Project Countach

 When we left off, I had started plotting in data into the CAD tool, and got the rear suspension assembly. In Jan, I received the front end Mustang II suspension components, as well as a few pieces of 2x4 steel tube to get started. The mustang II crossmember was measured and cut to fit the 2x4 tubes to the correct ride height, per the instructions I got from Heidts. One thing I did was to take copious measurements of the body, in order to make sure I got the chassis correct. I tried taking pictures and pasting them scaled into CAD, but the distortion from the distance to the camera was too great, so I opted to take measurements and follow those instead. I then bolted the wheels to the rear subassembly to determine ride height and chassis mount points height. The wheels have a 1.75" thick wheel adapter to go from the C6 Corvette hub to the wheels I have currently. I had to buy an extra 1/4" thick spacer as the rim rubbed against the knuckles of the rear spindles. I had to take

Since I decided to build a new chassis from the ground up, there were a few things I needed to do so I didn't fuck this up. I refreshed my knowledge on chassis design and welding processes via You Tube. I bought a license with ProgeCAD to start assembling my model. It's a product similar to AutoCAD and so it's very familiar to me, having used AutoCAD in school and professionally since the mid-90's. While I do have AutoCAD on my work computer, I don't want to utilize that computer for this project, plus I may use this program for other work. My only criteria were to use as little as possible from the Fiero, and to not have to design and build suspension components, so I decided to buy pre-built assemblies. I bought a Mustang II front end assembly and a C6 Corvette rear assembly. The Mustang II will be here next week, but the Corvette part has been here for a month already. I've been taking measurements from it, as well as ordering wheel spacers and adapters for t

2021 was a hit and miss year for me. I tried many times to re-start this project but for one reason or another, I just could not muster up the motivation to keep going at it. I put the new body on the car adnd found myself chopping up the frame to make it fit properly - too much chopping. I bought a new engine which is still brand new and un-tested, and new exhaust parts, and chopped the frame further to make those fit before giving up. I tried selling it twice and each time I could not sell due to the low ball offers I kept getting. I was still nostalgic for the thing after all, but I could not stand the condition it was in after all this time. So, I was stuck in a place where I did not want to work on it, and I did not want to sell it. The kids did not want me to sell it. I needed a big kick in the pants as to what direction to finally go in. In October, I lost my ability to fly due to a medical condition, so that hobby became shelved, freeing up time. I then decided that if I were t

2020 definitely had less emphasis on the project car, due to getting adjusted to Covid, as well as working on house upgrades, and working on a new project airplane. I decided that if I were to keep working on the project car, I will need to get rid of the body for a professionally made one. I sourced a good body that is close to the 5000s specs, and I removed the body I made. I bought a car rotisserie thinking that I would be doing welding on the underside of the car. After burning myself pretty bad from a stray molten piece of metal, this was something I felt like I needed to do at the time. However, I ended up selling the car rotisserie as by the end of the year, I was over this project for some personal reasons.