Hello everybody, I think it's time for me to start one of these (and hopefully finish it in a timely manner too!).
First, a little overview of myself. My name is Jeremy, I'm a project manager and mechanical designer for a small integration firm in Lagrange, GA. Our core business is industrial robotics (hence the user name), and I design one-off robotic work cells for a very large variety of industries. I say "designer" and not "engineer" because I am not, truly, an engineer; I have a degree in Geography. But, I spent my college years working for and eventually running one of the student racing teams at Auburn (War Eagle), and so "A" lead to "Z" lead to "B" (it was a weird road, man), and here I am.
To give an overview of the car - I am building an R1 powered BEC, based on a modified Gibbs chassis. My design goals are to have a street legal (I'm in a non-emissions check county, so it IS possible), well finished but not extravagant machine that I can also use for Auto-X, track days, and hill climbs. My biggest influence is, obviously, Jeff Underwood's R1 build, my aim is to replicate his results, but stray slightly further from "race car" down the "production trimmed" road (a la Caterham Superlights). My original plans from years ago were for a normal miata 442 build, but, as soon as I saw pictures of Jeff's car, something in my brain clicked "That. You need that.", and it was off from there.
My build differs slightly from some in that #A) I don't have a donor (engine notwithstanding), so my running gear is going to come from a wide variety of places and makes, and #B) I had the opportunity to literally start from the ground up. My garage was built, starting four days after I bought my first house last April, with the full intention of being a construction area for this car (and more).
I'll start with the pictures now, thanks for reading. - Jeremy
So, I'll start with the garage -
Two days after I moved in. The previous owner had built some sort of silly closet in the garage -
So that had to go -
Then the floor needed finished -
After Etching
3 Days after Coating
A quick note about the floor coating for those garage junkies out there. I used the Rustoleum Epoxy Shield 2-part epoxy. I had considered going with a full up 100% solids epoxy coating, but at 4 times the price couldn't justify it to myself. BUT, I spent a full 2 days on prep before I did the coating. Also, even though rustoleum says not to do this, I used a muriatic acid based etch (as you would for a full solids epoxy base coat). Don't use their citric acid wash, it is a waste of time and effort. I have had absolutely zero issues with my floor (except for paint overspray, but that's my own damn fault).
Then it was time for the toys -
SO roll cab, bought it used from a guy who needed more room
Husky (made by Campbell Hausfeld) compressor, bought from HD as a reconditioned unit -
And then finally the cabinets, drawers, and welder. The cabinets came from a local hospital renovation and are about 30 years old, but didn't look it. A coat of paint made them look brand new. The counter tops are birch cabinet ply, doubled and bonded, and the roll cab has an aspen board 3/4 top (soft for hammering, cheap for replaceability). The welder is a 8 year old Lincoln TIG (Squarewave 175) I bought from my old race team so they could buy an upgraded unit. I used a Miller 180 SD and a Maxstar "Tiglet" for 5 years before I got this one, and if I didn't get such a good deal on that Lincoln, that box would be blue. I just haven't gotten used to the amperage control on the Lincoln, definitively not a precise as the Millers.
There are a few more misc. tables and shelf units that aren't really anything special, but they are home built. All told, I invested ~$1450 in the garage as it stands today, with more than a 3rd of that in the welder alone, so I consider that to be a very successful "locost" project.
More to follow, with actual car stuff!