C3/4/5 frankenstein frame

[bobs77vet]

that 3d printing is pretty amazing.

Its great... I think I may end up getting my own printer; Its a very helpful tool!

(The centerbores are backwards in version 1) :withstupid:

thats amazing is it strong enough for a real mock up like those fake mock up engines?

 

[vette427sbc]

ABS bracket from DMP Fab showed up... Aluminum bracket with a .030 heat shield underneath to protect from potential sidepipe heat. The abs unit will sit on a strip of rubber to help isolate from vibration





Fuel lines and tank mock up... Im using Earls pro-lite 350 -8 braided from the rear frame rail to the kickup. The plan so far for the tank is to have it come down to the bottom of the body and follow the body line as far back as possible to help seal off the open rear underside for aero. at 38x10x15 its just shy of 25 gallons.




Mockup hardline

 

[vette427sbc]

thats amazing is it strong enough for a real mock up like those fake mock up engines?

The inside is honeycomb so its not solid plastic. I have to be careful tightening bolts through it because it can crush pretty easy. Im sure it could be made solid to be able to handle much more abuse

 

[rtj]

Looks good.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

that looks like the tank I built for my last C3, it may even look like the tank I'm going to build once I get the Camaro suspension under mine. Are you going to make it out of 16ga, 304, #4 finish stainless steel?

 

[vette427sbc]

Looks good.

Thanks!

that looks like the tank I built for my last C3, it may even look like the tank I'm going to build once I get the Camaro suspension under mine. Are you going to make it out of 16ga, 304, #4 finish stainless steel?

Im unsure yet, Really whatever the guy building it thinks is best. Weight is a huge concern so aluminum popped into my head but with all the ethanol fuels now Im not sure how reliable that is going to be (wont be running e85, but still)

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

for what it's worth, the minor weight savings of aluminum compared to the non-reactive attributes of stainless. My napkin math says the stainless tank would be 50 lbs vs. 35 lbs for aluminum... if you really want to be good forever, 316 2b (what they use for tables in science labs).... hmmm, now I'm thinking about building mine out of it too - my first step is finish my plasma table.

truly just my 2 cents, if it helps, cool, if not never mind me :suspicious:

 

[vette427sbc]

for what it's worth, the minor weight savings of aluminum compared to the non-reactive attributes of stainless. My napkin math says the stainless tank would be 50 lbs vs. 35 lbs for aluminum... if you really want to be good forever, 316 2b (what they use for tables in science labs).... hmmm, now I'm thinking about building mine out of it too - my first step is finish my plasma table.

truly just my 2 cents, if it helps, cool, if not never mind me :suspicious:

It does help... 15 lbs is alot!! this never crossed my mind until right now but my (hard) fuel lines are aluminum also. Going to have to do some research about all of this now...

 

[vette427sbc]

Starting on belly pan tabs before I go any further with the (hard) fuel lines since I will be routing the lines around the tabs. Im using Dzus fasteners/plates/springs from Earls... They were the only company that I could find with a diagram on how to choose what parts would work together (ie: spring height w/ compression, plate sizing, fastener reach) They also have "lightweight" plates with a few extra holes in them. Am I being anal enough about weight yet?? ::toothbrush:



The wood is just there for mockup purposes... The final pan material will be .25" carbon fiber honeycomb

 

[rtj]

You make them tight enough, you could lose the floor. But, 1/4” probably not strong enough.

Looks good.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

for what it's worth, the minor weight savings of aluminum compared to the non-reactive attributes of stainless. My napkin math says the stainless tank would be 50 lbs vs. 35 lbs for aluminum... if you really want to be good forever, 316 2b (what they use for tables in science labs).... hmmm, now I'm thinking about building mine out of it too - my first step is finish my plasma table.

truly just my 2 cents, if it helps, cool, if not never mind me :suspicious:

It does help... 15 lbs is alot!! this never crossed my mind until right now but my (hard) fuel lines are aluminum also. Going to have to do some research about all of this now...

I was going to edit this yesterday - it's 44 lbs rather then 50, aluminum was the same.... but I get the weight thing. I bicycle and we spend a lot more money then I'm willing to admit chasing ounces.

 

[vette427sbc]

Small update but took me about 20 ft of tubing to get these two right... And Im still not 100% happy with how they came out but whatever... Im dying to get this frame off to paint so I can do final assembly

You make them tight enough, you could lose the floor. But, 1/4” probably not strong enough.

Looks good.

Thanks!
Im short so I need the extra height from the stock floors still :lol:

I was going to edit this yesterday - it's 44 lbs rather then 50, aluminum was the same.... but I get the weight thing. I bicycle and we spend a lot more money then I'm willing to admit chasing ounces.

Ive had three years of not working on this project to think about where I can save weight but still have it be a comfortable street car (hah) Ill never forgive myself If I didnt extract every once of unnecessary weight while I had the chance. Crazy? yes. Will all of this make a noticeable difference? likely not. Will I sleep better at night knowing that I saved 2 ounces by having some extra holes drilled into my Dzus fastener plates? you betcha! :bounce:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I was going to edit this yesterday - it's 44 lbs rather then 50, aluminum was the same.... but I get the weight thing. I bicycle and we spend a lot more money then I'm willing to admit chasing ounces.

Ive had three years of not working on this project to think about where I can save weight but still have it be a comfortable street car (hah) Ill never forgive myself If I didnt extract every once of unnecessary weight while I had the chance. Crazy? yes. Will all of this make a noticeable difference? likely not. Will I sleep better at night knowing that I saved 2 ounces by having some extra holes drilled into my Dzus fastener plates? you betcha! :bounce:

:clap:

no, not crazy at all. of course, this inmate telling you that you're not insane is probably a bit suspect .... the last road bike I built weighed 15.7 lbs and cost more then $12,000 dollars. Granted, it was insurance dollars to replace the last bike that someone hated enough to run over (with me on it) - as I said, I may not be the best judge of sanity :1st:

 

[vette427sbc]

Most of my belly pan tabs are complete, fuel line pass through is complete, got all of my line clamp holes drilled and tapped. I think Im ready to tear it down and send out for blasting and paint! Im going to look at it for a few more days in hopes I can remember something that Im definitely forgetting to do

 

[bobs77vet]

it looks great.....as for looking at it the only thing i can think of is to look for all cross bracing tabs and full welding of the frame. it looks really good. all spots for seat belts and roll bars figured out and tabs ready? its hard to imagine you missed anything

 

[BBShark]

Do you have the mounts for the new gas tank welded in?

 

[vette427sbc]

it looks great.....as for looking at it the only thing i can think of is to look for all cross bracing tabs and full welding of the frame. it looks really good. all spots for seat belts and roll bars figured out and tabs ready? its hard to imagine you missed anything

Im going to finish welding the frame rails (really only the side rails are left of the stock frame ) after the sand blast. Was getting way too much weld contamination with rust and grime inbetween the two frame halves. Roll cage mounts are welded and threaded in, seatbelts will mount to the cage. Thanks!!

Do you have the mounts for the new gas tank welded in?

The tank is still in design stage and Im impatient... my builder has some cool ideas that *should* need minimal changes (if any) to the original frame rails. I still have to weld on the front coilover/cage hoops too, which has to be done with the body on (ie:frame painted) anyway, so Im ok with grinding and welding after it starts going back together.

 

[vette427sbc]

Getting very close to final assembly! Got the last parts back from powdercoat, Picking up the frame from the bodyshop tomorrow morning. While waiting, I detailed and painted what I could.

Removed all the casting seams and radiused (sp?) some of the sharp edges. Painted silver, and had the swaybar bracket powdercoated black


Control arms powdercoated


Hard to get a picture that represents the chassis color well... it looks slightly more gray than the photos show. Bumper brackets, chassis and firewall will be this color


Diff painted with Energy Suspension poly bushings installed



SKF rear wheel bearings/hubs were modified by DMP fab for 5/8 wheelstuds to match the front TrackStar hubs. They should be here shortly along with the final production StopTech caliper brackets :bounce:

 

[vette427sbc]

Picked up this morning, took a "personal day" to start assembly

 

[BBShark]

Lookin' good!

 

[vette427sbc]

Lookin' good!

:hi: thanks!

 

[vette427sbc]

little more progress...

 

[bobs77vet]

very nice....whats in the tabs on the cross member? they almost look like brass inserts or something like that.

is the frame grey or white?

 

[vette427sbc]

very nice....whats in the tabs on the cross member? they almost look like brass inserts or something like that.

is the frame grey or white?

Thank you
The brass looking things are the springs for the dzus fasteners to mount the belly pan.




The frame is a 90's Volvo color with some extra gray tinting... It looks very white in photos, and in reality it is more white than the NASCAR gray I was going for but its grown on me and the more I look at it the more I like it.

 

[bobs77vet]

very nice ...my MGA coupe has those dzus fasteners on the battery panel....I need to get a longer one on one of the sides for some reason one of mine is now too short

 

[mfain]

little more progress...

Nice project. I see a lot of areas where we think alike - long control arms to slow down geometry changes, control arms on slugs for roll center adjustability, etc. (Sutton Kool-Aid - LOL) My track project has the same features. I'll try to update my thread so I don't hijack yours. Here is a link to my Focus build thread on the Focus Forum that shows some of the same suspension geometry mods on that car. http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/road-racing-rally/747817-nasa-spec-focus-upgrade.html Again, you have a great build going and it should work really well on track.

Pappy

 

[vette427sbc]

Nice project. I see a lot of areas where we think alike - long control arms to slow down geometry changes, control arms on slugs for roll center adjustability, etc. (Sutton Kool-Aid - LOL) My track project has the same features. I'll try to update my thread so I don't hijack yours. Here is a link to my Focus build thread on the Focus Forum that shows some of the same suspension geometry mods on that car. http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/road-racing-rally/747817-nasa-spec-focus-upgrade.html Again, you have a great build going and it should work really well on track.

Pappy

Thanks, Pappy! The front clip is all Ron's stuff along with the big piston ST60's. The rear is my own design utilizing a C4 diff and knuckle (hoping for any comments or criticism from you since youve been there already) This is my first time with more racecar oriented stuff so Ill be watching your thread closely.

PS... I skimmed through the Focus thread... very innovative using the MKI/III stuff together. I bet its a blast to drive (and competitive!!)

 

[vette427sbc]

DMP Fab just sent me some pictures of the competed brake/hub assembly... SKF hubs with Strange Engineering 5/8 studs, and my custom ST40/ C5 rotor brake caliper bracket. Cant wait to get these in my hands and on the car!

 

[bobs77vet]

that's freaking awesome...where are you on the jersey shore....I lived in spring lake for 10 years before I came Va

 

[rtj]

Turning out nice.