I wanted to start on the center tunnel and shifter, but since everything connects to everything else, that means having the coolant lines in place first. If they’re needed than may as well work on the coolant system first, which means the radiator mounting needs to be finished – so it was. It’s now properly mounted; no more clunky blocks of wood and shims that keep shifting position; having it done helps quite a bit psychologically and cleans up a few loose ends.
Also finished up the steering rack, which will be accurately mocked-up to best determine steering column placement. This time I’ll make sure there’s no foot interference! Speaking of feet, there’s going to be tons of foot room and space for a dead pedal. I may even move the driver’s seat forward some.
Making great headway on the book. The latest addition are the Coolant, Fuel, and Brake System chapters. So far it’s working out fairly well, the book is staying just ahead of the build so that what’s being built tests out the manuscript.
Work on the fuel tank is moving along in parallel – and independently. If I was building just one car I’d model it in cardboard and have it done by now. The catch is, many of you want to build one as well and that means having accurate drawings. That means knowing bend allowances – which I don’t. Instead of spending time on that while I can be working on the car, a local metal fabricator was contacted and they reverse-engineered my overall tank drawing to produce the proper panel drawings. To be sure the drawings are accurate means working off them, so they’re CNC-cutting them – the ultimate test. While it costs money it speeds up the project by at least several weeks.