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The Buchka 242 Fake Racecar

Here's Tuesday's effort:

We needed to tie the front box in to the rest of the frame and the cowl area was very much in the way. In an effort to preserve the pristine condition of our 242 body shell, we opted to introduce an 8" body lift. Meet the Buchka 242 Fake Bro-Dozer:
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Then it was back to lots of notching:
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Lots of grinding (featuring the swanky new hoss belt sander (with optional tube notching attachment (that we don't use (because it makes a huge mess)))). Seriously, this belt sander is the ****. Super excited to have one in the shop.
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More contortionist welding:
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Result:
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Re-installed the mock-up engine for a clearance check. Things are looking good.
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I also tried it.
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Next is all the tubing behind the main hoop. Stay tuned!
 
Looking good, feel the pain on the notching, we use an end-mill that is set up purely for that purpose with a custom deck that clamps the tube and can be set to whatever angle is required. Quite possibly overkill for this, but if you're going to do more cages then it might ultimately be worth it.
 
Thanks guys.

Stiggy Pop, yeah, the shop in MA is still around. Our dad works on his toys in there.

Dammit, the mill we have in the shop isn't nearly powerful enough to do this kind of work, but doing it that way would be nice. The notcher we have is actually pretty good. Setting the angle of the hole saw is pretty easy.

There was a lot more figuring going on today, so I guess there isn't as much visible progress. We started on the rear end tubing, which was trickier than the front because there's no way to build anything off the car and drop it on as a starting point. Every single tube depends on another tube being there to support it. We ended up making a temporary wooden support brace, then played tube frame twister while trying to align and weld four different tubes simultanously.

Here's where we stopped for the evening. Rear downtubes are in, along with a couple of lateral braces.
IMG_3562.JPG


These tubes (along with the floor rails) represent the rearmost part of the frame. Any structure behind that will be purely to support the original sheet metal outer skin. There will be quite a bit of cosmetic overhang, both on the front and rear end of the car.
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All the 3/4" square tubing is temporary and will be removed pretty soon.
 
These tubes (along with the floor rails) represent the rearmost part of the frame. Any structure behind that will be purely to support the original sheet metal outer skin. There will be quite a bit of cosmetic overhang, both on the front and rear end of the car.
Do you have lateral G goals are you just building with that in mind?
 
WOULD YOU JUST START WIRING STUFF ALREADY?

The above statement is made in jest, but there is all kinds of fabrication porn all over the internet with this current "pie cut all of the things" fad. The wiring that you guys do is really where I've been getting my automotive rocks off for the last year or so. Butchka builds are 100% pure, concentrated inspiration.
 
Do you have lateral G goals are you just building with that in mind?

I'm not sure I understand your question.

WOULD YOU JUST START WIRING STUFF ALREADY?

The above statement is made in jest, but there is all kinds of fabrication porn all over the internet with this current "pie cut all of the things" fad. The wiring that you guys do is really where I've been getting my automotive rocks off for the last year or so. Butchka builds are 100% pure, concentrated inspiration.

Thanks for the kind words! Realistically, it will take quite a while before wiring begins in earnest. It's probably one of the last things to tackle before the car is ready for a test drive.
 
Awesome project. Cool engine choice too. My xc90 hauls some ass for a 4500 lb SUV. It sounds amazing and has gobs of power pretty much everywhere in the powerband.

Can't wait to see what it can do in a 240.
 
Awesome project. Cool engine choice too. My xc90 hauls some ass for a 4500 lb SUV. It sounds amazing and has gobs of power pretty much everywhere in the powerband.

Can't wait to see what it can do in a 240.

I get the impression that a significantly lightened 242 with this engine is going to SCREAM.
 
Awesome project. Cool engine choice too. My xc90 hauls some ass for a 4500 lb SUV. It sounds amazing and has gobs of power pretty much everywhere in the powerband.

Can't wait to see what it can do in a 240.

Thanks! Alex and I are pretty pumped to see how this engine does with an uncorked exhaust. It should make pretty good power assuming we can get the VVT working properly.

I get the impression that a significantly lightened 242 with this engine is going to SCREAM.

I don't have any illusions about the car being stupid fast, but it should still be quick enough to have plenty of fun with.


Progress report:

Four more tubes are in (the two on either side that stretch back from the middle of the main hoop):
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As you can see we also dropped the torque tube and transmission back in to check clearances. So far we've found a couple of spots that will need attention, but nothing that's going to drive any large amount of negative work.

We also mocked up one of our old kevlar bucket seats to play with seating positions. Looks like the stock Corvette shifter location might work, which would be nice. The seat is going to end up being raised quite a ways off the floor because of that whole needing-to-see-where-you're-going thing.
 
So you guys are short :p

I can't get seats low enough for my taste. I drove Acurry6's orange 242 with the seats bolted right to the floor and had a moment of "ooh, this I like" before I even started the thing.
 
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