http://www.springerlink.com/content/c0h ... lltext.pdf

"For baseline and correlation data, a production B-pillar to
rocker section was tested quasi-statically. Three cases were
tested: baseline (no foam), foam filled with 5 pounds per cubic
foot (pcf) density, and foam filled with 30 pcf density. The 5 pcf
foam improved the fore/aft stiffness by 25%, the inboard/outboard
stiffness by 75%, and the torsional stiffness by 250%.
The 30 pcf foam improved the fore/aft stiffness by 100%, the
inboard/outboard stiffness by 200%, and the torsional stiffness
by 500%. Using finite element modeling, the study optimized
the section for joint stiffness, weight, and cost, by varying the
metal type and gauge, and the location, quantity, and density of
the foam."

You've got a PM...this is most excellent even though no one is saying much.

Linky no worky so it's possible they mention this but...I'll bet those numbers get even better if your structure is tinfoil, if you know what I'm getting at...

most definitely! hence the slight reduction in thickness of frame rails

i guess it doesn't work because i'm not at the university anymore, darn! i'll have to snaggle a copy to share with you guys when i go back thursday.

and guess what!


still gotta clean up my welds and finish boxing everything in, BUT

Keep posting, I have been watching the progress just not saying anything as I have nothing to add to a project of this magnitude. Great work, can't wait to see this one done.

gosh, i was starting to worry that y'alls just hated me or something because i'm the guy with the reputation of never getting anything done!

This project keeps me motivated on the 242. The work and thought going into this is amazing and I'm happy that you keep going on it.

That's no reason to hate you, but it is more reason to sit back and watch to see where/if it goes, hence much silence. It's an ambitious project but you're doing a good job so keep it up.

Thanks for the input guys,



Is the tenative design of the front structure, but alas i've gotta get a lot more of the unibody made sound again before that point...

today is solving the steering issue.

edit: friggi can't spell!

one of the other nice things, is the poly suspension bushings are in the mail now,

motor mounts, front control arms/struts, and sway bar bushings... total, about $140USD shipped.

that and the 2.25" pipe to make a hole through the frame rail for the steering rack i'm nearing $3200

Eat the bills, don't add them up - it causes depression

well, I should fill in on the whole point of this project...

a friend of mine has a lightly modded skyline GT-R, fairly quick car, but he thinks it's the greatest thing on the planet. I roasted him in the turbo-minivan when i had it, and all that did was piss him off and get the excuse "Well it can't handle"

Fair enough, it's a minivan, so i made a friendly bet with him, that in the same time it'll take him to tear down his car, rebuild his engine and put it back together that i'll have built a volvo that will outperform the skyline in every aspect except maybe aesthetics.

He has around 16k into his skyline plus whatever the rebuild is gonna cost, and so far all he's done is pull off the front clip.

My other intention is to have this car on the road when i graduate in may of 2011. I figure this is a reasonable goal, and with steady progress it should be doable. might not be finished, but it should be doable.

Today, i'm making all the sheet metal outside of the inner structure that's welded to the frame rail, this is rather tedious work, but it needs to be done. More pics when i actually get somewhere other than a couple of plug welds....

It would seem too that the best thing for welding the 18ga sheet on this car is to use the little 120v buzzbox on max (around 90a) with 0.030 wire or on 3/4 with 0.24 wire and almost no wire speed and moving fairly quickly. makes a nice flat weld with good penetration. I might pull it apart to see if i can reduce the wire speed a bit more to be able to use the 3/4 setting on 0.030 since i occasionally pop a little hole if i weld near the edge of a sheet.

EDIT:

Got stuck doing homework for most of the day, but managed to finish the internal bracing and 80% of the middle external bracing on the suspension mounts. I think i got one of them a bit to hot as the metal has oil-canned a little bit across the gap, so probably this weekend will be my first attempt at shrinking some sheet metal!

any tips for cutting metal straight? I need to do a few angled cuts and just can't seem to keep the air-shears straight, even with a 1/8" bar stock guide...

You can use a thin wheel on a disk grinder or find someone with a shear. I usually get it close with the air shear then clean it up by hand. With 18 ga, I'd used a grinder with lighter I use hand snips. I've been eyeing up one of the combination machines that is a box brake, shear and slip roll. That would be the best idea - if I only had the space.

i'm almost thinking maybe a nibbler with a high fence might work since the nibbler, aside from a bit of roughness/distortion at the very near edge should work well. When i get some more money i may have to try one out.

As of right now i'm looking into benders from TJdiesel performance, doing one myself, and at other places online...

seems as though tjdieselperformance is going to be the best place, about 370$ USD shipped it would seem, but that's also coming UPS so who knows how many extra charges will get tacked on.

Also got sick of studying and made a tubing notcher attachment for the drill press out of an old vice (okay, it's some pallet hardwood planed flat and screwed to the sides of the vise with a small groove routed in the middle of each board, but still!)

Just waiting on bushings/floor pans/some patience to finish all the sheet metal for the 4 main mounts, and to start the rear mounts too.

In other news, i realized that i COULD actually make a 1/2jz bolt into the car now.... somewhat tempting proposition if this volvo engine turns out to be bunk (which i doubt it will, especially being aluminum, and mounted far back in a car that should weigh less than 2500 pounds)

The nibbler is just as hard to control and doesn't really leave a rough finish. I find they just go very quickly (and I did clad the inside of my garage in metal, so I've got some time behind these tools) - there is no way to make them perfect.