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PostPosted: March 29, 2021, 9:01 pm 
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BostonWill wrote:
Tom, I was looking at build photos for front fender mounting and found yours. What dia tubes did you use for the fender stays? And how much clearance did you decide on to clear the tires?
Thom, I used 0.75" x 0.065" tube for the fender stays per Perry. IIRC, I set the cross-tire stay tubes to be about 3/4" clear of the tire. While fabbing the stays, the "tires" were simulated with plywood mock-ups so not sure what the real tires clearance will turn out to be.

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My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
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PostPosted: March 30, 2021, 6:44 am 
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Tom, you might want to support the tube with a steering arm strap and close the end of the box as shown. You could also make the blue brace on the right that can be removed without disturbing anything (handy if something breaks on the road). For the "spuds", use DOM with a 1/8 larger ID than the required socket OD. Fab washers from 1/8 strip to weld to the tubes. You can slant cut the tubes away from the adjacent tube for aesthetics. Just an idea. A heavier wall will flex less too and be easier to weld. I missed the original conversation last year.


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PostPosted: March 31, 2021, 6:28 pm 
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Miatav8,MstrASE,A&P,F wrote:
Tom, you might want to support the tube with a steering arm strap and close the end of the box as shown. You could also make the blue brace on the right that can be removed without disturbing anything (handy if something breaks on the road). For the "spuds", use DOM with a 1/8 larger ID than the required socket OD. Fab washers from 1/8 strip to weld to the tubes. You can slant cut the tubes away from the adjacent tube for aesthetics. Just an idea. A heavier wall will flex less too and be easier to weld. I missed the original conversation last year.
Thanks, MV8, great suggestions. I did end up welding in a diagonal brace between the two arms, so do have to pop off the UBJ to remove the stay. The stay seems pretty stiff being bolted to the spindle in two planes (as long as nobody sits on the fender. :BH: ) But if need be, the support tube to the steering arm strap would add a lot of reinforcement.

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My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
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PostPosted: March 31, 2021, 9:02 pm 
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I was also thinking of a flat steel arc of metal attached to the outer side of the stays would also stabilize the rods ad add a bit of "style" to the back of the wheels

Thom

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PostPosted: May 8, 2021, 12:35 pm 
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BostonWill wrote:
I was also thinking of a flat steel arc of metal attached to the outer side of the stays would also stabilize the rods ad add a bit of "style" to the back of the wheels
Thom, the outer ends of the stays are hidden under the fenders, so not visible. The fenders themselves also add a lot of rigidity to the assembly. Hopefully enough.

Well, spring has sprung in the Pacific Northwest and a nice one it’s been. Ignoring the old adage about “not planting more garden than his wife can keep” has kept me out of the garage but enjoying the (temporary) sunshine. However did get the high-mounted third brakelight mounted--twice. :roll:

Mounting the previously purchased light required fabbing a box to route wiring, etc.
Attachment:
P4055326-1.jpg
Attachment:
P4305331-1.jpg

But once tacked in place it looked out of place. Too large and not in keeping with the more subtle ’39 Chevy taillights used. So cut off the box mount and opted for the lights ccrunner used from these guys:
https://www.customdynamics.com/red-led-truflex-with-red-housing?cat=320

A flat surface on the roll bar for the replacement light strip was made from a 1/8” slice of 0.5” x x0.065” square tube.
Attachment:
P5065334-1.jpg
Just enough to locate the light strip:
Attachment:
P5065333-1.jpg

Once taped on, the 115 LED strip should provide a very bright third brake light plus taillight function. The brake-to-tail converter circuit mounts in the boot, minimizing the visible wiring.

While waiting for lighting parts to arrive, there's also been some progress on the cockpit panels for the roll bar bulkhead. The rain has helped.


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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: October 4, 2021, 1:37 am 
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The spring rains turned out to be temporary and we had a dry summer which resulted in lots of distractions but no work on the build. But fall has arrived and the rains have returned.

First up was finishing the rear bulkhead cockpit panel. On Car9, this bulkhead is a major structural piece, carrying the roll hoop, the inverted-Y suspension points, the differential and the headrest mounts. Like the rest of this build's panels, this one needs to be removeable as well. So a couple of dozen more floating nutplate t@bs where made up and welded in hopefully useful locations.
Attachment:
IMG_1211-1.jpg


Then the bulkhead panel--actually two separate pieces joined at a joggled overlap. Cutouts where the shoulder harnesses wrap the harness bar added to the paneling fun as did forming the panel tops over the harness bar. Final fitting of the panels will be done on the rotisserie where access should be better. And the small diff mount access covers will have nutserts added to afix them as well.
Attachment:
IMG_1213-1.jpg


With the seats installed most of this panel will be hidden which is probably a good thing. My biggest concern is having some "buzzing" points where the panel meets the structure. A little goo or sound deadener applied on the backside during final assembly should address that. Probably couldn't hear it over the solid mount diff anyway. :mrgreen:
Attachment:
IMG_1214-1.jpg


Next up are the right and left cockpit exterior side panels, followed by picking a boot cover solution. Then its close to rotisserie time.


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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: November 9, 2021, 10:33 pm 
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Continued on with the aluminum paneling, but first had to make up a couple of dozen more floating nut plate t@bs. Happy times at the drill press. :roll:
Attachment:
IMG_1222-1.jpg
Separating and dressing the t@bs still required. Hopefully this is my final batch.

Before making up the cockpit side panels, the roll hoop forward braces needed to be cut, fish-mouthed and set in place. They're not tacked in or welded yet, that will take place on the rotisserie. As JD would have put it, when you hold them in your hand the coped braces look like a couple of Klingon weapons. :twisted:

Here’s the driver’s side profile with the braces and cockpit side panel in place. Aluminum scuttle is still covered in protective wrap.
Attachment:
IMG_1344-1.jpg

Small bridge panels are fitted between the bustle panels and the cockpit side panels. These will hide behind the rear fenders and allow the forward and aft panels to be removed separately as required. Shown with Cleco’s here:
Attachment:
IMG_1346-1.jpg

Still need to finish up the passenger’s side cockpit panel. Once on the rotisserie, all the panels will get their final fitting and finishing.

Then next up is a lid for the rear compartment. Current thinking is an aluminum top cover with the aft half hinged.

Good thing it will be raining for a while.


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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."

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PostPosted: December 2, 2021, 7:52 pm 
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The last of the body paneling is the boot cover. It will be a removable two-piece aluminum affair with the front half fixed and the aft half hinged.
Attachment:
PC025349-1.jpg

The cover's leading edge tucks down just behind the harness bar to allow for wrapping the shoulder harnesses and fitting the head rests. The rest of the perimeter overlaps the side panels with a soft bullnose. Two aluminum square tubes riveted to the front portion provide additional stiffness. (But please don't sit there for a photo-op. :BH: )
Attachment:
PC025350-1.jpg

A continuous aluminum hinge will allow the rear portion to swing up to access the fuel filler cap and a picnic basket. A pair of push-button quick release pins in the rear corners will hold it down. Thanks benny-toe for the hold-down suggestion.

Ok, now to bullnose the aft half. (Say that real fast :oops: )


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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."

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PostPosted: December 3, 2021, 5:11 am 
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Glad to be of some help. Waiting for the pic of it installed :yay:

Cheers and build on!

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PostPosted: December 3, 2021, 11:27 am 
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That's a nice solution. May bookmark that for the future.
Refueling is something that pops into my mind from time to time. Currently, my setup is 2x 4 gal cells, that I'll have to tie together (reminiscent of my father-in-law's Indian with a split tank & a cross link hose).

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PostPosted: December 17, 2021, 9:40 pm 
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Wrapping up work on the boot cover with the addition of the hinged aft-half. The hinge will rivet to the aft panel and bolt to the front half’s cross tube. This allows the front half to be maneuvered around the roll hoop braces when mounting or removing it. Still some smoothing to do on the bullnose as it goes around the back corners.
Attachment:
PC175351-1.jpg


The hinged cover hold-downs were changed from the push-button style to traditional Dzus fasteners. After several mock-ups it was clear that firm landing surfaces were needed for latching the thin panel, especially since the mating aluminum bullnose edges are a tad lumpy where they meet.
Attachment:
PC175352-1.jpg


I went with Allen-wrench type Dzus heads so I didn’t have to worry about lining the tool slot up just so. Plus, all the other skin fasteners on the car require an Allen wrench. Not as convenient as the push-button catches, but hey, race-car.
Attachment:
PC175353-1.jpg


That completes the fabbing (but not the final dressing) of all the body and interior panels on the car. Just a couple of mounting tabs to add for the tunnel covers. Then it’s time to tear it all apart on put it on the rotisserie for final welding and chassis painting.


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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 17, 2021, 10:04 pm 
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That will be an important milestone - final weld and paint. Good going!

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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 18, 2021, 12:41 am 
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First and foremost Tom, an excellent job!

I do have a concern however. When final welding my frames no matter how diligent I was in cross welding the tubing there was warpage, steel shrinks when you weld it.
I guess all I can suggest is checking each panels fitment and mounting hole alignment as you weld the frame.

Again an excellent job :cheers:

Edit: Just looked back at your build pics and it looks like the majority of your frame is final welded - correct?

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PostPosted: December 18, 2021, 1:14 am 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
That will be an important milestone - final weld and paint. Good going!
Thanks, Lonnie. Hope I can remember how to put it all back together again. :?

horchoha wrote:
Just looked back at your build pics and it looks like the majority of your frame is final welded - correct?
Good thoughts, Perry. The primary structural tubes are finish welded for the most part. Its the non-structural connector tubes and t@bs that are just tacked in. There is enough of those that some distortion could result. I will keep an eye out for that. Plus, there will likely be some panel trim required where weld beads get added.

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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: December 18, 2021, 8:20 pm 
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seattletom wrote:
That completes the fabbing...


Awesome, that's gotta be a great feeling! It's looking really nice.

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