Progress at the Speed Shop
Okay.. some pretty cool stuff is going on over at Bill's Speed Shop..
Last Wednesday (a week ago this past Wednesday) my racecar got a lift over to Bill's Speed Shop. They didn't do a lot with the car that first week, but Monday and Tuesday they began removing the old body panels. When I stopped over Tuesday night they were just about done with that.
This is what I saw:
Another Angle
I believe you'd call this an 'open cockpit'?
Ugly, beat up but functional fuel cell and tail body support
Bare right side
They are talking about replacing that tail body support.. I'll be replacing the fuel cell next season
The rear suspensions on these cars are so wild! In addition to springs and shocks over each wheel, what you see here is a combination of two shocks at the top and a "bar" on the bottom with two rubber "biscuits". This set of hardware helps transition the weight of the car on and off the rear end when you stomp on the gas pedal.
I went back by the shop this afternoon, since the power went out in the entire village of Hinsdale, including stop lights, and we all left work early.
First, the biggest 'safety enhancement' I have requested:
The new steel door plates (the silver squares welded into the criss cross of blue roll cage tubing) should help prevent entry of "foreign objects" into my left side. :\ A worthy improvement, don't you think?
They've already built most of the cockpit and a little bit of the decking. He's finishing off some pieces around the instrument/gauge panels right now.
Door plates wrapping around into new metal on the back of the cockpit
Slight modification to the right side of the cockpit. Bill had him move the upper wall of the cockpit back a few inches to make more room for my arm and the shift levers.
Whoops! The ignition box(?) isn't supposed to be sticking out of the dash panels. But, fortunately that area is covered by the hood once it is in place. Tom (the guy doing the work) will be boxing that in with a sort of "power bulge" like you'd see on a Mitsubishi Eclipse. But, it shouldn't really be a big deal.
And that, my friends, is what has been happening at the speed shop!!!
RacinG73
Last Wednesday (a week ago this past Wednesday) my racecar got a lift over to Bill's Speed Shop. They didn't do a lot with the car that first week, but Monday and Tuesday they began removing the old body panels. When I stopped over Tuesday night they were just about done with that.
This is what I saw:
Another Angle
I believe you'd call this an 'open cockpit'?
Ugly, beat up but functional fuel cell and tail body support
Bare right side
They are talking about replacing that tail body support.. I'll be replacing the fuel cell next season
The rear suspensions on these cars are so wild! In addition to springs and shocks over each wheel, what you see here is a combination of two shocks at the top and a "bar" on the bottom with two rubber "biscuits". This set of hardware helps transition the weight of the car on and off the rear end when you stomp on the gas pedal.
I went back by the shop this afternoon, since the power went out in the entire village of Hinsdale, including stop lights, and we all left work early.
First, the biggest 'safety enhancement' I have requested:
The new steel door plates (the silver squares welded into the criss cross of blue roll cage tubing) should help prevent entry of "foreign objects" into my left side. :\ A worthy improvement, don't you think?
They've already built most of the cockpit and a little bit of the decking. He's finishing off some pieces around the instrument/gauge panels right now.
Door plates wrapping around into new metal on the back of the cockpit
Slight modification to the right side of the cockpit. Bill had him move the upper wall of the cockpit back a few inches to make more room for my arm and the shift levers.
Whoops! The ignition box(?) isn't supposed to be sticking out of the dash panels. But, fortunately that area is covered by the hood once it is in place. Tom (the guy doing the work) will be boxing that in with a sort of "power bulge" like you'd see on a Mitsubishi Eclipse. But, it shouldn't really be a big deal.
And that, my friends, is what has been happening at the speed shop!!!
RacinG73