I didn't know Borla made intakes, further reading and I gather they bought or merged with TMW?

I looked at their Type IV page, I like how they gave Megasquirt a mention as well along with the high dollar EFI setups.

I got the bug screens with the kit but also have draft plans for a set up that will provide "real" air filtration AND let these be seen. We'll see how it goes as I start fabrication...

Today was more measuring, cutting and fitting of the various chassis stiffening bars.

Here's the cross bar I mentioned in an earlier post - the one that has to fit behind the head rest supports then pop out/in to clear the bulge in the firewall. My bender can't do the needed double s-curve in that little space so I have to make it in multiple pieces.
Before you get too excited, remember, it's not a roll cage.
Yes, I'll plug weld a sleeve in both joints as part of all this.

And yes, it's all DOM material. I've ordered 3 different times from the same supplier and each time, the product is a different color. I called and asked them about it and they said it depends on which mill it comes from. Interesting.
But it'll all be painted so no worries.

Then it was on to the bars that will run from the back side of the seat belt retractor location to the rear shock tower. This bar will terminate on a plate that gets rosette welded to the plate that the top of the door bar lands on. That plate is not in place, I just used the hole in the firewall to help calculate the angles for all the cuts/miters.

I'm really pleased with how well these miter cuts are turning out. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised, I just thought it'd be more difficult. Not that I'm complaining!

Here are both bars mocked into place.

I think it's going to be a LOOOOOOONG time before I get tired of this view!

And fear not, I keep the intake covered and protected when I'm working on the car. But whenever the camera comes out, somehow, the covers disappear!

Final trimming of the door bar. This is where it pokes though the fire wall at the seat belt retractor location.

That last cut on the front of each of these tube was done with the hole saw and was pretty much a "one chance to get it right" cut that set the final angle and length of the door bar.

The target length was to get this end to align with the fire wall.



It literally just sits on the edge of the hole. Big sigh of relief...

Passenger side looks good, too!

And both sides will be plated and the plates rosette welded to each other.

Immma gonna need you to build me a cage when your all done

I want something I can weld to the A pillar and hide completely.

Looks fantastic!

Nope, that's not gonna happen. What's gonna happen is you're going to come here and I'll HELP YOU make your own cage!

Maybe we set up a workshop day where any interested parties come over and we all pitch in on something like your cage? Years ago I did something like this for carbon fiber: a composite workshop. About 25 people showed up and everyone got to make a small part. Link to a thread about it:

http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150212

I'd be up for hosting something like this. I'm sure I could get Martin to participate and offer his experience, too.

Anyone interested?

Yes.

Down 100%!

There has been a couple of events like that through the years.

Im SURE we can get lots of people interested.


THANKS!!!

Shocking news! Nearly impossible to believe: I changed my mind about the way I'm going to tie the cross bar into the suspension towers. I was going to construct a box around the whole area but upon reflection (and thinking about the earlier points about weight and complexity), I'm opting for something simple:

A tidy little gusset between the tower and cross bar, right in line with the main load path into the bar that runs to the fire wall.

I'm almost done with the fabrication and fitting of all the pieces needed for the chassis stiffening. Then it'll be a full day (or more) of welding to complete the install.

Much as I enjoy the roll bar fab stuff, I'm ready to move on a different area of the build.

I like it! That area really doesnt move near as much as some people think.

The lower trailing arm pickup moves significantly more.

Final fitting of the passenger side door bar. I welded in the inside plate as I need to firmly fix the bar so I can get a repeatable location as I fit the verticals.

Fore and aft verticals are trimmed to final size.

You can see that the mid vertical is sitting back, out of positon (the pad is positioned properly). I'm leaving the mid vertical trimming until the door bar is welded in. Why?
Having only two verticals will allow the bar to set into position and if the there's any welding distortion on the door bar (and I'd expect there to be some) I can tweak the mid vertical for the best possible fit.

We'll see how it goes as the welding actually commences.

More pre-welding prep leads to the Pop Quiz of the day:

What's missing in this picture?

Well, OK, a whole bunch of stuff! So maybe not so fair a question.
Let's make it a bit easier:

I removed the mounts for the trunk lid springs! I won't be using them. And they're already hard enough to get to so I REALLY wanted them out before the rear chassis stiffening bars go in.

And no promises, but I have an idea that may require / allow for removal of the rear trunk hinges, too.

Either way, I want as clean a look as I can get.

Looking good Chris! If you want to see a different way to open tour rear trunk check out my build thread under my signature. There are three photos on page 1. Total access. You could incorporate the engine lid and trunk lid as one piece...

Or come over and check it out.

Andy - I noticed your trunk approach when I first read your build. I would like to come up and see it in person. I'll PM you to coordinate a visit.
That said, I'm noodling on at a different solution. But it sure would be nice to have something that results in a totally open drive line area.
Talk soon.

Bill B Racing (BBR Filers) filters showed up today. Recommended by Borla and apparently minimal HP loss. They certainly look the business and fit perfectly.

Not as cool looking sitting on my office floor vs on the engine, but I want to keep the delicate stuff safe while all the fab work is going on.

They look good but nothing looks better them naked...I thought you were building a "special" box for those. Change your mind?

T

Not so much change my mind as change my timing. I think Rand was on target with his earlier comment.

I find myself wanting to focus on things that get the car on the road. I can always come back and "improve" on particular areas, the air box being one. The zippiddy do-da exhaust idea is another.

I reserve the right to change my mind but for now, if there's a workable, simple solution and the "cool" fab thing can wait, I'll likely take the shortest route to get it running.

Plus, that means I can work on it even more going forward!

I'm taking Friday, 9/1 off work to complete welding on the chassis stiffening bars! It'll be a full day but the goal is to get all that done! Fingers crossed.

And with that done, I'm nearing the point where I need to pick a color... and that gets me thinking about the overall look. While I love the RSR Fuchs look, this car is clearly not a 914/6 GT tribute so...

I'm toying with these 52 Outlaw wheels against the mid 2000s Subaru WRX blue. I think these wheels fit quite nicely with my overall "RaceRod" design.

But wheel see... (see what I did there?)

And, the blue/gold is the same combo I used on a custom SV650 I built about 12 years ago. It got a 4 page spread in Cycle World. I was pretty proud of that... plus, I went to Berkeley (Go Bears!) so blue and gold are part of my life...

Anyway, decisions, decisions. Until then, I'll be running a set of 7 and 9 x 17 Euromeisters.

I like

Love the wheels and the bike! I thought you retired...

I like the color combo! 52 Outlaws are some serious coin!

Well, as usual, things take longer than I imagine they will. I'd hoped to get the chassis stiffening done today. Didn't quite make it but made BIG progress.
Final fit all but the front hoop-to-front suspension tubes, all tubes tacked in and a couple items final welded.

MAJOR MILESTONE! I'm feeling really good as it comes together.

It would be all but impossible to get all the way around some of these tubes. So after dry fitting the rear suspension-to-firewall bars and support plate, the bar/support plate were tack welded while everything was in position.

Then the bar/support plate is welded on the bench.

Beautiful!

And then back in it goes and things are tacked in place.
Here's the passenger side, awaiting rosette welding.

Final, final welding of all joints is going to happen after the car is back on the rotisserie as that will make it WAY easier to get at all the nooks and crannies.

Then it was on to fitting and tacking the door bars.
First, all measurements were triple checked then the vertical's support pads were rosette welded to the longs.

I got to use my new-to-me South Bend lathe to final fit and square up the verticals.

So, after all the head scratching, design changes, measuring, cutting, trimming, fitting, mind-changing (thanks Tony...!) and multiple redoing of many parts:

The door bars are tacked in and ready for final welding!

Today was 7 hours in a 100+ degree garage... and I can't think of anything I would have enjoyed more!

And I couldn't have done it without Martin's help. Having a skilled buddy who actually cares about your build, challenges you and makes you rethink your decisions is something I hope all of you get to experience.

What a day...

Woooo hooooo! It does feel good when you reach these milestones!

Interesting point. I was supposed to pull the plug as of the end of June but just couldn't do it. After working since I was 11 years old, the idea of not generating income turned out to be a bigger deal than I'd ever imagined. So I'll continue to be a tax paying 'Merican worker for at least a while longer...

Anyway, decisions, decisions. Until then, I'll be running a set of 7 and 9 x 17 Euromeisters.
[/quote]


You could always paint up the Euromeisters to look like the spendy wheels - you could REALLY retire sooner...

Clean metal is a beautiful thing. Keep it up. Such a great project.

Today was just clean up and organize in prep to get the car back on the rotisserie to finish all the chassis stiffening welding and a couple other items:
I have to fab the the area where the seat belt retractors will bolt in, triangulate behind the firewall to support the jacking donuts, add the front sway bar mounts... things like that.

THEN, it's time to tackle the Tangerine rear suspension pick up kit. Won't that be fun...

Anyway, I couldn't resist taking a pic of how the door bar all but looks like it's one piece as it passes through the fire wall and runs to the rear suspension tower. I was hoping it'd look like that.

(so don't tell anyone it's two pieces!)

Oh, that IS nice!!

Nice ....sooo glad the shear panel holely , thinngy.was only a faze....looks like it oughta !

Did I say that was off the table...?

Remember, all this door bar business was required because the original main hoop interfered with the headrests. So, with the door bars in place, I can now get back to fabricating the cross bar.

This will be particularly fun (read: "complicated" And why wouldn't that be the case?) for a couple reasons.


The location I need the crossbar to sit isn't in line with the top part of the door bar, meaning I have to put a slight bend into each end so they tip down to meet the door bars.

Then, I have to cut the miters on both sides of the crossbar, then slide it into place. Another "one chance to be sure I bend it right and then don't cut it too short" tube...

So I made a "cheater bar" that was about a foot long. I played with this until I got the bend and the miter to fit as desired.

Something that makes it easier is that when the bender makes a bend, it leaves a witness mark. Well, not so much a mark but you can tell where on the tube the bend starts. That location corresponds with a marker on the bending die. Blah, blah... What it all means is I can use the cheater to measure/mark on the chassis where I want the bend to start. Then I can transfer that location back onto the crossbar. I load the crossbar back into the bender and align the mark with the mark on the bending die and I know I'll get things to go where I want them.
Once I have the bends in the cross bar, I set the cheater on it, aligning the bends and know where to cut the notch! Easy, no?

Fingers crossed...

Anyway, here's the seat in place. Next pic is the cheater bar in mock up on the driver side. Looks good to me.

Yep, that'll work! I was thinking about your first lower bar and really liked it - this is a great compromise without compromising anything at all. Looks really slick too! What thickness are your sill plates supporting your sidebars?
I've got some of your imagination, just none of your tools!

The sill plates under the verticals are from Tangerine Racing. Mr. Foley was kind enough to sell me just the plates. I think they are 12 ga. And remember, I also skinned my longs with a layer of 16 ga. Once I complete all I have planned, I should be in pretty good shape, stiffening wise.

Got to working in earnest on fitting the cross bar. My plan was essentially fool proof...!

But I proved to be a JUUUUUST enough of a fool to screw up the plan. One has to keep a sense of humor about all this stuff, which I admit is made easier when one is doing it for one's self and not trying to turn a profit.

Important item #1: triple check the orientation of the bar so you that after all your careful measurements, you don't accidentally make one of the bends with your custom tube 90 degrees out from the proper orientation.

Yup, made that mistake on the one end.

Important item #2: While trying to recoup at least the other end of the custom tube, don't use a crappy, hard to read tape measure, then misread it and make the bend in the wrong place.

Yup, made that mistake on the other end.

So... Ended up remaking the custom tube! Almost called it quits after the 2nd major error figuring it was a day of bad karma, but decided to solider on.

Here's the custom tube being remade. The good news is it turned out nearly perfect. Measurably better than the first. So maybe this was a good karma day after all...?

Then it became "measure like, oh, 35 times, do the same 35 measurements again and then double check the results" before proceeding.

After all that, I cut the notches in each end, which I happily admit I left long, just to be sure.

Here's the initial fit, which I expected wouldn't be quite right: the bar is a bit long on each end, preventing it from sliding all the way back into position. The good news is that the center line of the cross bar lines up exactly with the center line on the chassis.

I have final fitting yet to do but after 4 hours of working on just this tube, it's nearly there!

When done, it'll sit maybe 1/8"+ ahead of the fire wall, leaving just enough room to slip a shoulder harness through.

And I'm still working on a design to tie the cross bar more securely to the fire wall. I expect it'll also serve as the starting point for the console. More on that soon.

BTW Chris, your rear window is a fairly rare optional rear window defogger type. Pull it and switch it with a plexiglass one so someone can option up their car...

Rob - Great minds, excellent timing, etc. I was about to pull it out and offer it up for sale. While I'm likely going to add A/C to my car, I think others would more highly value the defrost window.

Oh man, reminds me of a rear window swap 15 years ago because of wires within. Nobody will use them, best to the CCW types. I hope they make them heat them up! or pshhh

I have a couple of non heated windows you are welcome to! I was going to chuck them as they were given to me out of the blue and Im trying to clean things up but its hard to throw away good NLA parts..

Two comments:

1. Andrew, I'll take one of those windows. Thanks!
2. All the effort I put into fabrication and I get more comments about a defrost rear window! Gotta love the 914 crowd...

To final trim the ends of the cross bar, I used an oscillating spindle sander. I'm using 1.5" tubing so simply slip on the 1.5" barrel and away you go.

It worked really well and is super easy to control when you're trying to sneak up on a final dimension. You can even tweak the miter angle a bit, as needed, to get the nicest possible fit.

(Insert yet to be invented "grinder" emoji here.)