Project Schism - another offbeat '23 Ford T

[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.

[toddshotrods]

Working in Rhino again, because this is mainly to develop patterns for hand cutting and grinding the brackets, I think (if I decide to have them laser cut the same CAD files will work), I finally have the front suspension sorted out.

At the same time, I also finally settled on a plan for headlights. Those tiny little pivoting balls in the front upper control arm brackets are the headlights! They'll be fitted with really powerful LEDs, and will hopefully provide enough light to at least get off the road until dawn.

A couple full mock-up poses - please disregard the fact that the CV joints and upper control arm mounts try to occupy the same space, that will be corrected with longer axles, c-notched upper plates, and a really trick chain-driven differential.





We also have a new intern. She showed up at my office door yesterday evening and asked if she could join in on the fun, then hit the ground running by working on the center holes for the brake and clutch master cylinder mount. I measured, she did the CAD model for a template to guide the plasma cutter, she cut and ground until they fit nice and snug. The first pic is obviously fresh off the plasma.

[toddshotrods]

Pattern for the basic profile shape of the "fitted luggage" cases that will fill the space between the body and rear drivetrain. The original concept had a larger vintage style faux trunk that would have covered the radiator and fans completely. These will just be small cases, that will probably hold the controllers for the two drivetrains. Ideally, they'll be upholstered to match the seat pads, and they must have antique buckles.




The mount for the master cylinders is coming along.



And the emergency brake:

[toddshotrods]

A couple more steps on the rear suspension.

[toddshotrods]

Long-story-short, I was going to donate Schism to my non-profit, the Inhaler Project, as a teaching tool for training the interns and volunteers, but those plans have been rethought and retracted - I'm keeping my car. Now time to bring this thread up to date:

First of all, I am making some changes to the theme and direction of the vehicle. I've realized that my middle-aged azz is no longer so serious about racing and more into just driving and enjoying life. The theme and direction of, and work on, the vehicle will be accordingly adjusted. I still want as much power as possible, but more for giggle-factor than outright performance. I also realized that I want a roof - even without doors - because, even though I actually love heat, I don't particularly enjoy roasting in direct sunlight; and want to want to drive this car - a lot. This rendering will evolve with my thoughts and preferences.



The front, upper, rear control arm brackets are well underway and should be ready soon.



In the process of trying to convert the car for Inhaler Project purposes, I figured out a way to move the body and electric motor forward for more legroom inside - that's a keeper, so here's one of the interns (it's still being built in the Inhaler Project shop) cutting the front, rearward-most, lower control arm mounts off. The motor mount now replaces them, doing double duty.



The saddle mount plate is being enlarged to reach back to the crossmember. This actually works out better for the motor mount because the counter-rotational force of the motor will be more directly and effectively transmitted into the crossmember.


If you're wondering about the rough hogging process, I am still using Schism as a training took until I get a dedicated project started for the interns and volunteers. I start them all off with hand tools and right angle grinders, so I can see what their natural skill levels are. They're instructed to "leave the lines" when they cut parts out and grind back to the lines. That gives me a lot of time and metal to see if I can develop their hand-eye coordination, before ruining a part; and it's also a test of their work ethic. I eventually handed these parts to one of my "pro" fabricators to finish.




I've started working on the throttle pedal, picking up from where Evan (one of the interns) left off before having to hit the books again.





I suffered an inadvertent external hard drive crash (spilled a mug of coffee on it) and the files in it hadn't been back up yet, so I had to remodel the front upper control arm mounts. That's done, and naturally/probably, a little better the second go-round. We should be cutting these soon.




Finally we're also working on one of my more elaborate systems - the control switches for the electric drive. This is a part that I plan to go way overboard on, including fine-tuning the actual feel of the switches clicking into and out of position. Amanda was doing the right-angle grinding above, but I gave her a break with a little manual mill work on the switch levers.

[toddshotrods]

I had planned to start etching or engraving the patterns directly on the steel, but Curt was ready for more parts, so I rushed these through, the old way, with more laser-cut poster board patterns. I was a little thin around the inside edges of the headlight opening, for some reason, but that's easily corrected while grinding them out. The important part is they're out of my CAD workshop and on the way to being real steel...







I'm also making progress on the roof model. It's just roughed in right now to get the basic shape worked out. I'm attempting to strike a careful balance between Model T, Roaring 20's grand touring cars, and classic Ford, styling cues. I also want the roof, and the whole car, to be heavily stylized, and "artsy". Now, that the basic form is set, I can start working the lumps, bumps, and kinks out, and adding more detail...

[toddshotrods]

Electric motor mount is getting close.




By the time I got those pieces tacked in and the saddle piece rolled, I was pretty psyched about finally seeing the motor in the car but made myself stop because I need to take my time and get everything to fit together and line up, just so...

[toddshotrods]

The front drive system from the electric motor is going to be via chain - just because... To make that happen, I am building my own chain-drive differential. The first version will be from this Toyota Celica GTS diff.

It's open right now, but will be converted with a Phantom Grip LSD; or maybe something stronger, like a Quaiffe, if available. Ultimately, I can do it all over with something stronger, if that proves necessary. Being on the front wheels, it's not likely that I will be able to apply much of the motor's 1000ft-lb capability, so it will probably survive. The real stress is going to come from braking, where the electric drive turns into KERS. The import guys put quite a bit of power through their little FWD diffs, and this is a slightly beeefier IRS/RWD piece, so... We'll see.

[toddshotrods]

I'm kind of working my way from the inside-out on the design, as the car is being physically developed. Old cars were full of levers and pedals and switches, that kind of sets the tone (to me) for the whole vehicle; wonderfully complex and sophisticated.

[toddshotrods]

Sometimes what you're looking for is hiding right under your nose. I purchased this little Toyota diff a couple years ago for a project I decided not to pursue, and it turns out to be perfect for Schism. Distractions and detours pay off sometimes.