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I would have liked to see a slightly longer piece used to replace the top tube you cut for motor clearance. Do a good job of welding in a piece of steel sheet on the foot well there. You can see the motor is sitting on the tube that goes to the tube hanging where you cut the top tube. Also pay attention to getting a diagonal from near the motor mount up to the front bulkead...

It's great to see your car making progress. I hope you got plenty of pictures of Graham's car...

Im not sure what you mean when you say that the motor is sitting on the tube, the only thing that the motor is hitting now is the engine mounts and where the end of the transmission mounts to the frame.
We plan on adding the diagonal braces up front at some point soon.

Seeing grahams car today was awesome. he was able to take us all on short rides, which was a great experience.

Definitely get some thin gloves. Heck, I sometimes do fine stuff barehanded (I know, not recommended).

I think going with the Miata was a wise choice. I'm using a 944 transaxle in my build, it requires redoing a lot of the back, losing most of your gas tank space, and still might end up sticking out of the back of the car a bit. The bonus is a ton more interior and footwell room, but sticking with the Miata means you get a tried and true design that you know will work.

I like Harbor Freight's "Roping gloves". They are thin enough to easily manipulate your work, but are plenty stout enough to protect from the light welding we are doing. Plus, only $7. They wear out kinda fast, but that's the price of using a light glove.

I just want you to look at the weight and where it goes. The motor sits on the motor mount, which sits on that tube. The tube that carries the motor mount is supported at each end, but you cut a tube that that tube hangs from at one end. I've seen this done before, so your not the first to need to do this. It means you need to pay a little extra attention to this now. So when it comes time to put in the diagonal, think it thru and try to do a good job. Also doing a good job wleding in the front of that footwell will also help.

You might consider a small gusset of some type where that tube was cut...

Well yesterday was a very enjoyable visit with the young fellas at University high. The build is coming along great and the neatness of their work is impressive. The TIG welds are very neat and tidy and look as though they have good penetration. I would not be afaid to trust those welds. All the gaps are tight at the joints. I gave a few hints on things to do but really they are doing a great job.
I took the bonnet off and tilted the nose forward on mine so they could get a better look at what makes mine tick and to compare the differences. Once we had a bit of discussion I put it back together and took them ALL for a ride. I didn't count, but I think there may have been 8 of them with the teacher. Cory (the teacher) was first to get in. I had from a little Richard Hammond (Top Gear) look alike up to a pretty big guy who didn't quite fit but was determined he wasn't going to miss out. With some of the bumps pushing him down along the way he was fine. Had a blast.
The donor parts they got look good although the seats and wheels need some attention. Anybody have some Miata mag wheels lying around they would like to donate? There's are really rusty steel wheels with tires that are beyond there use date but will be OK as rollers if they hold air.
Well my hat is off to these guys and Cory as what they have done so far is a credit to them. They are building it right and they are listening to what you guys are saying and the imput you are supplying. Keep up the great work.

Thanks Graham, we really enjoyed your visit and it gave us a lot of great insight on the build.

Today when welding i tried using the tig welding gloves that we have. They were a little loose on my hands but they did make welding in some of the tighter places much easier.

in the tight spots, try a longer cup, it will concentrate the flow of gas to the area you are working, making those tight spots easier to do.

Starting to work on the control arms.
got to use the cnc machine to get the ends of the tubing cut to the exact angles we need.

Great looking build.

Your shop looks like its very well equipped also.
You guys are acquiring skills you'll use for a lifetime.
Keep up the attention to detail and good work.

Kudos to your your instructor from another one.

Almost done with the first front control arm and Tanner and Josh are starting on the rear end.

Looking good. I might see if I can drop back by in a couple of weeks. How are you going to pivot the front lower control arm? This is going to be nice.

Im not sure if you can see the hole in the side of the rectangular pice of metal in the picture but the ball joint is going to be mounted with the holes drilled in it. The control arm is upside down in the picture. Ill take a better picture tomorrow when i have the first control arm finished.

Yep, I see the hole there, how about where it mounts on to the chassis.

We're going to use bushings - the Triumph GT6 a-arm set is the plan right now.
That long tube on the left is just to keep the bushing sleeves on the same axis. Once it's welded up, Parker will finish cutting the center section out at the notches, leaving two sleeves for the bushings to mount in.