Sbeckman7's Project: BR1

[sbeckman7]

So it is. Furious re-design underway..

Basically what happened as I found out today but just now realized is the BBS rims raised the entire car about 1.5-2 inches. As a result, the front subframe should be that much higher and the drop now needs to be in the ballpark of 5". With the rear subframe already perfectly level as the car sits, it will need to be 7" higher than the floor. This should mean I wont have to cut into the main frame. More metal on the way!

[sbeckman7]

Found out today: At the correct ride height for the subframe the control arms clear the frame with no modifications necessary. Like I said, next step is to order more metal and finish lowering the frame. After that the list goes as follows:

- Redo main frames with floorpan drop
- Tack roll bar to tie frame together
- Tack front and rear strut mounts and supports
- Tack proposed floor structure
- Tack upper frame piping
- Test fit engine, transmission, and seats
- Completely weld structural chassis
- Paint chassis for corrosion protection
- Install engine, transmission, and seats
- Wiring, install electronics
- Brakes
- Alignment
- Install polycarbonate windshield
- Weld aesthetic supports
- Create/install fiberglass body
- Build up/install race engine
- Install removable speaker system

[nimbuzz]

Spence, Perhaps it seems boring but I think the most time saving thing you could do right now is to make a complete drawing of the chassis dimensions. In my experience I and others go crazy trying to design in real life full size--especially steel. A drawing shows you how it all goes together and something like the wheel size is part of the drawing so not to be overlooked. With so many variables it is probable that others will pop up and require redoing also. The drawing is not time consuming as it saves massive amounts of time in the long run. If it were me I'd draw on graph paper with a ruler with the paper chosen for a particular scale. I'd make a large drawing of the frame and another of front and rear suspension details. Basic drafting is a very valuable skill. Or, of course you could use a CAD program. Have you asked your teacher if he can teach you any of those? You might ask IUPUI what mechanical design program they use then you could hit the ground running there. I don't know of any designers that proceed in real structure step by step. At IUPUI you will learn to make a detailed complete drawing then a detailed complete model and only then proceed to real structures.

Good luck and Congratulations on IUPUI!!!

[sbeckman7]

Yeah, I actually have been doing all the drawings in CAD but as you can see I'm constantly revising them. So, the drop is confirmed at 7", which will give me 4.5" inches of ground clearance; more than a GT3 and about the same as a Gallardo. My question now: is it structurally safe to do a 7" vertical drop in a 4.5" horizontal space? It doesnt seem like it. If my instincts are right, I will do the drop gradually over the bent sections of the frame. Then I can have up to 27" for the drop. Thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated.

[sbeckman7]

So, I took Al's advice and instead of using cad for sort of estimating the overall build, I finally built the entire frame with the exact dimensions. In addition I added rough outlines of the axles, wheels, engine, and seats for making sure the dimensions would allow everything to fit. I'm happy to say they're an exact match to the drawings I had conceptualized earlier in the week. There should be no more surprises...

[nimbuzz]

S, When you say "built the entire frame with the exact dimensions" Do you mean drew the frame or built a model? Or did you stay up all night for a week and weld the entire frame --hehe

[sbeckman7]

Haha nope, I just modeled the frame in AutoCAD using the exact dimensions. It would be nice to have that already built though!


Much better pictures:



Front View:


Rear View:


Side View:


Top View:



The BBS RS:

Lip:


Bolts:


Face:


Barrel:


Complete Rim about 4 hours later:
[/u]

[sbeckman7]

Got the original frame cut up today. I think I can save myself a little time on the rear sections by using some of the material already welded on, so that's nice. In other news, I've decided to go back to my original double hoop roll bar since it's what suits the look of this car the best, even if it doesn't immediately comply with all the SCCA and NASA guidelines. I figure if I ever want to race it more competitively than auto-x, I'll do what it takes to get the car ready. Additionally, I've been thinking about the weight of the vehicle, and realized that my original 1600lb estimate was very generous. If a Caterham weighs around 1100 pounds on average, I think I can shoot for 1300-1400. If any of these numbers look wrong let me know, but I think they're fairly accurate.


Front Subframe w/ wheels and steering: 125
Rear Subframe w/ wheels and diff: 175
Chassis/tube frame: 400
Engine w/ all accessories: 350
Transmission: 80
Driveshaft: 20
Seats (two): 40
Floorpans: 30
Interior trim/wheel/electronics: 30
Full 15 gal. Fuel tank: 125
Total: 1375 lbs

180hp stock gets me nearly 260hp/ton
350hp gets 500


And here's a picture of a cool weight distribution calculator. I know it cant be super accurate but it provides a good set of numbers anyway

[tsmall07]

Looks like it's coming together...conceptually, at least. You're a lot better off now than when you were building off thw hand sketches. Nice CAD skills.

[sbeckman7]

Looks like it's coming together...conceptually, at least.

Couldn't have put it better myself! Hopefully physical progress follows.

[sbeckman7]

A cutout of the original design sketch placed over the CAD drawing. Lucky shot!

[mooseheadm5]

Nice BBS RS. Did you make the bolts M7?

Is the face slightly convex?

[sbeckman7]

I believe the bolts are M7, but alas the face is merely flat.

[sbeckman7]

Today I had a lot of progress. I stayed from 5th to 7th period (about 2.5 hrs) and cut all of the pieces for the new frame except the two beams running along the seats. I'll need to order more metal for those so I'm hoping to make another trip to Albany Steel on Monday. Sadly they aren't open on the weekend. In other news, the rest of my life has been great. After discussing my gap year proposal with IUPUI, they were not guaranteeing that my money would be there for me when I arrived next year. Many emails and a few phone calls later, they finally discussed the matter in a meeting. Two days ago I got a call from them saying that under the circumstances (I've told them a lot about this project and how it relates to my future) they would make an exception and keep my money for me Another great experience that same day was tracking down the original owner of my e34 535i/5. I was looking through the service manual for about an hour, peeling back whiteout and finding an old name, telephone numbers, and addresses. After a many google searches I finally found Dr. Cynthia Ruiz, a cardiologist, operating out of Redlands, CA near LA. Gave the office a call and she was on vacation but I had a great talk with her secretary who got a kick out of it and said Dr. Ruiz would love to hear about it. I'm hoping to come away with some good stories, or at least hear what her ownership experience was like!

[tsmall07]

What money did you give them and why were they going to take it? I don't understand.

[sbeckman7]

What money did you give them and why were they going to take it? I don't understand.

Sorry, what I meant is I received scholarships from them and they were very ambivalent about holding the scholarship money for another year.

[nimbuzz]

Spence, Are you sure those sizes & scale proportions are right in the drawings? The wheels looks so small compared to the seats & etc it looks like a go cart!

[sbeckman7]

I believe everyhing is drawn to scale... It could be that the perspective makes the wheels appear smaller. I find this to be true when looking at side views of cars and then from other views. Of course I could always get some larger wheels too!

[nimbuzz]

Other than that they look good. Can you take an angle off the the drawing and use that to cut the same correct angle on your steel frame material?

[sbeckman7]

The bandsaw in the shop here actually has the degree increments built in to it, so I just adjust the degree and it cuts pretty accurately.


In other news, got some upsetting news today. The organization I was hoping to secure the sponsorship from is not currently able to grant me the money due to the legal terms of sending a check to an individual (as supposed to a school) and the fact that their budget is currently focused on their 30th anniversary campaign. Hopes for the future then..

[tsmall07]

That sucks. You need to get your ass in gear if you hope to get this thing running and driving by the end of the school year.

[sbeckman7]

It's not supposed to be running by the end of the year. Just get the bare chassis rolled home.

[sbeckman7]

Small update: Got the remaining needed metal to finish the frame rails yesterday. Should be tacked next week and welded by that weekend.

[sbeckman7]

Almost finished the cutting today. I had to redo one of the rear subframe C-mounts due to a wrongly angled cut but it just has to be ground down a bit more and then welded. As for the rest of the frame, slow but steady. Here are the two pieces (pictured upside down) that attach to the front subframe. You get a good idea of the drop by looking at the angle and height of the pieces. Test fits look good.

[sbeckman7]

SO, today I got a lot of work done. I tack welded all but 4 of the remaining frame pieces and softened the edges on the rear subframe C-mounts (sorry the picture doesn't show it well). That said, The two angled pieces coming off of the subframe C-mounts are off. Both are the correct angle, but one is a fairly significant 3/16" longer than the other. My two options are to break the tacks and cut another piece or try to fix the current one with a band saw. Hopefully I'll have the entire thing tacked by Friday so I can take it to Daniel's shop this weekend.

[sbeckman7]

More progress today! Repaired the error in one of the C-mounts for the subframe and tack welded most of the left side of the frame. This time I'm using a massive protractor made from thick cardboard and drawn on Autodesk Inventor, so my angles should be much more accurate. I won't be able to work on it tomorrow since I don't have class, but I should be able to have the entire thing tack welded by Friday afternoon so Daniel can TIG weld it for me over the weekend. Pictures below.
Just looking at the ride height makes me know this thing is gonna be f*****g mean

[tsmall07]

Good deal. It should be easy to finish up the frame now.

[sbeckman7]

I'm going to make at least two of every body panel on the car in case it gets hit, vandalized, etc, but I have been toying with the idea of black, dark red, or dark blue paint for the first set of body panels. After seeing these pictures it was a no brainer.







Photos by Bernd Kammerer

I'll be doing the rims all silver with widened chrome lips, possibly matching blue wheel bolts (although would look odd with the other color body panels installed). The frame itself will either be white, black, or blue, and the engine will be white with blue accents so it stands out. I've always like things that look a bit different. One of the sets of body panels, probably the black one, will be covered in small phrases, words, sayings etc. that I find either humorous or thought provoking; like those little personalized phrases people like to post on facebook. If you have any good sayings, throw them on this page!

[1st 5er]

"You know what they say..."

[sbeckman7]

FINALLY! The frame is completely tacked! Spent the afternoon taking care of the last 4 welds and getting everything exactly square and level. Dimension wise, it is dead on, and I did this without a jig! I guess it paid off; the pipes look great when mounted on the subframes. An excellent day.