Project Schism - another offbeat '23 Ford T

[toddshotrods]

Drivetrain, wiring, and front suspension, pulled from the donor. Now we're laser focused on getting Schism on all fours. We will clean and detail a bit, but the main focus here is on testing the processes and procedures for manufacturing kits and customer builds. I'll being doing a bit of custom stuff now, and will go back and really go crazy on it after a summer of beating the hell out of it.

[preston]

Cool.

Are you familiar with Midlana ? Another lightweight "mid-engine based on a FWD drivetrain" vehicle. No AWD electric power though. You might also check out dpcars.net, one of his many projects is a street rod based chassis car. I just figure we can all use as many design inputs as possible.

[toddshotrods]

Originally Posted by preston

Cool.

Are you familiar with Midlana ? Another lightweight "mid-engine based on a FWD drivetrain" vehicle. No AWD electric power though. You might also check out dpcars.net, one of his many projects is a street rod based chassis car. I just figure we can all use as many design inputs as possible.

Hey thanks Preston! I was familiar with DP Cars, but had not heard of the MidLana before. Pretty similar to what we're up to. The AWD electric thing isn't a production feature, at least not yet. That's a custom feature on my car for research purposes.

[toddshotrods]

Now that the donor car is pretty much stripped, we're back to the chassis. We only worked on it for a bit today, but got the main hoop and halo bar fit and tacked. The A-pillar bars, dash and seat brace, and braces down into the front and rear frame rails are next.



If you're wondering what's up with the wooden fixture, it's because we're also developing processes and techniques for educational purposes. The slots for the frame rails are CNC-cut and the fixture is leveled and really stable. The idea actually came from the AME SuperCar chassis kits, and the illustration they show of how it can be done with plywood and pine strips. We're not selling unwelded chassis or wooden fixtures; we just used the technique to demonstrate how modern technology can be combined with old school techniques in manufacturing. We're getting ready for an event with Ohio Department of Education in March and will pitch this as an example.

After this vehicle is on its wheels we plan to start fabricating a monster of a steel frame table for production.

[toddshotrods]

A tiny bit of progress. Things are moving slowly because I am teaching a couple of the team members metal fabrication. They have natural skills, but this is their first time actually working with metal. This shows the quality of the work they're doing. I'm very, very, proud of them.

When we first started on the chassis, I would step in on the more difficult areas; tonight, I watched in amazement as one of the team members carved out notches like she had been doing it for years.


The A-pillar bars are cut, and just need a tiny bit of finesse to be perfect.

[toddshotrods]

A-pillar bars in, and our high-dollar mock-up stool has been retired! The seat bar and some bracing are next, then a little welding, then suspension...

[toddshotrods]

I'm trying to keep the focus on the actual build, and not so much art and design, but will have a little art to guide the way, here and there. The art that the Schism rendering is based on is for the kits. It dawned on me today that I never lowered it from the standard production ride height, to my ride height (3-4", f-r). I did that and also, replaced the side exit exhaust tips with air intakes for the radiator and intercooler, channeled the exhaust out the back, and added the rear cage bars.


We're back to work on it next week, after a week off to work on the Model E. The plan is to get the chassis off the fixture soon, and start skinning it with bodywork.