Project No-Flight Update
February 2003
I never was really happy with the shape of the original rear frame rails (they curved "up" to support the body with a pad but had no elegant way to act as a body mount), so .... I cut off the original rear frame rail sections and spliced in a set of straight extensions. These run to right above the license plate well. I added tabs to act as a rear body mount and installed a G-10 doubler and some gussets (the yellow pieces in the photo) to reinforce the license area. Using my new tube bender (I always wanted one and finally broke down and got a simple model) I bent up the upper brace tubes. The fuel tank was then reinstalled and new upper tank supports welded in.
I also re-installed the battery box which I had to remove when I cut off the old frame rails. It is located behind the right rear wheel, which is the only place there is room for it. It will be a little bit of a challenge getting the battery in, but there is enough clearance to get it in there.
The next step was to install the cores for the rear wheel tubs. Where did all the room go !!! The trade for the solid rear and big tires being inside the body (no flares) is a complete loss of luggage capacity. At least what little will fit should get to where it's going quickly!
You can also see that I changed the rear roll bar braces when I modded the rear frame rails. The brace tubes now angle in from the corners of the main hoop to the main rails right above the rear shock mounts. This should help stiffen the rear without having the rear vision impairment of an "X" brace (yeah, like there is any rear visibility to start with in a C-2 coupe <LOL>).
The center core has been scored to aid in bending it to the curve of the frame rails. While it was cleco'd in place I brushed on a layer of resin to fill the scribe cuts and help hold the curvature for when it is removed to apply the carbon cloth. I still need to fabricate the panel at the back the separates the fuel tank and will run up to the inside of the rear window mounting flange.
This is a view inside the wheel tub. The tubs will be mounted to the body with rive-nuts and bolts but fastened to the frame with Dzeus fasteners to give them some room to flex. The clecos are currently installed into the Dzeus plate spring mounting holes which is why they are offset on the tabs.
While I had the fuel tank out (and in, and out, and in, and out, and ...) for all the rear frame and tub work I changed it to a rear outlet instead of the top outlet since the EFI fuel pumps supposedly don't like to be mounted above the fuel level. The fuel pump will eventually mount below the battery box on the right side. You can also see the rear body mount tabs and gusset plates. The gusset plates are glued in but still need to be "tabbed" in with some fiberglass cloth.
Since I changed the tank outlet I figured I should change the filler too (so it wouldn't get jealous).
I had been debating for quite a while if I should use a diagonal link (you can se it in the rear installation photos in the January 2003 edition) or switch to a wishbone. I've had the wishbone parts on the shelf for months. After playing with the rear geometry on my CAD system for a while it appeared that the main difference between the diagonal link and the wishbone was mostly in their effect on the rear roll center. With the wishbone the rear suspension can only physically roll about the side where the aft end of the diagonal link is (the right in my installation) while the wishbone would allow the suspension to roll about the center of the car. Since it was snowing all weekend anyway (it turned out to be the largest storm recorded in Maryland history) I jigged up the wishbone on a wood plate (sorry I didn't get a picture of that) and then installed it in the car. I think it turned out pretty good.
A little out of sequence time wise, but I also have installed the gas pedal and trimmed the trans tunnel core a bit to get some more drivers foot room. Just so the passenger won't feel left out, that side will get a cover plate to go over the fuel feed and return lines. You can also see the supports for the mid-plate. They also will get some carbon fiber cover plates molded and then bonded to the firewall. All the carbon work has to wait until the summer as it's too cold in the garage to get the resin to set properly now.
So, what's the next project? I guess I've put it off as long as I can so now it's time to start making the headers. I bought a set of sprint car headers and cannibalized them to get the flange and starter tubes. It was cheaper than buying just a flange and starter tube kit, and give me machine ground welds on the back of the flange to aid in gasket sealing. I will have to strip the paint off of them, but that's easier than making up the starter tubes and getting the gasket side "really flat".
