After completeing the Model a restoration, my wife said I could not retire and not have a project of some sort. She was right, and this is what I have started now.
I have seen some very nice examples of metal shaping, and this will be my first attempt at a 'real' project in that regard. It is going to be able to fit on a stock Model A frame with no welding. It is the plan to learn to gas weld aluminum (Henrob ?) and polish the body, with the current idea of using copper rivets to fasten the aluminum panels to the steel substructure.
I wanted to build a speedster, but the width of a standard Model A was not appealing, so I made some layouts in SolidWorks and this is what I am going to start with. It was a little hard to get the dimensions so that both driver and passenger would fit in the standard wheel base, but this is what I have come up with.
I had to do some additional work to get the driver to be able to steer from the center of the chassis, so I devised the double rows of RC40 chain to offset the steering shafts. I have adjusted the sprockets so that the chain links are 'half-lapped' with each other, and there seems to be NO discernable backlash in this design.
The modifications to the steering and the pedal arraingements are preliminary designs, as it is my intention to attempt to build an aluminum body, not so much an entire car. At this juncture, I plan to use 3003H14 for the skin, a Henrob torch (I have a gas setup as well). I have not decided on the filler metal rod at this point in time. I want to use semi-tubular rivits to attach the body to the sub structure.
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