09/09/2026
Build #50, finally back on her front wheels with no supports after a good 4 years!
It’s been far too long, but it’s been great getting stuck back into some proper engineering again. White finger from the vibration and a couple of decent burns to show for it too.
Quite a few different processes have gone into the last 3 days. It started sat at the desk doing CAD, then out came the ArcDroid for some CNC plasma cutting, followed by the laser welder to join the fabricated sections together.
The mounting brackets were then MIG welded directly to the frame because, quite frankly, I couldn’t be arsed setting the laser up on the other side of the workshop for about 5 minutes of welding!
We’re not completely finished yet. Although the parts now look dressed and polished, they still need to go through the final finishing process before powder coating. There are a few little details left to address and some bolts to replace with shorter, more appropriate ones.
If you’re wondering why these are separate units bolted to the frame rather than permanently welded in, there are a few reasons.
Firstly, they need to be removable so we can install and remove the fuel tank.
Secondly, they act as a brace between the suspension mounting points and help strengthen the structure.
And finally, the whole system has been designed to be adjustable, allowing us to alter ride height and the suspension motion ratio, changing how much damper movement we get for a given amount of wheel travel.
That’s the front finally standing on its own wheels.
Now we can properly move onto the rear and finally get Build #50 turned into a rolling shell, while the customer makes the slightly important decision about what’s going behind him...
500bhp supercharged V6 or 2.0 turbo?
Decisions, decisions.