fletchersons T project
- Thread starter fletcherson
- Start date
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
After some thought, I can incorporate some uni strut or angle iron and actually bond it to the floor and bolt it to the seat riser/tub support and the cowl support braces that are located fore and aft of the door openings. If I position it correctly, it will also provide the inside rocker box wall locations. That should provide ample rigidity to allow both door openings. I am not sure what the structural load numbers would be, but between the steel connectors, the reinforced floor, the fiberglass rocker boxes, and the 3/16" frame rails, it ought to be pleanty strong. If not, I gave it my best shot. Now for the tricky part of figuring out how to glass both sides of everything.... How to build a box that you can't fit inside of, lol... Another bonus of the rocker boxes is that they will provide a nice conduit or raceway for my wiring. The holes that I drilled in the floor braces for wiring will be just inside. It will prove to be challenging to route the wiring, but a nice end result. I may form some pvc conduit before closing them to make it easier and prevent rattle and chafing. It seems like there will be no end to this project... Sucks to be particular at times!
choppinczech
Well-Known Member
Meant to add these.
I'll also be making the thickness of my thresholds 1/4", plus the complex nooks and crannies of the jambs will add even more rigidity.
I'll also be making the thickness of my thresholds 1/4", plus the complex nooks and crannies of the jambs will add even more rigidity.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
Nice and tidy too! How close are the rockers to the frame?Once again, I dont know if this helps, but I wanted to remove the lower sides of the body from just hanging down outside the rails. Boxed in and giving me a place (inside) for my E Brake handle and fuel pump/filter to hide.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
I plan on having a reveal, or stop at the bottom as well. I bonded very hard old growth oak to the inside of the tub and the floor to allow for it. I plan on forming the glass is such a way to allow the door to stop against it. I have some biaxial set aside for the inside door project and have enough to do the rockers too. At this point, I am not at all worried about weight. I know it's fairly heavy for a bucket, but I feel that it will be a better, stronger end result. I am thinking about leaving the back of the rocker boxes open, but that may change once I get into it. I will likely get into it later today, after I think it through for a bit. I have a tractor tire that needs a inner tube replaced... That should allow time to think, lol.
Gerry
Well-Known Member
You have to lift the body straight up or it will not come off. I guess a 1/16" or so.
Reinforcement under the door openings is one of the many outstanding issues for me...and as usual my build will be unusual.
First off I will NOT be channeling the body down over the frame. The rear of the body will be channeled back over the kick-up, and there will be body mounts at the top of the kick-up. Since mine is a widened body the frame will be 1.5"-2" farther than typical back under the body. There will be rubber isolation between the frame and body, varying from about 1/8" to 3/8" depending on location. The floor will be 3/4" Coosa Bluewater 26 composite board.
The door treatments will NOT be symmetrical...in the extreme. The body was molded with a typical style passenger side door, with a 3"-or-so high sill at the bottom...but it is stretched 4"-5". The driver side door will be cut out by me, and will be as long as possible and not hit the rear tire as it swings out. The door sill height will be the thickness of the body flange and the floor...roughly 7/8" to 1". This is not negotiable...it is part of the disability accommodations necessary for me.
At this point the passenger side does not worry me...it's the driver side that has me idealess.
First off I will NOT be channeling the body down over the frame. The rear of the body will be channeled back over the kick-up, and there will be body mounts at the top of the kick-up. Since mine is a widened body the frame will be 1.5"-2" farther than typical back under the body. There will be rubber isolation between the frame and body, varying from about 1/8" to 3/8" depending on location. The floor will be 3/4" Coosa Bluewater 26 composite board.
The door treatments will NOT be symmetrical...in the extreme. The body was molded with a typical style passenger side door, with a 3"-or-so high sill at the bottom...but it is stretched 4"-5". The driver side door will be cut out by me, and will be as long as possible and not hit the rear tire as it swings out. The door sill height will be the thickness of the body flange and the floor...roughly 7/8" to 1". This is not negotiable...it is part of the disability accommodations necessary for me.
At this point the passenger side does not worry me...it's the driver side that has me idealess.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
If you only do one door, you will be better off as far as strength, that's my dilemma. I have pretty much made up my mind to install super strut (I have it) under the floor so it connects the front door post/cowl brace to the seat riser/rear door post brace. It will go past them as far as it will fit, be bolted to the floor and the brace flanges that also serve as the body mounts and encased in glass. I will then box the rockers in around it. Other than a few days work, it's not really a setback because I have the material on hand. I am pretty sure they will provide the rigidity needed. It may be ok as is, but I don't like the cowl and dash only mounted via one set of mounts and the floor. Granted, there is a lot of strength in the way the toe kick and bell bump is constructed, but with the windshield, steering column, and doors swinging from it, I feel better with some additional reinforcement. Not to mention that there is a 400+ hp bbc sitting inches from it ready to twist the daylights out of it...my body is channeled three inches, so it all will tuck underneath nicely. Unlike some who have very tight tolerances between the frame and rockers, I will have a space to accomodate the bolt on brackets and various through bolts for the cross member, clutch and brake pedals, etc... I have been procrastinating cutting the doors for too long debating on this issue. I haven't even got the thing on the road and got caught in the rain... That's how it goes every time I get a ragtop or bike out it seems, lol... I had it sitting in front of the shop in the sun and went in to eat, shuzam! every time, lol.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
It looks tight, good! I don't have that option unless I committed to notching it in several spots to accomodate bolts and brackets that are mounted to or through the frame. I think a 5/8"- 3/4" gap will allow ample clearance. I also do not want any rattles if I can avoid it. Those are among my pet peeves, lol!
I wish I could get by with a single door, but the existing passenger door is not large enough, and trying to slide across and get my legs over the transmission tunnel would be impossible.
old round fart
Well-Known Member
I would like! I love your car.
tfeverfred
Well-Known Member
Nicely done, sir.
old round fart
Well-Known Member
Love it. Thanks.
choppinczech
Well-Known Member
That is so cool. Packed with innovations. I love it.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
After some preliminary pondering, the superstrut will work. It will just fit inside the proposed rocker boxes in the front at the critical junction where they will attach to the cowl support legs. No problem in the rear. I need to source some grade 8 stove head or button head bolts, perhaps some torx drive type like from a truck bed, etc to attach the under floor rails to the frame brackets because they will be visible inside. All others will be out of sight or can be countersunk in the floor. I think some poly lock nuts with a dose of lock tight for good measure will work. They will be unaccessible once the glass is done. I am still thinking about how to do the actual glass. I want to do it in a single application if possible, at least the actual box part, so I will likely make some sort of permanent backing structure or I may pre mold the rockers and then attach them. The tricky part in my mind is attaching them to the inside of the tub sides that hang down and will be the outside of the box. I know they are very sturdy because I layered two layers of chopped glass from the floor to them and then folded the final layer of biaxial over all of it when I attached the floor. I dont want to overlap the outside more than a final layer for aesthetics, but want a solid structural connection to the bottom of the boxes that I am constructing. I guess I will have to pre attach a ledge to the inside for the bottom to bond to. I got sidetracked and didn't get to work on it and I really need to set the body on the frame and double check my measurements and make some marks, etc before beginning the procedure. I went to our local Thursday evening car show and got a dose of motivation, lol. If energy was as easy to get, I'd have this thing on the road.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
Well, it's sitting on the frame..... I got sidetracked, again... Got one of the rag tops out, finally, and it needed some TLC, my Valkyrie needed some TLC, the tractor, mower, my son got rear ended a while back and the insurance company of the other driver who was at fault is progressive, they suck, and refuse to pay enough to fix or replace his car, so I had to do it to keep him mobile and working, then I got into a horse trade on a '74 ford truck and just finished pulling the parts I wanted and selling or scrapping the rest. Short story, tomorrow I plan to get back to it... You know how it goes. Set it back on the frame to get some accurate marks to construct the inner rocker boxes. That and to verify figment of a few items and to verify location of the battery bracket before welding it. So far, everything looks pretty good, a little tight, but that's good, I can clean up the edges a bit to obtain some wiggle room. Hopefully after this weekend, if I get back on it, I will have some progress to report.
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
