View Single Post
Old 07-14-2015, 03:52 PM   #225 (permalink)
aerohead
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 15,861
Thanks: 23,922
Thanked 7,207 Times in 4,640 Posts
morphing 'Poco Loco'

I spent 2-hours this morning creating cardboard patterns for mods to the 'Poco Loco', sailboat-based bed cover.
The plan is to have side fairings which tip from the bed rail top,straight over sideways in a straight line until they contact the bed cover,filling in the twisted void created by the plan-taper of the cover vs the straight-sided bed rails.
I didn't like the way the smoke behaved around this area at the wind tunnel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I scoured the only metal recycling center which allows salvage,for sheet aluminum, and came up empty.
A trip to The Home Depot didn't help.I found some 10-inch by 10-foot aluminum flashing in the roofing section for $10 a roll.If I'm forced to use it I'll make it work.
I'm inclined to just fix a blocking barrier on the truck and do wet layups over the cardboard and tape to create composite skins like I did on the CRX long ago.If I did,I could make one continuous fiberglass fairing,rather than sections of lapped aluminum.These fairings would lap over the sides of the rail tops,making for better weather protection and attachment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The modified bed cover would allow for a shorter,better,boat tail.And I could dispense with the heavy plywood of the existing tail/stinger,and go with an all-composite,lightweight unit.Maybe on a swing-away mount which I've craved since the 80s.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like the new Harbor Freight rollers.They're working out fine and perhaps I'll be able to find replacements as the years unfold.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
And I think I may abandon acrylic lacquer as a paint system.The enamels don't skin as quickly,and once you have traffic,they melt into a nice glossy surface which doesn't require all the color-sanding and polishing required by the lacquer.
If anyone needs chiggers,ticks,or mosquitoes let me know.We've got a bumper crop this year!
__________________
Photobucket album: http://s1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj622/aerohead2/
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to aerohead For This Useful Post:
BamZipPow (07-16-2015)