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PostPosted: May 19, 2013, 2:09 pm 
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Time for an update. Guess you could say I've been coping... or fishmouthing if you prefer. Been working on the side intrusion tubes for the cockpit and footwell. All made of roll cage spec tube to protect my squishy bits.
Attachment:
001-1.jpg

This involved six tubes, 12 tube ends and 16 intersection angles. Fun! Then the hidden seams were welded, the copes adjusted to compensate for the weld beads and finally the tubes were tacked in place. I'll probably added some gussets at the top and bottom of the vertical 1x3 later on. The chassis side section forward of the foot well vertical tube will have the more traditional "W" diagonals added later. There will also be roll hoop forward and aft support tubes added.
Attachment:
004-1.jpg
Attachment:
002-1.jpg

Working on the footwell begged the question of pedal and heel rest placement. So a little mock-up with some Tilton pedals and a locost clutch master cylinder simulator (with blue tape in honor of Team Slotus) was in order. The pedal box location will drive how far aft the engine can sit, (which sets the firewall upper cross-tube, which determines the upper engine bay diagonal bracing...) so I have to work through this pretty soon.
Attachment:
003-1.jpg
Attachment:
005-1.jpg
Attachment:
006-1.jpg

Next step will be to make up and tack in the front floor diagonals which will lead to placing the vertical support for the rear legs of the front suspension (and more sl^^ves :ack: ) The harness bar fit-up will happen pretty soon also.


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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: May 19, 2013, 7:20 pm 
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Not planning on a dead pedal?
Think about raising your pedal about 6" and reclining your seat more. Just give it a try. It's a good position and will bring your pedals back towards the seat a few inches.


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PostPosted: May 19, 2013, 10:59 pm 
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gregV wrote:
Not planning on a dead pedal?
Think about raising your pedal about 6" and reclining your seat more. Just give it a try. It's a good position and will bring your pedals back towards the seat a few inches.
Hi Greg, I appreciate the thoughts. I plan to leave room for a dead pedal mounted on the chassis tubing. I don't have one on the Ultima but added a heel rest which takes a lot of the pressure off my left foot. I may use both in this build.
Interesting thought about using a layback approach with a raised pedal platform to gain leg room. I'll experiment with that. It may cause some other space considerations and make street driving more "interesting," but worth exploring.

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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: May 20, 2013, 7:30 am 
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Tom, here is a pic of the position in my build. We did a lot of testing with this and to my surprise, I was extremely comfortable with this position. Looks like you may have some room to tilt your seat without bringing it forward.

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PostPosted: May 21, 2013, 12:00 pm 
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gregV wrote:
Tom, here is a pic of the position in my build. We did a lot of testing with this and to my surprise, I was extremely comfortable with this position. Looks like you may have some room to tilt your seat without bringing it forward.
Greg, Helpful picture. The high pedal box even leaves room for moving the master cylinders to an under-pedal location, freeing up more engine compartment room. Not sure I have toe-room for a box that high but I'll experiment with it. Looks pretty comfortable, though I'm not sure I could (or would want to) get up once in :)
BTW, been following your build. Nice work!

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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: May 23, 2013, 1:46 pm 
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Been working on the front floor diagonals. Here they are shown laid in place. Once the hidden seams are welded up, they will be tacked in and become part of the platform for front suspension support and engine mounting. Note the shims used to allow for the "pucker" in my build table.
Attachment:
003-1.jpg

The angles involved in the diagonals required some interesting looking copes :shock:
Attachment:
004-1.jpg

Similar story at the top of the front bulkhead. But instead of a single 1x2 between the upper front rails, I opted for sistered 1x1's. This better suited my (lack of) fabrication skills :oops:
Attachment:
005-1.jpg
Attachment:
006-1.jpg

Time to give a shout-out for my HF horizontal band saw. Once I replaced the blade with one made in the UK and fine tuned some adjustments it has worked very well for me. I even use it for a bench vise. A little low, but works well when I am seated on a stool. Here I have a HF coping jig mounted in the saw’s vise. I used this set-up for cutting the 90* copes for the harness bar. I also clamp tubes in the saw’s vise for cutting other copes by following a traced pattern with a cut-off tool and a die grinder.
Attachment:
007-1.jpg

Next up, finishing fitting the harness bar pieces and tacking in place.


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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: May 23, 2013, 5:11 pm 
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You're doing beautiful work Tom, thanks for taking the time to post nice pictures and describe what you are doing.
:cheers:

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PostPosted: May 23, 2013, 5:43 pm 
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(with blue tape in honor of Team Slotus)

See!?!? See how it is??? When you're an innovator, like we are at Team Slotus, everybody copies you!!! Geeeze!!! :roll:

Quote:
The angles involved in the diagonals required some interesting looking copes

Dang! I'll say they're "interesting looking"?!?!?!? :shock: Those look more like spears from ancient warriors of planet Klingon!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

This whole build is looking more like a textbook than an amateur's build log. I'm gonna go hide mine in the bushes out back of the shed now...

Actually, Tom, that's some great lookin' fab work! I'm totally enjoying the progress you're making, and lovin' the pictures of the "interesting" angles and copes and such that you're doing -and making it look easy. Keep up the GREAT work, and keep the pictures coming!

Oh, and I hope you and yours have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!
Regards-
JD Kemp

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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


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PostPosted: May 23, 2013, 9:42 pm 
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seattletom wrote:
The angles involved in the diagonals required some interesting looking copes :shock:

I'm guessing this is where the TIG is going to come in handy. Either that or I need a lot more practice with my MIG...Not that I don't also need a lot more practice with my MIG. :oops:

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PostPosted: May 25, 2013, 12:00 am 
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Quote:
Dang! I'll say they're "interesting looking"?!?!?!? :shock: Those look more like spears from ancient warriors of planet Klingon!
I knew I had seen them somewhere :mrgreen: And thanks for the kind comments, JD. Truth is I only take pictures of the good stuff, not the pieces that end up in the scrap bin :oops:
Quote:
I'm guessing this is where the TIG is going to come in handy. Either that or I need a lot more practice with my MIG...Not that I don't also need a lot more practice with my MIG.
Justin, yeah, its hard to aim the squirt gun (MIG) into those crevices, the arc likes to dance around. It also helps to have a pro welder do the tricky or critical stuff. So far, all my TIG work is in the hidden joints :roll:

And Marcus, thanks for the kind comments as well. As this is one of the first Car9's to get built, I wanted to do it right. Unfortunately for me that also means slow going. But it is really nice to see your design come together. One can almost see the force lines flow through the nodes...

A little more progress to report today. Harness bar has been fit-up and tacked in.
Attachment:
001-1.jpg
With a little more fun making fish mouths
Attachment:
007-1.jpg

Next step is to work on the rear support verticals for the front suspension. This will require some careful layout and a wooden mock up to get the shape just right. Oh, and a lot of head scratching, too, it may be another "interesting" shape. Hopefully not full-on Klingon, though.

Have a great weekend, all :cheers:


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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: May 25, 2013, 10:43 am 
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Looks like everyone has beat me to the comments, Tom, so I'll just say that it is looking very, very good. Those copes must have taken the patience of Job. I'm glad I don't have to weld anything that thin too. It would be Melt City if I did them with my scratch start TIG and Puddle City if I used my MIG welder. :lol:

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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: May 25, 2013, 2:18 pm 
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Lonnie-S wrote:
Those copes must have taken the patience of Job. I'm glad I don't have to weld anything that thin too. It would be Melt City if I did them with my scratch start TIG and Puddle City if I used my MIG welder. :lol:


Thanks, Lonnie. Actually the copes go pretty quickly. The 90* or near 90* joints are roughed in with a tuned-up HF tubing cutter using a good quality hole saw, then dressed with a 1 1/2" stone in a die grinder. The wider angles start by tracing a photo-paper template (made using free software) onto the tube, then roughing in the shape with a hand-held 4 1/2" cut-off wheel, followed by dressing out with a 3/4" double-cut burr in a die grinder and then finishing with the 1 1/2" stone. As I've gotten more confidence with the cut-off wheel I can get closer to the final shape in pretty short order. The only time consuming part is sneaking up on the final lengths where that is critical, like for the harness bar. For most of the hand work I clamp the tube in the vice on the HF horizontal band saw. It makes a pretty good bench vice. There are faster, more accurate ways of coping, but given the tools I have this works for me.

With the foot control on the TIG, its not too bad going from the thick sections to the thin sections and if/when I melt in the thin parts I just use less rod :) I also added a gas lens to my TIG torch to allow more stick-out of the tungsten. This helps me get into the narrow joints. I still spend a lot of time sharpening tungsten, though. :roll:

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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: May 27, 2013, 1:23 am 
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Spent some time today positioning the vertical supports for the back legs of the front control arms. They are supposed to be rotated to be inline with the back legs of the LCA's, which means their flair angle is different from the front LCA leg supports on the front bulkhead. So I made up a wooden 1x2 to whittle into shape
Attachment:
006-1.jpg


But first there were some trig calcs needed to figure out the angles. I know, JD, the bard sez "Math Sucks," but think of those triangles as little bikini parts... It worked for me :)
Attachment:
004-1.jpg
Attachment:
005-1.jpg


Here's the wooden 1x2 laid against a "common plane" jig. It fit like it was supposed to :shock: When welded in, the 1x2's will sit on top of some additions to the "Klingon weapon" structure that forms the front floor diagonals. Hopefully these shapes will be less "interesting."
Attachment:
003-1.jpg


Here's a crude mock-up of the 1" DOM tubes that will add support to the top of the 1x2's
Attachment:
002-1.jpg
Attachment:
001-1.jpg


But after trial fitting the plastic engine mockup, it was apparent I can't final-fit the topside DOM diagonals until the engine placement is finalized. Otherwise I might be trying to put a piece of tube through a head. Chickens and eggs...

Eventually it will be time for metal 1x2's with more sl^^ves, followed by a bunch of t@bs. And then fabbing a-arms. And then...but I'm getting way ahead of myself...


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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: May 27, 2013, 9:18 am 
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But first there were some trig calcs needed to figure out the angles. I know, JD, the bard sez "Math Sucks," but think of those triangles as little bikini parts... It worked for me

Wish I'd thought of that "bikini theory" when I was taking geometry/trig in high school!!! Hmmmm.... Or maybe not... I probably spent too much time thinking about bikini parts as it was.

Yeah, I did lotsa drawing triangles and figuring out angles and such way-back-when in the beginning stages of the build. Seems like there was a big cardboard box involved...

Your build continues to look A-mazin'!
:cheers:
JDK

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"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


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PostPosted: May 27, 2013, 10:14 am 
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Your doing great, Tom. Remember that it's the rod end joints we want to be parallel with the car centerline and also not to have to make different tabs for the two verticals. That doesn't change things much but the rear vertical will want to be slightly further outboard to make the holes onthe tabs line up.

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