Tuesday, May 23

Once again, this past Tuesday I went to work on the car.  For the longest time, the front bumper has been attached to the nose and fenders by two large zipties and four random screws.  However, this crude mockup has been replaced by a more enduring solution.  The nose now has an aluminum mount with riveted threads in order to easily attach and detach the bumper (and every subsequent bumper in the event of accidents).  Six more riveted threads were added to the fenders, three on each side, which adds up to a total of 15 matching aluminum screws used to secure the bumper.

                   

                                    

It's amazing what just a couple screws can do for the structural integrity of a vehicle.  That bumper is solid!

Pictures

Here are some of the pictures from our meeting with Mr. Barrington which I spoke of in a previous post:

Factory Five GTM Supercar


The man who introduced Irving to aviation


Mr. Irving with his team's latest aircraft build
     

Group picture with Mr. Irving


The airship which took Mr. Irving around the world



Once again, please check out Mr. Irving's non-profit Experience Aviation at http://www.experienceaviation.org.  We look forward to learning from him and his team.  We'll keep you posted on what we learn as we learn it.

In the meantime, Gabe will be posting an update tomorrow about what we accomplished today.

Since summer has begun, we all have a bit more time on our hands to put towards the RX-7.  Our summer plan is to have one person at a time working at the shop with Mr. Garcia during the work week, then, on Saturday, we all will work together like usual.  This will allow us to get the car in working racing order well before the date of the $2017 Challenge (October 20-21).

So, with that said, this past Tuesday I went to work on the Mazda with Mr. Garcia.  For awhile now, the front bumper and front quarter panels have been mocked up on the vehicle.  The bumper was cut short and didn't make it to the wheel well, and the quarter panels lacked a curvature in the front.  However, on Tuesday this situation was changed.  We began by cutting a piece of plastic to elongate the bumper and properly form the wheel well (This piece of plastic came from the bumper which was originally too long.).  These plastic pieces were then riveted to the bumper and the seam was covered and smoothed out by fiberglass paste.  We then moved onto the quarter panels.  Mr. Garcia had previously made a fiberglass piece which fit into the missing crevice.  After grinding and roughening the area on the metal panel where the fiberglass will attach, we aligned the pre-made piece and connected it to the panel with fiberglass paste.  Here are a couple images of what we did:

                       

                           

It's kind of hard to see the final product in the last picture, but in person, the car is finally starting to look like an actual race car.  I'll post a better picture the next time I get the chance.

I would just like to say thank you to all who read this blog and support our efforts.  Also, we still are trying to raise money for this project.  So, if you are able and would like to financially support our endeavors we have a GoFundMe page set up for just that: https://www.gofundme.com/teenmade-2017-racecar.  We would also appreciate it of you would share our blog and what we are doing with your friends.  Again, thank you for your support!  See you in the next post!

Alignment/Door Day

Yesterday was a major alignment day.  We began by putting the vehicle on the lift and removing the rear dampeners.  With the rear-end vertically disengaged we were able to remove the springs and install the spring height adjuster.  After completing the rear adjustment we moved to the front.  We started by setting the camber as positive as possible in order to properly set the toe.  Then, under the guidance of Mr. Garcia, Tyson and I began meticulously adjusting the toe, one turn at a time.  While we were aligning the toe, Gabe cut out of aluminum the right interior door panel and riveted it to the door frame.  In the subsequent weeks we will continue adjusting the caster and camber, as well as, designing and fabricating the left door panel.

                                            

Though this Saturday's task list was short, these were two very time consuming and meticulously precise exercises.  That's all for now; with school over we'll have more time to work on the car and keep you all posted.

Hey, my name is Tyson. I haven't had much time to blog because I've been working while the other team members have been blogging. Here are the things we got done over the past 2 week. First, we start the day off by my making a list of what we need to accomplish.

We found a bumper from the junk yard that we can fit to our car. Also there is a piece of aluminum in the picture below that we cut out for a trunk cover.

In this next picture we started out by making a cardboard template for our door lining. Then we used that template to make a piece of aluminum to fit our door. We are not completely done with the door lining so we still have to use rivets to attach the aluminum to the door.

We got a lot done and we are one step closer to our goal of  getting this car ready to race!!!

Long Time No Update

First, sorry for the long period of no updates.  The high school life of school, school, and more school has been keeping all of us from sharing with you all.  However, progress on the Mazda has not ceased.  Before we get into discussing the progress, I would like to introduce two people we look forward to working with and learning from: Barrington Irving and Rajeev Brown of Experience Aviation.

About a month ago, Gabe C reached out to Mr. Irving and Mr. Brown about possibly connecting with them and learning from their experience and knowledge in the aviation and automotive industry.  After the Gabe's initial email, Mr. Brown responded and a few of us, along with Mr. Carvalho (Gabe's dad.  He actually originally saw Barrington Irving at a Carnival Cruise Lines' event and brought up the idea of contacting Mr. Irving.), spoke over the phone to Mr. Brown about our project, goals, and how Experience Aviation could help in achieving them.  During this brief meeting, we were invited to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Mr. Irving's 97 day solo trip around the world.  On March 23, the day of the event, we had the pleasure and honor of meeting in person both Mr. Irving and Mr. Brown.

Just to give a little background, Barrington Irving is the first black man, and at the time of his flight the youngest man, to fly around the world solo.  He didn't take on this feat for the recognition and esteem it would bring himself, but he did it to inspire the next generation and especially those who consider themselves not fortunate or unable to do something great.  Barrington himself did not start at the top.  He had no money.  However, he did have the determination to do what his mind was set on - flight.  As his story goes, he approached dozens upon dozens of manufacturers and airplane companies for sponsorships and received nearly just as many denials except for a select few who eventually donated individual parts.  From those parts he assembled his plane and proceeded to soar around the world.  He has inspired kids since, as well as, helped them build multiple airplanes and a supercar.  For more information on this humble, remarkable man, please visit his website: http://www.experienceaviation.org.  Our team looks forward to learning from Mr. Irving and Mr. Brown's experience with fund-raising, team-building, and race car/airplane assemblies.

Now, for the progress.  Quite a bit has happened since the last update in March, so here is the quick rundown.  The car is on the floor with the suspension, springs, differential, steering links, tie-rods, and sway-bar in place (nothing has been meticulously aligned yet though).  Brakes and clutch are working and functional.  Our engine and transmission have finally reconnected with the rear-end after many years via the wonderful drive shaft.  A positive of the future bumper has been completed out of styrofoam and the rear cover/fuel cell access has been crudely welded onto the frame.  The interior covers for the door panels are in the process of being fabricated from sheets of aluminum.  Also in progress are the seat mount and steering-column mount.

It has been awhile since we have looked back at the development of our project and we probably unintentionally left something out, but if any of us remembers another bit of progress we will post it in the next update (it won't be a month before that happens... We promise).

New Teammate! Hood, Doors, and more!!!

February 25, was the first official work day for our newest teammate, Tyson Russell. He is a peer from our Automotive class, taught by Mr. Garcia, and an excellent artist. Along with helping in the construction of the Mazda, he will take the job of formulating a few renderings of paint schemes and designs.

Having introduced our latest member, here is an update on our progress:
1. Our original cardboard bumper has been scrapped and replaced with new one which has been made more aerodynamic for our rear wing.
2. The doors are mounted onto their permanent location.  We will remove them to add some reinforcements at a later date.
3. The hood pins and supports have been installed.  This means that the fiberglass hood won't warp, deform, or fly off and decapitate someone during high-speed runs.  That would be bad...
4. Possible paint schemes and designs have been discussed.

We cannot wait to see what our in-house artist comes up with; we will post a couple renderings as they are made.