Your picture reminds me of a Fred Flintstone mobile...missing floor and all! As always Chris - the work looks fantastic. You better slow down as most projects take decades - you're going to hurt some feelings at this pace!

Tony

CHASSIS STIFFENING: Lower Firewall

Today's realization is that this really is a jigsaw puzzle. And I've determined I want to have all the pieces before I start putting any of it together.

So... My stiffening plan includes a tunnel from the firewall to the front roll hoop. Since this will tie into the lower firewall and it's all the way out, this is an opportunity to beef up that area of the chassis, too.

I was planning to run a bar across from long to long and sandwich that between the stock inner and outer firewall sheet metal. But with some additional head scratching and input from my race car fab buddy, Martin, I've decided to build a more substantial structure. Similar to what MichiganMat has done on his build.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I love curves. Arches are pretty strong, too.
Roll bender to the rescue! This is a different one from the one I used to roll the round tube. It's purpose build for flat/square stock. I got it for free and it saves me buying additional dies for the Swag Offroad roll bender.

So instead of running a straight tube across and running sheetmetal from the upper firewall down to the tube, I'm going to roll a square tube that fits right up against that curved lower edge.

First, I used the curve template tool to capture the radius I need. I was surprised at just how much arch there is.

Then it's roll, check, roll, check. Manual roll bending 1.5" .095 wall tubes is a pretty good work out, too!
This pic reminded me how fortunate I am to have a high ceiling in the shop.

Looks good to me!

I'm not so confident that I trust my measurements on what to me are the trickier bits. This firewall arch is one of them. I knew the bar would intersect the long in such a way that it was going to require an interesting cut. So I prefer to sneak up these sorts of things using the "measure, cut, trial fit, measure, cut, trial fit" method until I get it where it needs to be, hopefully avoiding the "I cut it three times and it's still too short...!" situation.

Here's the current state of things. The arch is dead on and overall fitment is looking really good.

The lower bar is a simple straight cut. I used one of those laser measuring devices and it was absolutely on the money. I cut the bar to that length and it's nice and snug.
And yes, I will be adding "footings" under all these bars so there will be more trimming.

I'm really happy with how this is turning out!

In the pics above, the rear floor is just held in place with a floor jack to help locate the lower bar.
Now, it's on to making up some bracing for the lower firewall area, removing the tunnel and fabbing the rest of the floor supports. Not sure how much more I'll get done this weekend but I'm feeling pretty good about how this stage is going.

Chris,

I like it. One word of caution; however, don't do anything that is permanent until you can fit the drivetrain in place. Too much structure, in place and done with will be difficult to re-do down the road (psychologically).

I'd suggest you take a break from anything relating to the lower fire wall at this point and focus on installing the entire driveline to achieve the most forward positioning of the transaxle as possible. To get the angles absolutely correct - the firewall will need to be modified. Now is the time to do that. Have I made myself clear enough???

I'm really only dealing with one issue at this point - CV angles. If you are patient, you can remove this from the table. All the best.

T

Suspension porn! Got my trailing arms back from Chris at Tangerine Racing:
stiffened, gussets, 911 e-brake assembly, hub-centric Carerra hubs, Elephant bushings, etc.

Damn right those are slick...Foley does excellent work! My struts head up to TR tomorrow to raise the spindles (plug for Chris - he CAN raise the spindle hieght on the tappered BOGE struts). Thanks Chris for the hi-jack!

Tony

Oh wow our builds are very close, I like what your doing keep it up!

Following.
Thanks for sharing.

Wow the build is looking great. I really liked your curve template. Keep up the excellent work.

Engine & Trans: Mock Up
November activities commence with some new stuff: Engine and trans mock up install!

LS3/Boxster 6 set ups create pretty high CV angles and in detailed conversation with Tony (Cracker), not to mention his subtle hinting a few posts back , I'm taking his advice and mocking up the drive train before finalizing my firewall mods.

As you know, I have Tony's "old" LS3 engine. He used his considerable Southern charm and talked me into buying it. (OK, not much taking into required!). I figured it would save some time as it had already been proven in a 914 install, the intake was already flipped, it had low miles and I'd seen/heard video of it running.

Next, I purchased the Renegade Hybrids LS kit and their 6-speed kit. This was all maybe about a year ago. But after all that time, today was the first time I unpacked everything. It was like Christmas!

Gotta say, the Renegade stuff is really nice. Fit and finish is impressive.

I didn't install the flywheel and clutch as this phase is all about determining clearances and deciding if I want to do things like move the motor forward to, at least partially, address the CV angle.

Engine, meet Trans. Trans, Engine!

As I'm looking at this wild set up, I leaned up against the car... and felt something moving...
The car was trembling! But I have to admit, I don't know if it was from excitement or fear!
I've not spent much time around 'Merican power and I have to say, this thing looks fast just sitting there.

What in the world will it be like to drive?

I am so motivated to work on this project!!!

Not trying to hijack your thread but Rand refers to Sir Andys roll bar setup. I haven't seen it and how it's done - any threads showing how he has it set up? Thanks, and now back to your regular program...

All that tooling in your shop I am just

No get back to it get that engine in there, and figure this stuff out. I want to see this at Okteenerfest I know long haul, but you could go for the Iron Butt award.

And the best part (don't hate me) is the cold saw, giant compressor and hydraulic bender belong to my race car fab buddy, Martin, who doesn't have shop space and asked if he could keep them at my place! Nothing like having the right tool for the job.

And if I have it running reliably by then, I may just take you up on Octeenerfest!
ROAD TRIP!!

It was a frustrating weekend in that I didn't complete what I thought I could. I wanted to get the drive line mocked in but it quickly became apparent I would need some additional jacking capabilities.
But let's start off with this: I'm claiming the record. Not only is my 914 on jack stands, so are my engine and trans!

So the only progress to report for this weekend is that I've fabbed up a jack that should allow me to handle the drive train by myself.
Credit to AndyS for the basic design. I went a little overboard on strength but it's the material I had.

So if anyone asks, you better believe "I know Jack!"

And after all this hard work, I'm adding a little comic relief.
Here's the welding seat I built. Quite comfy with the full suspension!
And yes, that's an exhaust tip from an MV Agusta.

As my wife likes to point out, I'm the only person she knows who needs a muffler on his chair...

Amazing how compact an LS motor is!

Nice work Chris! You are making amazing progress! I'll have to come back out and take a look.

Something else that just came to mind Chris...if you move the drivetrain further forward you may need to slot the trans mounts. Before I forget...

T

PS: I like the welding seat - spring!

Yep, I was looking at that very thing this afternoon. I was thinking I may just remake those upper trans mount brackets to get the motor forward. That and move the engine mounts.

So... the good/bad news is that this week I had my 2nd skin cancer surgery.
A 30 mm x 23mm section of my left cheek removed. Good news is it's gone, bad news is that for a week I'm not supposed to lift more than 15 lbs or do anything that gets my heart rate up. This will limit my planned weekend progress re: fitting the drive train.

I'll just have to do something "light weight". Fine. I'll make some carbon fiber trim panels! I've always liked the Singer treatment where they cover and paint the longs and tunnel in body color so I've decided to do that, too.

The simplest thing to do was to use one of the stiffening blanks as the mold.

I have a bit of 50" wide, 2x2 twill weave left over from when I was doing all the motorcycle parts. Perfect width to make a long cover!

This is the "composite station". I found a giant self healing mat that you see at fabric stores. You can use razor cutters to slice the material and the mat couldn't care less. Very cool.

A little mold release wax and PVA, then 2 layers of carbon and one of fiberglass and I'll be set!

This is just a simple wet layup vs vacuum bagging. I have all the vacuum bagging tools but for something like this, that will likely be painted, this is quicker and less costly.

You think it's boring watching paint dry? Try watching epoxy cure!

And before you ask, yes, these covers are purely esthetic and therefore, break my Cardinal Rule of Composites:
Using carbon fiber to ADD weight!
But hey, with 430 hp, what's a few ozs?

So, fresh out of the mold with a bit of trimming, may I present: one carbon fiber 914 longitudinal cover blank!

Sweet, Chris...I can certify that you won't notice the extra weight!

T

A couple of pics to give you the idea.
I may have to leave them in raw carbon. Remember, it'll have this treatment on the custom tunnel, too. I kinda like it!
I played around and fitted it on both sides, just to get a feel.

Memo to self: REMEMBER to make the other one a mirror image in terms of the direction of the weave... That's why I didn't make one long piece. It's all about the little details.

Well this was a "long" weekend!

Got both carbon long covers done and drilled the stiffeners in prep for installation.

Having installed an Engman kit in another car, I have a new appreciation for parts that come with all the holes in them.

Fantastic work Chris.

I like your carbon fiber idea. I just may shamelessly steal it.

Please do! I'm convinced there are no new ideas (well, OK, very few...) so it's not like I thought this one up. Plus, then I can do the same to you, which with your crazy ass build ( !) I'm sure I will.

I will ask that you don't copy what I have planned for my doors, though...!

Thanks for the kind words. It's certainly nice to hear.

Before I install the long stiffeners, I need to close all the heater tube holes that are no longer needed as well as address the hand brake cut out. So this evening I fabbed up all the pieces to get a bit of a head start on the weekend's work.

For the hand brake area, I used a section of the long stiffener blank and trimmed it to fit. These are just sitting for the pic, not fully fit. All these filler pieces will be flush with the long surface so as to give me full contact under the entire length of stiffener!

Boring, I know. But necessary.

The ebrake void I get. But, don't bother welding sheet metal into the oval holes if you are putting that badass long overlay on. The ebrake shape void into the long is a compromise, but holes aren't so much when you are overlaying such a strong piece.

Hi Rand - I hear you but there are a few holes in the stiffener that happen to be right where those heater holes are. I figure why not...?

I get you. Easy work "while you're in there." So much easier to do it now than regret it later. Loving your build.

Well, if Rand is concerned I'm overdoing it re: stiffening, this may just send him over the edge!

"While I'm in there", I figured "why not?" and fabbed up this simple support for the hand brake filler. Even drilled if extra weight savings. (I want to be like like Rudy Curbandgutter when I grow up! )

This actually turned out to be a tricky/fun part to fab. I had to get it measured and fitted so that it would support the filler in line with the top and sides of the long. Lots of fit, cut, fit, grind, straight edge, trim, fit, straight egde. But it turned out nicely and supports the stiffener exactly as planned. You'd think I actually knew what I was doing!

So here's today's progress. All this just so I can FINALLY install the long stiffeners...

No concerns, lol. Just banter.

Major milestone! Got the engine and trans mocked in!

The throttle body isn't installed (clearly) so now it's time to formalize plans for mods to the trunk to get the needed clearance. I've got a couple different ideas and I need to choose one pretty soon.
But for now, I can finish the lower firewall and get the floor installed knowing I have all the space needed.

I've been feeling a bit stuck but after today, it's full speed ahead. A good feeling.

Wow, well done Chris!

With the trans located, I could verify the shifter cable length and order up the Numeric shifter and cables. Gotta say, I think it sure is pretty.
And I got a Black Friday deal on the shifter/cable package!

Hope to get the firewall and floor bracing mocked in over the coming holiday weekend.

OK, even I'm getting tired of pictures of this part of the car! I took today off and got the long stiffeners screwed in place and all set for welding. Then I figured I may as well beef up the foundation for the firewall arch and rear floor cross brace so I fabbed up a set of 90 degree bent 'pads'.

First step was to cut them using the plasma table. A few quick measurements and about a minute with the drawing program and I have the blanks. The hydraulic unit that powers the tubing bender has dry break connectors that plug into the H press.
Position the blanks and hit the Go button!

It all makes quick work of making and shaping these one-off parts.

The goal is that by the end of the weekend, I'll have the stiffeners and firewall frame welded in. Ideally, the floor will be at least partially in. Fit, cut and screwed in place for welding, if all goes well.

A little holiday video of the H press in use bending the support plates.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRBt1pYlS-I

Some of this fab work isn't the most exciting but it needs doing. Tony (Cracker) has suggested moving the engine as far forward as possible to improve the CV angles. The stock engine mounts allow for a bit of movement but not as much as is actually possible. All I need is a set of custom mounts.

Plasma table to the rescue again! 1/4" plate cut to shape. Next I position the drive train where I want it, mount these plates and transfer punch the Renegade engine mount hole location.

The trans mount has some slots that I may be able to lengthen but I suspect there isn't enough material. It's a multi-part mount so if need be, I'll have to make new rear tabs that are 1" or so longer.

It's the sort of mod that will improve reliability so I think it's worth the effort.

It is very easy to push your mounts forward in the stock -4 mount brakes if that is what you are using.

My optimism regarding how much I'd get done this weekend was, well, optimistic.

I was only able to get the stiffeners welded in and the welds ground. Took WAY longer than I expected.

I did get the lower fire wall support pads fit and welded in and the upper brace fit and ready for welding.

CHANGES OF PLAN:
1. I'm tossing those motor mount plates in favor of modifying the Renegade motor mount. It has an offset at the ends to allow for the use of the stock engine mount location while pushing the engine back to clear all the stock sheet metal.

I've decided to modify the ends of the mount to move the mounting points to be in line with the mount. That'll get me a bit more than an inch and I think it's a tidier modification.

2. I'm also tossing the existing front hoop in favor of a taller one that will sit in a different location. It'll be way easier to show pics than to explain it. I hope to get the new hoop bent up this week.

I've decided to go a different way that will allow me to use the stock mounts as they are. More on that as I get to it.