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PostPosted: September 21, 2020, 10:11 am 
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That's a nice clean install Tom. If I recollect you are not putting a hood on the 9 in order to show off the engine, so there's no issues with hood overlap on the nose, right?

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PostPosted: September 22, 2020, 1:32 am 
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horchoha wrote:
If I recollect you are not putting a hood on the 9 in order to show off the engine, so there's no issues with hood overlap on the nose, right?
That’s right, Perry, hoodless. But with only 23” of open space between the stretched nosecone (28”) and the long scuttle (24”) the aero shouldn’t be affected too much. :roll:

For its part, the LS has been prettied up a bit with aftermarket valve covers, remote coils, reversed air intake and a low, reverse-mount alternator. The intake manifold could have been spruced-up but one’s got to stop somewhere. The motor sits low between the chassis tubes, so should look pretty good.

Sometimes my old hot rodder DNA just can’t be denied.

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My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

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PostPosted: September 29, 2020, 2:11 pm 
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seattletom wrote:
Thanks for the kind words, folks. The truth will be told when it gets blocked out. There's still lots to do before its completed but I'm pleased with the results at this point.

Kinetic Research: It did really feel good to get the primer on. I think I had a mental block on doing the fiberglass and body filler work. Glad to be beyond that stage.

Larry: I used two of Jack's inserts in both the top and bottom. I had to narrow and shape them a bit since the widening was tapered. One of the reasons for the CF tape was all the piecing together.

Justen: Yikes on that Ferrari's hood. Looks like that one will be headed back to John Beyers shop for a little "correction."
And sometimes the kids in the photo ops are wearing jeans with pocket rivets. :shock:


I'm really enjoying reading all of the build threads here, and have been lurking for years as I plan my build, and build my fabrication skills. I still have a half finished project to complete (2GR V6 into a '91 MR2), and an unstarted restoration (BMW E30 Convertible) to do before starting to build a Locost, all the while keeping a racecar on track, running a small business and being there with my family - you know, all the ususal stuff. Anyway, I couldn't let Tom's John Beyers reference go by without chiming in that John is one of the most talented restoration / paint guys around, as well as being just an outstanding human being. John's son races in the same series as I do, and the whole family is a class act.
Sorry for the OT interruption - now back to your regularly scheduled programming where Tom continues to chip away at his masterpiece.
Martin


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PostPosted: October 1, 2020, 2:01 pm 
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martinb9 wrote:
... Anyway, I couldn't let Tom's John Beyers reference go by without chiming in that John is one of the most talented restoration / paint guys around, as well as being just an outstanding human being. John's son races in the same series as I do, and the whole family is a class act.
Sorry for the OT interruption - now back to your regularly scheduled programming where Tom continues to chip away at his masterpiece.
Martin, thanks for adding your comments about John Beyers. I agree 100%. The cars that come through his shop are truly amazing, including several Pebble Beach winners. One owner gave John the honor of driving his PB winner across the podium for the trophy presentation.

Several years ago John did the finish on my Ultima, taking it from so-so gel coat to a (literally) show winning paint job. In the process, I got to work in John's shop for a summer doing grunt-work prep on my car to reduce my costs. That was an amazing and fun experience. He sets an incredibly high bar for quality work and, as you said, is an outstanding person.

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My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52


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PostPosted: October 30, 2020, 10:20 pm 
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Well, here we are and it’s Halloween time already. The devil is certainly in the details :twisted: and details are what I’ve been working on. Lots of little stuff being addressed that I’ve procrastinated about for months.

Before the weather turned the nosecone got top coated with two-part urethane. Satin black isn’t exciting, but after a color-sand it should make a good base for a vinyl wrap this winter.
Attachment:
PA305254-1.jpg

I want to have as many t@bs welded on before painting the chassis, so been trying to figure the electrical harness routing and ground lug locations. Some lugs are tacked on now, some just marked for placing after tear-down. Same for the brake line mounting tabs. At this point the front brake circuit and mounts are mostly laid out.
Attachment:
PA305253-1.jpg

The brake fluid reservoir now mounts under the scuttle surrounded by engine air inlet ducting.
Attachment:
PA305256-1.jpg

Routing the feeder tubes to the master cylinders caused some tweaking of the inlet ducting mounts, though. More tubing clamps on order.
Attachment:
PA305255-1.jpg

Dash panel loosely fitted with instrument and switch layout “placeholders,” version2.
Attachment:
PA305259-1.jpg

Rear parking brakes are Wilwood spot calipers. Custom br@ck^ts were required to mount the e-brake cables. Still need to add gussets, trim and paint the br@ck^ts, but can now ponder routing the cables to the left-mounted e-brake lever.
Attachment:
PA305257-1.jpg

Which brings me once again to the tunnel where the fuel line, rear brake line, electrical harness, e-brake cables and seat belt anchors share a crowded space with the driveshaft and its safety hoops. Been avoiding having to resolve the “tunnel dilemma” for a year or so now, but if ccrunner can get all that stuff fitted into his Berkeley this should be doable. So completing the tunnel is up next.


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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52


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PostPosted: October 31, 2020, 12:02 am 
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seattletom wrote:
Custom br@ck^ts were required to mount the e-brake cables.
It's so nice Tom to see we are keeping up JD's corrected spelling of the word "br@ck^ts". There will be a point in time when us fellers will have to explain to the young ones the history and meaning behind this.

BTW, all excellent work on the car. Like I know how many times we put these cars together and take them apart before final assembly. Really coming together :cheers:

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle


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PostPosted: October 31, 2020, 9:41 am 
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Tom, are you planning to use hard lines for the fuel supply and return? The hard lines don't take up too much space and hold their shape. I was able to tuck mine out of the way pretty well. You could also use the same fasteners for the hard lines to hold the P-clips for the wiring loom, depending on your desired routing of each.

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PostPosted: November 2, 2020, 12:31 am 
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More thoughts on the "tunnel dilemma":
Mnot wrote:
Tom, are you planning to use hard lines for the fuel supply and return? The hard lines don't take up too much space and hold their shape. I was able to tuck mine out of the way pretty well. You could also use the same fasteners for the hard lines to hold the P-clips for the wiring loom, depending on your desired routing of each.
Thanks, Gavin. I'm planning on softline (hose) from the fuel tank to the firewall, then hard line plus flex to the fuel rail. I'll only need the one fuel line in the tunnel 'cuz the regulator is next to the tank. That simplifies things a bit. Sharing the fasteners and P-clips is a good idea.

With the fuel line placed, there should be room left in the tunnel bottom for the rear brake line and the wiring loom. But to avoid a bubble-trapping roller coaster route for the rear brake line, I may need to include a through-frame bulkhead fitting, as Car9's dash bulkhead is a major structural piece and its bottom edge is formed by a 1"x3" tube blocking a straight shot from the brake master cylinder to the tunnel floor. And somewhere along the way I need to include a brake proportioning valve that's accessible.

Routing the e-brake cables and mounting the cable junction in the tunnel is also a bit of a challenge. I got "clever" and mounted the e-brake lever to the left of the driver's seat to clean up the tunnel cover (which is really nice.) Now I need to snake a line from the lever to the tunnel to actuated the e-brakes with a straight pull to the cables. Think I have a plan for this, just need to finish a mock up.

The aft end of the tunnel gets a little busy too, requiring a faceted dog house to cover the protruding nose of the diff and its supports while allowing the seat to be mounted as far back as possible. Lots of cardboard has died making a CAD model of this.

Some of the tunnel t@bs and br@ck^ts will be finished with the drive train out and the chassis on the rotisserie, but it all needs to be figured out and tacked in now if possible.
horchoha wrote:
It's so nice Tom to see we are keeping up JD's corrected spelling of the word "br@ck^ts". There will be a point in time when us fellers will have to explain to the young ones the history and meaning behind this.

That be true, Perry. I can just see you pulling up a stool and you and the Cap'n 'splaining it to the young'uns. I just might join you for a splash. :cheers:

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52


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PostPosted: November 2, 2020, 9:42 am 
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Oooh, nooo, please, not a square-cornered instrument bezel. The car has curves everywhere, it really must carry over to the instruments as well.

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PostPosted: November 2, 2020, 9:05 pm 
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seattletom wrote:
And somewhere along the way I need to include a brake proportioning valve that's accessible.


Doesn't your Tilton pedal setup have a bias bar?

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PostPosted: November 3, 2020, 2:06 pm 
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KB58 wrote:
Oooh, nooo, please, not a square-cornered instrument bezel. The car has curves everywhere, it really must carry over to the instruments as well.
Thanks, Kurt. Good observation. I hadn’t considered the dash aesthetics yet, just working on functionality and ergonomics with the Holley digital gauge ($$).

For a more curvaceous look, version 1 looked something like this using Speedhut gauges:
Attachment:
PB025260-1.jpg

The Speedhut gauges would need some weather protection added. No gauges bought yet so the question is still open.

Part of the dash layout challenge is space utilization coupled with visibility/ergonomics. The Car9 dash bulkhead is structural with truss diagonals in the dash area (outlined in the pics.) Getting both the instruments and the switches to fit and in easy reach becomes a “stretch.”

No dash layout decisions necessary until final assembly/wiring, but dash mounting t@bs are being welded in now and that constrains usable space. Decisions/decisions…

Mnot wrote:
Doesn't your Tilton pedal setup have a bias bar?

Gavin, I am using a balance bar in the pedal assembly to set front/rear brake bias. By adding an adjustable proportioning valve in the rear brake line one can further increase front braking bias in hard braking situations (high brake line pressure) where less rear braking is a good thing.


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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52


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PostPosted: November 16, 2020, 2:17 pm 
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Continuing to work out the tunnel innards. First step was to get the parking brake cables mounted. Here’s the Control Cables link from the left-mounted e-brake handle to a br@ck^t in the tunnel. The link will run under the front edge of the driver’s seat. Still need to add some cable clamps.
Attachment:
IMG_0803-1.jpg

Also had to make up a second br@ck^t to anchor the Lokar cables that will run from the cable junction back to the spot calipers.
Attachment:
IMG_0808-1.jpg
Attachment points for under-hung fuel and the rear brake lines were included in both e-brake br@ck^ts.

With the e-brake cables in place the tunnel routings start to take shape. The mounting t@bs for the front safety hoop were tacked in place. The rear safety hoop t@bs and the seat belt mounting points and gussets are still in the cardboard stage as welding them in will have to wait until the frame is on the rotisserie.
Attachment:
IMG_0804-1.jpg

Next step required a little locost proctology:
Attachment:
IMG_0799-1.jpg

The bottom-rear of the tunnel is partially closed off by the diff’s front mount. This required adding some holes. The upper two holes to the left are for the e-brake cables. The one on the upper right is for electrical (mocked up here with some spiral wrap.) All three holes will be properly sized for grommets when on the rotisserie.

There is a cutout beneath these holes for the fuel and brake lines. The rear brake line tee is bolted to a br@ck^t on the left. The fuel line enters on the right. The fuel line’s bend entering the tunnel will be protected by an E-Z coil and maybe another cushion clamp. I’m using Earl’s Vapor Guard fuel line.
Attachment:
IMG_0795-1.jpg

Cushion clamps route the fuel line back along the chassis to the pressure regulator mounted alongside the fuel tank. The fuel line doesn’t hang below the chassis rails at any point and the area under the rear rails will have a floor/diffuser for additional protection.

Br@ck^ts for bulkhead fittings anchoring the rear brake flex lines still need to be made, but most of the scratching and thinking on those is done. Short lengths of hard line will connect the bulkhead fittings to the tee.

At the tunnel’s front, the dash hoop structure includes a 1” x 3” rectangular tube running across the chassis.
Attachment:
IMG_0803-2.jpg
This effectively blocks off the lower front end of the tunnel. So once on the rotisserie, bulkhead passageways for the brake and fuel lines will to be welded in. In the meantime, I’ll have to fake the line routings to get the necessary t@bs tacked in for running those lines forward to the firewall.


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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52


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PostPosted: December 1, 2020, 2:00 am 
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Lots of time being spent pondering routing options for electrical, brake and fuel lines and then getting the required t@bs welded on. The current focus being the area around the IRS. Most of the pics in this post are for “memory” reasons so I can remember how to put it all back together again after tear down and chassis painting.

The electrical harness had to be moved moved from the bottom of the tunnel to the top. This avoids running electrical alongside the fuel line, saves about 18” of harness length and bypasses the “busy” area under the diff. In addition to more t@bs, the new routing required adding a short non-structural tube (1/2” square) so wiring could be zip tied to the roll hoop bulkhead.
Attachment:
PB285265-2.jpg
Attachment:
P1015268-1.jpg

The fuel tank support provided zip tie points for getting wires back across to the driver’s side tail lights.
Attachment:
PB225263 (1)-1.jpg

Another non-structural tube was added to mount the bulkhead fitting connecting the right–side rear brake flex line to the brake line going to the tee under the diff.
Attachment:
PB285266-1.jpg
Attachment:
PB285265-1.jpg
Attachment:
P1015270-1.jpg

After much fettling and more t@bs the fuel line, brake line and e-brake cables all play nicely together through the full range of right-side suspension motion. The mock-up flex line from the tee to the bulkhead fitting will be replaced with a hard line during final assembly.

The left side brake flex line was much easier to route, with no fuel line to avoid and a tube already in place to weld the bulkhead fitting mount.
Attachment:
P1015272-1.jpg
Attachment:
P1015271-1.jpg
Attachment:
P1015275-1.jpg

Sorted (well almost…) :roll:

Now I need to work my way back to the front, finish the forward routings and add a dozen or so more t@bs. Way to much t@bulating and not enough fabricating. :BH:


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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52


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PostPosted: December 1, 2020, 10:32 am 
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That's a nice idea to run the empty spiral wire covering as a means of proving out what works. You've made some nice progress.

I welded my tunnel tabs for the fuel, wiring and battery cables in way back when because after welding the triangulating sheet metal to the tunnel, I knew I'd not be able to weld there in the future. I sure hope I guessed right. :roll:

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

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PostPosted: December 2, 2020, 2:50 am 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
That's a nice idea to run the empty spiral wire covering as a means of proving out what works. You've made some nice progress.
I welded my tunnel tabs for the fuel, wiring and battery cables in way back when because after welding the triangulating sheet metal to the tunnel, I knew I'd not be able to weld there in the future. I sure hope I guessed right. :roll:
Thanks, Lonnie. I'm sure your tunnel t@bs will work out for you. You seem to have a good plan going on your build.

Mocking up the harness path with the spiral wrap did cause me to change wire routing in a couple of places. Sometimes it just didn't look right and then you play around and find a better way. Building with mostly round tube forced some of this. Most of my t@bs need to be welded on before chassis painting rather than riveted on during final assembly.

Today I made up some zip tie s@ddlez for attaching wires to tubes a zip tie can't go all the way around and where an Adel clamp isn't right. You can buy these things, but I didn't find any in the right size and in small enough quantities. Not too time consuming to make. Started with 5/8" square tube and did some drill press and Dremel work. Easy to weld in place on or under round or square tube. First place I'll try them is under the upper tube in the tunnel. If it works I'll make more.
Attachment:
PC015276-2.jpg


S@ddlez kind of fits alongside t@bs and br@cketz in the locost lexicon of fiddly things that burn up a lot of build time. I think JD would approve of the spelling.


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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."

Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52


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