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Gee Whiz, Tim... That looks so good, iffen I didn't know better, I would think you knew what you were doing...

Don't worry, I know better...


JDK

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

Some more progress shots, showing that the rear clam shell does move (but obviously isn't finished, not even close) and the fuel tank in its place.

Enough PORS gas tank repair paint, and Swiss Cheese would hold fuel, right? Well, after 3 pints, it passed the water test.

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.
Girlfriend thinks I'm nuts for building this....

Just think, you encouraged me to keep going w/ the metal work instead of doing your patented (by whom, dunno?) foam and fiberglass work! Metal will make one humble in a hurry for sure.

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.
Girlfriend thinks I'm nuts for building this....

Back at it. Long story involving getting married, getting unemployed, etc etc. Fortunately Cathy supports this project.

- I figured out that my donor motor had an auto transmission. My desire is to use the T5 transmission. The trouble is that the auto flex bolts (M10) are 1 mm smaller than the manual flywheel bolts (7/16). So, either I just risk it, or I go get the flywheel drilled drilled. Jeez.

- Installed a removable rear trans mount. I used 4 12mm bolts to attach it to the frame. Upon further review, that was probably overkill. Oh, and while under the car, got a face and chest and arm full of hot drill shavings -- gosh, what was that smell?

- My new job is great, if for no other reason than I sit near 2 other car fab guys who didn't need to have "locost" explained to them.

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.
Girlfriend thinks I'm nuts for building this....

I know that Jack doesn't like the thought of a Big Daddy Roth type build... but ya know, it might be better than building the hood scoop for this thing?

And yes, my pool is having an algae bloom.

this is with a 6" front ground clearance and a 5" tall dash.

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.
Girlfriend thinks I'm nuts for building this....

Hey, it's your car, not mine, and besides I liked Beatnik Bandit.

Before you permanently mount the nose assembly that low, I recommend you put the chassis on blocks, take the springs (and bump stops, if any) off the front shocks, and run the front suspension through the full envelope of its travel--full up and full down, paired with full lock right and full lock left. That front bodywork looks awfully low to me. On mine, the horizontal line at the bottom of the fender area is in plane with the top of the chassis (which is a book chassis, so it's 13" thick at the engine compartment). Your chassis is a bit bigger, but 13" from floorboard to fender is still pretty snug for wheel travel.

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Locost builder and adventurer, and owner/operator of http://www.kineticvehicles.com

Jack -- this would imply that I have springs and shocks! As you know, I haven't ordered any yet. I've gone thru 2 long periods of unemployment while working on this, and both times I've had to dig out. But enough of my woes.

Yes, I'm looking at your pics and noticing that your body sits up a long higher than these pics. I'm betting that your dash bits are 10" tall for a reason, and this mockup is 5" at the dash. And the nose of the thing is 6" from the ground, which compares to 8" that would probably be more streetable (my wife's Camry is 8"). And right now I'm betting that there won't be enough clearance for a wheel, fully loaded, in full turn.

I've done nothing here besides cut a hole in the hood for the motor (necessary too do much of anything on this) and sitting it on boxes, buckets, etc. Nothing I can't undo. And rethink. Especially if someone like you is dropping hints. Thanks again!

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.
Girlfriend thinks I'm nuts for building this....

One thing cool about fiberglass is you can go back and change your mind. I can't visualize well until I have a full size model in front of me, and fiberglass is a good medium for that because it's easy to do do-overs. You can cut and paste to your heart's content, and if you save everything you cut off, you can go back a step in about a day (including cure time). It's not quite as easy as hitting Control-Z but it's easier than starting fresh. So today's hint: Don't throw away any cut off parts 'till you're sure you're done with the body.

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Locost builder and adventurer, and owner/operator of http://www.kineticvehicles.com

Yo, Tim!
Paint that big horse-shoe shaped intake plenum some obnoxious color (like green, or purple) and you'll be one stylin' dude!


JD "Fashion Icon" Kemp

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

It would be a big job, but if you don't have one already, get a split upper/lower intake, and build your own upper intake with throttle bodies. Turn them horizontal, or nearly so, like they used to do with the old Weber carbs on the Chevy V8s. Like I said, it would be a big job, but really clean up your hood line.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Idea of the week here.... Since the Commonwealth of Kentucky requires me to have a windshield, maybe something like this might be a very cheap solution?

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.
Girlfriend thinks I'm nuts for building this....

OK, Tim, GIVE! What did that windscreen come off of??? Is that a Miata screen?

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Mike - Read my story at http://twinlakesseven.blogspot.com/

Wow, that looks really good on there. I think I remember that your frame is 4" wider than a book frame, or am I out to lunch on that? I've got nothing against parts sticking out of the hood, my air cleaner is just about at eye level on my car. It's a bit annoying sometimes just due to the reduced vision, but not too bad. Even my distributor cap sticks out a bit.


Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172

The windscreen / cowl is out of a NA Miata for sure. I kept the wiper cowl area 'cause the Commonwealth makes me have wipers.

I could cut the top of the windshield off and just look over the top, and forget about "real" wipers (in favor of those hand-moved things that conveniently come off in a hurry).

But the sensible thing is to just weld this stuff in place?

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.
Girlfriend thinks I'm nuts for building this....

Did you keep enough sheet metal that it still has a vin tag? That would be a real easy way around any registration hurdles, and I'd be real tempted to go that way if it were me. After all, it is just a modified Miata if you weld that frame on.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172