Mid- Engine Modified Sports

[tauruck]

Excellent idea Neil.

[fordboy628]

Neil,

AGAIN,  fantastic attention to detail!!

Where the heck where you when I was wrenching GTP??   Really could have used your fabricating skills . . . . . . .

 
Fordboy

[Rex Schimmer]

Fordboy,
Whose GTP car did you wrench on? What year?

Rex

[manta22]

I got the throttle pedal return stop put in this morning. I think it will work OK.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[manta22]

This afternoon I made some skirting to seal the firewall gap. In the photo, one is in place but not drilled or riveted. The far side is just a cardboard template that I used to cut out these pieces; I'm using it to locate two holes that need to be drilled out.

This stuff is Inconel 718-- a high temperature stainless. Cutting it is not easy- neither is drilling holes. I'll probably throw away two #30 cobalt drills before I'm finished with these two pieces.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[manta22]

Well, I threw away one #30 high speed drill after only drilling one hole with it. I switched to a cobalt drill and I've now drilled 9 holes with it so far. A HF stepped drill also went into the trash.

After cleaning the pieces with denatured alcohol, I bonded a layer of heat insulation to each piece. The stuff is a woven textile fabric with a layer of aluminum on one side. It looks like tan fiberglass but it is "amorphous silica" fiber that is good to 1800F. The aluminum melts off well below that- it is just for heat reflection. I'll post a picture or two tomorrow.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[wheelrdealer]

I got the throttle pedal return stop put in this morning. I think it will work OK.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Neil:

I was looking at your pedals and it looks like they are mounted on the floor. Remember to anti-seize or grease them up a bunch so the salt that falls off of your shoes does not get in the shafts. My brakes and clutch worked fine for speedweek but were frozen solid by the time we towed back to Florida. It took some work and W-D40 to get them working where we could un load it. An aluminum cover might help too.
When I reworked my car in 2013 I hung the pedals to avoid the issue.

Like always the craftsmanship of your build is top notch. Not criticizing just passing on my experience.

Take care,

Bill

[manta22]

Thanks, Bill. I did coat the shaft that the pedals pivot on with Amsoil synthetic grease. I'd prefer to have put in hanging pedals like you have but my car is not very tall (to say the least) so there wasn't room for those- unless my feet were turned around backwards. 

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[wobblywalrus]

Neil, there is a lot of quality variance in HSS drills.  The Norseman ones, made here in the US, give good service.

[manta22]

Neil, there is a lot of quality variance in HSS drills.  The Norseman ones, made here in the US, give good service.

WW;

It was a good US- made drill, probably Cleveland or similar. I think I let the cutting edge dwell just a fraction of a second too long and it work-hardened the Inconel.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[fordboy628]

Fordboy,
Whose GTP car did you wrench on? What year?

Rex

Cooke Racing Lola  1982

Was not a year I want to remember.

F/B

[manta22]

The firewall skirts are now fastened in place with Avex countersunk rivets. I used Blue Goo under the skirts to keep out as much salt as possible. In the photo you can see the tabs that the vertical firewall bolts on to. This curves it around a bit and these skirts seal the area that would otherwise be open. When I'm finished I'll seal the cracks with 3M Fire Putty.

I'm working on a couple of brackets to mount the fire bottle nozzles in the engine bay. They will be pointed at the headers & oil pan per the rule book.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Glen]

Neil, nice work as usual.

[manta22]

Thanks, Glen.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[manta22]

Here are a couple of pictures that show what I'm using as an additional insulation over my firewall. It is a woven fabric of "96% amorphous silica" fiber with a thin aluminum layer bonded onto the fabric. The aluminum reflects radiant heat and the fabric is an insulating layer.

in the picture of the aluminum side, the funny-looking bars are the reflection of the shop fluorescent lights.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ