quinnj3
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| posted on 5/3/23 at 09:24 PM |
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MX5 Vodou Build
Hi Guys,
I thought I'd start a build diary, we'll see where this takes us! I've been a little reluctant to post a build diary but I'm
motivated and have been all consumed by this project since I took the decision to build a locost back in October '22. I've been working
towards starting this project for a few months now. I bought my donor back in Dec '22 and started to strip it down in Jan '23. While I was
doing that I was researching chassis, tooling up and gathering bits in between some DIY for the house.
Privately I'm keeping a spreadsheet of costs and a build log detailing any time spent fabricating. I've already noticed I'm spending
almost the same time again researching each step in front of me which I'm not documenting.
Steel arrived in Feb '23 and I made a start 2 weeks ago on the front end. The first week I hit it hard putting in 25 hours. The following week I
put in about 10 hours but a flu has come over me stopping play and really frustrating me. I don't have a finish goal as yet. I think looking so
far in front is just too daunting. Instead my goal is to average 10 hours of fabrication / assembly each week.
For this first post I have pictures of the front of the chassis fully welded. I know the advice is to tack all then weld however I felt the structure
at the front was complete and wasn't going to change so decided to fully weld. This didn't induce any major warpage. Diagonals so far are
measuring about 2mm difference. It means now I don't have to worry about breaking tacks when turning over etc.
Any constructive comments welcome. I'm not a mechanical guy and don't have much background with fabrication however over the years
I've dabbled in various welding jobs and never had an issue so far.
One things for sure this is not going to be locost. Steel was about £450 including some extra in the order!
 
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[Edited on 5/3/23 by quinnj3]
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 6/3/23 at 07:24 AM |
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Your getting on really well and nice welds. Good to see a new build from scratch 
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Slimy38
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| posted on 6/3/23 at 08:00 AM |
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Aye, definitely good to see at least one new build, it's been ages since I saw anything being welded up and it's great inspiration for those
of us (me!) who's struggling to find garage time.
As for fully welding sections of the chassis, I did the same and I've not had any issues. As you say it makes it easier to move around without
popping a tack.
It's only the second time I've seen a Vodou build, it definitely has some interesting variations. For example the standard chassis has the
middle section as a complete tube from side to side, then the centre section is removed. Also I will have to look at why they went for a double
thickness bar for the engine mounting, but then cut a couple of notches in it.
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quinnj3
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| posted on 1/4/23 at 09:03 PM |
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Ok, I thought it was time for a quick update.
I didn't get as many hours as I would have liked done in March however I had taken a mild flu and didn't feel up to working in the garage in
sub zero temperatures for the first couple of weeks of the month. When I did eventually get back to it I haven't quite hit my target of 10 hours
per week but I've been close. It's getting into gardening season so some time has to be dedicated to keeping the yard right.
Anyway progress pictures to follow. To date I've spent 57 hours on what you see in the pictures. The front 'tub' including
trans' tunnel is fully welded and ground back. There has been a little 'banana-ing' of the chassis but its only a couple of mm either
side of the centre after welding the tunnel up. I don't think there's much I could have done to avoid it. Chassis is still measuring
within a couple of mm across diagonals. I've a feeling the rear end is going to take at least 20 hours on its own now. I'm happy enough
with progress so far. Every time I spend a few hours I can see progression which encourages me to keep going.
I'm aiming to have a rolling chassis by end of may. I have all the suspension parts here now to make it happen. Engine may or may not be
mounted at that point.
 
Chassis apr23 1
 
Chassis apr23 2
 
Chassis apr23 3
 
Chassis apr 23 4
 
Chassis apr 23 5
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quinnj3
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| posted on 30/4/23 at 09:23 AM |
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Well, another month is just about through so I thought it was time for another progress update. Looking back at March's update has really
highlighted the progression so far. It helps to keep me motivated.
This month I completed hanging the differential and roll bar mounts. I've also started to install the engine & gearbox. I only got the
offside engine mount complete. The engine mount alone has ate up about 8 hours of work.
This month's hour log so far totals 41 which I'm really happy with. I was feeling a tad burned out when I completed the rear end as I put
in about 15 hours in back to back weeks (30 hrs in two weeks) all within a standard work week so I took it easy the past couple of weeks or so with an
hour here and there. Just getting back into it again now. It felt like a real milestone to have a fully welded frame completed.
 
Completed frame
 
Completed frame 2
 
Roll bar base 2
 
Weld Nuts
Then it was time to trial fit the engine. There may or may not have been a few vroom vroom noises made!
 
Engine trial fit
 
Engine trial fit 2
Then onto the engine mount which I'm quite proud of. :Cool: This design allows for full positioning of the engine. I can move the engine
left/right, forward/back, turn a couple of degrees and raise/lower with shims. The mount consisted of 3 parts; lower mount, upper mount and cheap £4
bush from ebay.
 
Engine mount 1
 
Engine mount 2
 
Engine mount 3
Lower engine mount which allows for forward/back positioning.
 
Lower engine mount
 
Lower engine mount 1
Total hours on building (excluding stripping of donor car) is 91.5.
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James
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| posted on 3/5/23 at 11:40 AM |
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Nice looking project. Will follow your excellent progress with interest!
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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