Hot Rods 29 RPU- "Street/Strip" B/SR Build - Marty Strode

The last couple of days went pretty well, with the upper and lower side panels in place, and held by Dzus buttons. Next will come the curved top section that will taper down a couple inches to the rear. This is tedious work, keeping the panels aligned without a solid frame to connect to. When it's all closed up, then I can extend the frame, and tie it all together.

 

Going to be awesome!

 

Looking Good, Marty! If I get back to Oregon I'll look you up for a closer look!

 

Marty, Your craftsmanship is exemplary and I learn a lot by watching how you do things, but I gotta ask,"Why do the body panels first, then build the chassis inside it, rather than building the frame first and using it as a skeletal framework to attach the body panels in alignment with the chassis C/L"?

 

That would be great Chris, and if I make down your way with the truck, I will let you know.

 

I would normally do it with the steel in place, but wasn't sure of how much taper it would have, and found it to be safer to do it this way. And it will allow me to make the inner structure follow the the body line closer.

 

Marty --

Is the car gonna be push started?

Stan

 

It will be running, and pushed to 40 mph or so.

 

I cut out a wood baffle to hold the shape while forming the top piece, and the paper shows the taper. More progress tomorrow.

 

Got the top cover roughed in, and took a little time to get hi-speed internet installed today.. So it will be far easier to post photos, and videos. Good things to come !

 

Marty, did you get the Standard or High Performance StarLink? We are on DSL from the phone company and are always getting spotty performance, and are looking for a better alternative, will be interesting to get your take on StarLink!

 

Jimmy, I only used it a little last night, but the speed of DSL was around 3 download and under 1 upload, and look at it now. It comes ready and easy to install, plug and play. I had to fab a bracket to mount it to the barge rafter. I had a friend do the setup on the computer, turned it on, watched it oscillate and spin for a couple minutes, and presto ! Right now, I couldn't be happier.

 

Got the top section fit, locked down and the tail end trimmed off. Also got the belly plate fit in place and ready for Dzus buttons to replace the Clecos. A trick I learned from a friend, instead of using tape to layout a final trim line on a curved section, a round aluminum welding rod bends nicely, and keeps things straight. Also, when trimming with aviation snips, always cut most of the waste off first, then the final finish edge will be smooth, clean and undistorted.

 

Since my last post, I formed the upper piece that will hold the upper rear cover and chute surround. It will get buck riveted in place. The shape is pretty close.

 

VERY NICE Marty.

 

I got the rest of the Dzus angle brackets fabbed and riveted in today, and now it's time to remove all but the lower sheet metal. The attach point for the chute shroud line and push wheel need to be extended, and the canister for the chute will be remounted with a couple inches sticking out of the enclosure panel.

 

Now that the body panels are nearly finished, I had to move to the task of extending the shroud line hook up, push wheel, and chute canister. Tying on to the the existing structure, making it strong enough to push off, on a sometimes rough track, along with being extended 36", was one thing, and it all had to come apart. Not wanting, to use a buddy of mine's phrase "that looks agricultural", I went with a mix of 2" square and round tube, combined with some 3/16" cold rolled plate.

 

Hey.......what's wrong with a little "agricultural" now and then ?.........Great job Marty. Keep us updated.

 

I will Allan, take care !

 

Looks kinda professional sir…

 

A question for you Marty: is all of this to move the center of pressure further behind the center of gravity? To help stabilize the car at speed? Just curious...

 

Geez you have skills Marty! Fun watching you work.

 

Dave, the thinking is the added taper at the rear should help with drag, and the tail fin should aid in stability, placed further behind the rear axle. I don’t really know, just doing the work. Really hoping for good salt conditions to see what it will do.

 

Glad to have you watching Bill, see you around.

 

I love your answer in Post #863.

(No sense in waking the experts.)

 

Frenchtown, did you notice, that I didn't build a frame, just extended the 3 items in the middle? Sometimes it works that way for me.

 

Marty, a little more practice and you might get to be really good at this kind of work

 

You might need to hop a plane and come help me finish this. My back slipped out today, and I can't do much. Hopefully, I can make the enclosure panels for the back sitting on my rolling chair.

 

Jim Lindsay, Chris Kopp, and I settled on a rough design on the tail fin today. And since Chris is the the master metal man, and agreed to make and install the fin, I am very happy. He took a couple pix to show the shape we came up with. He is also well connected in the racing world and is going to consult and expert on the subject, before making the part. Please excuse the mess, it is a little bit of a madhouse at present.

 

Yes, that looks like a nice solution that will be sturdy with that square tubing structure and a minimal use of material.

Re: the fin
I am wondering how Mr. Kopp will address anchoring the tail fin to the body such that the forces in an extreme yaw/ crosswind / crossed up situation will keep the fin securely anchored to the body. Looking forward to pics of that solution.

I hope your back issues are resolved soon