Pypes/raceware 74 pro touring build

do you have to cut the floor out of your car to do the back half? or do you have another reason for that? what is the complete size on the 345 tire? those tires look pretty bad ass even if they are worn out lol are you keeping a back seat in this car? sorry I havent followed your build very close but will start paying more attention after seeing where you are.

I will be starting a back half on my car real soon and have no idea how to come up with a tires and wheel combo to finish everything else

 

You don't have to cut the floor out but I find it easier with all I have going on in the back of the car. You will see as I progress the there will be very little sheet metal going back there. There will be no back seat because of the cage, fuel cell, exhaust, suspension pick up points ECT.

What works best for me is to start with the wheels tires first and build the car around them. Once you have them in place you can order your rear to the correct width and set up all the rear tubing and suspension. I went for maximum width with the 345’s (13.5 wide) with this car but notice there is no housing yet because I have not completely settled on a wheel and tire combo. I’m trying to find common tire sizes that cover all uses for the car (slick road race tires, wet tires, and street tires).

 

Amazing! Not sure how I missed this thread.. Watching it now.

 

I vote the 315's. I think it's plenty of tire for these cars.

 

How would one go about getting sponsored by some of the companies you are sponsored by? Do you know people, or did you write the companies??

 

Luckily for me I have made lots of friends and have sold lots of product for these companies and many more not listed over my 25 year carrier is the performance aftermarket. I can also show them value by getting this car into SEMA and with the exposure the Optima series offers.

I am also humble in what companies have to offer. I don't hound them or beg for parts in fact this is the first project that I have ever asked for help on, and because I don't abuse the privilege I have been able to partner with some great companies.

 

Awesome project subscribing for sure !! Will be looking for it at SEMA in the future!!

 

Happy new year Everyone! It’s hard to believe it’s been since September since my last update on the project. It’s been a very hectic fall with SEMA, PR, family and ending the year on a positive note at work. The next few nights I’m going to bombard you with my progress kind of like a mini marathon of fabrication.
First thing was to better equip the shop so I added a Baileigh RDB-050 rotary draw bender. It’s a very sturdy unit that will allow you to bend tubing up to 180 degrees without have to reposition the tubing in the bender. It has the capacity to bend up to 2.5” .120 wall mild steel or 2” .120 Chromalloy tubing. I purchased the 1.750” 180 degree die along with the bender because I plan to use .095 wall 1.780” DOM tubing for my cage which complies with most BMCA, SCCA and IMSA classes.
The Next gadget is a Grizzly bench top milling machine. I have been looking for an excuse to replace the Bridgeport I sold a couple of years ago and this unit is just what the doctor ordered for a small home shop. 110 powered, portable, J8 collate, tilting head and an adjustable speed motor and the sucker is even upgradable to full CNC capabilities. It came complete with stand for under $1500.00. I also purchased from Mittler Brothers a 1.750” end mill and tool holder to do the tube notching.

 

Nice setup Dave! Can't wait to see ur updates on the project.

 

Wow, I love it!!! What was the inside to inside frame rails width in the rear? Also what is the lift in the frame rails? I ordered a kit from CA Chassis Works and it has a 17" rise in the back.

 

That is a really nice bender

 

Thanks guys having the right tools always seems to make things easier.

On the rear rails I send Auto Weld in Danville, PA a pattern for Maverick rails so they could make me a set. As it turns out they are really close to 71-73 Mustang rails and since I was removing the floors I used the Mustang rails and save a few dollars. Inside to inside is set at 33.5" and they are straight rails.

 

Since I’m kind of into gadgets and looking to make the job easier I also purchased from Trick Tools the Bend Tech Pro tube and pipe assembly design and bending software along with their sheet metal module.
This stuff is really powerful software and took some practice to learn how to use it, but thanks to the patient tech support at Bend Tech I got up to speed really quickly. Once you have the bender calibrated to the software it made perfect bends all the time.
Now that I was confident with the software and the bender I set of to design the chassis for the Maverick. Starting with a single reference point this is what I came up with. The software calculated all the bends, where to mark the tubing for bending, rotation, cut lengths, weight/cost of the tubing and even the fish mouth profiles. I did have to lay a foundation and chose round tube even though my perimeter is square tubing. I’m not sure I’m going to put all this tubing in the car but it gives me a good foundation to start with.

 

That looks more like one of my pavement oval track chassis

 

Not as much offset and designed to go left and right!