Mike's drb #41 build

[VMSETHAN]

Thanks to all for the feed back and comments.

Peter,
I will watch the belt tension on AC and see if I need to add a bracket. Heat shield.....my collectors are directly below the top stainless vent panel, so I am not too worried about that yet.... but will keep an eye on it. Maybe do a temp check with a laser thermometer while idling hot.
DRB #49... excellent...I will surely have future questions.
Can you comment on your AC system??? I need to connect the transverse air plenum box outlets(fiberglass ovals) to the eyeball vent... or elect to run fresh air to the eyeballs from NACA ducts....

Current news.
Spent time fabbing front tow hooks and grille panel. Looked at a number of grille options on the blogs/gallery....my preference is for a grille that "seals " the front opening.

Tow hooks first...Using some steel plate and angle...was pretty easy build to fwd tube frame. Aluminum template first to get the hook look and position right.

DSCN8833 - Copy by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

DSCN8835 - Copy by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



Each side was fairly stiff, but I though a spreader bar would be beneficial. Once fabbed and installed, it made a big difference. Capped and tapped some 4130 tubing.....

IMG_4521 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

DSCN8838 - Copy by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



The grill took a little more thinking, but so far so good. 2 machine screws per side to secure it... various parts are riveted together. I used a shrinker/stretcher to curve the aluminum L-angles and match the opening contour. The Grille mesh is steel.

DSCN8843 - Copy by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

DSCN8845 - Copy by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

DSCN8847 - Copy by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

It needs some minor tuning, but otherwise not a bad first effort. I would likely make a few mfg changes on a version 2.0....might do a second one later for a shelf spare.

Still have some grill material left, so moving to aft air intakes.

I also have some parts coming for front brakes ducting...hats, scat ducting, etc....

Next update in the works...Later.

 

[Peter G-Pete Fritsche]

Can you comment on your AC system??? I need to connect the transverse air plenum box outlets(fiberglass ovals) to the eyeball vent... or elect to run fresh air to the eyeballs from NACA ducts....

Mike, if you run the "fresh" air from the outside ducts you just draw hot air from the radiator. After they discovered that, they developed a deflector shield (picture below). Besides that you increase the cockpit pressure. Reason for the eyebrows...

I suggest to have the intake inside the car, less dust, less pressure and the car cools and heats faster.

Keep up the good work, I really like your lift jacks - nice touch.

 

[Peter G-Pete Fritsche]

...here is the #49 rolling.

 

[VMSETHAN]

Peter,
Thanks for the comments on the ducting..I was not aware of the deflector mod to keep hot air out. Your point about increased cabin pressure and the eyebrows is well worth considering. I much prefer the clean MK1 look without the brows, so will likely look to mitigate cabin pressure.
Has anyone got feedback on cabin exit venting besides the flipper windows??

Here is news for the week.

I finally took the time to wrap my shifter housing and install the shift boot. Not too bad for a first effort.....IMO.


IMG_5397 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


Back panel mod is in work. The water neck hose routing was contacting he back panel more to my liking. Panel is aprox 1.25" thick at that location. I elected to cut it down and remove pink insulation in those area for clearance. Afterwards I glued in some 1/2" high density foam padding to seal the edges and add back some sound deadening. Clearances seem good now. Off to paint.
IMG_4727 by

Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4731 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

On to the next project...front brake ducting. Parts arrived a couple days ago to tackle this. Each side has a 2.5" hole drilled in the recess to allow for airflow to Scat ducting.
IMG_4574 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


IMG_4886 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



The plan is to hard mount the ducts to flanges attached to fiberglass side panels. Holes will align with those hats/brackets and remove the need to have extra duct length for front clam-shell opening.

IMG_4579 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4894 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4883 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4583 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


IMG_4585 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

This looks to be going well, but the driver side will need some extra TLC as the glass side panel is not quite aligned with the hole edge.......TBD.....

Ordering 8ft of scat tube soon.

Bigger concern is the hole height locations.
AFTER taking great pains to measure the hole location in each recess to ensure symmetrical placement, 2.5 hole was drilled. Only afterwards did I step back 10 feet and eyeball. CRAP. Drivers side looked high by about 3/8".
After racking my brain, finally realized that the glass recess scoops are not bonded to the nose at exact same height. Driver side is...you guessed it...3/8 higher the pax side.
What to do...well I was already thinking about ways to edge trim the fiberglass hole for appearances. Current plan is to fab an aluminum plate that fits in tight the the flat and relocate the hole to match side to side.
:idea:The big benefit is that I can dimple the 2.5 hole to provide a cleaner inlet look. If time permits I will fab a prototype dimple panel at work tomorrow as we have a good selection of dimple dies.

Just to pass along some info....
Purchased the aluminum hats and scat tube from Aircraft Spruce. If you are not familiar with them, they are a leading supplier of aircraft products and MANY of their items/materials are well suited for car projects...HUGE catalog. Great hardware selection.
Check them out.
Pilot Supplies and Aircraft Parts from Aircraft Spruce

Will update on that panel soon.....Later.

 

[VMSETHAN]

OK, I was able to make some dimpled panels at work using .040 aluminum. Went with a 2.25 pilot diameter die since the hole grows as it flanges out. Hydraulic press makes a nice smooth part.

Capture 16 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


Started to trim-out by making a paper template, then transferred to flat metal. Once dialed in I transferred shape to first panel. That first one fit a little out of position relative to existing fiberglass hole...adjusted for second panel....fits nice.

Capture 17 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


For a flat surface to ease mounting, I trimmed and glued some 1/4 foam to back side. Sits nice and snug into the recess. Debating glue in vs a couple stainless(or black) screws.

Capture 15 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Capture 14 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Good for now, on to the drivers side and dealing with its special needs. More to follow......

 

[VMSETHAN]

So a couple weeks of progress to update on.

Painted some parts....back panel, brake inlet duct plates, grille, etc.... used a good 2 part polyurethane and then a couple coats of clear.

IMG_4730 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4715 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

With the panel black, I went ahead and covered in in some charcoal grey carpeting. The HUMP was a little tricky, but ended up laying down nice.

IMG_4731 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4735 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

The PO had a nice little lock pin setup for the rear shell. Pax side is now finished...doing the Drivers next.

IMG_4738 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4746 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

As mentioned before, the transverse vent duct/plenum has an oval outlet and the eyeballs are obviously round. 3.5" flex ducting fits the oval, butt it was too flimsy to hold any sort of shape and just collapsed closed when securing to the 2.5 round eyeball inlet. A support of some sort was need to keep open for airflow.
Used some leftover grille mesh to make a support tube.

IMG_4622 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4624 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Wrapped it in rubber channel and black Gorrilla tape.

IMG_4626 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


IMG_4628 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Brake ducts. I have been able to fab brake duct plates and inlets for both sides. Only real difficulty was the mounting holes. The were not tapped and the back sides not flat. Ended up getting my spot-facers out again.

IMG_4702 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


The parts themselves are all aluminum. Fit to the inside of rotor. Extended the bottom tab to shield the lower ball joint boot from rotor heat.
IMG_4650 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


IMG_4654 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4695 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

2.5" scat tube fits OK. I cut away the plate at the tube to force as much air as possible into the disc hat so it flows through and out of the rotor vanes.

IMG_4693 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4709 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


IMG_4963 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


Next up is the cabin vents. I decided that I wanted to have fresh air without having to fun the AC. Take air from the side NACA's...will see if it ingests any hot air from radiator exit.
I have some small Lexan NACA ducts. Going to mount them underneath and route to the cabin.

IMG_4808 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4806 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4901 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


IMG_4899 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4878 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4915 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



Outlets will be on access panels at fwd door/tank sill. I scored some Aircraft eyeball vents off E-bay. They close nice and tight and rotate freely. A short section of scat duct will go inside. Once those details are completed I will update again.....
IMG_4721 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4879 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



Whoops...forgot pics of the wrapped panels......
IMG_4957 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

 

[Woody]

Mike
I too don't like the eye brows on top of the doors and have not installed them. I also left the option of side windows on or off either way the cabin pressure feels neutral even at high speed with no windows there is little buffeting inside the car however at speed the top of the doors do lift considerably so I am looking to make some interior latch system of sorts.
I would be interested in your outcome or other guys comments on latching.
Enjoying your build keep up the good work
Woody.

 

[VMSETHAN]

Woody,
I will be sure to post pics of whatever solution I come with for the doors. Planning to borrow someone else's previous solution, but will likely tweak it to my preferences.

Progress the last couple weeks.........

I dug out the front shell hold-down hardware. Aluminum Dzus stuff. They were satin finish but polishing up nicely..a littler more to go.... I dimpled the escutcheons and countersunk the fiberglass so flush screws seat them properly.
Still need to put some spacers underneath and adjust Dzus spring height to align nicely to the windshield cowl.

IMG_4912 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


IMG_4913 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Transitioning aft...
Starting to think about back ducts and such. Made up some grill mesh pieces for rear intakes. Sandwiched between aluminum rings and flush riveted.. Will likely attach with some small L-clips to the shell...stay tuned on that.....

IMG_4939 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4927 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4909 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Capture 12 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

 

[VMSETHAN]

I had last week off work so was able to make some good progress.
Front brake ducts and cabin vents completed.

IMG_4966 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

The passenger footwell needed a closeout panel to hide hoses and such. Fabbed an aluminum piece and covered in the same material as the back panel. Will do all the sidewall in same material. Then wrapped the sides and installed my eyeball vent panels.

IMG_4948 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_4957 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Finished up the aft vent grilles. Attache them with small tabs, tinnermans and screws so they can be easily removed.
I painted them gloss black with plenty of clear-coat for durability...buy surely will need removed in the future for refreshing.

IMG_4715 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Next tackled the door catch/eyebrow situation. Looking through previous pics and solutions I felt these would suffice and were already proven. Fabbed from .050 301 1/4 hard Stainless.

Capture 9 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


Capture 10 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



Last item for now..
I noticed some minor scuffing on the vinyl on the center console where my right foot contacts while on the gas pedal. That will wear rapidly so I made up a stainless steel scuff-plate (.020) and screwed into place.
Looks and works good.

Capture 2 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

 

[Jimmy P]

Very nice work. Lots of nice mods on your build. Continued success.

 

[Peter G-Pete Fritsche]

Mike, may you want to use this.
I put a filler plate between the door catch and the frame of the turtle deck to fill that award shape. Triangle thin alu sheet, two holes in it to fill the 'non expandable' construction foam. Then covered with carpet.
I like the smooth transition, without that bing bong corner....small effort big gain (optical)

 

[VMSETHAN]

G-pete, nice pics of the back panel.
i already had completed the RH side carpeting prior to your post...will keep your idea in mind if I have to redo it at a later time.

So here is where project stands now.

Latest custom tweak is air scoops for back brake ducts. rear duct are not yet built, but i know they will happen down the road, possibly after paint, so wanted to get the basics set before hand. With rear clam-shell air intake grilles already done, I elected to place some entry holes beneath the rear glass. The rear clam will close down onto a pedestal mount for air ducting.

cut some aluminum trim rings and tapped for small screws......





To help capture some airflow, decided to make a small scoop. Needed to make a form block first, then form the parts. Block was made from some 15LB density urethane tooling foam.














once formed it was simple task to trim, drill and polish to desired look.














interior update....

Back panels covered and done.







I have matching graphite grey cut pile carpet inbound. Hoping to get that done this upcoming weekend.

Used same material for headliner. but underneath is some 1/4 closed cell foam.





Door panels in work...something simple. Some .125 hardboard with a carbon fiber wrap. Driver side done...on to Pax.





I have some blue paint inbound also..will get some sample panels sprayed and u[date on that next...
Later.

 

[VMSETHAN]

I am eagerly awaiting my Braille Battery for a teat drive...in the mean time, so progress on other items.

Thinking about future trailer loading needs. I felt it wise to build a spreader bar that pins to the front hooks so I can pull from center line rather than side-load a hook. Rummaged around the shop and found some steel tubing and welded it up. Not real elegant, but should work well.





Similarly, needed to think about an aft tie-down point for trailer and potential track use. using some 3/16 steel plate, fabbed an eyelet that bolts to the trans-axle rear mount point. Pretty beefy .....





Next up was provisions for a camera mount. Tied in a piece of aluminum angle to the harness points.



Camera sits/bolts on a plate and filed of view looks good.



Finally bolted in the axle half-shafts. Stock DRB units with U-joints. Cleaned them up and painted prior to install.



Attach boles were pretty ugly, but I had a couple 12-pt NAS bolts with drilled heads to allow for safety wiring.






Bolts came from CH-54 Helicopter tail rotor blade installations. We build and repair these blades for a key customer, but only have a few of the bolts for tooling needs. So.... using my work connections.... called a friend next door who is Director of Maintenance their fleet. He scored me some used but serviceable bolts to complete my install...couple spares too:thumbsup:

Here are pics of the Blade as build it, plus the SkyCrane in action.

DSCN1374 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

HTS sea snorkel by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

HTS hover snorkel by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



Thanks Dave!!!!

Door panel and interior progress.
Both door panels done and covered in the Carbon fiber wrap. using leftover pieces, I covered the speaker brackets to match.



Have completed lining the pax side with carpeting to match rest of interior.





To hide the door latch mechanisms at back end of the door pocket I fabbed a
metal panel that screws into place. Wrapped in same materiel.





Now to finish the drivers side...

Carpeted floor panels done and installed.



I wrapped some high density foam in heavy duty vinyl for a heel pad. Snaps to the panel.




Once battery shows up I will try to post a video of test drive....
Later.

 

[VMSETHAN]

Forgot to ask earlier...
I am getting close to prime and paint prep/spray. Would prefer to have doors off and on a stand to help with spray accessibility and such.

Looking at the door hinges...DRB hung and aligned doors at factory prior to delivery. They align and shut very nice.

The hinge "pins" are bolts/nuts which have been tack welded to the hinge halves. Can any DRB guys advise on preferred method to remove?? Unbolt at body or door attach, or cut/remove the bolts(pins). I am concerned about losing alignment if unbolting at body side, but am unsure at how adjustable/accesable that connection is. Are the back nuts fixed or floaters??
And how troublesome or not re-alignment is.......

Battery is due in Tuesday

THX

 

[Bill Musarra]

Mike,
I have removed mine several times(stripping and repainting) and the alignment is a bit of issue. But you are going to have that issue no matter which way you remove the doors. Only each way will have its own issue. I left the attachment to the doors and removed from the body. The bolts are accessible from the inside of the side panel. For remounting I used the engine hoist to hold the door until all three bolts are snugged up. then it is a matter of moving the door around til you find the good fit. Use small angle wedges or blocks to give you upward movement, and reposition the hoist to give you angular, or rotational movement. If your doors are like mine the bolts will not be tight in their holes, meaning the bore of the holes, and the diameter of the bolts will not match that closely, thus the adjustment. You will find that ideal place but it will take a time or two to get it right. I installed mine and trial fitted with the weather striping removed and with a strip or three of weatherstrip only an inch or two long, placed at key places, to check for compression of the material, or lift of the door by the material. When it looks good with just the pieces, replace with the whole weather strip and see if it gives you the shut lines you are looking for. The only way to get it right is to make sure it looks right before you remove the doors. Do all sanding of edges(top of door on roof) that are touching as it closes so that they are several mm apart at all times. If not they will rub with several coats of paint/primer/ clear coat. and will not look good when the door is open.. You may go through the fiberglass bonding on the edges of the door top as you sand so use filler/bondo/fiberglass to seal them back again once you get the space you need. Test the doors with some weather stripping on the rear seal of the door so that it doesn't hit it as you close the door.
One last thought, be careful when painting so that you don't get too thick on the panel or weather seal edges as it will move the door outward/upward. Hope these give you some food for thought.

Bill

 

[Woody]

Mike
I agree with Bill , You are going to have to realign the doors again anyway.
I took my Hinges off the doors as well because the welding looked shabby and I wanted to dress them up a little.
They unbolt from inside the doors but they are a curse to get to.
A long extension with a socket is needed to access the bolts and when putting them back on I found wrapping masking tape on the bolts to hold them in the socket the best way. Then all you need is plenty of patients.
By the look of your build you have plenty of that anyway.
Have fun
Woody

 

[VMSETHAN]

Thanks for the comments on door removal....I will use that info.

OK so test drive went OK. everything worked , drove nice, sounded good.
Clutch pedal started to feel funny. Got it home OK.

Discovered something disturbing. Clutch fork shaft pivot boss was cracked. I removed the transaxle(G50) to make repairs.

At the same time I can glass bead it and prep for clear coat.
Also buying a billet side cover plate from CMS.

I considered sending them the whole thing to do their machined fix for the pivot bosses. Looking at the cost to do so including complete dissassy/re-assy is an easy $2K. For that amount I feel I should at least try to fix it first.
Ground/sanded the broken section flat and square.

IMG_5544 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

fabricated a small repair block from 6061-t6 alum. Had a.749 hole bore by a machinist friend.

IMG_5545 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Some fine tuning..but fits good.


Will take it to work next week or to. We have a certified aerospace welder who does awesome at aluminum. if all goes well, change the input seal and give it a go.

Test drive also illustrated issue with rear tires throwing debris in the aft wheel arches. fixing that by fabbing some shields. made a template from hardboard first then transferred to aluminum sheet.

DSCN8917 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Held in with a few stainless screws/nuts. Will get them primed and then a couple coats of rubberized bed-liner paint to help quiet down the impacts.



Luggage box is done. Mounts and fit well on RH side.

DSCN8853 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



My Blue paint is mixed , so this was a good trial run.

DSCN8886 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

I have used TCP Global products inn the past an been happy with the results.

DSCN8972 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

The gallon size is Daytona blue...a little bright for my taste. Adding some Indigo and Midnight blue gave me this.

DSCN8860 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

DSCN8857 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Now that the recipe is set, I can buy some more to get enough mixed volume ready to go.

Last week i was heading to lunch from work. Driving out of the airport i saw a familiar shape next to a hangar. Did a quick u-turn and met with car owner of DRB #106. Gary D. has a few posts here...he is having an aircraft painter I know paint his car. Will stop by this week to see progress. Not sure what color he is choosing.

COLOR.......
So now that my blue is selected....having second thoughts. Thinking something more subdued, but aggressive...sinister...would be cool.
saw this on line...SATIN black
matte_black_gt40_wrap17 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

I am liking that look...maybe some small accent stripes????


Need to give this some serious thought. Probably buy a QT and spray something.
If making this change, then my existing Team II "Halibrands" may not be the best choice.
Something more fitting??

Thinking I could sell my current wheels and tires to another member...might post an ad to gauge interest.

Stay tuned.

 

[Rod Brace]

I like the blue!

 

[VMSETHAN]

Time for an update now that trans-axle is repaired.
I was able to have our welder at work TiG the repair after work last week. An excellent job as expected.

IMG_5552 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_5548 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

IMG_5557 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

With that taken care of I took the opportunity to glass bead and clear coat the trans-axle.

DSCN8971 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

DSCN8970 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr



Regarding paint progress...
The nose panel has been prepped. The inner "nostril" surfaces will be difficult to spray and polish to me satisfaction.Giving it some thought I wrapped those surfaces in the same carbon wrap used on inner door panels. I like it so far....should be a nice contrast to the dark Blue.
IMG_5565 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

I tried to do it all in one piece, but there was too much contour to stretch to wrap without tearing. Keeping the grain of each piece aligned minimizes the seam visibility.

IMG_5564 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Yes...going to go with the blue.
Sprayed mirrors.

DSCN8941 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

Rear clam engine area has been sprayed silver and cleared. A last polish and wax yet to go....
DSCN8945 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr

DSCN8944 by Mike Sirr, on Flickr


Covers it for now....more to follow....

 

[Woody]

Hi Mike
What are those wing mirrors off? the look cool
Woody