Drilled lots of holes, switching back-and-forth between the air/battery-powered drills when the compressor/battery needed a break. Added a couple diagonals across the forward floor. The thinking is that people will step into the seat first, then slide down into it. Getting out however, they’ll likely put most or all of their weight on the floor. Since it’s only 0.050″ aluminum, additional support is needed; I hope the 0.75″ stiffeners are enough… maybe should have gone with 1″.
At the end of the day, the next panel to do was the one below the fuel tank, but to make sure it fits perfectly, the panel under the engine may as well be installed first. That means it’s finally time to deal with the last undefined area of the design: the side air-inlets ahead of the rear wheels. The car will be sat back down, spaced off the table at its designed-to ground clearance. One rear suspension will be bolted on, one wheel, a fender (and maybe a panel riveted-on behind it.) Then, various paper patterns will be tested out to see if there’s a mix of functionality and aesthetics that’s acceptable. The trick’s going to be to come up with a shape that’s single-plane bends yet decent-looking. Good stuff!