Saturdays, 19 and 26

8/19/17


Last-last Saturday (the one before last), the 19 of August, Tyson and Gabe C spent a couple hours working on the RX-7 (just for future reference, if any of us are working on the car, Mr. Garcia is automatically included in the equation since the Mazda is housed in his shop and the build is done under his supervision/instruction). During their time working, they prepped and painted the engine compartment the same gray as the interior of the cockpit (not sure what to call it; it’s the place where the driver sits and pilots the car. I guess it could also be called the cabin, but, “cabin” gives a sense of enclosure which, in our case, does not exist). They also touched up the dash with Bondo in anticipation of the electronics and vinyl (I believe it will be vinyl) that will be added to it.



8/26/17

Last Saturday, Tyson, Gabe C, and I all made it to the shop to continue progress on the RX-7. At the very beginning of the day, Mr. Garcia put Gabe C to touching-up the paint in the engine compartment. Once the paint dried, we began to secure the radiator to the supports and the supports to the chassis. After we leveled the radiator, we screwed the aluminum cover, which covers the top gap between the chassis and the radiator, to the supports.




Notice, the radiator hoses are in!


Next, I fixed the steering column which I had managed to pop-out of the steering-box a couple weeks ago. With the help of Gabe and Mr. Garcia, I loosened the steering-box from its mount on the chassis, realigned and reinserted the steering column, and then tightened the bolts on the steering-box again. Since this is the second time that this has happened, we realized that the steering column desperately needed a third point of constraint. We already constrained the steering column over the x-axis (side-to-side) and the y-axis (up-and-down) with a bushing mounted under the dash in the cabin. However, the column was still free to move over the z-axis (forward-and-backward, closer-and-farther). This could pose a threat to the driver in the middle of a race. Not only would the driver lose control of the vehicle’s direction, but, if the vehicle were to crash, a loose steering-column might cause an injury. This potentially catastrophic problem can be avoided with a simple bracket attached to an existing mount on the steering column and a solid face of the chassis. Here is the general idea of what we plan on fabricating.




While I finished up the steering-column issue, Gabe C began sorting out the gauges and accessories. Once it was sorted, Mr. Garcia picked out the center console set-up which was part of the original RX-7 and then mocked it up on the dash with clips.




Gabe also bolted in the ignition coils to the chassis.



Meanwhile most of the above took place, Tyson was helping Mr. Garcia with a brake job for a customer's car. Once he finished, he and I worked on the rear trunk lid, adding three pin-mounts (not sure exactly what they are called) to the chassis and drilling holes for the tips to go through the aluminum lid. Once the holes and pins were properly aligned, we riveted washers to the cover for additional support.



Finally, after everyone had left and I was in the office writing the post for last week, Mr. Garcia installed the distributor and spark-plug wires onto the engine. Every day we are one step closer the turning the key!

Saturday, July 22

Once again, it was an 8am-12pm work day, this time with Gabe C, Mr. Garcia, and I.  On this particular Saturday we continued working in the rear aluminum firewall (see post on 7/23/17 titled “Tuesday, July 18”).  We began by mocking up the firewall and tracing on the body where the panel should fit.  Then, I cut a piece of aluminum angle and bent it to make a mounting point on the sidewalls for the panel.  Meanwhile, Mr. Garcia and Gabe were putting the final touches on the panel and cutting it so that it could slide easily in and out of the car without rubbing.  Then, we anchored the aluminum mounts into the sides of the chassis with rivets and inserted threaded rivets into the mount and onto the chassis where the panel would sit.  Finally, we screwed it in.  Job complete!

I'll post a picture of the final product in the near future.  I forgot to take one right after we finished.

Tuesday, July 18

On Tuesday, the 18th, Mr. Garcia and I put in a couple hours into the RX-7.  We adjusted the transmission mount previously installed on the Saturday prior in order to gain proper alignment of the drive-shaft and differential.  We then heated up a point on the exhaust pipes and bent it upwards.  Previously, the muffler would have been scraping the road, but now it will properly expel exhaust fumes out the rear, hopefully aiding in the aerodynamics of the rear end (more on this in a later post when the muffler and ground-effect panel is installed).  After the exhaust pipe cooled, we proceeded to bend and shape the aluminum back panel/firewall (mentioned in my 6/20/2017 post “Excuses”) in the most DIY way possible.  We used a metal pipe handle for our bending point with the weight of the Mazda holding one end down and my body weight the other.  It actually worked pretty well, however, we did have to do a few minor tweakings to the curvature to get to the desired radius throughout and to the sides of the panel for it to fit properly.  Thus ended Tuesday, the 18th.

   

Saturday, July 15

As of these past two Saturdays our hours have been cut down a bit from 9-4 to 8-12.  We’ve found (Correction Mr. Garcia found) we are more productive in the first few hours in the morning before lunch time.  After lunch we tend to slow down and progress is not considerable.  And so, on Saturday the 15th during our 4 hours, we were able to install the transmission mount, prime the interior, and Bondo (a product we are using to fill in the uneven surfaces of fiberglass) the dashboard.

   

The Rear Bumper

If you have been following our previous posts, you will have noticed that we have a hard time holding onto our bumpers.  First, we started off with a cardboard bumper mold.  Then, the cardboard was modified.  Next, we filled the mold with plaster of paris.  Then, we scrapped it.  The second bumper mold was made of styrofoam.  This was scrapped as well.  Finally, Mr. Garcia had the amazing idea to invert the rear bumper of a Toyota which he found in the junkyard.  So far, this bumper has remained and today Mr. Garcia and I had the pleasure of working on it.

Because the body of a Toyota is slightly wider than our Mazda, the rear bumper had to be shortened.  It was first cut in half, then laid one on top of the other on the car in order to visualize the proper length.  I then drilled holes through the plastic bumper and the car’s aluminum and installed riveted threads so that we could properly secure the bumper.  Next, we drew a guide line over the longer half of the bumper and cut it to size.  In order to connect the two halves (almost halves), we took a piece of aluminum and cut and bent it to match the curvature of the bumper.  We then riveted this plate to both sides of the bumper.

Half-way!

Aluminum Connecting Plate

Final Product

Hopefully this is the last of our bumpers!  Thus far, it’s pretty secure!  Looks good, too!

Excuses

Sorry for once again going for such a stretch of time with no posts.  Nearly the whole team, including myself, has been out of town since June 4 and I, quite frankly, neglected to write anything about the work completed May 30, June 2, and 3.  So, here is my short redemption:

On Tuesday, May 30, Mr. Garcia and I began making the rear firewall.  But before we started on the firewall, I quickly made a stencil for the intake manifold gasket.  Now, back to the firewall.  We began by cutting a cardboard template of the empty area behind the driver’s seat.  Then, we used the template as a stencil to cut out the actual aluminum firewall.  Since the fire wall is longer than a single sheet of aluminum, we used as much as we could, as efficiently as possible, and then riveted another piece to completed the structure.  Firewall complete!  Sometime after I left, Mr. Garcia installed the intake manifold and Weber Carburetor.

On Friday, June 2, Tyson progressed on the aluminum trunk lid.  He added little adjustable support surfaces on the inside of the lid and adjusted them so that the lid is level with the rest of the body.  All the trunk needs now is a latch and it’s good to go. Gabe C bolted in the 3rd link mount, thus completing the rear end suspension system.

On Saturday, June 3, Mr. Garcia, Gabe C, Tyson and I all worked at the shop.  We began the process of directing air to the Weber Carburetor.  Instead of just having the filter stick out of a hole in the hood, we decided to add a scoop.  The plan is to have your typical scoop on the top and then add the sides of an inverted bowl-like shape surrounding the filter and, finally, a plate underneath the filter which seals with the rim of the bowl.  As of right now, we have a template of the bottom plate and have channeled the hood to direct air to the whole filter.  I will post clarifying pictures once the scoop is complete.  While Tyson and I were working on the plate template, Gabe bolted in the 3rd link mount, thus completing the rear end suspension system.

This Past Week

This past week, both Tyson and Gabe C went to the shop on Wednesday and I went on Saturday.  The Wednesday crew installed the aluminum top cover for the right door, thus completing the final door and insuring its structural integrity.  With the help of Mr. Carvalho, they also began shaping the front bumper and fenders by sanding the crudely fiberglassed areas.  When I came to the shop of Saturday, Mr. Garcia and I continued right where they left off.  Mr. Carvalho's sanding had exposed some areas where the fiberglass was insufficient and weak.  When we were originally applying the fiberglass, we mainly did so to the outside of the fender.  And so, when it came time to shape the bumper and fender, most of the fiberglass was removed.  Having learned from our mistake, this time we applied fiberglass reinforcement to the inside.  However, before doing so, we fabricated two aluminum brackets, one for each fender, in order to more securely fasten the fender to the nose.  Here are some pictures of the bumper and fenders:

Before
     

Progress


After