IT'S TIME!! The GRM Free Europa 2020 Challenge Build!!

In reply to Stefan :

Second one may work.  No power in there for the first.  I seem to remember that the second one has an optional wireless remote for extension or retraction.  Would be handy

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Yeah, I really like the ATV winch. Plus, they are 12V. 

Some scrap pipe + a couple of carabiners= a pretty stout trapeze.  

In reply to SVreX :

Get some real carabineres, or at least some threaded links.

In reply to Woody :

I’ll use threaded  links before I load it. Those were what I had handy.  (Although each of them is rated in excess of the weight of that body).

A threaded link the same size will have like a 20X safety margin. 

Thanks for looking out for me. 

SVreX said:

In reply to Woody :

I’ll use threaded  links before I load it. Those were what I had handy.  (Although each of them is rated in excess of the weight of that body).

A threaded link the same size will have like a 20X safety margin. 

Thanks for looking out for me. 

I was looking out for the Europa.

In reply to SVreX :

Even those links that you have now should be loaded in the other direction.

I’ve got several days of automotive Tetris before I can get anywhere close to the body in the back of this container. 

SVreX said:

At least it was rust free...

Have you checked the backbone? 

In reply to spitfirebill :

Yes. 

(But that was intended as a joke)

SVreX said:

In reply to spitfirebill :

Yes. 

(But that was intended as a joke)

I know.  Just poking the bear.  

Oh man progress!!  How are you cutting with no power?  What's the width of the container..  I don't thinglk the car will fit after the widebody is applied.  

Are there those hooks at front and rear?  Could you rig up a pipe that runs along the container in the middle (like a beam) and use a couple of HF wheels as a trolley?  Then you could move the body forward and back some in case it doesn't drop straight down.

This is awesome.

In reply to SVreX :

So glad to see this moving along..... also glad you did not start with the black AW11, this car was a much more suitable donor for the project! Just make sure you are current on all your vaccinations!

Now I know what you were asking about the 2GR-FE. I kinda wish you could have saved some of that MR2s interior, it looks like some of the wild, tacky shirts you can buy through Amazon.

Try to keep the original air intake from the Solara for the 2GR- some of them react poorly to having a straighter intake due to emissions requirements in the ECU. Not sure if the Solara fuel pump will fit in the AW11 hanger, but I can find pics when I did my fuel pump and can post them for reference. 

As for power to the container- look for CL and FB marketplace ads for solar batteries/off grid batteries/ect. and the like. You can build small solar circuits for basic lights and such decently cheap, since people seem to always be getting rid of Harbor Freight Thunderbolt solar panels and used inverters. I need to build one, come to think of it...

In reply to nocones :

I’m cutting with battery tools. I have a generator, and will use it occasionally. 

I’m hoping to move it to my home garage when it is further along.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

There was no chance whatsoever of saving any of the interior. Total hazmat. 

I'm so stoked to see the mr2 have a second life. MR. Joshua got that out of my buddies yard. It had been there for a long time. He was going to scrap it and I convinced him to let me post it here. That car was a mess lol. This is going to be an epic build! Best of Luck. 

In reply to B13Birk :

Your buddy is an interesting character. He has a lot of Bohemian flair!

Can we talk a little about the tube frame idea?

While most of the dimensions of the MR2 fit astoundingly well, there is a conflict I am dealing with which may make the MR2 chassis almost unworkable.  Still thinking it through...

What would it take for a completely inexperienced builder with no welding capability to put together a tube framed chassis for this project?  Are there templates or models?  Are there any approaches that would enable considering doing this within budget?

Any welders or chassis builders near SC want to be on the team?  Haha!

What I am realizing is fixing the conflicts will be just as complex as building a chassis from scratch, and the end result will be a butcher job (instead of a beautiful tube frame chassis).

I'm debating whether I need to fish or cut bait, or if there is an alternative approach that could keep this alive.

Thoughts?

(I know I left out the progress update.  I will back track and add it- just want to discuss the tube frame for a little bit)

Cut bait and send it to me an option? Yes, im a vulture. 

What is the unresolvable conflict?

And morgan has been making ash framed cars forever, so it IS possible for a carpenter.....

In reply to SVreX :

I think Dr. Hess May have the recipe for a tube frame. 

SVreX said:

Can we talk a little about the tube frame idea?

While most of the dimensions of the MR2 fit astoundingly well, there is a conflict I am dealing with which may make the MR2 chassis almost unworkable.  Still thinking it through...

What would it take for a completely inexperienced builder with no welding capability to put together a tube framed chassis for this project?  Are there templates or models?  Are there any approaches that would enable considering doing this within budget?

Any welders or chassis builders near SC want to be on the team?  Haha!

What I am realizing is fixing the conflicts will be just as complex as building a chassis from scratch, and the end result will be a butcher job (instead of a beautiful tube frame chassis).

I'm debating whether I need to fish or cut bait, or if there is an alternative approach that could keep this alive.

Thoughts?

  

FWIW, I went through a whole scope creep scenario with the car I'm building. Initially it was going to be a 4 cylinder/turbo swap and call it good. Then a series of realizations and roadblocks finally got me to the point where building a whole new tube chassis was simpler than doing all the other cutting, patching and welding to make the original vision work. I was looking at a Vorshlag Camaro build thread and I actually had the thought that I could mimic their chassis in wood. I bought a chop saw, a couple more grinders and took a community college welding course. I'm building my first ever car versus bolting components to existing cars. You can do it, too. Finding a welder team mate would be great, but if you can't recruit help, then start practicing your welding. Here's the front third of my chassis, for example.....

After 2 weeks of automotive Tetris, I got the Europa body suspended from the ceiling, stacked above the MR2.  This let me do lots of careful cutting, trimming, and measuring.  I could plumb down from one car to the other and check things really carefully in 3D, including the curve of the body panels, etc.

Everything was checking out surprisingly well.  Wheelbase, support points, fender liners, strut towers, cowl location, rockers, center tunnel.  LOTS of good stuff.

The challenge appears to be the outside corners of the A-pillar.  The "firewall" is in the right place, but the Europa body rolls in radically at the top of the doors.  Basically, the structure at the cowl and base of the windshield is too wide by about 4"on each side.  This corner of the A-pillar is what supports the horns that attach the front strut towers.  Cutting it out will mean there is nothing supporting the entire front.

Can it be fixed?  Sure.  It would mean a dash hoop, and a new intersection to support the front strut towers.  That's an enormous effort to save a raggedly chassis.  By the time I move everything in the "firewall", build a new narrower structure, and resupport the front half of the car, I will have done every bit as much work as building a tube frame.

So, now is the time to ask if a tube frame is feasible.

SVreX said:

What would it take for a completely inexperienced builder with no welding capability to put together a tube framed chassis for this project?  

Buy yourself a MIG welder, an auto-dimming helmet and some 1” square tubing. Make yourself a welding cart and then a welding table. Then use the old chassis as a template for your new one. 

You will be a good welder when you’re done.