that black plastic piece with the bar code label shown in the last pic is in fact the passenger side fuel tank.... going to have to be very careful...
that black plastic piece with the bar code label shown in the last pic is in fact the passenger side fuel tank.... going to have to be very careful...
Looking very good. This is an awesome build!
first tubing bends are behind me. i modified speedway's tubing bender to accept a air to hydraulic jack so that i dont have to continuously pump a bottle jack. works amazing! will post some pics or video of it later.
started simple. here is the front bumper / cone basher. will be cutting off the ends and welding to the frame at ~45 deg angle to protect the lower radiator.
In reply to Go_Gators:
Really clean bends. It very hard to get the bends in the right location? I can bend conduit all day but I know it’s different with that style bender
In reply to Greaseonmyhands :
going to try and do the main hoop this week, that will really be more challenging.
i am using the a method i saw on youtube, 'the fabricator series" where you use a bent tube as a gauge to determine where to start your bends. that process worked well for the bumper - but thats as simple as it gets.
I love this thing. 
In a way I think it must hurt a little to be welding on the cage (and adding pounds), after taking all that weight off it.
In reply to stuart in mn :
it is a painful thought. but, driving it around with the cockpit wide open is pretty scary.
i have crunched some numbers on what i think the cage will weigh, so if i can keep it under about 160lbs, i will be happy.
Go_Gators said:In reply to stuart in mn :
it is a painful thought. but, driving it around with the cockpit wide open is pretty scary.
i have crunched some numbers on what i think the cage will weigh, so if i can keep it under about 160lbs, i will be happy.
Plus it gives you a place to mount the rocket launchers.
Gimp said:Go_Gators said:In reply to stuart in mn :
it is a painful thought. but, driving it around with the cockpit wide open is pretty scary.
i have crunched some numbers on what i think the cage will weigh, so if i can keep it under about 160lbs, i will be happy.
Plus it gives you a place to mount the rocket launchers.
a must have, of course.
In reply to Go_Gators:
At the very minimum, a couple potatoe guns
In reply to Go_Gators:
Looking good! Neat to see what they look like in the fuel tank areas.
In reply to STALIZE :
GM certainly maximized the available space. the tanks are wedged into the frame - trans tunnel - cabin bulkhead.
i did a practice tube notch + weld on some of my .090 ERW tube (using .120 DOM for the actual cage). I am trying a technique i saw on youtube utilizing a chop saw and grinder.
basically you overlay the tubes where they will meet, draw a series of lines on the tubes that you then connect to give you cut lines. use the chop saw on the two cut lines, cleanup with the grinder and go.
Wish I could weld that cleanly.
Looking good!
main hoop. check.
it took a couple hours, fitting it to the chassis was probably the most difficult part. no way i could have done this without a buddy helping.
^second to last event for my current autocross ride. placed 4th of 9 in STX and 43rd of 121 overall. Track is FIRM, outside Starke FL. Looking forward to driving something with twice the power and 700 less lbs.
A-pillar hoops are done. they kicked my ass. overall happy with them, they are pretty radical in person. they flare up more than i thought that they would. but, more clearance from my head the better.
latest element, headache bar... also, note the tube notch into the passenger A-pillar. that is straight out of the chop saw. people, do not buy hole saw notchers. notching is so much easier and quicker with the old chop saw.
Will you be adding a down tube from the height of the side halo to the main hoop past where your head would be? Does that make sense?
In reply to vwcorvette :
the current plan is to add a tube/gusset from the side halo to the main hoop, attaching to the mainhoop at about shoulder height. it will meed with the aft end of the upper door bar. about to post the pics of the door bar layout....
here is my current thought for the door bars. basically an upper and lower that come to a union on there bend. union will be a seal weld between the tubes. a couple vertical bars between the upper and lower bar will be added later to strenghten.
Question, as it's one I've considered for my own C5Kart - why did you decide to keep the vette chassis versus stripping it down to the roller skate and adding tubes, ala Exocet?
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