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Our floors have always been a core mat material; 6 oz fiberglass with a 7oz cloth backer, core, another 6oz/7oz glass layer.  Early floors used a wood core, new floors use an aerospace hexcel material.  And before anyone says anything about a "fiberglass" floor, they have been strength tested and outperformed minimum OEM standards for real production vehicles.

I know at one time Vintage used an aluminum sheet for their floor, and it was thick.  @VSpyder could tell you exactly, but I'd guess 3/16", maybe more.

The original Spyder used a very thin sheet metal floor, BUT the seats floated between the firewall and the round chassis crossmember, the shifter hung off this same crossmember, the pedals mounted to the bulkhead... so it was essentially a light dust shield from the road and there was no need for it to have structure s ince nothing bolted to it or was supported by it.

@550aus posted:

Looks like they opted for barn door rather than keyhole surgery.

It’s a  L O N G  and tragic tale of a pair of TKRs gone wrong, but this is the 4th time we’ve had the 10” long incision in my knees (2 per side). The incisions have gotten progressively more “Frankenstein-like”, enough so that I wrote a love note to the practice, and ended up with the surgeon’s cell phone number. It was a nice gesture, but I’d have preferred it if he hadn’t used a reciprocating saw to open and had not used a staple gun to close me back up  

@550aus posted:

What were you doing in PNG? It's mostly mining and beaurocrats?

I worked with a mission to a smallish (40k people +/- at the time) tribal group in the Southern Highlands Provence. I was a “Local Development Officer”, which was a 5 dollar title for a 50 cent carpenter. I was tasked with turning the practical arm of the mission over to local guys who didn’t have a word for “straight” or “level” in the local language. It was a job for a young idealist, and I fit the bill by being both. It was a long road to becoming an grizzled old pipefitter, but I walked it just the same.

@550aus posted:

I grew up in Brisbane which is tropical, but not PNG tropical, at least it wasn't back then.

Brisbane (even back then) was probably more tropical than the SHP, PNG. My house was 2° off the equator at 6000 ft, so it dipped into the 50s (F) at night and topped out at 80 +/- during the day, 365 days/yr. I spent 3 months down in the swamps along the coast building a house for another mission family. THAT was tropical— probably 95+, and exceedingly humid. The highlands were like ShangraLa.

@550aus posted:

images-61

Yep— that is the EXACT look the businessman from the cities were rocking in 1988. It was a look I couldn’t really put my head around.

Last edited by Stan Galat
@550aus posted:

I went looking for 914 sliders/rails, and the search brought up these Sparco track mounts. They look like they'll keep the seat nice and low.

31476__30961

I fitted replacement seats to my last two cars. Lotus seats in the MX5, and Recaros in the Alfa. Both were lower than stock, and I also raised the front in each case, by 10mm or so, to get the right position. I think the seats I've got will work well when I've got them sorted.

The vestigial lump under the fuel tank has already been chopped out, that would have been a nightmare to live with.

I don't have much scope to move the accelerator pedal to the other side of the centreline, this car being RHD 😄 . I don't want the passenger to have that much entertainment.

The key with the 914 style slider is that it hinges at the rear at the floor and the angle of tilt can be locked into place. But it sounds like you have experience with seat positioning, so I'm sure you'll find a sweet spot.

I have a Vintage Spyder built by Seduction Motorsports in 2015. I've been modifying it ever since.  My floor is aluminum, probably 3/16" like Chines said.

We're all excited that your sharing your build with us. Probably the first documented build of a Kitman, that we know of.

@Stan Galat  I knew someone who used to sell the prosthetic implants to orthopaedic surgeons. I had the misfortune to watch a couple of the videos promoting whatever new and exciting gizmo they were pushing. It was pretty brutal stuff. I've seen a butcher bone a chicken with more finesse than the "surgeons" were demonstrating on some poor buggers hip.

That experience you had in PNG is priceless. Did you ever venture anywhere near the Kokoda Track?

No, the Kokoda Trail was quite a bit further SE from where we were.

There WAS a trail Western thrill seekers would walk running to Lake Kutabu that jumped off near Nipa Station and ran directly by the house where we lived. We hosted at least a half-dozen couples or solitary hikers from various places (mostly Europe and Israel) in the 30 months we were there. Apparently, we were in Lonely Planet (or some such book) as a soft touch for a free meal and place to stay.

We were, and the company was most welcome.

Last edited by Stan Galat
@550aus posted:

@Carlos G I went and had another look at those 914 rails. It's a good idea, but I'll be the only one driving it, so the seat angle will be a set and forget deal.

I haven't seen another kitman 550 being built either. I'm positive the factory never tried assembling one, at least not from the kit they sell

To get the seat tilt (914) the toothed gear (separate from the rails) is also needed.  Know you aren't using them but others might have interest.  Being able to tilt the seat back (on a fixed back seat shell) can give a tall person or one with long arms extra room and perhaps lower their head below the windshield.

toothSeat1

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@550aus posted:

@Stan Galat  I knew someone who used to sell the prosthetic implants to orthopaedic surgeons. I had the misfortune to watch a couple of the videos promoting whatever new and exciting gizmo they were pushing. It was pretty brutal stuff. I've seen a butcher bone a chicken with more finesse than the "surgeons" were demonstrating on some poor buggers hip.

That experience you had in PNG is priceless. Did you ever venture anywhere near the Kokoda Track?

My younger brother freaked out after warching a YT video of a doctor hammering a knee implant in with a dead blow hammer. He said if that’s what they did to him, it was good he didn’t know anything about it. He also said it pretty much explained the post-op pain he experienced.

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