Messages

Wow, I had no idea you were back at it.  Congratulations and have fun!

Charley Fuchs

HM1107 (at one point in time)

I have sold my unfinished kit to Craig Hansen.  Hopefully he will be along before too long to join this group and finish the car.

Thanks.  I enjoyed listening to it.

Thanks Paul. 

Here is a hint to future listeners...you can safely skip the first 15 minutes--it is mainly just ramblings about podcasting and contests and the like.

I ordered one but am not going to wear it.  Instead, I am going to figure out a way to incorporate it into the build so CJ will symbolicly be riding along.  Maybe loop it around the break line instead of the 3/8 inch hose to keep it from rubbing against the frame.  Any other ideas?

Charley
HM1107

Bobby,

No on the welder, and the stuff I have tried to jam in there to hold the nut has not worked, so far.  I will keep searching.  Thanks.

Charley
HM1107

Well after an hour and a half of working the die grinder including breaking a Harbor Freight stone, I theoretically have the holes elongated to the proper distances for the powered rack.  But I still have 2 major problems:

1) The steering shaft that comes out of the powered rack has a substantial housing around it for the fluid.  That housing doesn't quite clear the frame where the corner is cut away.  I suppose I can cut away some more and squeeze it by there.

2) I can't see any way of getting the nut onto the bolt on the driver side because that housing covers up almost all of that opening.  No way I can see to hold it in place to torque it down.  Even for manual steering, it looks kind of tight to me.  Do I grind away even more off of that corner, or drill a new access hole from beneath on the frame?

You can see fairly well in the attached picture how much that housing obstructs things.

Charley
HM1107

I guess I could do that.  I wonder if that is correct, though for getting the steering shaft to line up properly.  Maybe the DS hole is correct and the PS hole should be elongated the 1/2".  Or vice versa.  Anybody who switched to a power rack after first building with a manual one, would have presumably encountered this situation already.

Should I  be worried about having the 5/8" bolts going into a hole that is elongated to an oval with a 7/8" width (or even 1 1/8" if I just do one hole)?

Normally there would not be any washers on that nut, but it seems like I should do something.  Maybe even weld one to the frame to make the hole size correct and more stable.

It is kind of disappointing that this mistake slipped through from HMS.

Charley
HM1107

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I would post my problem here.  I ordered my kit with the PS option and got that rack with 15 1/2" rack.  My problem is that the frame is drilled for the 16" holes.  How does this get fixed?

Charley
HM1107

My experience with the POR-15 is just fair.  I did order their metal etching prep stuff and used it prior to the original coating, but I guess maybe I did not use it well enough or let it set in long enough prior to applying the POR-15.  I find that is does peel off pretty easily in places.  You can see how it came off in this picture when I attached the lower fender liners to the frame.  I've got some touching up to do.

That looks very good.  Since I will have to do something very similar, I greatly appreciate your trail-blazing pictures!

Charley
HM1107

Ken,

I haven't decided yet.  I have never fiberglassed before and I may try that.  More likely, I will get my aluminum expert brother-in-law to fabricate something.  I am in no hurry to permanently solve that problem until I make a lot more progress and am confident that the engine/drivetrain is all working properly.

Charley
HM1107

It has been a while since I posted here, but it feels like I've made some progress lately.  I just got the cockpit and upper frame put in place.  Getting the AOD to work and to fit has been a long headache.

Charley
HM1107

And finally, a well lit rear shot...

And another dark view from the front.  (Camera batteries dying).