damn its dead in here!
guess i will update this anyways....
well the wifey and kids are away in Cali since i couldnt get off work for her dads wedding, so i figured i would make the best of them being gone, so i went on days off starting yesterday for the rest of the week.
ran errands yesterday morning, then got busy in the garage!
i would like to reiterate to all of u exactly how much measuring and thought go into every step i do. i realize it will be covered by carpet and such, but it has to be structurally sound and also function properly!
anywho, on to the pics..
so i started off by taking measurements for the ebrake handle and making it look and function as it does in the rx7. if u do comparisons between an rx7 interios and mine, u should see only very small differences!
i also got my center console controls, and i will rig the buttons up to something, i promise...
so i wanted to start buttoning everything up, so its a lot of just measuring and cutting pieces to fit. the bad part about this is i am not really setup to do cutting and welding at the same time. my garage only has one outlet, and one extension cord goes to the freezer in the garage and the other goes to run my welder and my grinder. the bad thing is is that i cant have both plugged in at the same time, or it will pop my breakers, so everytime i change from welding to cutting i have to unplug the welder and plug in my grinder. needless to say, its a huge pain in the ass. i am looking into getting some more outlets put in and upping my breaker box...
so i was going to build on to the existing metal that surrounded my tranny tunnel, but i decided i want to start new(imagine that), so i cut off the existing. trust me, it will be worth it in the long run! the basic idea behind this is for more leg room...
heres what i cut off..
i have to apologize in advance, i get in the swing of things, and forget to take pics, but basically what u see here is the frame i started fabbing for the rear section of the floor and also the amount of bracing i am using for it also...
got the rest of the front section of the passenger floor tacked in and ready to start stepping up to the back section...
this has got to be my favorite part of the floor so far. last time i body dropped it i just kinda made everything square, but im trying to update my skills lol.
too bad this will be covered in carpet...
here is a better pic of the rear frames. once again 1x1 square tubing... notice my leveling method--a paint can with a stack of unopened cutoff wheels lol. whatever works i gues..
sometimes u have to make adjustments as u go. the original piece i cut for this just wasnt working, so after about ten times of taking it in and out and making cuts on it, i got it usable...
transition all tacked in... lookin good eh?
trying to strengthen it up wherever possibly... goddamn that last body drop was haggard lol...
i wanted to fully weld that last piece in since i will be using it for strength and it will be covered by another piece...
sorry, some of these pics turned out kinda blurry...
heres the beginning of the tranny tunnel..
it also started getting dark on me lol...
and heres the last legible pic of the night even though i got more done after this... fabbed up the bridge over the carrier u joint for the driveline...
day two...
man was i ever sore. it takes a lot out of u bending over all day cutting and welding...
got off to a slow start. started on the driver side.
i have been putting this off for a long time cuz frankly, i didnt know exactly what i was going to do. all of my fuel lines and such were right in the way, so i made a relief cut in the crossmember and dropped them in. i will box all of this back in later, but for right now, it did the trick to get me the extra room..
deja vu
the first side is the easy side, but then when u have to replicate it and make it look the same on the other side, now thats a b****...
i took measurements from the other side thinking everything would work and i cut my pieces. then tried to use them with no avail. f*** doing s*** two or three times. i swear..
u guys still here?
so i ran out of shield gas for my welder, but i figured i would show u a better pic of how its coming together..
basically now i just have to fill in the blanks and make sure its solid and nothing hits. also i have to make sure i can still get to my cab mount bolts and such ad then fab up front cab mounts. then i will mount the seats and raise the dahs mounts an inch or so and then be ready to run wiring and all that jazz...
so tomorrow i pick the wife and kids up from the airport early, then i will go get more gas and hopefully get working on this again...
also been searching for a steering wheel, and i have some leads on some good ones, so hopefully that falls together. other than that, still waiting on a tuirbo manifold, but as soon as i get done with the interior i am moving to the bed for a one off custom sheetmetal inner bed...
stay tuned!
