In reply to jmc14 :
Your Cheetah-inspired roadster is one of the builds I look at and think "man, that guy's good." So I consider your comment to be high praise indeed. Thanks for following along!
In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :
thanks man! I hope it works.
Sleeves bolted in place:
CAD layout:
2D printed:
Dinner break now, will transfer from 2D print to scraps of boat gas tank post-meal.
E36 M3 almost looks like you're a fabricator at this point
Patrick (Forum Supporter) said:E36 M3 almost looks like you're a fabricator at this point
Thank you!
2D transferred to 5052 (remnants of boat gas tank) and clamped in place:
cleaned, welded, and bolted in place. All dimensions are spot-on:
then I bent up a filler strip to react buckling forces and to make the bracket look more finished:
and melted it in:
and now I can move on to, well, something else. I need to do coolant tubes and fuel lines before I start on the wiring and throttle linkage. I also need to heavily modify the drivers side header. I think I might tackle the header while I'm in a fabricating mood.
Looks good, dude. You've taken to the TIG quickly.
I do appreciate that your welding bench is a wooden saw-horse.
If you found someone to send you some block huggers you wouldn't need to modify the headers you have. 
I'd send you some if I had any spares. I may have some factory manifolds laying around, but shipping would SUUUUUUCK. Also so would flow.
In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks! I kinda feel halfway OK with my welds. I'm sure they're structurally sound but they only look "good" about 25-50% of the time. I'm actually pretty psyched about this bracket, because I think my design was good and my process was kinda clever. No rocket surgery, just kinda clever.
Whiteboard says:
so I started with gas tank mounts. Mocked up, measured, started cleaning for welds and realized I never filled it up with water to check for leaks. Had to revise whiteboard. "Fix pinholes" is the new number one. Total of 5 leaks in 4 locations.
Looking good.
You're so good about laying out the plan on paper/whiteboard/cardboard/scrap metal. I'm much more of a "cut it until it fits" kind of person. Going to work on that.
barefootskater said:If you found someone to send you some block huggers you wouldn't need to modify the headers you have.
I'd send you some if I had any spares. I may have some factory manifolds laying around, but shipping would SUUUUUUCK. Also so would flow.
How badly? Are these Corvette manifolds? I could use them on the LT1 in my 75.
vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:barefootskater said:If you found someone to send you some block huggers you wouldn't need to modify the headers you have.
I'd send you some if I had any spares. I may have some factory manifolds laying around, but shipping would SUUUUUUCK. Also so would flow.
How badly? Are these Corvette manifolds? I could use them on the LT1 in my 75.
Dang, wish I had known. I gave my C4 LT1 manifolds to the guy who bought all my sawblades.
cmcgregor (Forum Supporter) said:Looking good.
You're so good about laying out the plan on paper/whiteboard/cardboard/scrap metal. I'm much more of a "cut it until it fits" kind of person. Going to work on that.
I have three reasons / goals with the logical planning and execution:
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:cmcgregor (Forum Supporter) said:Looking good.
You're so good about laying out the plan on paper/whiteboard/cardboard/scrap metal. I'm much more of a "cut it until it fits" kind of person. Going to work on that.
I have three reasons / goals with the logical planning and execution:
- i'm forgetful;
- I want to win Best Engineered;
- I want to show people that elephants can be eaten by nearly anyone with a reasonable appetite and some silverware.
Maybe power-silverware.
In reply to angusmf :
My cutlery collection has improved since that first bite almost 2 years ago.
Just wanted to say that alternator bracket looks awesome--good work!
In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :
Negative, vortec truck manifolds. At least I'm pretty sure they're still around. I'll look tomorrow.
Your bracket game is ON POINT.
DAAAaaaayum! That alternator bracket is slicker'n cat E36 M3 on linoleum.
You've really picked up TIG and Aluminum for that matter real quick. Keep at it you'll be tig welding cages upside down in no time.
Kicking ass so far today. 12:20PM, just woke up. Got a nice little Saturday going.
Good job on the alternator!
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:Kicking ass so far today. 12:20PM, just woke up. Got a nice little Saturday going.
so you're well rested and fresh to get back out there! thanks again for the advice the other week, it definitely helped.
Still chasing pinhole leaks. Who knew learning aluminum TIG on a gas tank would be fraught with peril?
These are unique locations. i think every time I put heat into it to fix one, the thermal expansion and contraction causes at least one more. Currently on Round 5 with only one leak so far. Anybody know if POR15 gas tank sealer sticks to aluminum?!?!
Swing by Duram NC on your way to/from the Challenge, and my pal will fix ya right up!
Since you are "only" chasing "pin" holes, you are head and shoulders above me! My steel tank repairs did not do half as well!
1000th post in this thread, might as well be a (minor) update.
my buddy Jay agreed with me that Rev1 of the trans mount attachment tabs looked like ass, so we plotted on making them better-looking and stronger. Before (steel) and after (CAD):
so today at lunchtime I traced the CAD onto a usable drop of 16ga:
I'll cut and bend tonight, maybe even weld 'em in if the gods are smiling.
i also re-flowed what I hope is the last leak in the gas tank. It's raining today so I have to revise my test setup, ie move from the garden to the laundry sink.
Once I get 100% pass, I'll weld on the mounting tabs and leak-check it *again*, to be sure I didn't introduce new leak(s).
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