Project Schism - another offbeat '23 Ford T

[toddshotrods]

The organic crossmember/muffler mount "seed" we planted is growing nicely.






Starting on the crossmembers for the roll bar stanchions.




More work on the shifter.







And, every once in a while we mock it all up again to make sure all the individual components are contributing something meaningful to the whole.



Edit: I need to buy a can of Troy's bare metal stuff - second year in a row I walked away from Goodguys without it. It's Poteet's damn Talledega (sp?)! I can't think straight when I'm around that puppy!

[toddshotrods]

One of the guys finished hammering the plates, so yesterday I welded the I-beam shifter mount up. Next come the rocker arm mounts, and hours and hours of grinding and shaping.







With that firmly underway, we've started on the floor-mount pedal assembly. More steel plate (mostly .250", purposely over-engineered for abuse tolerance), plasma cut, grind, grind, grind. We're using the pivots, and crank sections, of the Honda Accord brake pedals with our own foot lever sections. I was going to keep the ratio the same to keep the original feel, but Schism is so small that we need to reduce the overall size, so the effort will be increased a bit.

The funny-shaped (un-cut) piece is the main mounting plate. It will have a clevis that straddles the left front frame rail, and the little arm section will bolt to the front lateral main box frame section. The arms will be in clevises that extend up off the main plate. The slots are for the crank sections to reach down under the floor. They'll push rods extending back to rear mounted master cylinders, just behind the driver's seat. Access to them will be gained by flipping that seat up and opening an access panel. The ECU, fuses, etc, will located behind the passenger seat, and accessed the same way.

[toddshotrods]

I forgot this one. Now that the rear crossmember is taking shape, we were able to resume work on the rear motor mount - specifically, the main gusset. A little more trimming and shaping and this will be ready to weld.

[toddshotrods]

The push is on for me now to get most of my ideas underway, or at least mocked-up, to find out how it all works together, and where changes may be needed. I've been at it all week, sacrificing sleep for progress. Today, I cut the foam dash plug. Along with the shifter, and pedals, we have to hang the steering column, and the dash and electric motor controls, to find out just how little room there is inside that tiny cowl.






I like vehicle interiors that are design statements, not just traditional interior components with special coverings and finishes. I get why most need to be that way, but for radical custom projects, why not go beyond "normal" inside too? The major manufacturers do with their concept vehicles, and some of the higher end hot rod/custom builds go there. With Schism, I'm trying to make the interior look scupltured, like it was carved from stone, and hammered from metal, by ancient Romans and Greeks; more chariot than car. Now that we're starting to hang parts in there, that theme is beginning to become more perceptible, I hope...



The contrasting bare materials will be like an inverted image of these renderings, but I like how they work together.

[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!