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What part of Missouri are you in? We have enough builders in missouri we may have to have our own Missouri gathering.

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Build on

Chris
Build: NA Miata based +221 Se7en

Those look like some pretty serious dimples in the motor mounts and chassis braces. What ya usin', and what maximum thickness of metal can you dimple?

Cheers,

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

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Picked up an inexpensive dimple die set on eBay and I use them in a hf hydraulic press. I have done 1/8 and 12ga with ease

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If you have time to clean your shop, you don't have enough interesting projects to work on.

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Im in the Columbia area. I would probably interested in a MO gathering later this summer or early fall. Somewhere in your neck of the woods would be nice with some twisty roads. Maybe down by Salem too.

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If you have time to clean your shop, you don't have enough interesting projects to work on.

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Man you should have been around a couple of years ago when FieroReinke helped me put together a fantastic gathering in Cuba. A late summer gathering sounds great. Just no September for me. If you ever come to KC give me a shout. Russ

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You meet the nicest people in a Locost Se7en.

If we are going to do this, we should probably throw a date on the calendar, otherwise life may get in the way.

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If you have time to clean your shop, you don't have enough interesting projects to work on.

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The other issue that comes into play with this donor and a 442 is the rear axle width. The rear axle is only ~56" WMS to WMS, so using a book suspension gets a bit tight on the housing, but it can work:



I am not using an e-brake on my build, mainly because the cables exit the drums at the bottom of the backing plate and go forward. If the axle were wider or the chassis narrower, you could probably make them work. As it is, however, the lower link and chassis both interfere with the cable sheath and it isn't flexible enough to bend it in a way to make it work.

To make the narrow axle/wide chassis work, you will need a maximum of 3" of backspacing (depending on your tire/wheel combo). I am running 10" wide tires on 8" wide rims with 2" of backspacing. I could possibly make this work with 3" of backspacing, but it would be tight between the suspension bolts and the tire. Once again, deviating from the book chassis could alleviate this issue.

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If you have time to clean your shop, you don't have enough interesting projects to work on.

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i am out of town this week for training but as soon as I get back home I will get something put together so we can get it on the calendar. I have not problem organizing it. It wont be as big as the Midwest gathering but should be fun none the less. It will also help keep those of us in the middle of our builds focused and motivated.

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Build on

Chris
Build: NA Miata based +221 Se7en

How about Theodosia, Missouri, August ?, 2017 for a full "Gathering"?

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Mike - Read my story at http://twinlakesseven.blogspot.com/

Next up is the part of the project that has eaten up more hours than anything else: the fiberglass hood.

For those that are still paying attention at this point, you know that my donor drivetrain is taller than average, thus my decision to build my own nose cone/hood/scuttle, henceforth to be referred to simply as the "hood". I am not the first person to build a nose cone, and I hopefully will not be the last. This is my method that worked for me and in the beginning, I couldn't find any direct research to making a locost hood using this exact method and materials.

I used the 'mold-less' composite method to create the hood, meaning I didn't create a buck, then a female mold, then mold the actual hood from the female mold. I went directly from buck to fiberglass hood. This method has pros and cons, the biggest pro being the simplicity of the process.

I used polyester resin for this project. We can debate polyester vs epoxy ad-infinitum, but I chose polyester for the following reasons:
-polyester resin is less temperature and humidty sensitive (I did this during the winter)
-polyester resin is available at the local auto parts store (thats right, I used the bondo brand stuff by the gallon)
-polyester resin will not set up properly over epoxy, meaning the fiberglass resin jelly (bondo brand) and standard bondo filler would not work over epoxy (once again, low cost, local availability)
-polyester resin sets up quickly, meaning fewer runs on vertical surfaces

The buck was constructed of layers of 2" EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) foam from the local Menards. I stacked up enough layers around the engine and on the front of the chassis that I could carve out what I wanted. 3M makes a special spray adhesive for polystyrene, that works great. I used carpet tape to hold the foam to the chassis.

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the un-carved blocks, the spray adhesive is sticky and gets everywhere, so I chose not to handle my phone or camera.

For the bulk of the rough shaping, I used a sanding disc on my angle grinder. 24 or 36 grit is what you want, and don't be scared to make a mess, its unavoidable. You WILL need a respirator with eye protection. The small peices of foam become airborne and hang in the air, getting into your eyes and clinging to anything moist in your nasal passages.

This is what I had after some rough shaping:



I didn't draw anything on the buck up until this point, I simply shaped based on how I thought it should look. I did use the top of the chassis as a reference point for the top of the grille opening, but otherwise it was simply let the foam fly.

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If you have time to clean your shop, you don't have enough interesting projects to work on.

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After some more shaping:





I cut off too much material on the top of the nose and had to glue another piece on to get the shape I needed.

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If you have time to clean your shop, you don't have enough interesting projects to work on.

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Hi-Lux! (Greeting and call-sign combined!)
Several folks on here have done moldless composite body parts. I like it for the simplicity, as you said. There's a thread in here somewhere about a guy named Pook who did a bunch of really nice moldless body parts for some exo-frame cars. It's worth looking up, just for the pictures.

I'm purty shure I have used body filler, glazing putty, etc, over epoxy resin... Perhaps we're talking about different stuff. But, no matter, we can discuss that later. I do know that body filler (Bondo) will dissolve the insulation I used under the fiberglass.

But, any-hoo, that looks like a good start on the nose/hood/thang you built. Please do continue...


JD "I like epoxy resin" Kemp

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

hilux\
I'm late to this party. But here a couple suggestions.
I would look to see if you can swap sides on the rear brake backing plate, which would position the E-brake cable to the rear Vs front and just loop the cables over the top of the diff into the tunnel.
I would look at your valve cover filler neck and see if its threaded the full length. On my smaller Toyota motor I was able to cut half the length down plus take some off the cap to improve the hood clearance.
You might want to consider using some SU carbs or M/C carbs that mount horizontally to improve clearance.
Dave W

I think Missouri requires an E-Brake. At least they did when I lived there. Russ

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You meet the nicest people in a Locost Se7en.

I guess I should have been more specific: I couldn't find anyone making a one-piece nose/hood/scuttle. You are correct, there are several examples of mold-less nose cones on here.

A few years back, I made a duck boat out of fiberglass encapsulated foam. Epoxy vs polyester is easily one of the most contentious issues when it comes to fiberglass, and everyone in the boat community is adamant that you can use epoxy to repair polyester, but not the other way around. I know bondo is polyester based, so I assumed you would have the same issues, but good to know.

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If you have time to clean your shop, you don't have enough interesting projects to work on.

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