Says the guy with the LS-powered, tube-chassis, Porsche in his garage! :lol:

Hey Jim! :thumbsup: I'll work on those pics. :lol:

I'm thinking about this for a grille now. I still have to figure out if I can get the steering rack tucked behind it - after we get the upper control arms in place.
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/246.jpg

I would hammerform the shell from sheet aluminum. It would make a nice teaching tool/learning process for the interns because it would incorporate CAD/CNC to design it, unroll the individual panels, cut them from flat sheet, cut a wooden buck to form the sheet metal over, actual hand fabrication to form it, and TIG welding to make it whole.

Another trick process would be to do the front panel by CAD/CNC, whittling a piece of thicker sheet down to the thickness of the other panels, with the Ford logo left embossed on it.

I have a really trick idea for incorporating my mesh grille into it, but I need to step back, wait for the suspension, and really think it through though, before investing a ton of CAD time into it.

Grrrr! :mad: Once again, utter failure. This time something is wrong with their ShopBot. Some expert from the company came in and supposedly fine-tuned and tweaked the machine a couple days ago. The result? For me, it destroyed half of my material. Between the failed casting session and yesterday's disaster, I just lost sixteen hours that could have been spent doing client design projects, which would have paid to subcontract these parts out, and allowed me to keep my focus on design.

I am honestly ready to pack my $#!+ up and move on... :willy:

Anyway, using a couple of the failed pieces, here's a mock-up that (if you squint) will reveal the unique little couple profile I've been seeing in my head all this time. Eventually, I will realize this...
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/247.jpg

Evan, one of my most talented/faithful, interns, has been whittling away at the upper front suspension mounts. He finished the two rear brackets today, and we tacked them in place.
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/248.jpg

And, he has the motor clamp almost there...
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/249.jpg


We're still trying to get the CNC router table working properly, but I did manage to get eight decent-enough pieces for the luggage bags cut; and think it's stable enough to get the rest of the roof's ribs and stringers cut - if we can't find the problem soon.

Drag radials, for the ultimate dyno sessions.
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/250.jpg

Amanda milled the front upper control arm mounting plate edges straight and true.
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/251.jpg


The front suspension is inching closer and closer...
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/252.jpg

Words to live by right there... :thumbsup:

:thumbsup: Wow, a year later - oh, how I violated the first part of that statement:

As penance, the beatings will be intensified - you know, to make sure it isn't mistaken for a little cream puff. :yes:

I have a LOT of time in designing the maze of systems in the front of this car, and just as much more left to invest in it; not to mention the time it takes to realize each ridiculous part and system I design. The concept of leaving both drivetrains, and all the suspension, exposed has been in place since earlier this summer, and is playing out beautifully - sort of a performing art type thing - like the toned, muscular, physique of an athlete's body in the tights they wear for competition; why cover it up with baggy "clothes".

The one area I have struggled to nail is the grille; mainly because it serves no real purpose other than adding an element of distinction to Schism's pretty face - lipstick. Seeing the front suspension coming, tangibly, together, and being better able to imagine all the mechanical art woven into that tiny space, it finally became apparent to me what the problem was - a real antique style grille, with a shell, and filler panel, is too much. It's out of balance. Your eyes want to feast on how it all works together, and a full grille covers that function. What's needed is the suggestion of a grille; like the horseshoe on a Bugatti Veyron. It's only function is to make it clear who is responsible for what you're about to witness.

In this case, it's my interpretation of what ol' Henry did a century ago. So, I came up with the idea of a 1913 style "grille", that is merely a CAD/CNC billet aluminum trim ring, with my coveted carbon fiber mesh insert. To test the idea, I whittled a mockup panel from a scrap piece of acrylic on the ShopBot, and used a heat gun (with weights clamped to the top and bottom) to roll it, just a touch, over a piece of PVC tubing. I used smoked acrylic to get a hint of what it might look like in carbon fiber and black anodized aluminum.
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/253.jpg
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ldpics/254.jpg

IMO, it works. It's adding something to the whole, because it makes you want to investigate what's peeking through from behind it. It also seems to tie the little headlights into the bigger picture.

Now, if they could just get the ShopBot fixed so I can finish cutting my roof panels. It cuts 2D perfectly, but goes ballistic in the middle of 3D machining; seems software related...

If it was mine - I'd make a sheet metal grill ala the way you're doing it - but the holes would be round dimple die cut... and maybe in a pattern using two or three different diameters... instead of the squares. The motor is round - the tires and wheels are round - your "top" is rounded off... you have some rounded mounts going on in front etc.:D


Just my .01 worth.

I'm gonna get some square wheels and tires to balance it out. :lol:

While I do like the different diameter dimple die cut panel (would be really cool on the right old hot rod - kinda seeing like a slat flats theme), I have a bug up my azz about making this mesh grille (minus the big shell):
http://toddperkinsdesign.com/images/...ms/art/036.jpg

I just cut the squares in the acrylic to squint and get a feel for the 1913 grille shape in mesh.

You comin' to Columbus this summer, with the '32? :yes: