Here we go again! Zuffenhaus MS RSR project...

[eimkeith]

Here are a couple of photos of the front bumper sculpt:





and one during brake duct locating:

[eimkeith]

Originally Posted by scootermcrad

WOW! Okay. That makes complete sense. Very cool! Is that foam being cut in-house on your own machines?

I wish! You have to have Emory-deep pockets for that kind of equipment

[scootermcrad]

Originally Posted by eimkeith

i wish! You have to have emory-deep pockets for that kind of equipment

Ha!!

I really dig those front bumpers, by the way!

[eimkeith]

Originally Posted by scootermcrad

Ha!!

I really dig those front bumpers, by the way!

Thanks. The front has been refined since - closer to the historic silhouette without reproducing the part that really annoys me.

[eimkeith]

Testing (tapatalk.) Can I upload images this way?


keith.

(sent from my rotary dial phone.)

[eimkeith]

apparently not. bummer, since that would reduce a step in posting photos...

OK, thought I'd jump forward and show yesterday's work. (Anyone who has done this knows how tedious this is.)

Removal of G Chassis Bumper Mounts (SO many spot welds!):

[eimkeith]

Also finished up proofing an alignment tool for installing 930/RSR pickups on the G50 torsion bar:





We're printing the weld-on bits for mock up this morning while I work on the chassis. Once proven out, we'll make some templates to transfer the cut lines to the steel stock and get the mounts made & installed on the tub.

[PcarPhil]

Originally Posted by eimkeith

Removal of G Chassis Bumper Mounts (SO many spot welds!):

Keith,

Do you happen to know the weight of the G Chassis Bumper Mounts? I agree - they are a bear to remove properly.

Thanks,

[eimkeith]

Originally Posted by Kaefer

Keith,

Do you happen to know the weight of the G Chassis Bumper Mounts? I agree - they are a bear to remove properly.

Thanks,

Scott, if I could reassemble them to weigh them, I'd be happy to answer that! As it is, I remove them like peeling an onion. (including the crying )

[eimkeith]

OK, so that is going to work out nicely.

[eimkeith]

and got some work done on the rear engine compartment cross member today.
there are significant visual differences between the '87 and '73 chassis here, and since the engine will be framed by this part of the car, changes are required.

fixing the corners:




and removing the strike plate bump:

[eimkeith]

Originally Posted by eimkeith

After trial-fitting several distributors to check for clearance vs. the 3.6 case, we've opted for a 3.0 distributor as the basis for the 12 point Aaron is providing.

(pictures of this to come.)

I found some the photos I was looking for - here is one of Aaron's distributor on our client's 3.9 before sending it off to Kurt to have the ignition system configured:



some of the good stuff from TwinSpark arrived today for this build; won't be long for final assembly on the engine.

[lateapex911]

Keith, I know I'm probably the 799th guy to say this, but thank you for pulling the curtains back on the process and ideation that is going into this most excellent build.

I've worked in automotive prototyping on the west coast, so this is super fun to watch for me. But I know that these updates take time, and you've invested lots of after work hours adding some mad CAD skills, so I feel we here are really lucky.

Love the MFI direction.

[tdw28210]

One of these days I am coming by to see this.

[eimkeith]

Originally Posted by lateapex911

Keith, I know I'm probably the 799th guy to say this, but thank you for pulling the curtains back on the process and ideation that is going into this most excellent build.

I've worked in automotive prototyping on the west coast, so this is super fun to watch for me. But I know that these updates take time, and you've invested lots of after work hours adding some mad CAD skills, so I feel we here are really lucky.

Love the MFI direction.

Thanks. I really appreciate that.

[eimkeith]

In regard to that gracious comment; my objective for this thread is to dutifully report the build through to completion, and the reasoning behind the decision-making - I'm planning to be active here for the next several months as I get this car done.

In respect to the revised build objectives; as continuation of the investment in authenticity made via the mechanical fuel injection system; and in respect to the stated goal of honoring the historical theme in an authentic way, we're considering every visual aspect of the project in regard to conforming these areas to that goal.

I'm constantly learning details about the Mary Stuart RSR; research is ongoing and thus the fine points of the build are subject to being altered accordingly; however I feel like the most significant and dominating visual cues of the Mary Stuart RSR 3.0L Prototype have been considered and are being addressed.

For sanity's sake I sort of grouped these into the following broad categories for purposes of visual appropriateness: Body/Engine/Engine Compartment/Cabin/Trunk Compartment

These tend to bleed over into one another. This bleed over is responsible for the recent cutting & welding that has happened (and is still in full swing) on the tub:



and the shrinking of the donor chassis:




The Body category is of course dominated by the signature Mary Stuart collar, the bulbous front flares, and the corresponding bumpers. I'll be posting about the bumpers as the file is finalized and they go into production, as well as during the bonding of the flares to the car, and also the second round of mold-work that is going to be taken directly from the car for better fitting production parts.

However another very visual aspect of the exterior is the dual through-hood fills. Depending on configuration, this was either staggered openings with hinged covers, or symmetrical exposed dry breaks with surrounding aluminum drains.

The Mary Stuart ran the 110L plastic endurance tank, as well as various period fuel cells (likely ATL brand.)

Our client wants to race this car from time to time, so we're building around a Fuel Safe cell, so as to be confident about the availability of replacement bladders going forward. I'm using a 110L plastic tank to properly position the dry breaks (located unused original parts) then making the appropriate fill tubes to the cell.

Here's one of the dry breaks:



and here is some work toward a threaded cap conversion I'm working out (so that the dry break can be unscrewed and function as a regular cap at the gas station):





We're working on a lot of stuff like this for this project, which I'll be happy to post.

Right now I'm up against a deadline on the chassis fab stuff, so that is what my focus is on at the moment, but I want to take the time to explain why I'm cutting up random parts of the car, as well as showing photos of the chaos, so bear with me as I trickle the content out between billable hours.

[eimkeith]

... and yet I took a break from metal work today to pre-fit the engine tin and shroud.

For this project the RSR fiberglass came from TwinSpark (with the slide valves.) This is the first time I've worked with this particular brand, and overall I'm impressed with the weight & consistent thickness. The fit could be better, as I find is typical with aftermarket fiberglass (excluding a couple of notable vendors.)

I spent the day trimming and fitting - some of the fitting necessary because we're installing on a 3.6 case, some due to mis-located holes or over-cuts from the manufacturer.

The shape of the fan shroud and side block offs is particularly good:



(I love the look of natural RSR fiberglass - like the see-through anatomical human models I loved as a kid)

I was able to trim the side panels and shroud for a good fit around the fan housing and cam towers.





- had to trim for belt clearance:



- and for fit over the flywheel area:




All in all, pretty good for a first pass! I have some areas marked for fine tuning during final engine assembly, and still have to trim in the front tray, make an aluminum tab, and make a bridge plate to complete the fit.

Here's where I stopped today:

[empeg9000]

Awesome work!

[eimkeith]

Thank you!

[al lkosmal]

Keith,
oh yes!! that is very nice.

regards,
al