Yes, I'd have to say that the folks at Jerry Bickel Race Cars are pro's when it comes to Tubs and Sheet Metal .............among other things.

 

Silicone against the quarter holds very well and allows the tub a little movement. Seam sealant drys alot stiffer and can cause damage to the quarter/paint when the vehicle flexes.

 

Awesome buildup. I'm planning to minitub an '83 I have, but my choice for rear and suspension is a little different.

You said there were some things you would have done differently if you did it again, can you briefly sum those up?

 

I can do the math for you on why that wouldn't happen, who told you this was the case?

I've seen tubs done many different ways, from using silicone all the way to seam welding it to the quarter. I feel it's a 'schools of thought' issue more than anything else, if you don't mind the look of silicone then your better off doing it that way, fibreglass fillers can be a pain if you let them harden to much.

I don't mean to bash your shop in anyway, I just found little information or tools for metalworking on the link. Am I looking in the wrong place? A direct link to some of their work/information would help clear this up for me.

Are you planning on leaving the rest of the rear open? Where I live leaving it open would never pass safety standards for street cars, not to mention ingrain a fear of deep puddles.

 

The entire rear will be paneled and carpeted.

Jerry Bickel Race Cars, a simple search on good images will net you a ton of pictures of their work.

But, since we're a mazda forum, I'll include a car that they built and shipped to Australia.

 

Looking good!

 

Jerry Bickel's isn't some random nobody chassis shop, they are up there with the best of the best. In any given Pro Stock field, you'll find several cars that his shop built. I think they know race car building.

Now can we drop this and move on to other discussions?

 

eric, what do you do for a living. i gotta start doing that

 

u go to chabot right? well go to a real school n make that money man

 

lol i'm transfering pretty soon, cal poly. should be pretty good.

 

The trick is becoming a mechanical engineer and design cars for a living, the biggest win-win out there imo.

 

Right about now, there's a small city's worth of unemployed automotive engineers who might not agree with you.

 

i really want to go for aerospace. eric, how long have you been welding?

 

Viking Warhammer, you said there were some things you would have done differently if you did it again, what were they?

I'm considering doing a minitub on an '83, would appreciate some insight on the FB minitub.

 

The trick is also not living in the US. And not working for crappy companies.

 

So . . . you must be advising prospective engineers to move to Korea and work for Hyundai -- since they're about the only ones thriving right now.

 

Instead of trying to use the stock frame rails, I would have spent $200 on aftermarket frame rails. That would make building tubs ALOT easier, and the frame rails sit higher than stock so I wouldn't have to worry about c-notching the frame in case I wanted to slam the car even more than it is now. Plus, using aftermarket frame rails would save yourself about 20 hours of labor prepping the stock rails to work.

But, with the car as low as it is now........ I can't imagine having it any lower for street use.

 

In other news, I picked up some 22 gauge sheet metal today and got my drivers side tub made. It's sitting on the work bench letting the seam sealer cure. Will start the other one tommorow.

 

can't wait to see that...man i read this whole thread from start to end...and this was a HUGE help of info...damn viking you got skills bro...i love the work...

When you say c-notch i assume you cut the top part of the chassis rail running side by side next to eachother and re-inforced it with a thicker guage metal and then welded it close correct?

 

The way mine sits right now, I didn't have to c-notch it. If I wanted to lower it anymore, I would have to c-notch it and raise the driveshaft tunnel.

You basically cut out a half moon shape from your frame raile and weld or bolt in a peice of metal.

Here is a kit that you can buy for trucks, just to give you a idea.

This would go on each side of the frame rail

 

Telecommunications - engineering/surveillance side

 

3 hours of work...... and a $37 harbor freight electric metal shear

 

bro you can't go wrong with harbor freight tools...there pretty good, and always seem to get the job done for me...

Wheel tubs are ******* porno bro...just pure porno...

nice job

 

That is turning out awsome. Then all you have to do is get the floor done and that should be pretty much it for the sheet metal, right?

 

Yep, the middle part should be cake compared to the tubs...... then, carpet and subwoofer!