Projekt 908 jack point/ longitudinal reinforcement combo (sub-projekt)

[juicersr]

You guys may have been wondering (or not) what was taking so long to finish the 908 projeckt. We'll, every time i thought i was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, a rock slide in the form of PO neglect sealed it off. On of these occured couple of weeks ago, was testing the jack points, and they simply crumbled when i tried to jack the car. So i decided to see why... More rust. So i cut away the entire teepee and jack hole and fabricate my own jack point, and add some reinforcing to the external longitudinal while i was at it. Started with this:

Then we found some angle iron of the right sizes, and cut them up to extend over the jack point hole about 6 inches each side

Then, this was welded up so that the jack plate would fit, and ground down so that the rocker panel would fit over

The pieces were then painted and secured to the external long over the jack point with a combination of bondo and fiberglass jelly, held in place with lag screws.





Bonded into place:

Final, with rocker panel (FINALLY!) riveted into place




Rock-solid jack point, in which either the jack hole can be used, or the bottom part of the angle iron, for a floor jack or lift. Plus, i will be on the track with the peace of mind that this weak point on the external has been reinforced.

Hope to be taking her for a test spin within the week. Stay tuned!

[RandyLok]

What's that piece weigh?
"Secured to the external long over the jack point with a combination of bondo and fiberglass jelly, held in place with lag screws" instead of welding?
Interesting.
I would have run light-weight tubing to bridge and triangulate across real stress points instead of bonding something heavy to an isolated spot that doesn't really address how the stress works the frame.
But hey, I raise a beer to you... You are DOING some cool stuff. And I'm enjoying seeing your progress.
Thanks for sharing.

[juicersr]

Thanks for the input Randy. I got some flak too on the 914 world board about not welding the plate in place. Well, i didnt for two reasons. First, the main purpose of the plate was as a jacking point, not structural, and the bonding more than allows for jacking. Second, the external long sheet metal is CRAP, and didnt look like it would allow for a very sustantial weld to the plates. I am going to keep an eye on them, and if they start to buckle or pop off, i can always go back and try a weld. The plates only weigh about 5lbs each. BTW, i installed the Engman plates inside, so feel pretty good about rigidity. Since i promised not to post anymore photos on the other thread until i got the car on the ground, here are some update photos, powdercoated fan, fire system and home-brew pedal plate and guage cluster, ext shot with centerlocks and hubs for effect

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Invest in ear plugs. Lots of them. That's gonna be insanely loud at speed....

I'd also be nervous about having no real firewall, but maybe I'm just overly-paranoid.

--DD

[RandyLok]

Don't leave any loose papers laying around.

[juicersr]

It IS loud and it sounds bloody FANTASTIC! Just wanted to try and duplicate for myself what Vic Elford, Larousse, Meuller and all the other lucky SOB's got to enjoy. I have enough quiet cars anyway and i truly love the experience of riding a motorcycle, and this duplicates the feeling quite nicely as well. Besides, the decibel level or safety factor is nothing compared to what Siffert experienced in his 917 can am

[turboteener]

You need to check with whatever organization you intend to share track time with. You need a firewall over the engine to protect you in case of fire. On stuck float or large oil leak and you will have one hell of a sunburn on your back.

Why didn't you cut out the bad sheetmetal and fix the jack post/rocker box properly? Do you figure the problem will go away if you cover it up with 50lbs of steel?