Project Update May 13th, 2017: Lots of little details to show in this 3-part update (well, on most forums). We will show transmission tunnel structure fabrication, aluminum interior and firewall panels construction, sheet steel cowl structure, custom wiper motor mounting, body panel assembly, Tilton fluid reservoir mounting, defroster box installation, composite dash panel installation, shifter/linkage installation, and more.
TRANSMISSION TUNNEL & SHIFT LINKAGE
The design of the transmission tunnel structure is important on this car because of several reasons: it has to house the driveshaft (which due to the live axle will move vertically), it has to house the X-merge and both main pipes of the dual 3" exhaust, the tunnel has to leave interior room for both the driver and passenger, it has to incorporate a flat floor design (so it is taller than normal), and it will have removable panels - for easier access during maintenance and repairs. The tubular structure and panels should also provide additional structure to the center of the chassis.
Ryan had the shifter mount structure above already built, which was based on some earlier exhaust mock-ups and from the customer's driving position, when he did a "test sit" in several seats. He then created tubular structure to tie this into the rear bulkhead/crossbar structure, which put the shifter on more solid footing. The shifter will also have a Nomex shifter booth covering the opening in the tunnel.
This tubular structure will be used to mount the aluminum sheet panels and tie into the firewall forward, shown in another section below.
The remote shifter was mounted to this structure, then the rod ends and shift linkages were built (2 of the 3). This was done before construction of the exhaust system to help route the 3" exhaust tubes away from the rods. All of this fits inside the tunnel, which can be accessed from below or removed from above.
FRONT END ASSEMBLY
Ryan (our CNC operator) helped (fabricator) Ryan reassemble the front sheet metal and splitter to the chassis. This was the first time all of the front body panels and sanded/blended front splitter have been on the car together.
This was needed to align the height of the floor panels with the main plane of the splitter.
We also needed to see where the body panels would need to meet up with the soon to be built firewall.
The front flares and canards were also reattached to the front sheet metal.
COMPOSITE DASH INSTALLATION
Using a metal dash in a car built like this doesn't make a lot of sense, so we ordered a VFN fiberglass 69 Camaro dash with the customer's blessing. Installing this inside of the elaborate roll cage structure would prove to be a challenge. Nothing is ever easy on a race car
First, the bottom section of the OEM shaped dash had to be clearanced to clear the cage mounted steering column brackets that were used. These billet brackets hang down from the "dash bar" of the cage, shown below.
After the bottom section was clearanced it cleared the column, but there was no way to get it in between the A-pillar down bars and FIA compliance vertical bars in the roll cage structure.
continued below