It took a little while, but here is the first of a few short driving vids I am uploading to YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMv6TRs0Nnk

Another showing the latch mechanism for the bonnet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BlOX_lS2SI

I have an mp3 audio file of a full-throttle run up to 7,500rpm and the turbo spooling sounds so nice... but the wind noise mucks it up... so I think I'll try to record it again with a cover for the mic. The engine has a bad stutter between 4-5K rpm that I am trying to diagnose.

Hi Steve,

I'm sure you would agree....THERE'S NOTHING LIKE DRIVING A CAR YOU'VE MADE FROM SCRATCH!

And your's is especially cool!

Thanks for sharing.

Dick Bear

Stunning! The amount of work you have put into this project has really paid off.

So true Dick, so true!

The last couple of bits are being worked on now. I need to have the tail light housings machined, the front headlamp buckets fabricated and mounted, clear polycarb lens covers and some interior panels, windshield mounted and a wiper mounted...

ok, so there's still plenty to do...

But I did get the bodywork latches and hinges finished last week.

I'll take some photos this weekend for ya!

I managed to take another video after working 8 hours on the car today- it's a good video! If you want to see the shape of my car you really should watch it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4X5p5LJzHI

Here are a bunch of photos of the bodywork and interior bits coming together.

In this first image you can make the outline of the headlamp covers. Notice the windshield frame is back in place. Also you can see there are some nice specular highlights that really show off the shape well! I LIKE!


The dash and the center console are coming together nicely. Both pieces are made of 1" polyurethane board covered in 1 layer of fiberglass, then upholstered with thin foam and marine grade vinyls. The dash vinyl has a carbonfiber pattern to it while the center console is more like a cloth material but very heavyduty.


I cut out the holes for the tail lights. I have been planning to use some machined aluminum tubes but most recently I discovered that the local hardware store carries a 4" black pvc pipe fitting that is almost identical in dimension to what I need. This is of course much less expensive than having a machine shop make the housings. Approx 1/20th the cost! There is still some machining required on the pvc, but minimal at best.


One of the issues I was coming up with was where to place the fuel filler door. Adding a fuel filler pocket to the bodywork, and then a door and hinge is extra complexity and expense I didn't want to deal with. Since the rear decklid needs to move rearwards to clear the rollhoop before tilting up, why not place the fuel filler under the rear decklid? This following photo shows the decklid in the intermediate rotation of the main hinge. It's really a natural position for the decklid and I have a strong gas strut installed that helps lift the decklid forward when closing.


And the bodywork in fully open position front and rear.


Finally, here you can see that long double jointed hinge at the rear and the gas assist strut that helps lift the decklid when closing. it works quite well.




I hope I haven't bored you.

Steve

wow!!

very nice

Looks terrific Steve, and the sound of the latches is really reassuring. What kind of latches are they? Old VW Beetle?

quote:

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Originally posted by Mave
Looks terrific Steve, and the sound of the latches is really reassuring. What kind of latches are they? Old VW Beetle?

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