"The Next One" - Handcrafted Mid-Engine Sports Car

I really appreciate everyone's enthusiasm on my Rhythm fabrication thread. That really shows the passion you guys have for not only your projects underway in your garages but as well as other members' rides. Thanks very much.

I had mentioned that I wanted to share a new project vehicle that was in progress. Like the first vehicle build, it's something that both my dad and I are involved with...I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Idea

Rhythm was in the final stages of assembly and as crazy as it sounds in the back of my mind I found myself already tossing around the idea of creating a second mid-engine vehicle. However, taking into account what had been learned over the course of the building Rhythm, I decided that if and when this new project began, fabrication would have to be approached from an entirely different perspective.

You may have previously seen that Rhythm’s body was essentially hammered and dollied out entirely by hand. While this sounds impressive and taught me how sheet metal behaves, it was immensely time consuming – not something I wanted to repeat. So an English wheel would have to be bought or built to help in creating the panels. I decided to build one. Also, with the next one, a fixture would have to be developed to not only provide a base for shaping the body panels, but to also ensure higher fabrication tolerances. These fixtures are usually referred to as bucks and can be created many ways including carving a full-scale shape out of foam or building a wooden buck. To meet our requirements we decided to create a wire frame buck. This buck would provide the flexibility to alter particular aspects of the design features relatively easily if it was ever necessary. To ensure that the buck was always square and remained true during the sheet metal shaping process an extremely rigid frame table was necessary. I dislike doing things over again, so the frame table was designed and built in such a way that it was fully adjustable in all 3 planes and to not only work for this project but for others as well.

Design Overview

Starting out as a fresh sheet of paper design, ‘the next one’ loosely resembles Rhythm. Simply called R2, the lines have been re-proportioned and tightened up resulting in a modern aggressive appearance. Since it’s being built as a driver, we want a final fit and finish that only a metal body can provide. An LS6/LS7 engine mated to a Porsche G50 transmission called for a redesign of the chassis for increased rigidity as well. Rolling on 275/35/R18s in the front & 315/30/R19s rear R2 is 28” shorter, 6” narrower, and a little over 900lbs lighter for a total weight of about 2800lbs. The final horsepower to weight ratio is expected to come in around 6lb/HP.

Here are the specifics:
R2SpecSheet2.jpg


Creating the Wire Frame Buck

Once R2’s final design was established and renderings completed 2-dimensional construction drawings were created. These were then taken to a print shop and scaled to full size side, top, front & rear views and posted on our shop’s ‘build board’. Then the exciting part began. To create the wire frame buck, the wheelbase, engine/transmission, seating position, and front windscreen locations were set using sliding jigs on the frame table based on design dimensions from a common datum point. Construction of the wire frame buck began by simultaneously working with four drawings and translating reference dimensions from the ‘build board’ into 3D and 'stump shaping' steel rods, square-stock, and flarbar to match the appropriate feature curves.

Initial 20 minute mockup... I grabbed some parts from storage to get an idea of the new proportions. Ahh.. no worries, those won't be the final wheels... :D
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We're into the thick of it with the fabrication of the wire frame buck. The various lengths of box tubing were fabricated to slide along the frame table, then lock into place at set positions. Other lengths were tacked to them.
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To make room for another job, R2 is rolled out of the bay and covered up. At this point, with most of the wire frame completed, the tarp actually created a temporary surface on the buck and outlined some of the body lines.
R2-UnderWraps12.jpg


Just to clarify, the wire frame is a temporary structure. Once all the inner & outer panels have been created it will be removed and all the panels re-assembled on their own.

__________________
Nick M.

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
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Once all the pieces are run through the tipping wheel they are put into the shrinker/stretchers to bend them into their appropriate locations.
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After about 30 minutes or shrinking/stretching the pieces are in place… ready for final tweaking to smooth out any deviations in the corner highlight and welded.
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Pieces are removed, tweaked, plug holes created and welded together…except for the top allowing the part to be inserted.
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All the welds are smoothed out.
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Taking a break from grinding the structure - making another list for details that still need to be finished before primer is applied.
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The body is really starting to take shape – even though it’s only the structure. It'll be a shame to cover all this fabrication up with the exterior panels.
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Cool sparks! Hiding under the car – to finish welding the floor pans.
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Finding some areas that weren’t welded earlier.
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__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
Body structure ground, washed, sanded, washed again and getting prepped for primer.
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Interior looks quite bare…at least at the moment.
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Shooting the structure with primer is next.

Thanks for checking out the progress. :lol:
__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
Marvellous, many thanks for the latest update Nick. Should I one day be fortunate enough to win the Lottery, you and I will be very busy on a dream project that I have in mind :amuse:
 
Here comes the primer!

Shooting the first coat of 2k epoxy starting from the inside areas and working out.
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Mixing up a rather reduced gun of 2k Epoxy allows it to seep into most of the joints and crevices. Working systematically soon all the bare metal will be sealed up.
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Then, after a few more coats of regular consistency epoxy, R2’s structure looks quite different.
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Getting some 2k primer on areas of panels that'll be hidden from view once installed.
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Door shells and hood structure also have some primer on them and set aside... for now.
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Thanks for looking. :lol:
__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
Some work that was done on the front end.

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This bracket ties together 3 crucial areas: front body mount; hood trough; and inner fender. It also acts as one part of the headlight mount.

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Structural web installed using a jig that references the frame table and outer headlight mount.

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Jig removed and headlight ready to be mocked up.

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Tacking together pieces that make up the door hinge arm.

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Hinge arm cooling after being welding complete.

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Grinding begins on the hinge arm.

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Resuming where we left off a while ago with this door, the passenger door is reassembled without the shell.

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Swinging the hinge up checking to see that we have the appropriate clearances.
__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
The body side has been temporarily installed so that we can start work on the driver’s side hinge.
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Completed door shells had already been primered and being prepped for installation.
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Gapping the shell’s perimeter.
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Impact beams going in…and creating the hinge pocket within the door.
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Voila!! After assembling, lining up the hinge arm and tacking things in place we try swinging the door.
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Now it’s time to make things a little more permanent. All the brackets are tacked in place so that the staged assistance lift cylinders can be mounted.
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Butterfly doors all set up and opening on their own. Ready to disassemble the brackets and impact beams and prep them for paint.
INVR2-BodyFabrication4372_zps861fa909.jpg

__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
If you guys want to see a video of the doors in action visit this link on my facebook site. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151249339872084&set=vb.110492185660865&type=3&theater

Here's another little thread update.
Starting to fabricate the integrated roll cage structure. Once installed, you’ll never see it.
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“Normal” bending procedures couldn’t be used. In order to have it fit between the sheet metal roof structure and roof skin the angles got a little tricky.
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Several methods can be used to cut the ends of the DOM tubing for a tight fitment. Here we’re using a hole saw cutter that best fit the tubing outside diameter.
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Front hoop clamped in the tubing bender. Unlike a standard pipe bender, this type of bender will not kink the DOM. The heavy duty hubs we have kicking around always seem to come in handy for stands.
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With the shop renovation underway things get pretty dusty no matter how many times we go through and clean up.
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Finishing up the final welds on the cab’s cage structure. That’s one hot flash!
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With the cage temporarily installed, it's time to add the mounts for the seat belt harnesses. It'll be removed again for final welding on the brackets.
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A while ago I started on the door hinge close out panels.
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Starting out with a blank of sheet metal the template shapes where transposed and pieces trimmed. A perimeter flange needed to be ‘tipped’ up. The only problem with this was that there is too much material in the corners. Using the Lancaster shrinking machine isn’t too effective due to the corner radii. So I created this tucking tool that creates tucks in the sheet metal essentially reducing the amount of material in the corners.
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After one time around with the tucking tool you can see how much material needs to disappear to create appropriate flange angles. Next, the ends of the tucks need to be closed. This will lock in the tuck and prevent it from running away.
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Locked in, a hammer is used to drive the bumps down basically mashing the material into itself.
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Once all the bumps were driven down, additional tucks were required for the flange to stand up some more. The tuck shrinking procedure is repeated again to make more material “disappear”.
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With all the tucks hammered down, the flange is now at the correct angle. The edges are trimmed and the piece is ready to be welded in, but only after the inner reveal and removable cover plate(template on right) have been created.
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Once the inner piece was shaped and tacked in place the actual hole that the hinge passes through needed to be created.
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Hinge close out access panel created with edges turned inward for that 'factory' appearance.
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Closeout panel trimmed and mocked up with a 3/16" gap between the hinge and hole perimeter. Still need to create fastener mounts on the inner face so that when finished and installed you don't see any fasteners when the door is opened.
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Hey T9! I'm cutting up R2!?!
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Kidding! :lol::lol:

Just a little as sometimes it’s necessary to back up a little in order to move forward. The location of the door latch was moved from its “original” location due to the way that the hinge pivot worked out. Naturally, this new spot had to interfere with the upper impact beam tube by about ¾”. Thanks Murphy.

OEM R2 door latches are being installed. Seriously, that's factory stamped.
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Chop! Chop! Work begins on the door latch bracket.
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Opening up the latch's strike slot.
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Driver's side latch installed, now time to clean it up and finish the sheet metal work.
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Assembling the passenger side latch. Once aligned, the bracket can be welded in.
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There have been other jobs and projects that pull me away from the R2 build.

Here's an illustration of the '32 Ford inspired roadster that's currently in progress. You can see the build photos on my facebook site.
INRDSRT-Speedsterp_zps0c523892.jpg


Thanks for looking. :)
__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
Here's a photo of the roaster as of last night. Just fabricated the hood skin. Soon as the hood's structure is complete, the skin will have the flanges rolled.
INVRDSTR-Body1162_zps4a062a22.jpg
 
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Hi everyone, it's been a while since my last update on R2 as things have been pretty crazy here around the shop. Thanks for you patience.

Here are a few photos of the body's seams being caulked and installation of the integrated cage.

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Completed parts getting prepped for paint and touchup.
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Steve working on the cage… aligning and making final preparations for the unit to be welded in place.
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That’s it! Finally welding underway
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Some welds are trickier than others.
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Adding a door strike backer plate before the body sides get installed for the final time. The welded areas will be touched up with primer agian.
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Body sides mounted, clamped in place and prepped for final welding.
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Hey, look Maw… no clamps! Plug welds completed. Sorry for the blurry image...those reflections kept throwing the focus of the camera.
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Roof skin installation is coming up next. Thanks again for checking out this project.
 
With the body sides on permanently, preparations are being made to install the roof skin.
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Fitting the roof for the final time. With edges rolled under at the door tops, low spots are slowly worked out with a dollie and spoon.
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Roof's rear edge aligned with the window surround.
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This is as close as we can get without the windscreen in place. Next step, mock up the windscreen and gap the perimeter.
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Windscreen dropped into place. Checking to ensure that we haven’t lost the ¼” perimeter gap during the transition from the wire frame buck stage to the current stage of panel assembly.
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Final check of the perimeter gap...
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Head on check for symmetry. Except for a small area on the driver’s side that needs to be brought up prior to welding, all the reflections look great!
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With the glass out, we can proceed to clamp and plug weld the roof into place.
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Thanks for looking and I'd like to wish everyone a very happy and great New Year! Cheers! :)
__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
Windscreen dropped into place. Checking to ensure that we haven’t lost the ¼” perimeter gap during the transition from the wire frame buck stage to the current stage of panel assembly.
INVR2-BodyFabrication4822_zps90d2f4b8.jpg


The perimeter gap is spot on! Patience and planning does pay off.
INVR2-BodyFabrication4832_zps1f68b46f.jpg


Head on check for symmetry. Except for a small area on the driver’s side that needs to be brought up prior to welding, all the reflections look great!
INVR2-BodyFabrication4842_zps89e43842.jpg


With the glass out, we can proceed to clamp and plug weld the roof into place.
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Words fail me............No, of course they don't :) Brilliant work, how about a long shot to show whole car?
 
Windscreen dropped into place. Checking to ensure that we haven’t lost the ¼” perimeter gap during the transition from the wire frame buck stage to the current stage of panel assembly.
INVR2-BodyFabrication4822_zps90d2f4b8.jpg


The perimeter gap is spot on! Patience and planning does pay off.
INVR2-BodyFabrication4832_zps1f68b46f.jpg


Head on check for symmetry. Except for a small area on the driver’s side that needs to be brought up prior to welding, all the reflections look great!
INVR2-BodyFabrication4842_zps89e43842.jpg


With the glass out, we can proceed to clamp and plug weld the roof into place.
INVR2-BodyFabrication4852_zps0f0a9362.jpg




You Sir are Blessed with Creativity and an OPEN Mind to pursue it! :cool:|B
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I can't wait to get back onto this build in full force... the roadster and a few other projects need to get more or less done before R2 is back in the shop.

old-git - Here's a photo taken while things were being shuffled around in the shop. Body is close to being complete, however as a whole we have a ways to go.
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... a bit off topic, but here's one of the roadster.
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Thanks, both looking great.

Geez, I have trouble finding the time to rebuild one car, let alone make a couple (at least) from scratch. Could I have the contact details of your energy tablet supplier? :)
 
Energy tablets?!?... Dang!.. why didn't I think of that.. I've been eating coffee grinds by the tablespoon(takes too much nrg to make a cup or run out for one)..:rofl::rofl::woot::).

I have more pictures of the roadster build including the chassis on my facebook page.
__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
I just went through the thread, and I have to say that the car is looking absolutely amazing. You are doing amazing work and I cannot wait to see more.
 
Hi gents, some metal shaping we completed on a friend's XJ6 Series 3.

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Take a deep breath...and cut. There's no room for fear when building a custom.

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Starting with pressed paper, the main area is laid out with indicators showing where to cut, bend, stretch and shrink.

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Lines transferred to sheet metal

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Now the fun begins! Prestretching and metal manipulation.

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Smoothing things out before more prestretching can take place.

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Taking on a basic shape!

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Once the other side was completed and many hours of trimming, welding, planishing...the new fascia is just about complete. Needs a set of turn signals.

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Metalwork for this Jag's integrated front fascia is done!
__________________
Nick

A journey in design and fabrication begins with a vision, a single pen stroke ... and in some cases the blow of a hammer.

Some projects: http://www.facebook.com/iNVisionPrototypes
 
Thank you. The boot received the same treatment... that is, a new bumper. Shaved the drip rails, drivers side fuel filler and engine compartment.
 
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