Okies....lets see if I can remember all the stuff I've done since the last update.
I did a basic mockup of the front end position in relation to the chassis frame and found that the front end box was 2 inches too high on the front end. I also discovered that I had made the main chassis width fairly wide in comparison to the actual unibody shell as I finally had a chance to pick up the shell and try to fit the tube chassis inside it. Part of the difficulty in converting a unibody shape into a tubular shape is the door insets(offsets).
Quick mockup of the engine/transmission in relation to the main box.
I've spent about 30 hours this week designing/searching for part dimensions for the front suspension. I have settled on these 4 pot wilwood dynalites, more to come on the suspension geometry later (shady)
My B pillar hoop ended up being 3 degrees off axis from end to end bends, so I had it held down to a steel table and heated while a 1.5" OD chrome tube was used to tweak it towards the right axis and flat.
Thanks Jason!
So with the front box too high, and the width slightly too wide, I decided to restart from scratch. 2 steps forward, 1 step back.
I cut apart the entire box frame and started again, narrowing the width by 4 inches.
I went way overboard on the jigging trying to maintain a perfectly flat and square frame during welding.
Original protege steering rack + column 24 pounds, new pinion and column 12 pounds and I still have a couple pounds I can save on the new column.
Heres the main passenger cell version 2.0
Weight comes out to 52 pounds as it sits pictured, estimated weight when the b pillar+a pillars are added is gonna be about 74. Way heavier than I originally planned but I will feel absolutely safe driving this car on the street, these bars can take a massive beating.
Cheers!