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Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
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PostPosted: June 10, 2016, 11:07 pm 
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Well, after a week long road trip with the wife, I'm back at it. Welded in a pair of gussets and am starting to box in the rails.
Attachment:
WP_20160610_20_00_45_Pro.jpg

I think I will box in the rails, then pour in thinned down rustoleum paint. Dump out the excess and I should have a reasonably good protection coat on the inside.


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PostPosted: June 11, 2016, 6:45 am 
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You might also dilute some phosphorus in a spray bottle and spray a light coat to dry before adding paint, to leave under it.

It is sold by the gallon as "metal prep" at Home Depot for about $15 if memory serves. I use it a lot.

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PostPosted: June 12, 2016, 12:48 am 
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Location: Colorado
I'll look for phosphorous. That sounds like a great idea.

I got an early start today and worked for a few hours before house chores pulled me away.

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Other side is identical

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WP_20160611_08_48_59_Pro.jpg

This side is next. I'm going to mount the stock roll bar here and then shorten it to fit.


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PostPosted: June 12, 2016, 11:48 pm 
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Location: Colorado
My cat is earning his keep. Resident fly catcher! I managed to snag this picture while he was still in the air and thought it was cool enough to share.
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Figured I would show my CAD setup. I do all the math on a notepad and then I draw it all out on cardboard.
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I then cut it out with a razor blade. The trick is to not cut it in one stroke. Several lighter strokes will cut cleanly without mangling the cardboard. Bend the cardboard using a ruler as a straight edge to get nice sharp bends.
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WP_20160612_09_51_01_Pro.jpg

AAAAANNNDDDDD it didn't work. HAHAHAHA. I did account for radius', but bending them evenly so that everything ends up planar is hard. One side will fit perfectly and the other side will be twisted a few degrees out. I gave up, sectioned it, and welded it all nicely. Sooo, lesson learned. If it's complicated, multi-planar surface; do it in many smaller pieces.
Attachment:
WP_20160612_14_40_37_Pro.jpg

Attachment:
WP_20160612_16_21_44_Pro.jpg

This is a piece of 18g I tacked in to block off the rail above the trailing arms. It has a slight crease and a slope towards the weep hole. The other end of the rail is open right now. I'll tape off all the holes, pour in the phos-prep stuff if I can find it, drain it out. Let it dry. Then repeat with primer and thinned down rustoleum paint. I'm hoping this gives a nice coat inside that will prevent corrosion issues. I'm trying to decide if I want to rattle can or brush the paint on the outside. I think it will be cheaper, and perhaps provide better coverage to bush on the primer and paint.
Attachment:
WP_20160612_17_52_45_Pro.jpg

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WP_20160612_17_53_01_Pro.jpg

I found out that these plates, as shown on my last post, contact the toe arms. I cut a split down the middle, hammered it into a curve, then patched it up and ground out any protruding metal. I'll need to do another test fit tomorrow and see if this did the trick.

If it all fits nicely, I will be painting it in the coming days. I'll then cut into the driver side of the trunk and frame and perhaps be fitting it next weekend.


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PostPosted: June 13, 2016, 10:50 pm 
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Cleaned, prepped, and primed.
Attachment:
WP_20160613_19_25_17_Pro.jpg

Paint tomorrow!


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PostPosted: June 14, 2016, 10:20 pm 
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Location: Colorado
And now in white!
Attachment:
WP_20160614_19_22_11_Pro.jpg


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PostPosted: June 16, 2016, 3:55 pm 
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Yeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaw!


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PostPosted: June 18, 2016, 8:40 pm 
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So I'm taking a break for a moment, before going back out in the heat of the garage to continue. BIG Day, and hoping to get even more done; I'm exhausted though!

Attachment:
WP_20160618_08_39_38_Pro.jpg

Set in the car, all painted. Looks authentic(apart from the white); I brushed the paint on and it has a few runs and all the brush strokes show in the texture of the paint. I love the look.
Attachment:
WP_20160618_08_39_51_Pro.jpg

Here you can see the initial cutouts, which were not sufficient
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WP_20160618_18_05_48_Pro.jpg

BOOM! Tacked in place. It took a lot of measuring, prying, tacking, cutting tack out, until finally we got it to within 1/16" in all conceivable measurements.
Attachment:
WP_20160618_18_06_05_Pro.jpg

Need to make a bunch of small plates to shore up the gaps and fully weld in the frame. I'll then cut the old frame out, paint it all up, mount the suspension, and down on the wheels! pretty exciting!


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PostPosted: June 23, 2016, 11:13 pm 
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So Sunday I got the front suspension out of the vette.
Attachment:
WP_20160619_16_15_45_Pro.jpg

I made the 2x4 frame for the engine to set on so that I could leave it in place until later.
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WP_20160622_19_42_47_Pro.jpg

And through the week I've been welding things together until tonight I got to the point that I could cut the old frame out!
Attachment:
WP_20160623_19_30_20_Pro.jpg

Attachment:
WP_20160623_19_30_51_Pro.jpg

I bent up the flange of the old rail and plan to weld it in place. Any remaining gaps I will fill in too.
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WP_20160623_19_31_32_Pro.jpg

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And here I could use some advice:
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WP_20160623_19_31_13_Pro.jpg

How would you dress out the end of these? I'm thinking a triangle of steel plate on each edge to blend the flange up into the new rail. Thoguhts?


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PostPosted: June 24, 2016, 2:53 pm 
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What about an equal thickness plate that covers the outside? Not so much a triangle, but a little shorter than the side of the frame rail and extending to the edge of the new section. Trim/ cut/ "massage" the bottom edge to follow contour.


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PostPosted: June 25, 2016, 12:28 am 
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Funkatollah wrote:
What about an equal thickness plate that covers the outside? Not so much a triangle, but a little shorter than the side of the frame rail and extending to the edge of the new section. Trim/ cut/ "massage" the bottom edge to follow contour.


I'm not getting emails when someone posts to this. I get emails for other logs, but not my own. I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Like along the frame rail?

Since I didn't get any emails saying people had posted, I forged ahead:
Attachment:
WP_20160624_21_43_11_Pro.jpg

This is what I ended up with; I'm pretty happy with it.
On to the next dilemma:
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WP_20160624_21_43_28_Pro.jpg

Attachment:
WP_20160624_21_43_39_Pro.jpg

To patch or not to patch? I can't reach the painted edges with the grinder. I'm tempted to leave it open as a drip hole.


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PostPosted: June 25, 2016, 3:42 pm 
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The first picture is pretty much what I was trying to describe.
To answer your question:
I'd patch it up. I don't like big open spots in frames. Even if it won't collect water or dirt, I'd cover it.


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PostPosted: June 25, 2016, 8:12 pm 
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Alrighty. Big, scary, panicky day. I got the car down on the suspension, loaded ~200 lbs in the trunk, and freaked out. It looked way way low. AND the wheels are too far forward. I took a break, came out and looked at it again. Repeated this a few times. I've now decided that if nothing else I need to wait until the front end is done and the whole drivetrain is in the car to decide for sure if it is ok. Let me know what you think:

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junk in the trunk!
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Rear rocker right behind wheel, 8 inches of clearance.
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IMG_1937small.JPG

Rear Bumper, no gas tank or exhaust. About 7 inches to the bottom of the rear crossmember. With quad 2.5" exhuast tips, and a tight mounted gas tank, could have 5 inches of ground clearance at the back end.
Attachment:
IMG_1938small.JPG

I have 2 tight finger of clearance on the outside, barely one finger on the inside. The 53 has an inner fender well that limits how close to the outside of the fender I can go without tubing it.
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IMG_1939small.JPG

I'm not sure if the wheel is too far forward visually
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IMG_1942small.JPG

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IMG_1943small.JPG

Meaty tires :twisted:


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PostPosted: June 25, 2016, 9:27 pm 
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Location: East Lansing, MI
I suspect the axle/wheel is in the factory position, only lower. GM didn't centre the wheel in the wheel opening. It becomes more pronounced the lower you go. Some guys centre it, others leave it as is. See if you can find a profile shot of the Derelict car. Don't know if they centred or not. In the picture you posted it looks stock.
I like low cars so I think the altitude is perfect.
Great work, keep at it!
Cheers,
Stewart.


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PostPosted: June 28, 2016, 12:04 am 
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Got the car turned around:
Attachment:
WP_20160627_19_35_17_Pro.jpg

view from the back
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going to hang the gas tank here
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What do you guys think of hanging the battery behind the wheel here:
Attachment:
WP_20160627_20_16_51_Pro.jpg

I'd build a box around it to seal it up from road grime and help protect against impacts


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