LOLA T70 scratch build...

[Marcus]

And some pics of the gearlever mechanism:

[Johan]

sweet !

[Johan]

Watch those things, mine tried to kill me !

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by Johan

Watch those things, mine tried to kill me !

Phew...thanks for telling me. You had them replaced by the same type?

[Marcus]

The first shy mock-up...

[David Sturch]

Zeegates
Looking good Marcus.
Dave

[Marcus]

Not much work on the chassis recently...BUT in the meantime the injection system has arrived.
A BBC Kinsler/Lucas injection with Cosworth mechanical fuel pump. All I´m still needing to complete the injection set up is the Lucas unit setting the system under presssure for starting.

Hope the engine - once complete -will kick me the real deal one day...

[Marcus]

An Update:
Now with all the chassis panels being fabricated, it´s time to get to a really "hot" issue:
Panel bending.
Before bending the bigger panels (inner sidepods and doublers) with their correct bending sequence and the right direction (90 deg. to direction of rolling) we fabricated some 2024 T3 probes, 1,5 millimeters thick, for testing beforehand. What a pain in the a..

By using a hydraulic sheet metal bending machine we made several attempts using a torch, sheet inlays, bending speeds and angles in order to find the right approach towards bending that stuff. So some time and an impressive number of cracked probes later we think we found a passable way for avoiding cracks along the bend line:
Given that you have to bend the above panels to an angle of 90 deg. and the bending radius can be at least 3 times that of the panel´s thickness, a good way of avoiding stress on the material is to bend in two steps of 45 deg. each along slightly displaced bend lines. For example if you have to bend 90 deg. we had very good results by bending 1mm to the one side of the bend line to 45 deg. and bending another 45 deg. 1 mm to the other side of the bend line which totals to 90 deg. By adopting that, we didn´t even have to heat up the panels along the bend line which is very difficult doing it evenly, anyway. Sounds very simple and is perhaps an old trick, but at least it seems to work fine.

Any other opinions, ideas?

Best,
Marcus

[Scott Calabro]

Hi Marcus,

This link may help, specifically page 4-13, Par. 4-55;

http://rgl.faa.gov/REGULATORY_AND_GU...apter%2004.pdf

Regards,
Scott

[Marcus]

Thanks Scott, interesting read.

Here are some more pics of the finished chassis panels, some of which are waiting to get bent:

[Marcus]

Along the way with the chassis build I´m trying to get all the parts which are not that easy to find. So it seems a good idea to seize the opportunity whenever something comes up. Latest is the Chevy-Hewland LG cast adaptor:

[Marcus]

Assembly is now hopefully due shortly. Already at this stage it becomes clear that some panels need reworking to make them all fit together smoothly...oh dear:

[EGLITOM]

Hi Marcus

I didn´t knew that ESPRIT is selling LOLA Tubs:-)))

YOur chassis looks great

TOM

[Marcus]

Thank you Tom. You´ve got sharp eyes.
You´re witnessing the traces of the rivalry between me and my wife for storage space.
Soon I´ll move to proper workshop premises.

Best,
Marcus

[Marcus]

Very slow progress over the last couple of months due do work commitments and the build of a new workshop.

However, got a set of clutch and brake pedals fabricated to original spec by Hugh Absolom, Wokingham UK, of Diamond Racing fame who also organised whatever else was needed such as plating and then sending the finished pedals to Germany. They came out beautifully. You can get Hugh under +44 1189737973 or habsolom@aol.com

Needless to say they also passed my neighbour´s quality control check (see above post #79) with ease...

[Walt]

That is amazing! I love the cad plate what detail. I find your work on this whole project to be tremendous and inspirational. I have dreamed of building a T-70 for years. I have always dismissed it due to money and material constraints. Your scratch build seems to have got a spark burning again. My concerns have always been the chassis and tracking down the body panels. I wanted to base mine on a ford power plant, having more experience and parts. I don't want to hijack the thread, but share my sense of awe at what you have done so far. Please, keep it up!