Million Dollar Skunksworks Kirkham

[David Kirkham]

Time for another YouTube video of the rear suspension.

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

Everyone who sees the car says it is a shame to put a body on it. I need to think of a way to make the body easily removable. Now, that will be a trick that will probably not be possible. But, as you can see, I love a challenge.

David

Flip-top body.

[David Kirkham]

I really don't like the way the doors open and there are other things that I don't like. We are thinking about it, however.

David

[David Kirkham]

A few more measurements. When I see writing on a body, I always think of Jamo.

[David Kirkham]

[David Kirkham]

Here we are using wood blocks so we don't mar the tube as we give it a few tweaks. Some bends (called "bend on a bend" in the industry) can only be made with dedicated tooling as you have to have a certain amount of tube to grip on to so you can bend it. In such instances (only the tops of the doors in our case, so a $7,000 die is not justifiable) we do the time honored tube tweaking with blocks of wood.

[Three Peaks]

Are you using all aluminum tubing also for the "birdcage" on this build? From the pic above that is what it looks like?

[Maricopa]

Finally, a tech tip I can duplicate!

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Three Peaks

Are you using all aluminum tubing also for the "birdcage" on this build? From the pic above that is what it looks like?

Yes, aluminum all the way. We are using 0.125 wall instead of the original 0.0625 wall. We wanted the car as perfect (and as light) as we could possibly make it.

David

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Maricopa

Finally, a tech tip I can duplicate!

You do what you gotta do to get it done! I guess I should add here that we are only slightly bending the tube in these "high tech" operations.

David

[David Kirkham]

Nice fitting joints makes for nice welds. When the joints fit nicely, then the tubes don't warp as much in welding.

[David Kirkham]

Here you can see we take a lot of pride in tight fitting joints. When the tube joints are tight, they don't move much in welding. Some pretty good welding too, if I say so myself. Of course, I have been welding for over 20 years now--but I don't do it much any more. I learned to weld at my first job in the mechanic shop at BYU. I was just 17. I hired on to sweep the floors--literally. My boss, the head welder there, told me I'd never learn to weld when ever I asked him if I could watch and learn.

One day I asked him if it would be alright if I could learn how to weld by myself during lunch. He laughed and said, "Go for it." I guess he thought I wouldn't stick with it. After a few days of me welding over the lunch hour and grinding making all sorts of noise, he blew up and was screaming mad at me. He yelled, "You just think you can do anything--well YOU CAN'T! STOP WELDING NOW, YOU ARE WASTING MATERIALS AND GAS!"

Well, the next day he didn't come to work for some reason and so there was no one to weld. The driver of the tanker truck for the football field came in in a panic because someone had backed into him and broke the rear deck on the truck. They had to water the field before the big game that night (or the next night, I don't remember now) and his boss was coming unglued wondering where he was. He asked where the welder was and I told him he was gone and none of the other professional mechanics knew how to weld. So, he begged me to find ANYONE to weld the deck back on for him. So, I told him I'd give it a try and I did. I saw it on there for years and years after that. It is still on the back of that truck for all I know. .

Funny thing, I didn't know how to bill them out or anything like that (dumb freshman kid) and so I just told him not to worry about it. Anyway, the next Monday, the truck came back because they had broken something else (grounds crews are hell on machinery). He told the secretary he also had some welding done the Friday before and so she went out into the shop to talk to my boss to see how many hours to bill grounds crew. My boss said, "I didn't weld that." The driver then pointed to me (I was sweeping the floor) and said, "He did." I just smiled. My boss almost passed out. I hate it when people tell me I can't do something. That was my first taste of the political world of jobs, rice bowl, and CYA. I could not have cared less then; I couldn't care less now.

[Don]

David, any similarities or differences compared to the tube construction techniques of the Maserati Birdcage race cars. From the Maserati history:

" The chassis was all new and a marvel of engineering excellence. Made up of around 200 separate small diameter tubes the spaceframe construction was both light and rigid. After the intricate assembly of tubes, some of which was visible through the windshield, it was quickly nick-named 'Birdcage'. "

" Indeed it went on to produce several masterpieces of the art including the Tipo 60 and the 61 "Birdcage" "


The name for your " masterpieces of the art " is ?

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Don

David, any similarities or differences compared to the tube construction techniques of the Maserati Birdcage race cars. From the Maserati history:

" The chassis was all new and a marvel of engineering excellence. Made up of around 200 separate small diameter tubes the spaceframe construction was both light and rigid. After the intricate assembly of tubes, some of which was visible through the windshield, it was quickly nick-named 'Birdcage'. "

" Indeed it went on to produce several masterpieces of the art including the Tipo 60 and the 61 "Birdcage" "


The name for your " masterpieces of the art " is ?

The money pit.

David

[David Kirkham]

[David Kirkham]

Here you can see the front cockpit tube being fit.

[David Kirkham]

[David Kirkham]

[David Kirkham]

[David Kirkham]