Engine compartment - A New Look

Pulled the body off the chassis for the last time .... I hope.
Finished up with the epoxy undercoating. Also started on the sheet metal work on the engine compartment. My home made carbon fiber panels fit perfect. All the aluminum sheet metal is polished.it looks a bit dirty looking because of the plastic film on it for protection.

Geez, Joe.....that looks GORGEOUS!

Damn nice work!

gn

Joe, that looks great. Did you cut and form the metal panels? Or did you make patterns and get them done at a shop?

Other Qs. What will you use to hold the carbon panels, and how are you fastening the metal panels? And the picture shows a carbon covered sumpthin on the right firewall... is that fresh air venting?

Your work looks pro level to me. The bends and and seams are DNP.

Thanks!So far I have custom made everything. Since I change the pitch of the BAS mufflers( 90 degrees) and raised the rear frame rails I could not use the stock sheetmetal. I made sure I had lots of poster board material for making templates. The bending was done on an aluminum sheetmetal brake ( the one used for aluminum siding). I am lucky the neighbor is in the remodeling business. I did buy a bead roller on ebay. The carbon fiber panels were made using a piece of plate glass for a flat surface mold. Yes there is a cold air duct that will port to the engine fan intake. The future plan is to custom make carbon fiber air boxes to fit around the carbs. That will have to be done using the vac-bag method. Also kicking around the ideas of making aluminum tubs for the wheel wells. I may have found a nicely sized english wheel. I'll post more progress pictures later of my wide body hot rod.

Jim, I plan on using wide faced aluminum rivets.

Jim:

That "carbon covered sumpthin on the right firewall" is a fresh air input (it he's got a CMC, at least). It's molded into the firewall so all you have to do is cut out the opening and, Presto! beau coup fresh air slammed right into the fan intake. I put a 3/8" wire mesh over mine on the engine side to keep leaves, squirrels and small seagulls out of the fan....

gn

JOe:

What do you do for a living? Hope you're not wasting those talented hands sitting behind a desk.....

Great work, Joe! I'm looking forward to an up-close-and-personal look in May!

Gordon , You are right about the occupation. I do sit behind a desk now . I have been working for a major oil company for over 18 years. I moved recently from the refining side of the business over to the pipeline side. Kinda got tired of climbing 100ft tall towers.I picked up most of my skills through trial , error and the willing to tackle anything. Playing around with making surfboards drag racing ,stock car racing and hydroplane racing also help. I plan on retiring at 50 and starting a business. What? haven't figured it out yet. The body is a CMC . It did have a fan intake originally. I had to relocated since I have converted the cooling system to Raby's DTM. The intake is 3 layers of carbon with 5 layers E glass beneath. I found a plastic bucket with the right diameter. It made a perfect mold.

Lookin VERY GOOD!

Nice attention to detail!

Thanks Jake. Any suggestions on the seal that goes between the body sheet metal and engine sheet metal?

I use Frost King Weather Stripping from Home Depot.

Seems to work for me....

I used a VW bus seal. The cross section is shaped like an H and will fill a gap up to 1".

Jerome

Yup, a VW engine bus seal is the best !

The VW engine bus seal works but the mice love 'em. Remember to set traps during storage.

Hello,

Is there a part number for the bus engine seal?

Cheers,
Jim

How 'bout a part number for the mouse traps?

OI812 by Semore Cat