The 1000 mile check-up ...

[LateApex]

In the movie "Rush" directed by Ron Howard, Nicki Lauda tells his soon to be girlfriend "I've got a good a$$". He was referring to how well he could sense the tune or fitness of a car through his seat. There is a little wisdom there methinks. Oh ... great film b.t.w.

I continue to shake a few things out as the mileage comes up. A little jitter in the steering: re torque DS tie rod end - that was a strange one, cotter pin and all .... A little extra resonance around 3000 rpm: Header ball flange slippage / side-pipe contact with fiberglass cutouts. I could call this problem "The return of King Kong for the very last time, again", in that one should expect to tighten and re-tighten and re-tighten those flanges as the SS goes through heat cycles. As the temp drops, there is opportunity to re-tune Air-to-Fuel ratio settings related to Manifold Air Temp and Coolant Temp values. I am using a Holley TerminatorX with an Inglese eight-stack, and default settings are rich almost universally. There is something in the air :-)

And then are things to knock down that are not really break-in related. For example, there is a gap in the through hole for the frame / roll-bar upright between cabin and rear wheel wells. I should have spent a little more time on this area _before_ mounting the body and last bits of AL sheet metal. That aspect of the design, around the outside shoulders of the cabin is a bit weak (IMO). It is hard to seal up and translates to a lot of road noise at speed.

The fiberglass moves a bit. Fiberglass is not really a plastic, but has some plasticity, and will seek its home over time. Little tweaks on hood closures and door gaps are part of the check up.

I have not changed out break-in oils yet. That is on the near-term horizon. A pleasant surprise is that the weep from the Moser rear end cover has cured itself.

Just about to take out the coupe for another spin around the block this afternoon. The sun is out. It is 45F, and most of the snow and ice has cleared off the Macadam.

Having too much fun obviously :-)

[UpNorth]

LateApex,
You've mentionned that "gap in the through hole for the frame / roll-bar upright between cabin and rear wheel wells"
The aluminum pieces (left and right) that I got in 2019 from FFR supply for this area were approximate to say the least.
I am about to install them and will probably add-on a smaller piece of AL that I will tweak with rubber insulation where it touches the fiberglass.
What do you intend to do?

[LateApex]

I am not sure what I will do yet. I am considering using something like closed cell foam pipe insulation or roll bar padding to "sandwich" the AL sheet. The hard part here is doing this after the body is installed (which is a pre-req for installing "the ears" anyway. I am keen to hear what you land on :-)

[edwardb]

I assume the two pieces below (left and right) are what you're talking about. This was early in the build when they were still unfinished and I hadn't sprayed the undercoat yet. Agree the fit around the roll bar is pretty sketchy. I riveted aluminum fill pieces in those openings and caulked around everything at final assembly. Interesting -- these weren't even in the original kit. I was surprised about this huge opening when I originally mocked things up. But then the pieces were included in an update box some months after I received my kit.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/ab234/edwardb123/IMG_1274.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/ab234/edwardb123/IMG_1274.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds)

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/ab234/edwardb123/IMG_1273.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/ab234/edwardb123/IMG_1273.jpg?width=590&height=370&fit=bounds)

[LateApex]

I decided to buy another stick of Longacre Mini roll bar padding. Two such sticks were in my coupe kit, and I had applied them to the roll bars above door openings, and to the central diagonal roll bars behind the seats. My choice there was to provide some head protection in the event of an accident (getting hit from the side or the rear). With my "crack-back" buckets, and even with a 5-point harness, getting rear ended while not wear a helmet would be ... ummm ... painful. Even with more modern seats, side impact would likey result in head meeting the roll bar above the door opening.

I am going to divy that stick into 4 sections to provide further protection behind the seats to the outside close to the rear wheel wells. I believe that I can place this roll bar protection on the frame uprights that we have been discussing in this thread such that they interface with the bulb seal at the aluminum ear cutout as a side benefit. It won't be perfect, but maybe close enough to seal up most of that gap. Will see :-)

[rhk118]

Greatly appreciate this update. I had seen those gaps back there in others' builds and its in the back of my head at least to do something about it once i get there....Of course when the time comes I won't remember which thread I got this nugget of info from! :p Glad you're driving her!

[LateApex]

I decided to buy another stick of Longacre Mini roll bar padding. Two such sticks were in my coupe kit, and I had applied them to the roll bars above door openings, and to the central diagonal roll bars behind the seats. My choice there was to provide some head protection in the event of an accident (getting hit from the side or the rear). With my "crack-back" buckets, and even with a 5-point harness, getting rear ended while not wear a helmet would be ... ummm ... painful. Even with more modern seats, side impact would likey result in head meeting the roll bar above the door opening.

I am going to divy that stick into 4 sections to provide further protection behind the seats to the outside close to the rear wheel wells. I believe that I can place this roll bar protection on the frame uprights that we have been discussing in this thread such that they interface with the bulb seal at the aluminum ear cutout as a side benefit. It won't be perfect, but maybe close enough to seal up most of that gap. Will see :-)

[UpNorth]

I am not sure what I will do yet. I am considering using something like closed cell foam pipe insulation or roll bar padding to "sandwich" the AL sheet. The hard part here is doing this after the body is installed (which is a pre-req for installing "the ears" anyway. I am keen to hear what you land on :-)

…An ugly duckling! See attached picture.I will add bulb seal weather stripping and caulking so it could be called « sealed ».
I’m a little worried that it is riveted on only one side of it. Probably add caulking around it in order to « glue » it.
Think it will work?

178931

[LateApex]

…An ugly duckling! See attached picture.I will add bulb seal weather stripping and caulking so it could be called « sealed ».
I’m a little worried that it is riveted on only one side of it. Probably add caulking around it in order to « glue » it.
Think it will work?

178931

It just might :-)

Take some consolation in the fact that NOBODY will ever see this part (your artwork) except you ;-)

I was just thinking that something similar to a "Seals-it" two piece (or split) grommet might work well to absolutely seal this up. Or something similar, such as cutting a 2" hole in some sheet stock, cutting that piece into two halves, lining the round hole with two pieces of a rubber seal (like a bulb seal), and pre-drilling some rivet holes for the two halves to be installed on the ear after the body is in place .... Hmmmm

[UpNorth]

For sure more elegant than my ducky! Lol!

[LateApex]

Looking at this a little more carefully this afternoon ...

I have this box of edge trim, bulb seal, wire loom, acoustic foam and other materials used in my build. One of these edge trims, which I used on aluminum sheet in the engine bay (to keep sharpies at bay) is a press on, with about 1/4" lip, no bulb and good flexibility (for a radius application).

The roll bar is ~1.625" diameter. The ears are bent (maybe 25 degrees?) at almost the midpoint of the roll bar. The roll bar is not perpendicular to either surface of the aluminum. This means the hole needed either needs to be an ellipse (PITA) or slightly oversize. My guess is a 1.75" hole saw would make the right size hole in a piece of aluminum sheet stock. Then cut that hole in half, and trim the outer edges of the sheet stock to align with the ear after placing the split on the bend in the ear. The tightest dimension is on the "inside" of the roll bar - maybe 1/4"? But this is exactly where the bulk of the gap is. May only need an inner piece actually, to close the cutout in the ear. One can pre-drill this trim piece for 1/8" rivets quite easily.

Line the inner edge of the hole with thin profile edge trim (to also eliminate any rattle). Done!

Right now, it is 5 degrees F outside, and actually quite chilly in my shop. When it warms a bit, I'll build a couple of these split firewall grommets and report back

Cool how a little forum conversation can spark the creative juices ...!