[Woodsmith]

I really like the curved I beam shape of that gear shift bracket.
Are you going to grind and blend in the welds?

[toddshotrods]

Originally Posted by Woodsmith

I really like the curved I beam shape of that gear shift bracket.
Are you going to grind and blend in the welds?

Thanks Woody. You betcha we are; as well as grinding and shaping the actual top and bottom plates! The top plate will be ever so slightly convex on the upper surface. I haven't made up my mind on the lower plate, as I would like to see what I see with the welds blended a little and the top plate shaped.

As I want to finish Schism in bare materials (metals, carbon fiber, etc), I'm thinking about using lead to finish the last imperfections in the fabricated steel parts (not shaping - filling little pit marks, and deep grinding scratches, etc). I, admittedly, don't know much about it, and haven't done it before. I think it would be an awesome learning experience for the Team though, and would give Schism an extra dose of aesthetic and marketing appeal (as well as pounds - this car is going to be so not "Todd" in the weight department ). It would be doubly cool to find some old school guy/gal to come teach how how.

Anyone here with experience, advise, words of wisdom, or caution, on old school leading? I'm not married to the idea, but it would solve the problem of how to have the bare metal look I want, with the finish I insist on, (without dozens of spools of MIG wire, and tank after tank of gas). When I've see pictures of guys doing old school leading, after it was finished, you couldn't tell the lead from the steel.

[Woodsmith]

I've re-worked leaded sheet metal but never applied it from scratch. Hazardous stuff to work with but very nice to work.

You can get leading kits I think that gives you all the flux and stuff to do a good job of it. Just need the respirator and heat.

[toddshotrods]

Originally Posted by Woodsmith

...You can get leading kits I think that gives you all the flux and stuff to do a good job of it. Just need the respirator and heat.

And scrap parts to mess up while we learn!

[toddshotrods]

The push is on for me now to get most of my ideas underway, or at least mocked-up, to find out how it all works together, and where changes may be needed. I've been at it all week, sacrificing sleep for progress. Today, I cut the foam dash plug. Along with the shifter, and pedals, we have to hang the steering column, and the dash and electric motor controls, to find out just how little room there is inside that tiny cowl.

[toddshotrods]

I like vehicle interiors that are design statements, not just traditional interior components with special coverings and finishes. I get why most need to be that way, but for radical custom projects, why not go beyond "normal" inside too? The major manufacturers do with their concept vehicles, and some of the higher end hot rod/custom builds go there. With Schism, I'm trying to make the interior look scupltured, like it was carved from stone, and hammered from metal, by ancient Romans and Greeks; more chariot than car. Now that we're starting to hang parts in there, that theme is beginning to become more perceptible, I hope...




The contrasting bare materials will be like an inverted image of these renderings, but I like how they work together.

[toddshotrods]

The pedals are coming along. The main mounting plate is ready, the pedal levers and pad mounting plates have been cut and ground, the pivots from the Honda pedals have been cut out and fit to the levers. I think we'll be able to get the assembly tacked together today. The clutch and brake pedal levers need to be hammered to curve towards the center of the car a little bit, to clear the roll cage tube that will run beside them, and then I have to design brackets that will mount them to the main plate. I need the pedals to determine the height.

The mount for the mode/motor control switch assembly is also underway.



Another piece of the roll cage puzzle in place - one of the roll bar stanchion crossmembers. The other side is cut and almost ready to go in. After that the little center crossmember, then we start tying the car together, front to back.

[toddshotrods]

The pedal assembly is coming together.

[toddshotrods]

Rear motor mount gussets, and the rear crossmember, tacked in, and the pedal pivot brackets welded to the mounting plate.

[toddshotrods]

Then there were three (pedals). I will probably have to wear driving shoes to really push the limits in this one. I can manage to keep my feet centered on the right pedal, with the close spacing, in my sneakers but that wouldn't be easy in extreme situations.


I also finally decided what to do with the throttle pedal, and modeled it. I'm fairly certain we're going to cast it.