Lonnie-S wrote:
Congratulations on the successful first outing. What did the 7 owner think of your car? Did other people assume it was a Lotus too?
On a practical note, and going back to your build log (bottom of
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=14587&p=159876&e=159876), I believe you used a conduit bender from Home Depot for doing your rear body hoops, right? Did you also use conduit for the hoops themselves or use 16 gauge steel tubes?
I'm looking for a simple bender (mechanical or hydraulic) to use with 1/2", 3/4" and 1", 16 gauge tubing. My first project with it will be to do some trial seat frames. If they turn out well, I'll build my own seats. If not, I'll buy some.
What sizes of tubing does your bender handle? I don't see any obvious kinking. Did they turn out satisfactorily in your view?
Best,
Lonnie
Well, David was very complimentary, referring to my car as the "real deal". He has about twice the power in his car, but unfortunately I just don't fit in it. My car turned out about 3 inches longer on the nose, and the wheelbase about 7 inches longer. The cockpit is much roomier as you can see in the shots.
I just checked the bender I used and it is a 3/4 inch EMT bender. I remember it was easy to use when the tubing was on the floor (as opposed to in a vice), and I just leaned my weight into it. It produced very nice bends. I think the 3/4 inch EMT is 16 gauge. It was awful to weld, but was my only locally available 3/4 inch tube. I used the EMT for both top and bottom rear rails, and the pair of rails forming the scuttle (which you don't need). You are welcome to borrow the bender - I can take it to work in Escondido for you to collect.