Diary
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03/30/2008: Rob showed up on 3/23 and it was decided to seal the trunk by placing a panel that would connect the one behind the driver to the trunk floor. To do this, I would need to remove the fuel pumps and filter off the cross member that anchors the shocks. I fabricated a perch for the fuel pumps and filter which would attach to the fuel cell cage itself. Moving all of this hardware meant that the fuel lines had to be re-worked. Some lines had to be cut shorter and the ends moved around to connect the system together. With that out of the way, I would have to attach a piece of angle aluminum to the first panel, mock up and cut out the second panel, attach it with dzus fasteners and then anchor the other end to the trunk floor. See photos here.
03/22/2008: After a month of being out of town, I finally got a chance to work on the car today. In an effort to keep the engine bay neat and tidy, I decided to make the three brake and clutch lines connect to bulkhead fittings and pass though the firewall. The lines could then continue behind the dash and head off to their final destination. I also built and installed the final small braided hose line. This would connect the engine to the oil pressure gauge. Half way down the line is a low pressure sensor that would be connected to a red light on the dash. See photos here.
01/19/2008: After a week or two of just grinding and cleaning surfaces after all the welding, today I got to actually fabricate something and move forward on this project. I didn't do a whole lot since its 5F outside and the garage was tough to keep warm. Anyway, I created the tray that in which the radiator stands. Rob and I had made up the two pieces it consisted of when he was last over here. Today I got to assemble and mount it. See photos here.
12/29/2007: Rob came over yesterday and today to help out on the project. I had done almost all of what I could without his help and he can weld. Welding was required for the next steps to take place. First we got the front sway bar anchors mounted. Next we installed the radiator uprights. After that it was welding the lower control arm washers in place. Next, it was time to mount the pedal box. To do this we had to take the panel I had cut and fabricated and adjust it so the pedal box would mount properly. When the it was all said and done, we gotten a lot accomplished. I was now able to move forward on my own on several fronts (mounting the brake and clutch lines, mounting the radiator and oil cooler, etc.). See photos here.
12/15/2007: After doing some serious leg work in terms of what fittings to buy and how it was all laid out, I finally got the water and fuel system lines completed. I didn't want to start punching holes in the chassis willy-nilly so I took a lot of time in deciding how all the pieces were going to fit together. And I must say it looks pretty good. Slowly but surely, she's coming along. See photos here.
12/01/2007: Bryan Floyd came up today and we spent the day on more chassis prep. Its starting to look like a race car. See photos here.
11/24/2007: In preparation for the "Big Build" next weekend, Rich Sheldon (PDX entrant and now Club Racing geek) came down from Reed City and helped out with getting the footwell panels prepped. While he was cutting and hacking, I cut the fuel line to the correct length, put the proper fitting on the end and installed the firewall bulkhead for the fuel line. I also go the surge tank for the cooling system mounted on the firewall. See photos here.
11/09/2007: I finished the trunk portion of the fuel system by anchoring the fuel filter, installing the bulkhead into the firewall and making the necessary fuel lines to connect everything (cell, pumps, filter and bulkhead). See photos here.
10/27/2007: The Runoffs were over and now it was time for me to start working on my car again. I started in the trunk area by installing ther fuel cell, pumps, filter and lines. See photos here.
05/19/2007: This time, Rob and I went over to Phil's to work on the sheet metal on the trunk. With most of the heavy lifting done (welding, etc.) she is now ready to come home for a while. Now its my turn to do some work on her. See photos here.
03/31/2007: Rob and I went over to Phil's and worked on the sheet metal on the engine bay area. What a blast. Cutting, grinding and welding. What else do you need? See photos here.
02/19/2007: Rob and I went over to Phil's and mounted the front suspension. With the suspension in place, we can work around it and fabricate the radiator, sway bar and brake ducts mounts. See photos here.
02/10/2007: Today Phil and I finished anchoring the new rear suspension to the chassis. Last week we had attached the lower control arms. Next we did the third link, the Watts link cross member and, finally, the shock cross member. It was a long but very successful day. Phil's engineering and welding prowess shows in everything he does. Today's work is stellar and will work great. See photos here.
02/03/2007: Well we had wanted to have a weekend of building going on but Mother Nature (in the form of a blizzard) inhibited us from getting a lot done. Jon, Phil and I met at Phil's place and we worked on the car but the weather stopped Rob from making it. With three of us we made some good progress. Jon and I did a lot of chassis cleanup (cutting crap off, smoothing rough surfaces, etc.) while Phil welded some new brackets into place to support the rear lower control arms. This allowed us to position the rear axle housing and the associated support bars for the shocks, Watts link, etc. See photos here.
01/14/2007: Today the rebuilding process began. Oddly enough, it started by hacking away some more car. Melinda and I had loaded the chassis into the truck the last night and I drove it over to Phil's today. Phil, Rob and I unloaded it and we got started on the work. See photos here.
12/06/2006: Today I went over to the Cleveland area to peter Baumgartner's home. I bought the suspension from his car and will be putting it on mine. But first Peter and I had to remove it from his car. It was an all day trip and kind of exciting. Now the rubber hits the road, as it were. See photos here.
11/30/2006: Yesterday I went back to the blast shop and picked up the car. This morning I got her out of the truck and on the ground. As it rained all night, I got out the portable propane heater and blasted the car with some heat to dry it off. See photos here.
11/20/2006: I took the chassis to the shop today so it could get sandblasted and primed. See photos here.
11/19/2006: I finished removing all the components from the chassis today so it could be cleaned up. See photos here.
11/13/2006: I power washed the chassis today. Boy was it filthy. It left quite a pile of debris in the driveway. Now its ready to get media blasted and primed. See photos here.
11/10/2006: Today I removed the rest of the chassis mounted hardware (motor, dash, steering column, drive shaft, exhaust system, brake and clutch lines). See photos here.
11/03/2006: I spent the last few days starting the removal of all the components off the car (fuel system, cooling system, oiling system, valence, battery, fire suppression system, seat, seat belts, radio and video camera systems).
10/27/2006: I uploaded the in car footage from Johannes Krauss' video of my incident on Wednesday. And, yes, it looks just as dopey. See the video here.
10/25/2006: I started the off season prep by removing all the fiberglass (most of it needs work anyway) and taking over the trailer for storage. I can now begin the dis-assembly of the car for the re-build.
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Last edited by Dayle Frame on Sunday, March 30, 2008