Disassembly and Body Work

I was planning to pick up some sheets of aluminum today, but at the suggestion of my wife I called ahead to make sure they have what I need. Turns out they didn't...I called another shop about 1hr away and they carry 0.040" 5052 sheets (and some 6061 sheets), but they would have been closed by the time I got there. So the aluminum will have to wait until Monday, which gave me a chance to get some work done on the car.

First I stripped everything off the chassis:



Then started working on the patterns:





Right side and rear are done, left side and interior panels to go. I should be able to finish them tomorrow and be ready to start on the aluminum when it arrives.

Holiday 'Brake'

Finished the first project for the holiday...fabricating a sheet metal brake. The brake should come in handy for the long bends on the sides of the seven, and for the sheet metal on the next project (http://nissan2hummer.blogspot.com/) if I decide to take it on ...

The design is based on plans I found online, with a few small modifications:(http://www.ch601.org/tools/bendbrake/brakeplans.pdf)

It took about 8 hrs total to fabricate, with most of the time spent drilling, riveting and preping the metal for paint. Tomorrow I'll pick up a few sheets of aluminum and give it a try. Here's a quick video demo:

As expected, time is flying by. I'll be happy if I can get the seat mounts in place and get started on the bodywork before heading back to work next Tuesday...

In the driver's seat

I decided to buy a Kirkey racing seat instead of making my own. The "economy drag seat" looked the best since the side supports aren't as big as the standard seats. Problem is the smallest size is 15.5", exactly the size of my opening. I took a chance and ordered one...sure enough it was too big (the 15.5" is an inside dimension)

Nothing a hacksaw and hammer couldn't fix though...


Since I was already modifying the seat I decided to change the angle of bottom to give a little more thigh support. I'll either rivet the sides together in the new position or find someone that can weld aluminum. Since the seat bottom and back will be bolted to the chassis, this joint won't see a lot of stress.


Next step is to fabricate seat mounts and decide what to do for the passenger seat...I need to check with Kirkey to see what they charge for custom sizes...

Shiftin Gears

Mechanical paddle shifter is tacked together and works. I used a push-pull cable from mcmaster. The engine side mount is complete and I'll finish the other end once the scuttle is in place. Despite taking a guess at the amount of travel needed, it seems to work okay.

Not sure what I'll work on next...my checklist says seats, but I may skip to another task...

I can see!

Two lines can now be crossed off the to-do list.
-Mount Headlights
-Mount Nosecone

I'm pretty happy with how things went. To mount the headlights I cut a 0.4" length of 1"o.d. x 1/2" i.d. tube (fits the 1/2" bolt on the bottom of the headlight) and welded to the end of a 3/4" tube about 6" long with one end smashed down to match the 0.4" thickness. The 3/4" tube fits snuggly into a 7/8" tube welded to the chassis. This makes the lights easy to remove, or adjust the position side to side.

I used dzus 1/4 turns to mount the nosecone. First I riveted the 1/4 turns to the nosecone and attached the mounting plates (after marking and trimming to size), then positioned the nosecone on the car and tacked the mounting plates to the chassis. The nose comes on and off easily. I still need to repair some cracks in the nose, but that can happen at a later time...

Next two items on the list are to mount the steering column bearing and fabricate the shifter. I have the push-pull cable and am planning to make a mechanical paddle shifter.

Fall is Finally Here

Nothing car related this time. We went to a halloween parade in the afternoon, and returned to find a young buck in a field behind our house. Here's a short video.

Pedals

Today I fabricated a floor mount gas pedal. The pivot point and length are the same as the brake, and I have about 1" of adjustment front/back. Should be just right for heal/toe if I ever learn how.

End of Summer Update

Some more progress this weeked. I spent half a day Saturday and most of today working on the car. E-brake is mounted and cables connected. I still need to fasten the bracket holding the rear cables. Welding would be the easiest, but I may bolt on instead in case any changes are needed.

Updates from earlier this summer:

Brake pedal is mounted and I started laying out the brake lines. I should have all the components needed but I'll wait until final assembly to finish running all the lines. I plan on tacking tabs to the frame for the brake line clamps, rather than drilling into the frame rails.

Radiator is also mounted. I wasn't able to position it as high as I hoped due to limited clearance under the nose cone. I hope it doesn't give me any headaches later (trapped air bubbles, etc...)

The fuel cell and fuel pump arrived and some fittings are on the way. I still need to decide if I'm going to run hard line, braided line, or standard fuel injection line. I'm trying to minimize the number of fittings and adaptors because they are potential leaks, and aren't cheap.

Several months since the last update, and not much progress on the car. As the weather got warmer and the days longer, so did my list of non car related to dos. I finished clearing out our garage today and finally got to work on the car.


Since my last post I've decided to go with new steering components (aside from the modified rack) from Borgeson, and purchased Wilwood brake assembly and master cylinders.
Today I cut the upper steering column to length. I still need to shorten the collapsible section, weld on a quick release hub and mount a second bearing. I'll wait to do that until after the pedals are mounted.

The next thing I'll work on is mounting the brake pedal assembly.

Assembly begins

Stands are finished, they're about 24" high. I managed to get the car on the stands by lifting one end at time while my wife slide them under. The car feels stable but I'll keep a large tool chest under the center just in case. At some point I'll have to get a jack with enough travel to lift the car onto the stands. Harbor freight sells a 'farm jack' that may do the job.

The build is transitioning from fabrication to assembly. I'll still need to fabricate brackets and bracing from time to time but most of the cutting and welding is done, I hope. Making the stands reminded me how dirty that can be.

Engine Installation

Before getting too far on the steering column, I thought it would be a good idea to set the engine in place and check clearances.

Turns out a family of mice had set up residence at hotel R1 and left a few souvenirs. Fortunately I had stuffed rags in 'most' of the openings. While they chewed on the rags, it doesn't look like any got in. One small breather tube was open but it should be too small for a mouse to get in...guess I'll know for sure when I start the engine.

The bottom of the chassis is open so I can set the engine on the ground and lower the chassis over it. Works good now but it won't be as easy once the car gains some weight.
With the engine in place, it looks like there will be plenty of clearance for the steering column.






I started fabricating some stands for the car to bring it up to a good working height. Hopefully finish them off tomorrow so I can get back to work on the car.

Scuttle and Steering Column

Easter weekend...fabricated and mounted the scuttle hoop and mocked up the steering column with some 1/2" PVC pipe. I'm bidding on a steering column on ebay from a Saab 900 which should supply me with a colapsible section and one u-joint, assuming I can make it fit. I'll need to buy another u-joint, a coupler to attach to the rack and some bearings to support the column.

Steering Rack - Mounted

Another good weekend. The steering rack is mounted and works! A quick check showed no noticeable bump steer over -1 to +2 inches of wheel travel. Next I need to get some u-joints and a collapsible section for the steering column. So far I've had some trouble finding a u-joint with a splined end that matches the rack (9/16" x 36 teeth). Need to make some calls...

Steering Rack Modification - Continued

This turned out to be a productive weekend. I was able to put in 8 hrs and finished modifying the steering rack today. Here are some pictures of the finished rack (not assembled though...)



Here's a picture of the method I used to determine the rack length and approximate placement. Tools used were 2 rubber bands, a string and tape measure. When I mount the rack I'll adjust the height to minimize bump steer.

Steering Rack Modification

The steering rack I bought is 24" between pivots. Based on my suspension geometry this distance needs to be 19" to minimize bump steer. After thinking about the best way to do this for some time, I decided to cut a section out of the middle of the rack and weld it back together.

I started this weekend. Here's a pic of the steering rack shaft and housing. The housing is already cut into three pcs.

Next I cut a 5" section out of the rack, then squared and beveled the ends using a 12" disc sander:

Next step will be to fixture the pieces so they are aligned, weld together and grind smooth. I'll use the same method to shorten the housing.

Suspension Update

Front and rear suspensions are 95% complete. I was able to suspend the car on all four uprights and bounce up and down...felt pretty good. Front seems a little stiffer than the rear but it's hard to tell from just jumping up and down.














After assembling the front suspension I was a little worried that the outer steering tie rods would contact the lower a-arms. Today I checked clearance and...it looks like it will be close, but should be okay. Can't be 100% sure since the steering rack isn't mounted, but I'm feeling good enough to move on.

Things left to do on the suspension:

- Confirm wheel rates (probably will use sand bags for weight and measure deflection, Tyler need sand for his sandbox anyway...)
- Design and machine bellcranks - I made temporary ones out of flat stock to test the suspension but they probably wouldn't last more that a few good bumps.
- Cut steel sleeves for front suspension bushings. The ones that came with the polyurethane bushings aren't the best quality and vary in length...looks like they were cut with a chop saw.

Next stage: determine optimal steering rack length and mounting location, then figure out the best way to shorten the rack...

Building a Seven

A few years ago I got it in my head to build a kit car. After a few months of searching what was out there, I came across the Locost concept. In short, quite a few amateur hobbiests around the world have built their own Lotus 7 inspired cars from scratch, following plans available on a variety of Internet sites and published in a book by Ron Champion.

Sounded like a fun project, and with minimal inital investment needed I started gathering parts and finally began building the chassis in July '05. Here's a website showing the progress of the build:

http://home.comcast.net/~fesk98/home.htm

Here's a Seven I saw during a trip to Japan