Re: Firewall Project
 

Pro,,,,I'm glad your project is still moving ahead, and its coming along well. I was glad to catch up with this older thread, and I'l admit a little saddened to see that Drooze chimed in on here, and his father Dave,, just a few weeks before Drooze's untimely accidental death last summer that truly shocked the Classracer.com community. His interest in your Camaro is proof of the varied ideas and angles he ran by all of us in the short time he was with us here. I'm glad his Drag Pak Challenger has proven to be a top notch race car, with Dave and crew continuing on,,and I hope your Camaro will do as well, whether on the street or on the strip. Good luck with your ride, its looking great.
Danny Durham

Re: Firewall Project
 

Thanks Danny. Very sorry to hear about Drooze.

Re: Firewall Project
 

The kids are on vacation so we are celebrating Father's Day Friday. I spent the last few days working on hinge designs. Each one had a little problem here or there but they all helped me come up with the final design. To get the front end to work like I hope it will, the front end has to come forward first 3.75'', then raise 2". Then flip up. I want it to be removable also. I came up with a bunch of ideas, some of the more promising ones I cut prototypes out of 1/4" PVC cut offs. First obstacle was getting the geometry right. After that was just making sure there was enough material in the right places & keeping it small enough to fit where it had to fit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...prototypes.jpg

The last design came pretty close to fitting alongside the 3''x2'' main rails but still but I still wondered if I'd be kicking myself down the road when it came time to mount the radiator, pro charger & all the other stuff that needs to go in the front. Then I got the bright idea of building the linkage inside the frame rail. After a few more prototypes I think I have it, (works on the bench anyway) lol

So, today I cut out the CNC parts.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...gepartsCNC.jpg

Got a few parts to make on the lathe yet & some massaging to do on the frame rails to make everything fit. I guess if it doesn't work I'll just have to go back to the drawing board. Only 1 way to find out..................... Stay tuned.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...sofftheCNC.jpg

Re: Firewall Project
 

They fit on the outside of the rails. Now to get them to fit "inside".

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8/100_2124.jpg

Re: Firewall Project
 

Ya know.... one of these days, you're going to finish that car. Then, what will we have to ogle over ?

Nice work man !!

Re: Firewall Project
 

Thanks Kenny. I just keep pluggin' away ....when I can.
Had to work most of the day today, but I found enough time to assemble the hinges & buff them a little.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...sassembled.jpg

Re: Firewall Project
 

Got a little more done on the hinges. Made a jig to cut the frame horns off. Boxed in the rail to keep junk from getting down inside the frame. Welded them in along with some fish plates to weld the horns back on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...horncutjig.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../frameplug.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...iedtherail.jpg

I had a little ooops. I spun some bushing bungs on the lathe, welded them in & when I tested it the hinge came out of the rail. The pins were supposed to keep the hinge in the rail but there was just enough clearance for it to slip by.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...aceswelded.jpg

So I made up these little clips to grab the pin a little better. Ended up making clips for both pins. That meant the linkage would no longer fit inside the rail, so I made some c-channel out of square tubing for the bottom. Holes are for junk & water drainage. I'll have to add one on the top too. At least the hinge locks in place solid now, in both open & closed positions.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../Hingeclip.jpg

Got a few more parts to make & they will be ready to weld back on. The 3/4'' pins are for alignment during welding, eventually they will be replaced with 3/4" nylon bushing stock & a 1/2" steel pin. Got some black corian® cut-offs from a counter top place. Cutting that on the CNC to fill in the gaps between the rails & the hinges, so there won't be any metal to metal contact. Nylon & corian® should allow the hinges to slide smooth.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...nsmockedup.jpg

I hope this deal goes a little better from here on out. Hate those glitches.

Re: Firewall Project
 

It's been awhile but I got some shop time in yesterday. Made shims for the front end hinges.

http://youtu.be/i91t1JwOGmU