Project Schism - another offbeat '23 Ford T

[toddshotrods]

Time to update. I'll try to keep the narrative to a minimum, and let the pics do the talking. The pedal assembly is coming along.






I modeled the throttle pedal pad, and cut a wooden plug.



Then had the casting guy at Columbus Idea Foundry (the complex we're being incubated in) cast it.








A little finishing work, and heat treating, and it will be perfect.

[toddshotrods]

Chassis.







Those rear bars angle downward as they go back, kind of giving it a hardtail chopper look.

[toddshotrods]

And finally, a roller coaster ride on the intake, but progress, none-the-less. I cut a foam plug for casting the plenum flange (the same day we cast the throttle pedal pad). First a test, then the actual plug.



I machined it in two halves, hot glued them together, cut a fixture plate in a scrap piece of wood, then hot glued the plug to it and cut the internal runners, while the ShopBot was still zeroed over the fixture. I simply snapped it off the fixture when that was done, and cleaned up the ends of the runners.



Then the casting process began.
.



Unfortunately, this one went bust. There weren't enough sprues (pour holes) and vents, and the gases and aluminum created new cavities right out onto the shop floor.



Like a good horror movie when they show an eye opening, or a hand twitching, this glowing crucible says we live to cast another day...

[toddshotrods]

When I took a second look at the casting, I realized that the most important part of it had actually cast almost perfectly, so we milled the bad parts of, simultaneously milling the top and bottom flat and true. I actually like it more than the original design, so I am in the process of designing a new plenum to cap it off.




More to come...

[Chevette]

When are you going to start making your tires? Lookin' good, Todd.

[toddshotrods]

Originally Posted by Chevette

When are you going to start making your tires? Lookin' good, Todd.

Don't give me any ideas! Thanks!

[toddshotrods]

Here's the new plenum design. At first glance it looks much simpler, mainly because I haven't modeled the real thing yet. This is just a quick mock-up, to make sure I liked the idea. The plenum will be a simple, fabricated, rounded box, aluminum sheet metal piece, with a plate on top to mount the TB. The vintage, oil bath style, air cleaner is actually a hat to feed the boosted air charge into the TB. The top of the air cleaner will have a recess for my Bat-T logo emblem, and will be secured with three or four buckles around the perimeter of the housing. The housing will be sort of bowl shaped. Not seen here, the "snorkel" will roll under and point down towards the oil pan, where the outlet tube from the intercooler will come through.




The roll cage is coming along. We can finally start tying in the rear suspension, with these bars in place.