Stuff my dog says; on second thought I'll just build a race car

The video is excellent, it put the size of the cross-member into perspective. The sound of it when moved and the way you moved it with one hand show it is not made from 3/4" armor-plating like some photos suggest. Keep at it, it is such a big project and you have already taken some very big bites out of it...:hump:
 
The video is excellent, it put the size of the cross-member into perspective. The sound of it when moved and the way you moved it with one hand show it is not made from 3/4" armor-plating like some photos suggest. Keep at it, it is such a big project and you have already taken some very big bites out of it...:hump:

haha, it's 1/8 inch. We can still easily pick the entire assemblage of tubing and cross member up and flip it with two of us. Granted it's not a perspective too many people have, but I can definitively say that it's still lighter weight than a bare 1969 Camaro front subframe.
 
I was thinking, and figured I'd go ahead and add some dimensions being as it really is difficult to assess them over the internet. The chassis rails are 27 inches inside to inside in the front where the cross member is. The back mounting spot for the lower control arms is 94 inches from the rearmost edge of the chassis so far. The cross member itself is 9 inches across in the middle and 1 inch thick with the control arm mounting holes 9 inches below the bottom edge of the frame tubes.
 
The sending unit pack I ordered back in February showed up today. Didn't think it would be here till October or so. Funny that the camera refused to focus on the box instead always trying to make the picture about the XS650.
 

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I got to see my wheels on a vehicle, just not one I ever expected. This Bronco had wrecked and popped the right front tire, we needed to get it inside before some rain and this was the only tire mounted on a Ford Truck pattern wheel so it got borrowed.
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Went in today and planned on welding the outside cover pieces for the chassis rails and mostly got there. Six and a half hours of TIG welding later and I still have a bunch of welding left to get them completely welded. People wonder why legitimately custom stuff costs a fortune, that's why. It could be MIG welded, and I don't really have to completely weld the entire seams, but it will look a lot better this way.
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And a video walking around the thing
 
Basically the same picture over and over again today. I've got the side pieces fully welded on the main chassis rails finally after another 7 hour day of welding. TIG welding really is quite time consuming when it's several feet of weld having to be laid down. I had thought maybe we would get the rear hoop bent today but by the time the welding was done we were ready to be done for the day. Also I got metal for the front spindles but no pictures of a couple flat pieces of steel still in their shipping package.

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And a video of the same stuff as the pictures.
 
Made some progress today, got the main back hoop made and installed. Not done exactly but mostly so. We still need to get another diagonal support bar in under the roll hoop but with that it'd be done and time to move on. With that done I believe the next thing that will be tackled will be the hip bar to ladder the frame between the axles.

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As has become fashionable did a walk around the chassis at the end of the day.

 
Buddy is in town this weekend, so not an overabundance of race car stuff was accomplished today. I did get this last bit of the main rear hoop done. We should've made this before the hoop was welded to the main lower chassis rails. Doing it this way I had to cover a gap at the top to allow the pipe to rotate up into place. I don't suppose it looks too terrible though.

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The after lunch we went across the street and worked on my buddy's Subaru for a while, so bonus Subaru pictures.

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The appearance of the weld will be just fine. It will never be viewed closeup from the front like the camera shows and from behind its very good. Paint will also tone down any minor imperfections. If it annoys you as time goes by them I'm sure you will sort it out.

Keep up the good work.
 
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Downtown last night for a concert (Rancid and The Dropkick Murphys) so a bit of a late start of things this morning.
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What I did eventually get accomplished, though I must use that term loosely, was drawing up the rear of the chassis. Strange as it may seem I had yet to actually measure and draw up the stuff from the main hoop back or really see what all was needed to mount the fuel cell back there. My wife and older son are going back down to the same amphitheater tonight to see another show so I couldn't stay long working. I ended up getting a piece of tubing cut into four sections and three of those bent to weld into that rear bar set. Unpictured I also messed with making a step point in the same figure eight inside an oval look as the chassis rails that will eventually get mounted to the outside of the body so it won't be necessary to stand on the rear suspension arms to enter the cockpit.20210925_145735.jpg
Picture of the tubing bender we use in something resembling action. Then a short video showing it actually bending a tube followed by walking over to show the already bent pieces and drawing.
 
Sigh, another year without a calendar nomination. More importantly got more done on the chassis yesterday getting the last bit of bar for the rear section bent and then was able to get the four pieces sleeved and welded down to two pieces. Then got the two pieces welded to the rear hoop. Unfortunately I forgot my phone on the couch when I left yesterday morning so no images of any of those things. I'll try to get some tomorrow evening when I swing over there to get some leftover pizza from the fridge.
I didn't get any of the flat cap done, so I figure that will be my work for next week. Also ordered some more tubing that presumably will show up tomorrow. I'm out of inch and a half and still need some reinforcing pieces for that rear section and then to come down from the roll hoop.
 
Well shoot... :(
Thought your bike was already in a calendar. Guess I shoulda looked.
 
Perhaps the 2022 Calendar may feature a bike and car combination????....:hump:

I had actually forgotten about the calendar stuff this year, (How is it already October?!?) and usually only breeze through the off topic lists so didn't see the nomination thread until this morning. While it would be neat I don't give it that much thought otherwise I'd self nominate. That would be cool though if it isn't breaking any rules and assuming I can actually get the car done by nomination time next year.
 
haha, shit, now I have to deep clean my XS and think of somewhere to take nice pictures of it. My favorite picture I have of it is from before I redid the wiring and did the new rear fender and pod filters. Also I forgot pictures of the chassis progress when I went over today. Didn't even get a picture of the pizza...
 
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