JJLangan wrote:Nice build fun to watch. I am thinking of doing a FWD Honda K24 midengine Manx. You gave me some good ideas. You are a great builder
Thank you for the nice compliment! I very much enjoy working on these old hotrods.
I have made considerable progress. Rear Bumper is completed, fab work done, steering column mount fabbed, windshield mounted, roll bar mounted, body pulled back off and paint process started.
For the rear bumper, the hardest part was deciding on how to do it. Getting that first idea to flow, make sure Roy will be able to work on it later, not beat itself to death or have future items get in the way.
I started out with making the top hoop, use the overhead hoist and a jack to get stuff into place for mock up.
Next to make the top and bottom bumper mounts. What has worked for my over the years is to sleeve the inside of the 1 5/8" 0.120 wall DOM tubing for the bumper to slide over. Then drill it for a quick release pin. I have actually picked the rear of my personal buggy up off the ground to a 45* angle with my bumper mounted this way, hauled 300 pounds on the hitch and David has pulled a trailer across the US with his. Very strong.
To center the sleeve, I wrap the inner tube with masking tape on the end up inside and right where it come out of the bigger tube. This holds it tight for welding. I prep the larger tube for rosette style welds by drilling it with 1/2" holes.
Before welding anything, I mark the center of everything. Well kind of. Every body I have had my hands on has been different. So it is a compromise to center the best possible with everything. Since the suspension is straight, the rest is a balance for looks. Still strong, and the slight mis alignment is not noticeable to the eye without a string to show it may be off 1/4 inch here or there.
In this picture, you can see the bumper has to be pushed a little to the D-Side to make the fit up underneath clear the body straight on the chassis.
So, I felt the radiator would benefit from some rear protection, just in case. License plate frame has LED light built in, and plenty space for rearward moving air to come around it. When everything is painted and goes together for the final time, rubber will be installed in all points where the radiator sits/captured in the mounts. Never solid mount a radiator, the vibration will make the fragile unit crack, quickly.
Since the transaxle is solid mounted, the rear bumper can benefit by attaching mounts to it up to the engine for additional support. One mount per side. There is a 1/2 inch spacer between the solid mount and engine to provide a easy way to install and remove the bumper and not have to slide it dead on.
A sharp eye will have spotted the exhaust pointing directly at the radiator. This could be bad. The muffler was cut odd, and moved down and out, with a slight downward tilt to clear everything.
