Mid Engine SHO Powered Truck - New Pics

[SHOspazz92]

You also spelled control wrong.

Touche'

Well played sir'.

-Sam

 

[SuperHO]

Okay...really..unless you're gonna help him or offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism about his project, just keep your comments to yourself. These "I don't wanna be anywhere near that thing" comments are getting old and tiresome, and have no bearing on the thread. At least that one guy offered his opinion on how things could be better without resorting to some childish insults. Offer help, or STFU please.

 

[rubydist]

Rubydist, I was all fired up to slam you because of this statement, but then I realized I agree with the basics of most of what you said in your post. I do have to say, though, that welding (as a process) is pretty well established as being consistent, safe, and the best method of fabricating custom frame components.

I stand by my statement - welding is a very inconsistent process. Yes, it can be controlled by an expert welder, but even from the posted photos one can see that the OP is no expert welder.


BTW, Joey, using galvanized pipe for your cooling plumbing is not a great idea. The pipes are not well coated on the inside, which means they will rust quickly, and pumping that slurry around inside your engine is not going to be good for it. I would suggest that you re-think that approach.

 

[Power Surge]

Okay...really..unless you're gonna help him or offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism about his project, just keep your comments to yourself. These "I don't wanna be anywhere near that thing" comments are getting old and tiresome, and have no bearing on the thread. At least that one guy offered his opinion on how things could be better without resorting to some childish insults. Offer help, or STFU please.

If he won't listen to people trying to help him, then he deserves to get the other comments as well.

After all, it's only his life people are trying to save.

 

[HoustinoJillian]

i was wondering that about the galvanized pipes as well. what about switching to some schedule 80 PVC? would that stuff get broken down by the coolant? also if you're worried about it being struck by a rock, you could slide a piece of PVC into the inside of your fence posts, use the PVC as a barrier for the coolant, and the metal pipe as a barrier for rocks/ road debris.

as for your choice of welding the front half of the car w/crumple zones on to the back of the truck, why not ditch the car unibody and construct something that replaces it, something that the SHO front subframe bolts to. It seems like the best scenario to me, because 1, it'd be safer, and 2, it'd be a heck of a lot easier to make it *look* better, because it'd be a truck with a custom fabbed rear end, not a a truck and a car front end pasted together.

 

[hawkeye18]

I'm still worried about the plastic tank in the now empty crumple zone. I don't know ***** about welding (I'm a solder jockey) but I can tell you that that tank is not safe. If you got, say, a fuel cell, then that would be perfect. They're fairly cheap, and if you mounted it against the firewall, then you should have plenty of crumple zone in front of it so that it won't get crumpled and risk a rupture. The last thing you want in a frontal collision is fuel leaking out in large quantities.

 

[revhardSHO]

Everyone needs to relax. Let the man work on his project.

 

[nomov8sho]

I stand by my statement - welding is a very inconsistent process. Yes, it can be controlled by an expert welder, but even from the posted photos one can see that the OP is no expert welder.


BTW, Joey, using galvanized pipe for your cooling plumbing is not a great idea. The pipes are not well coated on the inside, which means they will rust quickly, and pumping that slurry around inside your engine is not going to be good for it. I would suggest that you re-think that approach.

Rubydist, do you own stock in a business making nuts and bolts? How else would you suggest that he fasten a fabricated back half to a chopped frame, other than welding? Bolt it in place?

Welding is an inconsistent process? How do you think they make pressure vessels? Look at an air compressor tank at sears. Look at a tanker truck on the road. Take a look at the frame and swingarm on the next motorcycle you see, or any aftermarket tubular A-arm. Heck, most unibody cars are spot-welded to create a light structure with good stiffness and structural integrity.

As a former AWS certified aerospace TIG welder, FAA repairman, mechanical engineer, and hobby welder, I can say that welding can be a pretty effective, reliable, and consistent way to fasten things together. I can also say from repeat experience with training people that almost anyone could learn to do a good, application specific weld with only a few days worth of practice.

There's no reason Joey shouldn't be able to tackle the job himself if he gets a little feedback from a pro and puts in a weekend or two improving his technique. His bracket design looked pretty damn sound as long as the weld joints are executed well. As stated before, my main suggestion in this area is to get the attachment point on the SHO frame out of the crumple zone.

Joey- You might want to look at the coolant tubes used on Fieros instead of the galvanized fence posts. They run the length of the Fiero from the engine to the radiator, 2 per car, and if you can't find a set in the junkyard (fieros are starting to get scarce) they are now reproducing them.

I'm curious- what have you come up with for throttle and shift linkages?

-Josh
Mechanical Engineer

 

[rubydist]

lol, no stock in the bolt companies! Josh, we're basically saying the same thing, but coming at it from different perspectives. All those pressure vessels are welded by certified (expert) welders. My point is that unless the welder knows what he is doing, welding is very inconsistent. Your point is that if an expert welds it, it should be consistent.

Yes, many parts are welded. However, whenever you see a thick piece (1/4" plate) welded to a thin piece (16 ga. sheetmetal) you have a recipe for disaster. That is what I see in the posted photos. If Joey were to connect the frame rail extensions from the truck to the subframe of the Taurus, that would have a lot more potential to survive bouncing up and down the road, imho.

If you look at the design of the various projects you have mentioned in supporting your point of "welding is good" you will find lap joints, not butt joints in nearly all cases. This is because weld joints have very sharp corners (and consequently high stress concentrations) at places where weld beads start/stop. (in the cases that are not lap joints, the weld goes all around the object, so the start/stop stress concentration is reduced.) The photos Joey posted show multiple welds on butt joints where the highest load on the weld is at the start/stop point of the weld, which is (in my experience) guaranteed to fail under reversing, cycling loading - its just a matter of time.

 

[NebraskaSHO]

Holy crap, you cut up a Chevrolet Luv... if it was a diesel, I hope you sold the parts for a good price.

Looks... interesting...

Good luck