panic sets in
 

We had a bit of a panic yesterday. We dropped off a frame and body for some outside development--race development. :) The driver was supposed to pick up the frame/body combo and take it to the race team, but we got a panicked text saying that the driver says he picked up the body ONLY--no frame! Sh!t!

Well, he went back in the truck and double checked. Frame was there, covered in body. The frame was so light that the driver thought we'd forgotten to include it. :)

At the same time we've "partitioned" the interior out of the original 1990 tub. DAYUM it's heavy! What we thought would be a 30 minute job took about six hours. Top layer, bottom layer, lattice work in between. HEAVY, but stout too. This is the stuff that keeps the cowl from shaking.

Are you using that stock interior for the interior of the tube frame car? Interesting.

No no no no....way too much work & weight. I'm simply using the interior as a reference for the tunnel, etceteras. The first cars will have racing interiors (sparse) and later we'll introduce the more finished interior you see in the renders.

more molds
 

I'm off to San Diego tomorrow to look at the next set of molds. These hopefully will include the rear diffuser, front winglets and some of the finalized interior pieces. Time is short for SEMA, and I'm starting to stress a bit.

Also on the list of items is review of the headlight bucket cover. Oh how nice it would be to be able to own a Cobra and replace the headlight at Checker/Shucks/O'Reilly's. These "small" items make a big difference in a car like this IMO, but that doesn't mean that they come with a small price tag.

The good part is that we're transitioning from the "must have" parts to the "want to have" list, and even the "would like to have" parts.

This car will definitely be under the spotlights at SEMA... Looking forward to it :)

Cant wait for show pics <3

That's what I'm afraid of. :) Sure wish it was done already...

Catfish, Super Spec & Adam Carolla's 260Z
 

Leaving Tony Woodford's shop today I snapped a pic of Mule #1 sitting next to Tony's Super Spec Miata. It's "Super" because of the wide wheels and Rotrex. Peppy, and for sale if you're so inclined.

The mule frame is getting a slight patina, which means we'd better slap some paint and bodywork on it SOON. Actually, the plan is to drop the production frame next to mule #1, add any tabs that it's missing (ECU holder, tin work, etc.), swap frames, add bodywork and go to the show. We'll see if theory and practice match up.

The other two odd pictures are of a rotisserie restoration Datsun 260z project Tony is working on for Adam Carolla, of radio, cartoon and podcast fame. I heard that he has the most downloaded podcast program in the world.

This is THE race frame that was tweaked and improved into winning form, so much so that many of the geometry changes made were transferred to create the 260ZX. How so much time and energy can be spent on ancient Japanese car...I understand completely. :)

Firewalls
 

To give you an idea of the thrash we're under now, here's a representation of the front and rear firewalls on the car. They may look like nice, simple flat forms but it means that they need to fit like a Lego between the frame and body. The R&D for this is not a 15 minute job, and takes the coordination of the frame and body design, as well as Shawn Whetstone at Zukun Plan spitting out DXF files for us to manipulate.

Although they're flat in the picture, the front firewall will be an origami shape that's yet to be determined.

You might notice that the firewall extends beyond the frame out to the bodywork. This will prevent water/dust/smoke/etceteras from entering the cockpit.

Last, four large flat 'glass flanges will be made in the bodywork to connect to the firewalls. This will make our light 10kg side panels ultra-stiff. The side panels will be connected at the firewall, the rocker panels, connected to the interior panels, and to the front and rear body pieces.

I lost my fabricator to alcohol...
 

I lost my fabricator to alcohol. Okay not really. A friend was scheduled to do the interior tin work on the Catfish, and has taken a job at Stone Brewing Company. His time in the garage is over.

Now I would say that this new job has its perks, but he doesn't drink and now I've got to scramble and find a guy to fabricate the interior. Damn!

On the bright side--it's a good job and a good opportunity. Good luck Johnny. :)

If he doesn't drink, maybe he can replace his tinwork with discounted/free drinks for the rest of the crew (after the day's work is done). :)

Good luck!

Thanks Jack. BTW, he WAS the rest of the crew. :) No harm no foul. In fact, we'll probably celebrate the finish of the first car with a Stone IPA.

I found a back-up, who in Southern California not surprisingly has a background in desert racers. Included is some of his handiwork--all body panels you see are are in aluminum. What we have planned for the Catfish is much, much simpler.

headlights, new car design
 

I spent the day today at Disneyland, celebrating my oldest son's seventh birthday. He's been a little miracle ever since he was born two months early.

Of course we drove the cars at "Autopia", and I think I found our next car design. :)

The headlight cover design is ongoing. Included is a concept that didn't make the cut.

That's some amazing tin-work! WOW! You have found the right guy obviously!

There are some truly talented American craftsmen that are still out there, turning out quality work at affordable prices. It's been a great pleasure not only having these people work on the car, but to learn something new from each of them along the way.

SEMA start up
 

What you're looking at below is supposed to become a SEMA show car in less than two months. With all the subtle changes to the body and frame, we're starting from zero with a new frame and a new body. I must be crazy.

I think this is looking a lot sweeter now.

:)

Lots going on today. Visited the mold maker, Tony at AWR Racing, said goodbye to mule #1 so it could get cleaned up and ready for the SEMA frame, picked up a mold for a new secret part that will debut at SEMA and visited with our interior aluminum fab guru. Oh, and stopped by the water jet cutter to set up the chin spoiler surround. Phew.

The pictures show a test sample of the exhaust tip. It's got a .25" thick lip on it, mainly so I won't be visiting the doctor for stitches when my shin kicks the exhaust. The test exhaust system will be here on Monday for fitment. The 30" long stainless canister weighs just 5lbs. Nice.

You've got a bunch of non-Admirer's on M.net today.

Now, THIS is a concept or custom MX5......nice! - MX-5 Miata Forum

Fuck Mnet, those guys are ------s.
They can have fun with their superchargers and stick on chrome accent pieces.

I must confess was a little skeptical about the marketability of this project initially but it looks quite amazing and I think I had dreams about this car last night. with such attention to detail and overall build quality I'm sure this is going to be a big hit at sema and receive the coverage it deserves. nice work man, I cant wait to see the finished sema car and the the production version! f-in awesome man.

LOLZ, miata.net is full of a bunch of weenies. Its like VWvortex except worse.

I totally dig the looks of this car myself. M.net is infested with a touch too much fan-boyism.

Ouch. :) Some will come around when they see the performance. Some will come around when they see the final version. Some are just haters.

Me, I'm a big fan of sports cars, and cars in general.

Yeah, some of these guys just post on there since they have nothing else to do. I wouldn't worry about some of the comments.

Haha, I like one of the last comments: "good to see this forum is still loaded with idiots". That was my sentiment exactly. It reminds me why I never go over there anymore.

Cord, your car is coming along really well.

That was me. I hate that place.

A couple years ago I called Gary Fagscher a ------ in a PM :giggle:

Thanks guys. If I worried about what other people thought, the car would have died long ago.

whoa whoa whoa, now you sound like Porsche.

Sadly so many people on the Mnet think any picture of a concept is the ND.

Oh shit I got an infraction. Its just like old times.

My heroes. :) Wolfgang Porsche gave me a trophy during the 1977 Porsche Parade down in San Diego (as a kid) for winning the sandcastle contest. :)

The Cisitalia is an amazing vehicle. These buttoned-down Germans weren't afraid to follow their imagination if it had a solid theoretical backing.

Cisitalia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Haha whys that? language?

Nope, it's full of idiots who believe "it's not with the spirit of the miata" or some equally retarded bullshit like that. Cool-breeze scoops and chrome trunk luggage rot your brain, I guess....

Haha Cordy dont get your hopes up man, you're talking about people who call a cold air intake an extreme performance mod.

Test exhaust came today
 

The test exhaust showed up today, and it was like Christmas taking it out of the package. :)

It includes the following:

--30" side exhaust, 2.5" I.D and 3.5" O.D., 5lbs. This exhaust has a fully perforated core, so we'll see just how loud it gets.
--flared extension tube, for proper fitment. Once we cut it to the right length, this tube will connect to the bend and the tip to become one unit.
--V-band clamp
--"Quiet core" muffler insert. This is intended for use where track noise regulations are strict, but we frankly don't know how loud the car is going to get. The core might be used most of the time.
--45 degree bend. Boy are the welds nice. :)
--Exhaust tip. The tip will be cut down to the correct length. This sucker will save a trip to the doctor for stitches if you happen to kick it with your shin.

The stainless used for the exhaust is 22 gauge, which is much lighter than the 18 gauge stuff they normally use for cars. The tig welds on this stuff are amazing. Check out the welds on the 45 degree bend.

Can't wait to fit it up. And finally YES, those are authentic "Sham WOW" towels that the exhaust is resting on. :)

You know what pisses me off? Seeing welds like that and knowing that no matter how long I live I will never produce anything that beautiful.


Question: Given that y'all are here in CA (and apologies that I haven't made the extremely short trip up to visit- my laziness knows no bounds), what are your thoughts concerning the retention of the stock catalytic converter and the potential reactions of a tech or referee to the routing of the head-to-cat piping in general?

Now i'm curious why didnt they use bends instead of straights?

I'm in the same boat Joe. I've got friends who weld for a living who couldn't recreate those welds. :)

California uses the SB100 "special conditions" voucher for cars like the Catfish. If you get one of the 500 vouchers given out yearly (there are still some left over from last year), your car is held to 1967-ish standards and is exempt from the bi-yearly testing. Regardless, there is just enough room to put a cat right in front of the driver firewall prior to the exhaust heading out to the side of the car. There would also be room on the side, but you want to place cat converters as close to the headers as possible so they really get hot.

There are so many options for the exhaust that I'm tempted to leave the connection to the customer. A turbo setup would be ideal for this car as a) it would quiet things down, b) it's less sensitive to bends needed after the header. 300hp and 1,500lbs anyone?

all you need is the right tools
:fael:

Why'd they weld the bend instead of bend the bend? :)

The thin-wall stuff has a tendency to deform when it's mandrel bent. Plus, it looks cooler.

Edit--you know what else? My fiberglass guy has the answer--do it in fiberglass. My buddy with a cnc machine can draw up a neat little part and have it cnc'd so it's exactly what I need. MY other buddy with a hammer would probably just hit it until it worked. You're looking at the solution from my friend who's a wiz at welding.

Just get a stir-friction welder. Done! Granted, I think they can only mate parallel pieces (rocket bodies, fuel tanks, etc).

Usually the way people here do exhausts is they buy mandrel bends, cut them correct sizes and weld them together.

For example.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1325037035

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1325037035

You're absolutely right. I guess my point is that if you're a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail. I needed a test exhaust, sent some dimensions and a time frame, and I got what they could make quickly with the tools on hand.

One thing I like about builds is that you can finish a project, look at it, and then ask yourself how it can be made better. The refining process is fun and rewarding. Later on we're going to experiment with some really exciting exhaust ideas, but for now we've got the SEMA deadline.

Edit--BTW, the welds are all TIG by hand, using a rotating jig.

This is great

Classic Race Seats
 

If you're going racing 100% in the Catfish, a nice Sparco or Tillet or a Corbeau FX1 would be just fine.

For the road-going version that will see track time, I wanted to get a seat that had a vintage look to it. These seem to fit the bill.

Thoughts? They're based on the old skool Recaro that used to go in Porsches, Datsuns, Alfas and classic Rally cars.

Like the seats....?


Like the rest of what you do, unbelievably awesome!

I like the seats, but I would need to see them in the car to say for sure. The Catfish doesn't strike me as particularly retro, where as those seats are pure retro.

That's my concern Jack. I like the seats because I remember them in my dad's 356 Speedster, so I have a certain nostalgic feeling about them. I think they'd work in the Catfish, but don't want to make a decision based purely on childhood memories. That said, these things hold you in place comfortably, and include a slot for a 5 or 6 piece harness. Choices.

I like them.

I love the seats, but I don't think they would be ideal in the Catfish. It would seem the catfish would need something a touch more modern to go along with its lines. Perhaps a seat top that mirrored the roll hoop behind the driver?

That's the area that concerns me too. I think that these will be "the" seats for the show. They're also a nice option for Miatas too IMO. When I get more time, if ever, there are some unfinished seat styles on the drawing board that will need to be explored.

offtopic but I have to ask: will those seats fit in a stock Miata and if so are they available for sale?

Thanks,
Thomas

Yes, these seats are available at Porsche seats - leather car seats - custom car seats - Recaro car seats - classic car seats . I gave Stefan (the owner) the Miata dimensions today, so he should be able to accommodate Miatas shortly.

Awesome, thanks.

woohoo race car! running out of summer friend! please offer a bare bones track version upon release!

Just dawned on me...
 

I really just started to look at this:

At 1,500lbs and a nice 300hp turbo setup, the Catfish will have a 5:1 horsepower to weight ratio. That's NUTS.

The 2013 Nissan GT-R is 7.15:1

The 2011 Porsche GT2--the fastest and most powerful EVER road-going Porsche--at least in 2011--comes in at 3,020lbs and 620hp. It beats the Catfish with a 4.87:1 ratio. MSRP $245,000.

I think I need moar rollbar. :idea:

I'm not sure that seat is the best fit from a visual stand point but if it fits price point it is fine. a relaxed shell might be better choice, something like a lotus Elise seat but im sure that adds costs.

Elise seat is what I was thinking, too. Or maybe these...no idea what cost is on them though.

http://www.manikllc.com/seats.html

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1348668581