In classic “if you give a mouse a cookie” fashion…
Modified/Limited TA rules allow free reign on the chassis for everything forward of the shock towers. So, I started trimming excess weight out from the nose of the frame/chassis… Started with just a little – taking out mounting points that were no longer being used etc. and weighing what I had taken off… aaaand kept trimming more and more.
Got to the point that the sway bar mounts were the only thing left forwards of the towers, and still wanted more weight out of it. So in the end I made a jig for every forward mounting point that needs to exist for the new setup – including the sway bar mount points – and chopped the whole nose off.
It was the logical conclusion to take the full advantage of the rule’s allowance.
Currently in the middle of building a new tubular nose section as light as possible. Hey, the project has taken this long, what’s another 50-hour detour right??
I made the jig in order to “earmark” all the mounting locations for the stuff I’ve already made. This way I can replicate each of those points with the new structure so that everything I already have will bolt right in. Hindsight being 20/20, I’d have definitely saved myself some time if I’d known from the beginning that I was going to cut this much out. Oh well! Eventually It’ll be “rightest”.
Building the new structure around the jig:
If I’m going through the trouble to make everything, might as well build some tricks into it. So the front sway bar mounts are fixed, but everything forward from there is removable:
The front section removes with just one bolt and one quick disconnect pin on each side:
Front section in place with the radiator and ducting being test-fit. I’m really excited for this removable nose section. The idea is that when serious engine work is needed, after removing the splitter (just pull 4 pins) and disconnecting hoses, I can essentially remove the entire front of the car in a matter of minutes as one intact assembly and set it aside, then it re-installs as a unit when done:
I’m moving the front tow point to the passenger side shock tower to shift that weight back a bit. Added a mounting point for the new tow hook to the tower:
I drew up a tow hook to go from there up through the hood, that’s being cut at the waterjet soon.
Weighed everything that got cut off and everything before it was welded on. This project shaved 25 lbs off the front of the car.
With all that done, on to painting it. Everything is in primer here. In the end it looks pretty simple, belying the complexity that went into the many details – which I think is a mark of an efficient design:
Just finished two tone paint in the engine bay today. The bay is a medium gray and the cage in the car is pearl white, so I carried that color into the engine bay where the cage extends to the shock towers. Almost ready to get back on track and start bolting parts in for good soon!
