Got alot of work done since last week.
Triangulated and welded in 50% of the chassis, turned out to be fairly time consuming because so much of the thing was just tacked together.
There is some twist in the frame, Locosts torsional rigidity is usually between 1000-1800ft-lb per degree. For reference a modern mustang is over 20,000, FEA shows the locost frame can reasonably be modified to around 3000ft-lb per degree. That’s given proper triangulation and likely steel paneling instead of aluminum. The main weak point of the is the engine bay where theres no internal structure, just the side bars and hope.
I bring this up because this engine has left essentially no room for bracing, normal locosts have some longitudinal bracing that ends up being critical for strength. In an effort to get around this problem a halfassed truss was built under the engine, turns out it only works on the LH side as the RH forward bar hits the alternator. In the end its going to need an X brace that bolts over the engine from the front suspension to the firewall, Hello tube bender!
Speaking of chassis flex, a firewall was built in an attempt to arrest flex between the,”passenger pods”. It ended up being mounted high with dubious benefit because the engine has to slide up and out.
Steering column mount got rebuilt but tying it into the firewall is still a bit of a shot in the dark considering this is a wild departure from most locosts, leaving nothing to reference. Below are my guesstimates on how to brace it.
Got carried away making this brace fit past the steering rack.
Purchaced front coilovers so the front end will sit under its own weight soon. Now if only the junkyard wasn’t out of business, I’d have a crown vic rear axle by now.