In reply to JThw8:
Wow Jim, now I realize how small the frame really is after seeing those tires next to it! 
In reply to JThw8:
Wow Jim, now I realize how small the frame really is after seeing those tires next to it!
petegossett wrote: In reply to JThw8: Wow Jim, now I realize how small the frame really is after seeing those tires next to it!
yes some of my earlier spatial issues now make better sense dont they? It's going to be utterly ridiculous, I love it.
Lol-you are going to need tire warmers to get them hot enough to stick. Warm tires-run as many laps as you can before they get cold-pit-repeat. 
MrJoshua wrote: Lol-you are going to need tire warmers to get them hot enough to stick. Warm tires-run as many laps as you can before they get cold-pit-repeat.
The weight alone should keep it planted :) Yeah Im thinking some magic tire juice may be needed.
So tonite we get another episode of "This (not very) Old parts washer" Another mod I'd mentioned prepping for earlier but hadn't had time to execute. Started by removing the flex hose that came with the pump and replacing with a hose fitting
Then an oil filter adapter with another hose barb fitting and a reducer fitting to mate to the original flex hose.
A little plumbing and viola, filtered cleaner
But you came here to see some car progress so I'll give ya something for the night.
I stripped the old electrical tape, paint, rust, and whatever else off the old steering wheel
Then I shot a coat of paint on it. This is where our pictures are switching to black and white because I went an entirely different way than planned on paint color and I'm keeping it a surprise for a bit
I think you will be fine on 8" wheels. You may loose feels but in a skidpad it won't matter. We had the best skidoad numbers on narrower wheels for a given tire size. You would probably be faster on smaller tires though.
You will have a problem getting those up to temp and you will be a solid 3.5" higher than you would be on something like 20x7x13's like a FSAE car runs. It doesn't sound like much but on a skidpad weight transfer is your enemy. Higher CG is higher weight transfer which means less grip. (Tire coeff of friction is slightly non linear with load).
It will look baller though.
nocones wrote: I think you will be fine on 8" wheels. You may loose feels but in a skidpad it won't matter. We had the best skidoad numbers on narrower wheels for a given tire size. You would probably be faster on smaller tires though. You will have a problem getting those up to temp and you will be a solid 3.5" higher than you would be on something like 20x7x13's like a FSAE car runs. It doesn't sound like much but on a skidpad weight transfer is your enemy. Higher CG is higher weight transfer which means less grip. (Tire coeff of friction is slightly non linear with load). It will look baller though.
It's all about lookin baller ;) I won't lie I do build to a form over function ruleset at the end of the day people are drawn to what appeals visually.
The height they give isnt an issue, fully adjustable suspension, I can dump these things in the weeds.
What is your thought though on mixed wheels/even tires. Reason I ask is I'm seriously considering buying a set of 15x10/15x8 wheels with some decent Nitto tires that I'll use for autox but just swapping this rubber on them for the skidpad challenge (yeah it would probably do better on the nittos but I'm bringing something GRM cant help but put in the magazine, its gonna be a cartoon)
and at the end of the day, any tire combo, or any other factor won't be the issue, it will be driver skill that tanks any real competitive chances this car has ;)
A little mock up this morning to see how ridiculous this looks at ride height. Its still sitting a few inches too high here so it will only get sillier.
Then I spent the morning with a wire wheel stripping back most of the paint (I got lazy on the bars where the aluminum panels will cover it) Its time to start putting paint on this thing.
Of course best to start with rolling it over and shooting the underside. Ignore the color, it has nothing to do with the final color but the final color will be a 2 part process and I'm not going to keep rolling this over once paint goes on so I just hit the underside with whatever cans of rustoleum I had sitting around the shop. When that dries we'll roll it over and start painting.
Aaaand, it's painted!
What? You were expecting something else? 
stay tuned.
Excellent.
I'll get wheel boxes this week, I promise. I want to see those tires mounted!
VWguyBruce wrote: Excellent. I'll get wheel boxes this week, I promise. I want to see those tires mounted!
No rush, I'd like to see them mounted too but I still have a ways to go. Ran into a supply problem with part 2 of the paint, hoping I can get what I need tomorrow. After paint there's a whoooole lot of assembly to go on.
I'm also working on another set of wheels and tires, they will be a bit more sedate but better for autox use :)
Ok, I have 2 ways I can look at todays progress on the Sandrail from hell project.
A) Final color coat did not go as expected, bad reaction with base coat, I'll need to strip to metal and start over
B) Final color coat looks INSANE and is phenominaly photo ready for GRM but the totally intentional, by no means a mistake, texture effect to go with the vehicle theme isn't quite as pronounced as I'd hoped.
Yep....B it is.
In possibly related news the sand rail now has a theme, and a name
That sucks....or great news!
Did you spray or brush on the paint?
bgkast wrote: That sucks....or great news! Did you spray or brush on the paint?
sprayed, with rattlecan. I totally know why it happened but honestly as I was laying on the color a theme was developing in my brain and they "oops" with the texture just actually made it all better and I repeated my mistakes to enhance the effect
No color shots yet but my friends allow me to introduce you to "The Lot Lizard" It seemed appropriate for a car built to compete in parking lots.
Looks like it's been on fire!
Kind of looks like it has scales. I see where the lizard name comes from. Can't wait to see the color.
It's a crackle chameleon paint job?
petegossett wrote: It's a crackle chameleon paint job?
With the cost of chameleon paint I'd be VERY pissed at myself right now if this had been chameleon paint
Oh! Oh! I know what color it is!
Without actually seeing it yet, I am guessing that it probably looks just fine. My wife would kill me if we used that paint anywhere on my car so I am glad that you used it up!
I was actually thinking about chameleon paint on my race wheels until I priced it... gonna go with whatever color I have an extra rattle can of...
tb wrote: used it up!
This makes me think I know what you are thinking, but this was paint I had to go get, rattlecans, not auto paint, nothing I had leftover. (but you are thinking the paint from my daughter's car aren't you? which was very tempting)
In reply to JThw8:
Ok, so I DON'T know what color it is, then. Not the first time I have been wrong, probably not the last...
I really liked your daughter's car color and I can understand how it would be very tempting. You are really going all out on this one, buying rattle cans and everything!
tb wrote: In reply to JThw8: Ok, so I DON'T know what color it is, then. Not the first time I have been wrong, probably not the last... I really liked your daughter's car color and I can understand how it would be very tempting. You are really going all out on this one, buying rattle cans and everything!
It was a very valid guess, if I had wanted to do a "real" paint job on this I was thinking about using that.
Finally got my front control arms back from the shop today. After 3 weeks of getting nowhere with a 20 ton press they had to torch the old ball joints out. Yeafun. Now I have most everything to put the front end together, with the control arms on and the steering mounted I can measure for the new tie rods I'll need to make.
In the rear I have pretty much everything now so I'll start on that very soon as well. I'm just waiting on the flywheel to come back from the machine shop to mount the motor. When using a bus motor with a bug transaxle you need to move the pilot bearing from the crankshaft to the flywheel as the shaft is shorter on the bug transmission. The stock pilot bearing works fine in the flywheel, you just have to machine it out a bit for a press fit.
Seat belts arrived today so aside from miscellaneous hardware I have most everything I need. Only thing left on the shopping list are wheels (that's in the works) fuel tank (looking for a small, cheap 3-5 gallon tank or cell), front shocks (need to measure for them once the front end is together) and hmmm, I guess that's it. So I pretty much have everything I need. This should reassemble pretty quick at this point, but I have to head out of town next week so that may create a slight delay.
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