran like butter. Smooth, consistent arc. You could HEAR the difference. One of the problems is that a lot of the shops that these suppliers sell to don't know they are having a problem, they think the wire is supposed to run that way. Once they see how wires like the L56 run, they know what is possible. The other problem is that so many of the "Financial" guys won't spend a nickle more for the better wire, and so the poor guy doing the welding is getting blamed for poor quality / production, etc. To compound the problem, companies like Hobart appear to have two lines, the "Chinese grade", and the "Good Stuff".. You have to ASK for the good stuff, or they will typically sell you the garbage. Terry saw the difference as soon as he started with the L56. It's why I always now have the customer have it on hand for a test, or I bring a spool with me just in case. Welding tests (and LoCosts) should get the best wire you can get your hands on. It's cheap insurance. Takes one more variable out of the equation. Another issue that pops up, although not as frequently in our crowd, is the "Foreign" wires are not well tolerated by the newer inverter machines, particularly in the pulse settings. I had a roll of the Radnor (Chinese) stuff left over from when I started the 7 and was using my 30+ year old Millermatic 200. It was an .023" ER70s-6 as well. Seemed to run ok in that machine. When I moved my shop to the house last year, I put old faithful in storage, and set up my Lincoln PowerMig 350. Couldn't get it to keep a decent arc at all. Short circuit, pulse, nada. Threw a roll of the L56 in, and just like that, we were back in the game. I guess the point of the whole rant is that if anyone is having problems like those described, don't just take the distributors word that "He's never heard of any problems". Maybe it's that no one has complained! Yet. Try a roll of the L56, or the "Good" Hobart stuff and I think you will see a huge difference.
""

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PostPosted: December 20, 2017, 2:33 pm 
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I've usually bought my wire from Home Depot, but once bought a roll from a rather well-known discount tool chain.

I'm not God's gift to the welding profession by any means, but boy, what a difference.

Couldn't imagine trying to learn how to weld with that garbage.

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