Mykk's BMW V8 T-bucket, version 1.5:

[Mykk]

MSpaint skills: The current plan for the frame with the diff perch, gussets, crossmembers and vertical mounts for the fuel tank & steering gear.

Using 1.75" DOM 1/8" wall tubing & 1/4" plate gussets.




For the vertical mounts the 1.75" DOM tubing will be wider then the 1.5" frame, giving me an opportunity to counter sink the tubing into the frame and weld up the inside edge. I'm thinking of also drilling a hole on the outside of the frame and rosette welding the tubing to the frame on the outside edge too.

My plan is to counter sink & rosette weld, as well as surface weld all of the tubing crossmembers and diff perch into the frame.

 

[Indycars]

For that middle cross member, how about using a "K" cross member. Would that provide more stability to frame? And more places to attach the body to the frame. Just a thought, but you do already have the gussets at the very rear corners. Stronger trans mount possibly.


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[Mykk]

That's a good idea, that trans crossmember will double as the radius arm mounts for the jag diff too. A K member is smart.

 

[Indycars]

Every couple of years I get a good one!

I already had a K memeber and the original TH350 mount dropped down from the middle of the K. When I went to a 200-4R the trrans mount had to move back.



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[Spanky]

Great drawings, Rick!

 

[Mykk]

Updated Sketch:



BTW, Indycars drawings are amazing, even added shadows. lol

 

[Mykk]

On the original build I used a Ford truck steering gearbox. The dimensions were good, mounting was easy enough, it was easy to reverse the gears in the box. But worse of all is the 24:1 ratio.



This go 'round I'm looking at the Tri-5 Belair steering gear.



I don't know if this box can be reversed, nor if the output snout will be long enough. But it does have a 16:1 ratio, the belair pitman arm shape lends itself to clearing the side of the cowl, the long input shaft means I can cut it and put the steering wheel just about anywhere I want it and the lower mounting under the fuel tank means I might be able to use a traditional Bucket steering arm.

 

[Buffman]

The rear suspension is awesome. What are you thinking for front suspension? Many moons ago I saw one in CA that used a Dart/Valiant 6cyl torque arm suspension. Ha said it rode very smooth.

 

[Indycars]

BTW, Indycars drawings are amazing, even added shadows. lol

I had 3DS Max by Autodesk and did 3D animations reconstructing accidents for attorneys back then.

Could you do something like this (below) where the steering shaft comes out thru the body?


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[Mykk]

While continuing on the differential today, I wanted to experiment with the caliper mounting & the bracket clocking to see if I could get the calipers hanging on the back of the center section instead of the front:







This was the closest I could get with re-clocking the mount bracket and modifying the caliper mounting. Unfortunately so much material had to come off the calipers to fit like this it isn't a viable or safe solution. But I'm not giving up yet.

 

[Indycars]

Could you use a place like Send-Cut-Send to cut some different brackets to position the caliper where you want them.
They have 165 materials to pick from..

SendCutSend: Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication

Online sheet metal fabrication service. Get custom parts delivered in just a few days—upload STEP or DXF files for instant pricing!

sendcutsend.com

 

[Mykk]

I am currently working with SendCutSend on the diff mount bracket. They've been awesome so far, despite that they've had to send me three different brackets on their dime due to it getting manufactured differently than the file. But they've owned up to every mistake and have been very communicative.

 

[Mykk]

Today's project: Mounting the '50 Pontiac tail lights in the tub.

Leveled the frame and the body with the laser, lowered the horizon about where I wanted the tails.













I'm happy to report the bulb sockets clear the bench seat:

 

[Mykk]

Now that I see the tail lights in place I'm talking myself into a high mount third brake light, specifically a Harley bagger tail turned sideways.

 

[Spanky]

I, too, like the high mounted 3rd brake light.

 

[Mykk]

Searching online I've landed on the Bad Dad 905 (Or the more radical 957) tail lights for baggers.





...just need to save my pennies to order it.

 

[409T]

You might think about putting it low enough that you can wrap the fabric of the interior down over the top rail of the body if you chose to.

 

[Indycars]

If don't have to have the light above, then lights from a trailer supply like etrailer has quality lights.

The light below looks pretty cool, it has a "X"center that can flash different sequences in amber or BLUE. Watch the video below, he give a nice demo of the colors and flash sequences.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/OPT76KB.html

https://videos.etrailer.com/static/images/video/Demo-Optronics-Trailer-Lights-Tail-Lights-Multi-Color-OPT76KB.webm

 

[lincolnuT]

I used two of the Yellow ones on the back of the Cedan for Turn Singals.....I will look for a photo if you want one...

 

[Spanky]

LED's have really improved the visibility of hotrod lighting. I ditched my original '39 Ford incandescent taillights for LED's after seeing how bright they were on a friend's car. No comparison. I had even painted the bulb receptacle white to improve the brightness of the incandescents but they were no match for the LED units, which were clearly visible even in bright daylight. Much safer!