scratch built Mazzer roadster

The skeleton (chassis) is slowly disappearing under its skin again, only this time a lot of panels are being riveted (semi-permanently) in place. I think I installed about 500 rivets yesterday.

The cowl section was the first piece of body work made originally so it was the first to go back on. It's the only exterior body panel that gets riveted semi-permanently to the chassis. All the other exterior body pieces (sub-assemblies) will be attached with bolts, screws, quarter turn fasteners, etc, so they can come off (at varying degrees of ease) for cleaning and servicing the chassis and other mechanical parts of the car.

The transmission tunnel is kind of large and square for a reason. I wanted a really stiff chassis AND I wanted the engine as far back in the chassis as I could get it (The front of the engine sits well behind the front axle center-line and the driver's and passenger's feet are up alongside the engine). Riveting panels directly to the chassis tubes, rather than making a more organically shaped console, saves a little space. I plan to cover the tunnel, sills and rear bulkhead with diamond stitched, pleated leather or vinyl and hopefully that will dress it up a little. The engine is also offset about 2 inches to the right in the chassis, for two reasons. It gives the driver more foot room to operate the pedals comfortably and this way the drive-shaft, which is only about a foot long, has a straight run to the offset pinion shaft in the differential. This worked out rather conveniently. If I had built a right hand drive car, the pinion offset would have worked against me and that's funny because the Salisbury diff is made in England.

No I'm not preparing to run over the remaining panels in the photos. It was just a convenient place to temporarily spread them out without having to worry about someone (like me) stepping on one while I installed one panel at a time.
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Thank you. Most of the panels on the car are made of #3003 H14 aluminum which is basically 100% pure aluminum and very resistant to oxidation (The more that aluminum is alloyed for strength, the less resistant to corrosion it tends to be). Some flat panels requiring more strength are made of #6061 T6 aluminum. I wasn't planning on doing anything to the lower interior panels except cover most of them with snap-in, pleated, leather or vinyl blankets to help insulate and to keep sunburn to a minimum. The aluminum dash and many of the aluminum under-hood panels will be painted body color. Those panels will be sanded for paint adhesion but the bare 3003 panels will be just fine with an occasional cleaning/polish.

I have an air powered gun for solid rivets but the pop rivets I did by hand tool. It's no problem though.

 

It's been a while since I made those panels but I imagine I did on a bead roller. I'm surprised you noticed the off-set flanges in those little photos. A lot of parts WERE made on hammer forms though, including the louvers. Hammer forms are a great technique and the cost and limited tools required to fabricate hammer forms make them very interesting for a lot of sheet metal forming. Just about anyone with two hands, some low buck tools and a bit of patience can take advantage of this forming method.

 

I've been riveting minor body panels to the chassis to begin closing in the interior (at least as closed in as a car with no roof can get).

1) I riveted the upper and lower panels for the passenger footwell in place after installing the heater and fuse panel. The heater is the only real amenity - nice to at least have warm feet on a late fall drive. It's a light weight hot rod unit from Vintage Air, I believe.

2) The heater hangs above the passenger's feet. I still have to figure out how to duct some of that heat over to the driver's foot well.

3) Installing the aluminum interior panels has closed off the transmission tunnel. I'll be stuffing insulation against the backsides of the panels inside the trans tunnel to try and keep from baking.

4) On the driver's side, the footwell has been closed off too. The little access panel comes off with Dzus, quarter-turn fasteners. The whole top panel comes off by removing some 4mm machine screws for more serious servicing on the pedals and master cylinders. The box with rounded corners on the right is the door hinge access cover. It's mainly there to keep engine compartment heat from blowing into the door area.
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5) The top of the passenger foot well gets similar treatment.

6, 7) The high sills now have covers on them as does the rear bulkhead with little slots for shoulder belts.

8, 9) The red handle on the trans tunnel is for the battery kill switch.
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10) The rocker panels (outer sills) are a bit complicated so that the side exhaust pipes can tuck under there. The perforated stainless steel heat shield, when installed over the side pipes, is pretty much flush with the bodywork.

11, 12) Test fitting the left inner fender panel. The big cut-out at the bottom is for the exhaust header. The louvers were individually made in form blocks and then welded into the panel. To get some mileage out of the form blocks, I used them to make the louvers for the rear quarter panels and trunk lid also. Since the bottom of the car will be almost completely closed off with panels, a lot of hot engine air will blow back through the trans tunnel into the trunk area so lots of louvers are needed back there.
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The top of the cowl area is so short because of engine placement and access requirements. The front lower edge of the windshield comes all the way up to the top of the firewall. It was a big squeeze but I think it will all work out.

 

Thanks Jon. Products like Dynamat are kind of heavy and I'm trying to keep this car light. I was hoping to install some sort of light-weight insulation board since it will need to be insulated anyway. With an open top and an exhaust outlet right below the back of each door, I think the car will be loud enough for most panel resonance to be of secondary concern but I could be very wrong. The main concern is going to be heat insulation. The engine is going to be throwing off enough heat as it is and then the exhaust system wraps around each footwell and along the outside of the car. If I don't take insulating real seriously it's going to be a pizza oven in there. I have aerospace foil backed fiberglass cloth and was thinking of buying some of that yellow, foil backed foam board and gluing that in all over the place. If anyone has a better idea, I'm all ears.

PS: Hope you guys are holding up OK in Michigan. All our regular street vehicles are US made btw.

 

Thanks for the in-put on insulation. I think I'm going to stick with common, inexpensive material if I can. I just ordered 4 new adjustable rear shocks (GAZ brand) and springs for the rear and I'm about to place an order for adjustable front shocks (Varishock brand) and springs. The lot is setting me back a few bucks so if I can save some money on insulation I will.

The 308 is a whole different animal with some real power. I can't imagine what Mark E's 308 V12 will be like.

 

Thank you

 

Tonight I finished riveting and sealing panels in place that form the air box, for the engine induction, at the front of the chassis. Pressurized "cold" air coming in through the front grille will pass under the radiator and into this box which will contain two K&N conical air filters on the ends of two aluminum pipes going to the plenum on top of the engine. The in and out coolant pipes for the radiator will also pass through the box.

I also sealed up some seams where moisture might collect between where steel chassis tubes and aluminum interior panels mate.

Earlier today, I purchased two 4 X 8 sheets of 1", foil backed, foam insulation board. If it's dry outside this weekend and not too windy, I plan to cut all the geometric shaped insulation panels to fit between the chassis tubes and glue them in place on the backs of the aluminum interior panels. It's better to cut the foam board outside since it makes such a mess. It gets all sticky with static electricity too, a pain in the arse. The plan is to cover the foam board with foil-backed fiberglass insulation cloth later.

While working with the fiberglass cloth, I want to make and install boots around the steering column and accelerator pedal shaft to keep hot air out of the driver's foot well.

Haven't seen the new shocks and springs arrive yet with the UPS man - dying to get my hands on them.
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Thanks Russ. The last time I weighed the car, before I disassembled it to paint the chassis and overhaul the mechanicals, the car weighed just a tick over 2,000 lbs but there was no insulation or paint or upholstery, etc. I'm hoping to keep the weight below 2,500 lbs. The car could have been lighter but I wanted a really stiff chassis and the rear suspension/differential/brakes assembly is not that light either. I may try putting that on a diet later with lighter rear suspension components (fabricated), Brembo rear brakes and a magnesium differential housing. Right now I just want to get the car on the road so the heavier components will have to do for now. The rear stub-axles and half-shafts are kind of heavy too but that'll be good for when I build a monster motor for it later.

 

Thank you. Well good luck with your project. If you take as long as I have to get this far it won't be a NEWer engine anymore though. If I had the time, I would build a slightly larger than original A6GCS type coupe with modern Maserati mechanicals.

 

Thanks mate.