Okay kids. I've had quite a few people asking for updates, so I thought it was time to do a quick one. So here's what's new... body is extra reinforced now that the firewall is out and various parts of the floor removed. The reinforcing made the body stout enough to unbolt it from the leveling table. So that's what I did... (WTF? Why isn't that picture above showing up?? Ryan?? Editors???) Taking the body off the table gave me a place to start building a frame. I mocked the motor and tranny up mostly for length comparison. It will be leveled out and trued up once the frame is started. I drew out some lines on the table as guides. The only thing I really care about is the center line though. The correct measurements will be taken as I construct the frame. Before I cut anything, I'm going to make jig brackets out of 4x4 angle. These will get bolted down to the table to help aid with frame construction. They will hold the frame true as I weld things together and I'll be able to tack to them as well. Here's my final sketch for the frame I did in AutoCAD. As the frame needs more detail (for the crossmembers and such) I will rebuild it in SolidWorks to show every detail and know where everything will be and how things will come together. Crossmembers are only sketched in. They're not finalized. The rails will be as shown though. Anyway, I know it's not much, but I wanted to share the latest. Ready to start building the foundation and get this thing rollin'! Oh yeah, still waiting on the quick change. Can't wait to see that sittin' in the garage!!! Oh yeah... if you want to see the previous stuff, check out these other threads. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php?searchid=1450193
Check the search link above. It will show you tons more on how things started. TONS of pics! It's at the end of the first post.
I recognize that you are a thinkin' man - but you know you could have a perimeter frame together in about the same time it'll take to model it, right? I do too much thinkin' as well. It seems the "art" comes into things all by itself. I try to remember that the "cool" is a byproduct of the thinking and the art... I'll stop hassling you now. I think this is a pretty cool project you have going.
There's WAAYY more than meets the eye with planning this frame. It's not like a normal coupe/roadster/sedan layout. I don't have the time money or patience to redo parts of a frame. Mostly I've done this much planning because there was some issues I wasn't sure how to handle. I've been going back and forth on how to set the front end up for the past 6-months. I needed to see it on the screen first to make sure I wasn't being a stupid bafoon for wanting to set it up the way I'm planning. In addition, I have a huge space constraint with the rear kick-up because of the suspension geometry. 4-bar with panhard and transverse spring poking BETWEEN the 4-bar links! Careful planning just for that or I'm screwed! I have texas sized amount of crap to shove in Rhode Island and no lube! Everything must clear the first time or I'm starting over. There's alot of things I'm saving to tell you guys until later because I like "to make an entrance" so you have to trust me that planning is in good order for what's in store. Thanks for the bit of harrasing. It's needed to keep things and check and to make sure I keep asking myself "should I really be doing it that way?" Cheers!
This reminds me of a friend who was building a roadster similar to mine. Drew up everything in CAD then tried to build it that way. He ended up real damn frustrated when he couldn't seem to get the tubes cut to the same exacting spec as his drawings. Tried to point out to him several times that you can draw something to a .0001" tolerance, but the damn saw is only accurate to .01" and a felt tip pen is only good to 0.1" most days! Cutting something on a chopsaw and then measuring it with a micrometer will try your patience!
That's beautiful! Poetry for sure! Also a true statement! It NEVER works! I'm sure a few have been looking at this thinking "yeah riiiggghhttt! It'll never happen the way it's drawn!" This would also be a true statement in fact the precision is only going to be as good as the tools you're working with and dependenton how patient and anal the person is building the frame. The good news is that I've been building shit I've drawn up for a long time and I recognize this. CAD is only a guide to show what's possible and where things can and cannot be fudged before running into problems. Have faith my friends. No more progress reports until the frame is done. I've shown too much! It's like taking a completely unfinished car to a car show that only represents 10% of the overall invisioned package that you're trying to achieve and people saying "that looks like crap! You did a horrible job!" HAA!! .... you get what I'm throwin' down. No need to explain.
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