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Hey-
Nice shape!! It looks good! What will you make it out of? IMHO, it would look better if that leading edge "flowed" smoothly into the hood (like fiberglass) as opposed to a riveted edge (aluminum).

It will be made from sheet steel. The leading edge will actually be "frenched" into the bonnet; i.e., we'll cut the existing hood sheet metal hole to be the same size as the scoop, so that the scoop can be recessed down flush into/with the original metal.

Oh yeah, that's gonna look GOOD!!! That's exactly the look I was envisioning, never thought of using steel (duh) to make a smooth joint at the front. Good idea!

Keep the pictures coming, enjoying this build!

JD Kemp

We made a little more progress this past week. This piece is 16-gauge. Sides are next, probably out of 18-gauge steel.

We've made incremental progress on the cowl induction scoop. Sides are fabricated and tacked in place. There's still a fair bit left to clean it up and finish it, but overall it's coming out pretty nice. It does look a little on the large size, but I think that when the car gets painted a single color it will blend in fairly well and not be quite so in-your-face. Here's a top view:

And a side view:

Its coming along nicely. How did you go about forming the radius on the edge of the top piece? Hammer and block of wood?

I'm wondering the same thing. How-to pics would be great if you have the time.

My friend used a sheet metal edge roller to get the radii into the edges of the top sheet. Then a lot of "working" it to make it flow right. The welding took a few days, with a small weld at one location to minimize heat input, followed by welding on the other side, far from the first weld, etc. This was all followed by a lot of grinding. We still have some edge work to do near the windshield, plus we're going to install some latches to hold down the bonnet at the rear. Here are some pics from this weekend:

A truly incredible build! So 350hp and an 80 in WB? You might want to slow down the throttle response Just an old fart watching out for you.

Lot's of fantastic ideas here..I was leaning towards Honda power but this build may have changed my mind..Very nice work and some great ideas on suspension design for my own Midget..

I have placed a order for your book...I have posted a picture, one of the cleanest Rotary installs I have ever seen, A Datsun 510 with a carb draw through system, clean, simple..maybe and no computers..I understand he is running a max of 10 psi..

I would like to know your thoughts on such a system..

Thank you

William

Many thanks. Not sure if you purchased the turbo book or the rotary book, but whichever it is, I hope you enjoy. Email me any comments, good or bad, that you might have at bugeyebug@gmail.com.



LOL. That car was built by Bryan Feldman, and many people consider it to be the epitome of the perfect Datsun 510. I’m a huge fan of both that car and Bryan’s work; if you purchased my turbo book you’ll see that this particular car is featured in the Project Vehicles section at the back of the book.

Besides the obvious super high level craftsmanship, the other thing that impressed me about the build (and the reason I included it in the book) was Bryan’s singled minded focus with the build. He set out his goals and priorities very clearly from the beginning, and then built the car with those requirements in mind. No deviation from the plan, no compromises, and no shortcuts with fab or finish.

Thank you..Back in the day..I am 45 now..so in 1986,87,88,89..I worked for a speed shop part time while going to school..The shop focused on Turbo civics,crx,etc..They were somewhat crude systems with pressure activated external fuel enrichment systems,eg,a injector wired up to a pressure switch, no pulse width control, just full on, and we adjusted air/fuel ratio by oxygen sensor levels..and exhaust temp levels..

The programable systems back then were very complicated and the system described above actually worked out quite well because in most cases you were always running rich

I worked on one carb draw through system while there..A Trans Am and the Issues were the fuel was not distributed to the cylinders evenly..I had to monitor each exhaust port temp to make sure the cylinders were not running lean..so eight meters in the car..

But,when the system was set up..The car made some serious HP..and except for the set-up phase with all the meters..The system was simple and very reliable..as the carb will always feed 14.7 to 1 ratio in a draw..or up to the carbs maximum fuel feed level..depending on jet size, and inlet size..but if the carb is matched to the turbo properly..It should be a worry free system

I know nothing about rotary's, less than nothing, lol..but I expect the fuel dispursion may be better than a piston motor..

Is this the case..When I saw Bryan's install..I went..WOW..that is the best old school system I have ever seen..Perfect for a old school Midget...And how amazing you know the system..and owner..

I am really looking forward to reading both your books

Thank you

William

...very slick.... Love the Bugeye (my first car) and LOVE the rotary (powering my present 7).... just keep an accurate gas gauge!

I'm re-doing the rear suspension on the Midget. It's coming along, but running into some challenges with travel. I'm loathe to open the can of worms by cutting to make it all work, but it may come down to it. I'm hitting the original bump stop with the upper a-arm.

Do you know the total travel you have out back? What shocks/springs are you using? Rates? I'm going to have a go with making my YZF-R1 shocks/springs work, but may have to change tack to meet rate/travel goals.

Brust, if I recall, I'm getting about 4 inches upward and 2 inches downward travel in the rear. I'll double check it in a week or so when I'm back underneath that end of the car.

In other news, progress has been slow on the car in recent months.... but here's what we got done inside the cockpit this past week:

Dash Mock-up:


Final Result:




We still have to attach it down, but I'm very pleased with how well this turned out.

Next up is some re-work on the front suspension pieces; namely, I want to extend upper and lower a-arms a couple inches each to bring the wheels out farther. Should be a relatively easy fix.