I haven't updated here in a month and haven't done a great deal of work in the garage either, but I have dome some.
First I spent some time just staring at the chassis, thinking about it an envisioning what, where, how, etc.
Then the tape measure, pad, and pencil came out comparing and sketching rear pickup point locations, front pickup point locations, chassis width needed for body as it is, and chassis width needed for a 4-6" wider body. I determined fairly quickly that I shouldn't have started cutting on the chassis, as basically almost none of it was going to work on the future build.
rx7locost wrote:
It looks like the ideal location for that diff is simply mounted under the rails it is on now. Install and removal access might be a small challenge. I'm sure you are up to the challenge though.
So I began stripping the rear end. I thought I'd pull the diff and test fit it under the rails in it's current location. Turns out that it's dam near impossible to get the rear end out of a Voudou build. Apparently you put the rear end on the build table and assemble freakin every other member around it.
Sawzall to the rescue. I salvaged the control arm mounts, the diff pickup plate, and the diff reinforcing angle iron piece. The rest of the rear chassis is cut into small pieces and chucked in the trash can.
Now I'm sitting at Fusion 360 and converting by sketches into drawings. With any luck I'll cut 2x3 frame rails this weekend. There will be primary rails, kick ups, rear extensions, and outriggers similar to what you'd find on a Triumph or early Austin Healey for the body mounts. Frame rails at the front will taper to width of bottom a arm pick up brackets locations. Basically will taper from 30" wide at the rear to 20" wide at the front. If I don't like the appearance I'll make it a 26" to 20" taper, more in line with a traditional T bucket. A little narrower than some early frames, but not a ton.
If I don't like the looks of that it will get a 26" to 24" taper common for later T Bucket chassis. That will require a complete redesign of front suspension geometry. Not excited about that one as I'm quite satisfied with the current design.
Sorry for killing a Locost chassis. I should have pulled out the tape measure sooner in the process.