Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertSmalls
Well, you're going with a fiberglass monocoque. I'm still planning to try skin-on-frame construction. I am going to try to get parabolic curves out of 1"x.125" Al bar stock, probably riveted or screwed together. The plan is to strip down the car and lay up a frame on a Saturday, apply cardboard skin and tuft test on Sunday, and have the frame welded together on Monday. A fiberglass skin would certainly be preferable, and maybe I'll build one, piece by piece, but coroplast will suffice until I do that.
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Great
The small Aluminum shapes are pretty easy to bend into gentle curves. Did it myself with earlier Echo rear underbelly. I've though through the next steps some myself. The cardboard outter skin, if you use corrugated, will be a bit difficult to shape in two dimensions, but you can cut out some gores and do it I think. Obviously you can also make your work easier by making good decisions when to divide the sections, and the direction of the cardboard ribs. It will bend slightly even across the ribs. One way to "stabilize" its shape, if you bend across the ribs, is to push a small steel rod into a section edge. These little rods are also available at Lowes/HD. Lots of duct tape will probably be required.
The final step of laying on fiberglas is probably the most difficult. Since fiberglas cloth with resin is rather heavy and needs support as it hardens, that necessity must be considered. I had contemplated forming the boattain shape with sytrofoam and laying the fiberglas over, but laying down over cardboard lowers the complexity and work load, not to mention cost. Both the inside and outside of the tail would have to be fiberglassed, since the cardboard is obviously not immune to water.
I envy you being able to proceed now. We are all anxiously awaiting some pictures and results
