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I started the fuel tank fabrication. Because of the differential mounting, the tank location must be somewhat high in the rear section and therefore the tank dimensions will be 7" high X 13" wide X 30" long. Since the S2000 fuel pump/filter/level indicator unit is slightly taller I will fabricate a sump to accommodate the extra 2+ inches. See sketches and first photos. The material is 1/8" aluminum. I'm considering adding a baffle in the middle and to surround the pump with a small wall to keep as much fuel around the pump during periods of severe sloshing.

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Thanks for the answer. The s2000 is electronic assisted, so I get what you mean there.

Great looking tank so far. Be careful using only tacks on the bolt heads. Too much torque on the nut can break the tacks on the bolt heads.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

Finally finished the fuel tank. All welding pretty much completed and added some tabs for mounting the tank. I still need to add a vent for the tank but that should be fairly easy. As I mentioned the tank sits pretty high in the back section due to the location of the differential mounting points at the rear of the differential. I'll leak test the tank but will still add some sealer as a precaution.

The next steps will be to finish some of the chassis welds and install the front and rear suspension. I picked up some GAZ coilovers and have them located at their mounting points. The chassis can then be lowered to the ground on its wheels and the engine and tranny positioned for design and fabrication of the motor mounts.

Cheers,
Roy

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In even a minor accident, if the frame gets bent it can pull/rip the tabs out of the tank, spilling fuel everywhere. Suggest using straps instead, just no hard mounts.

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Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not too worried about ripping the tabs out of the tank sides. The mounting holes which are limited have much less area to fail than the fillet welds along the sides of the tabs.

Roy

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The motor mounts were designed trying to establish the transmission output shaft at about the same height as the differential input shaft, while maintaining a road height of about 6 inches. I realize this can be adjusted somewhat with the coilover shocks and springs. I'm trying to minimize the amount of oil pan that protrudes down below the chassis bottom. I've seen many comments in the archives about this subject. With the taller engines some of us are using today this becomes a problem while still trying to design a practical cowl (scuttle) height and hood clearance over the engine top. I think I came to some kind of a compromise with only about 1 inch below the chassis bottom which I will just live with or fabricate a skid plate to protect.

See the photos of the engine mount. It will just be two plates, one on the bottom and one on the top with cylindrical stiffeners in between. I made up a template from the stock mount/front sub-frame and am using it to locate the holes.

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I next installed the engine and transmission for the first time trying to estimate where the engine should be located front-to-back. I realized the upper horizontal tube would interfere with the front of the transmission at the top. To remedy this I notched the tube and added a second horizontal tube for extra structure. See photo.

I realize I could have moved the engine forward another 2-3" but then the shift housing and shift lever would be too close to the dash and too far away from the driver in the full back seated position.

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I've moved on from the fuel tank fabrication and decided it was time to complete some of the welds at the joints. I did this without adding the cross bracing at the side panels so that I could reach inside the chassis or actually get my head inside the chassis sides to better see the welds. This is part of the problem when the 'ol eyes actually start to get older and glasses help but not that much. "Cheater" lenses help inside the welding mask but I still need to get closer to the actual welds.

I use the build table as a "pseudo" rotisserie by setting the chassis on one side or another or the top to get better positioning for the welds.

I installed the engine and transmission for the second time and also re-installed the differential so I could install the stock tranny mount. After trying to use the original tranny mount I decided I had to fabricate my own still using the original rubber mounts but the housing was redesigned. See photos. This gave me an opportunity to measure the final length of drive shaft. I also found out the company I used for my first Locost, to shorten the drive shaft was no longer in business in the area. So had to find a new drive shaft company.

I thought the stock Honda S2000 drive was short at 31.5 inches (flange to flange) but I now have to shorten it by 6 inches.

Cheers,
Roy

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After removing the engine and tranny again, I rotated the chassis on the table to finish some of the tube welds. I left some of those alone that may have to be modified later. After this welding I started to layout the transmission and driveshaft tunnel. Before the tunnel layout I located the two Kirkey aluminum seats in order to see the limitations of the tunnel width. The driver"s seat is adjustable and I installed the generic adjuster mechanism after some minor modifications in order to allow the adjustment arm to move correctly in the tight confines of the chassis sides. The passenger seat is not adjustable.

After laying out the 3/4" tubing for the seat attachments I rotated the chassis and installed the floor pan. I used intermittent welds around the periphery of the floor pan and riveted the floor pan to the seat support tubing. I also welded a small piece of angle iron under the driver's floor area where you first step in upon entering the car. Hopefully this should prevent any "oil canning" of the floor. With the seats bolted in place the 16 gauge steel floor seems very solid.

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With the seats in place I located the top mounted brake and clutch pedals. The next step was to position the steering column in between the brake pedals and mount a support for the column. See photos.

I cut the stock steering column and lengthened it in order to reach the steering rack. I checked the clearance around the engine for the column and everything appeared to fit. Once I had the steering column installed I realized the engine coolant nozzle at the thermostat housing was located just behind the column with no room for the coolant hose. Fortunately the thermostat housing appears to be reversible thereby allowing the hose to be mounted.

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The next was to locate and mount the parking brake. I thought I might have to modify the parking brake linkage at the rear brakes but I tried the stock configuration and the brakes work fine without modifying.

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I finally got the chassis on the ground for the first time as shown below. I've since added a super scuttle and nose piece from Jack's "House of Locost Parts".
The next step will be to fabricate an exhaust header. I'm looking at the stock header to see if I can modify it to accommodate a side exit. If not I'll fabricate from scratch. I'm also starting to anticipate the great fun of wiring the car. I've looked at the possibility of using the original S2000 digital dash (tach, speedo, fuel, temp) plus all the other lights, bells and whistles that go with it. I'm not sure I can get it to fit and still look good. It won't really fit behind the steering wheel because of the unit's size.

Oh well one thing at a time - on to the header.

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She's a beauty!! Loving the progress you have made since I last checked this thread. Fuel cell came out really nice. Keep up the great work. Great attention to detail and how everything is thought out. Its looking really good, can't wait to see more.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

Nice progress so far. I have the 05 s2000 motor in my car. Feel free to check out my thread as I already got mine running.

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Thanks for the kind words guys.
Roy

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