Thanks. I'll post more soon. We've been doing some more work on the car but a lot of it was making adjustments to improve body fit - not very exiting stuff to make pictures of.
Me too but it's still going to be limited for a while. I just got back from a local planning board meeting and our new building was approved. I'm going to be super busy for a while. Is anyone here going to the FCA national in south Jersey next week? I plan on having at least 5 Ferraris at the concours and at least 2 on the track.
Were making some more progress on the Mazzer roadster. I'm so busy lately that I have very little time left to work on it. The car is mostly complete. It just needs to have the finishing touches done and painted. In the photos Clyde is installing the diffuser he is fabricating under the tail and Bob is metal-finishing the head fairings and rear deck area to make everything nice and straight in preparation for painting. The new diffuser is very unfinished looking at this point. Everything will be trimmed up and the little machine screws will be replaced with rivets. The long flanges are for mounting air ducting fins which we'll cut from carbon fiber sheet stock and bolt in place. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Still very busy with other things but we ARE making some progress on the roadster. We've got the back bodywork planished and basically ready for a skim coat of polyester filler to smooth out minor imperfections before applying primers and finish paint. Here are some descriptions for the accompanying photos. 1) The head-fairing/rear deck section on a stand to aid in planishing, filing and sanding access. You'll notice that one fairing is larger than the other. The whole car is slightly asymmetric to make more room for the driver, especially in the foot well with the pedals. Even the engine is off-set to the right slightly. It lines the crankshaft up with the differential pinion shaft, which is off-set, and also allows the driver's footwell to be a little wider. 2) We made a new panel for the middle of the deck with a sunken mounting surface for the aluminum fuel filler cover so it will sit more flush with the deck surface. A couple of aluminum rings were machined on the lathe to make a forming die and the indentation was then forced in on a 12 ton shop press. I think it came out rather nifty! 3) The tail after planishing, filing and sanding. 4) A view of the bottom of the tail before finishing the surface of the metal underneath. The center part is the beginnings of the new diffuser. Carbon fiber fins will be attached to the aluminum flanges. 5) A rearward view inside the left rear fender and seeing through the tail-light openings. A lot of hammer marks are visible on the inside. Even though the aluminum panels were initially shaped on a wheeling machine, quite a bit of hammering was required to bring everything in line once all the separate pieces were welded together. 6) The newly formed rear deck center panel being fitted and and welded in place. The fuel cap on the tank is visible through the opening. Right now the cowl has been smoothed and the doors are in the process. The trunk lid needs a little welding along the back edge to close up the gap to the body and then attention will be directed at the outer sill panels to get them ready for paint. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I left this photon out before. It's another view of the diffuser, also before installing the carbon fiber fins. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I personally think you should leave the fins alloy ... looks more appropriate with this car since it is pretty much all alloy. Pete
Oh, thanks for saying that about the head fairings. I originally did it because I liked the continuing oval line when looking at the car in profile but Later I started doubting whether that was the right thing to do. I almost cut them up to start over at one point. I'm crazy enough. I cut the nose and started over at least 3 times.
Thanks for the in-put Pete. I had though about that too and I sort of agree but the car is not a replica. It's a modern interpretation of a fifties sports racer. It's got Brembo brakes, 3 piece wheels, fat tires, a Tremec trans, power assisted rack & pinion steering, etc. I think the CF will look nice and hold up better to scrapes against the road. Besides (and this is the real reason) I've already got, and paid for, the carbon fiber sheet.
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I've been so busy, I never had a chance to add descriptions to those photos. Basically Bob has been planishing, filing and sanding to smooth the panels which got distorted from weling all the sections together. The trunk lid is done now too. We just need to go over the rocker panels now (outer sills). I also need to make molds of the aluminum front valence panels so we can copy them in fiberglass. I may have mentioned this before but I don't want them to be too sturdy. If the they bottom out somewhere I'd rather have the fiberglass valence panles break than to have them transfer the hit into the aluminum clam-shell bonnet.
From my experience, what ever size building you put up it's never big enough. Space is like money - the more you have the more you use.
You won't believe me but I was just offered a Curtiss P40 Warhawk WWII fighter plane by a guy who normally brokers cars. Go figure! "restore or museum display". I'd love to do it but it's too rich for MY blood I would immagine.
If you ever decide to do it, I know a guy who makes lots of parts for P-40s - worldwide. Done a lot of parts for P-40 restorers both here and New Zealand. There is money to be made if you are good with the English Wheel and can make parts with weird compound curves (in aluminum). Mike.
