Bringing out the dead Options

[Jeff Hail]

Didn't get much done today.

Fit the Tarett Engineering Anti Sway Bar. Holes measured drill and punch a 1-1/4 inch hole.

The brake line bracket didn't want to leave home peacefully which ended up with a slight wound requiring a quick weld and some grinding.

Measuring and installing the kit only takes about 30 minutes. It took another hour to true the wheelhouse sheetmetal so the bar doesnt bind on the bearing blocks.
If the bar binds the bushings will turn in the bores (not good) and become loose. I don't think I have to say what will happen if the bar doesn't move freely while in operation.

I also added Engmans reinforcement to the wheelhouse. Easy to understand what it's purpose is. A few folks say it doesn't do anything. I disagree. If you know how thin the wheelhouse sheetmetal really is I think it can't hurt.

The bearing blocks must be parallel to each other or the bar will bind and this is the tricky part. Engmans reinforcement helps achive this and keep them parallel.
This section and the sheetmetal directly below the fuel tank cavity are similar to a 911's design yet they are very different. This is an area I feel is a weakness in the 914 compared to the 911 body. The 911 also has it's own inherant weakness as there is no bulkhead between the strut towers. The 911 towers tend to splay open where the 914 also does just not as much. Long story but some homework supports this.

I am contemplating welding a tube from side to side to each nutplate triangle. The bar will ride inside the tube. This will keep the bearing blocks parallel at all times eliminating the what if part? ( I hate what if's when they come later)

[Jeff Hail]

After the reinforcements were welded in I used some Wurth Panel Bond Structural Adhesive around the perimeter of the plates. First to seal the edges from any water getting behind them and second to give an aeshtetic blend once they are coated. Third they ain't never going to move ever! (Better Living thru Chemicals)
Once the Structual Adhesive has cured I will smooth the area out with a DA and final coat of primer.

The left wheelhouse still needs the old coating's removed and has two small rust spots at the pinchweld (flash in my book) that need to be addressed before epoxy primer can be applied.

[Jeff Hail]

While waiting for glue to cure I played with some other parts.

U-Tabs welded to the front control arms and the bushing friction points POLISHED.
Yes POLISHED!

Brake line brackets fabricated, backing plate brackets painted. Rear caliper halves done....The inners are somewhere in Utah. (plug for Shea)
The caliper outers are color matched to Porsche Monoblocks. They are very red but appear very orangish in the photo.

After much thought the inner calipers would be too much a pain in the ass to powdercoat. The area where the e-brake lever pivots doesn't have enough clearance to apply 4-6 mils of powder without rubbing. The inners will be plated by Eric (two plugs for Shea in the same post) because he is THE CALIPER MASTER. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

On another note I am envious of Chris Foley. He now has an assistant. I could use an assistant.....couldnt we all? CFR has added Heidi to it's staff who is internet savvy, artistic and from what I hear she has taken control of Chris's shop with an old 914 (thumper) torsion bar to ensure things get done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/brain.gif)

[Jeff Hail]

Final prep of the reinforcements, one last mockup of the bar and bearing blocks (pivots with finger pressure), weld on the brake line brackets and squirt some primer. Enough for today.



Have a (IMG:style_emoticons/default/birthday3.gif) to attend.....Mine and I am going to do some heavy (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
and get (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stromberg.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bootyshake.gif)

Tomorrow is Father's Day and will be (IMG:style_emoticons/default/jsharp.gif) with pop and will do some more (IMG:style_emoticons/default/287.gif)

Until next week..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/67.gif)

[ChrisFoley]

Heidi's been following me around all day with one of our new Solid Trailing Arm Pivot Shafts in hand. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/splat.gif)
So here's a couple pics of today's rollcage progress for you Jeff:




I've gotta go home and tend to my wounds now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)

[Jeff Hail]

Heidi's been following me around all day with one of our new Solid Trailing Arm Pivot Shafts in hand. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/splat.gif)
So here's a couple pics of today's rollcage progress for you Jeff:




I've gotta go home and tend to my wounds now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)

Awesome! Thats my spec cage.
I like your surface plate with the modified 914 mockup sections. Interesting how you did that. Very flexible system. Post a few more pics once the full mockup is complete for posterity.

[Eric_Shea]

Happy Belated Birthday Lil'Feller! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[oh no, not again!]

Hey Jeff- Seems my new "alter-ego avatar" is doing her job well...... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) all business from now on..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[Eric_Shea]

grrrrrrrowl (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)

[Jeff Hail]

Hey Jeff- Seems my new "alter-ego avatar" is doing her job well...... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) all business from now on..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

Yes she is.... Love it!
(check Chris's email)

[oh no, not again!]

Hey Jeff- Seems my new "alter-ego avatar" is doing her job well...... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) all business from now on..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

Yes she is.... Love it!
(check Chris's email)

heh, heh, heh.....we need a new emoticon, one craking a whip!
Now get back to work, all of you!!!!!!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[ChrisFoley]

heh, heh, heh.....we need a new emoticon, one craking a whip!
Now get back to work, all of you!!!!!!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/whip[1].gif)
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/spank.gif)

[Jeff Hail]

Well lets see ..................what else could go wrong today?

Received notice that the cage Chris Foley built for me was damaged in transit.
I think Chris and I are going to be optimistic and hope it just fell out of the box. Obviously not Chris's fault. In fact we are both wondering what happened? After all it's a bunch of tubing. What could happen? Did I ever say I think very highly of Chris? Never met the man in person but I just like the guy. He is just a racer kind of guy and does stuff that makes things go faster. That's good enough for me.


Received notice from another shipper that a package has been lost now for 15 days and cannot be located. WTF? How can you lose a package that has tracking numbers all over it and be insured for a bundle? Actually this was a full aluminum engine turned interior for a very important friends Pro-Stock race car that took two weeks to complete.

Today turned into a bummer !!!!!!Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

The good new's!
At least one package showed up today without a hitch. Inner caliper halves Eric Shea cleaned up for me. Did I ever say I think very highly of Eric? Never met the man in person but I just like the guy. He is just a racer kind of guy and does cool stuff with brakes. That's good enough for me. Listen to Eric as he has words of wisdom when it comes to brakes.

Despite todays downturn of events I had to get away and enter the inner sanctorum for therapuetic purposes.

REAR CALIPERS
BIG brakes while retaining the 914 caliper body and E-Brake with slight modifications. 14 mm spacers....for 24mm Carrera vented rotors. I didn't even fling any C-Clips across the shop! Amazing something went right today. I am calling it the J-Caliper. I bet Shea just eat's that up?

[KELTY360]

I look at rust like a diamond in the rough. Rust is afraid of me because it know's it cannot live in my world. Metal becomes submissive because I have confidence in my metal working talents.

Jeff - these bold words were part of your 1st post in this thread. You've certainly proved they are not idle boasts. I've been fascinated by your careful techniques and rigid quality standards.

Given your skills and experience, I'm curious about why you've chosen to invest this much time and energy in a 914? Other than the opportunity to scare lots of rust straight.

[Jeff Hail]

I look at rust like a diamond in the rough. Rust is afraid of me because it know's it cannot live in my world. Metal becomes submissive because I have confidence in my metal working talents.

Jeff - these bold words were part of your 1st post in this thread. You've certainly proved they are not idle boasts. I've been fascinated by your careful techniques and rigid quality standards.

Given your skills and experience, I'm curious about why you've chosen to invest this much time and energy in a 914? Other than the opportunity to scare lots of rust straight.

Because I can!.........Seriously this build has something special motivating it. Not easy to put words to it. It is what it is. In time everyone watching will see the light. Time is something I have for this one. To most it may seem like a lot of hard work for a car many would have passed on. The high road always has the better view!

In racing every class has a formula to follow. With a big grin I only know how to lead......second place is not an option.

[ChrisFoley]

Well lets see ..................what else could go wrong today?

Received notice that the cage Chris Foley built for me was damaged in transit.
...

I can hardly believe the box made it to the warehouse in Sun Valley and a FedEx worker there decided it had to come back to Connecticut. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) I highly doubt the cage was damaged, but I fully expected the cardboard box to get beat up. All the indiviual pieces were strapped to the main hoop assembly with large zip ties to keep them together in the event of a containment breach. Now I won't know until next week what the problem is. It just left Bloomington, CA in a trailer this morning. Maybe if I called there yesterday I could have gotten it to go in the right direction again. Sorry Jeff, I thought I had the shipping details worked out so this sort of problem was unlikely.

[Jeff Hail]

Let the insanity begin.........

Fender molds completed

1) 1st lay up in 1/2 oz fiberglass mat with epoxy resin and vacuum bagged. (1/16th inch thick buildup) This mat is so thin you can see through it when its wet. All it is for is to make an egg shell form from a conventional lay up of gelcoat, mat and resin (epoxy versus polyester). Let it cure for a few days. Weighs about 1-1/2 lbs. This was also done done to prevent mat print through with the heavy carbon fiber mat used later.

2) Kevlar tape reinforcements bonded in the stone impact zone. Metal backers (stand offs) bonded where the Dzus fasteners mount in all four corners. This will prevent crush and cracks. Metal reinforcement at the rocker molding mounting/ rear lower fender also.

3)One big ass piece of carbon fiber 5-1/2 oz mat. Ended up doing the lay up in 4 pieces. Easier to work with in wetting out the compound curves. The outside will be flawless. The underside will show the mat seams. (who cares)

Technically this type of lay up is cheating (3 stages). First - It insures less heat build up and warpage with the end thickness desired during cure. Have to sand between cured coats with 80 grit to abrade the surface in between laminates. Going this route require's carefull attention between coats to eliminate air pockets. Worth it in the end.

With fiberlgass resin (poly) you can sand it in a few hours. Epoxy is a different bird. It is not as rigid as (poly) which requires wait time until fully cured. More working time is afforded by epoxy resin depending on which hardener is used. I prefer to let cure for at least 24-36 hours. Epoxy resin has many advantages over (poly). It is UV resistant where as poly is not. It will take an impact and flex before it breaks where as poly will crack or rupture.

4) All cured and ready for trimming.

5) The finished product ready for a coat of DuraTec on the exterior.

[Jeff Hail]

Products used for the lay ups and coatings. 60 minute hardener really helps. It will not cure the epoxy resin in 60 minutes but that is when the kickoff time begins. For every 10 degree's over 70 you can deduct 10 minutes. Was 90 so it was perfect. Lots of time to fix things in process before gel time.


Composites are not my specialty but easy to learn and work. Not much different than working fiberglass just different ingredients to bake the cake. I owe credit to my friend who works in the motion picture/ prop industry for assistance in this step of the game especially the molds. I learned a lot. What to and what not to do. The lay up work is very easy. Tooling the molds -well thats a little bit of a challenge.

Some things I learned....Carbon fiber is just like fiberlgass mat. It works and wets the same. In fact I felt it followed curves better. To me the same except a different color. End product is much lighter weight and stronger than fiberglass mat.

Kevlar is another animal. It cannot be sanded or grinded with ease. It will cut with a body saw once cured with epoxy resin but it is extremely abrasive resistant. As long as it has some epoxy over it it can be bonded and re-bonded by sanding the resin. It will not tear or fray. This is a new material to me and has all sorts of potential uses going thru my head now.

Final thickness is 4-5/16. Like any resin it will flow downhill with gravity to the lowest point. Perfect for street use and 3/4 bullit proof!

[Jeff Hail]

By the way Eric glad to see your daughter was ok after the camping incident. As a camper myself I know strange unexpected things comeout of knowhere without warning. Been there with both extreme weather and large animals myself. It can be humbling.

Looked like an exceptional location to pitch a tent. Better weather next time.

[Eric_Shea]

Thanks Jeff,

Love those newfangled Carerrraa calipers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb3d.gif)