white_2kgt Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 And don't say buy someone elses Say you were starting from a bare chassis, is there any additional work you would do to it that would be harder/impractical once it is all together? My short list includes, seam welding and in floor SFC's and nothing that isn't 100% necessary to comply w/ the rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Matt Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Start with a body in white and remove the roof if you can to build the best possible cage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racercosmo Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 And on an SN95, you don't put the old roof back on, you can buy a new roof skin from Ford and save 60 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 11, 2006 Author Share Posted August 11, 2006 And on an SN95, you don't put the old roof back on, you can buy a new roof skin from Ford and save 60 lbs. What do you mean? I am cutting the roof off to drop the cage in, are you saying there is a lighter roof you can buy from ford?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Matt Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Don't know about Ford, but you can definitely buy the carbon-fiber one from Tiger Racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicane23 Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 (edited) Don't know about Ford, but you can definitely buy the carbon-fiber one from Tiger Racing. Carbon is not legal for AI only AIX. Building my ’04 BIW for AI Texas I have learned a lot, not only about the rules but a ton of different things. It was definitely an experience to be remembered. I’m quite amazed at how light you can make a ’04 Mustang BIW. I stopped removing unwanted metal and other unnecessary material with fear of being to light. I’m glad I stopped when I did. I would be glad to speak to anyone regarding my build just send me an email or pm. Best regards, jg at chicane23.com Edited August 11, 2006 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racercosmo Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 And on an SN95, you don't put the old roof back on, you can buy a new roof skin from Ford and save 60 lbs. What do you mean? I am cutting the roof off to drop the cage in, are you saying there is a lighter roof you can buy from ford?? You can buy a new steel roof skin from Ford. It is only the skin with no reinforcements. You can also gut your own roof, but it is harder to get the last 35 lbs out without screwing up the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Racer Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Or, you could just leave it as a Ranchero.. er I mean roadster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Don't know about Ford, but you can definitely buy the carbon-fiber one from Tiger Racing. Carbon is not legal for AI only AIX. Building my ’04 BIW for AI Texas I have learned a lot, not only about the rules but a ton of different things. It was definitely an experience to be remembered. I’m quite amazed at how light you can make a ’04 Mustang BIW. I stopped removing unwanted metal and other unnecessary material with fear of being to light. I’m glad I stopped when I did. I would be glad to speak to anyone regarding my build just send me an email or pm. Best regards, jg at chicane23.com I am contemplating some surgery before October.....might need to come up to the shop and look your car over again for ideas. I am going to add a few more bars to the cage and weld the a, b and c pilars to the halo....but the top is probably going to come off....so far I see 119 spot welds to get rid of the unwanted reinforcements.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicane23 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 You are welcome to come by, just let me know. I reused my roof skin as I was bored one weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 You are welcome to come by, just let me know. I reused my roof skin as I was bored one weekend. I am going to call the ford house and see what a new skin costs....it might be worth it to get a new one and just hack out the old setup and be done with it.....I am sure these skins can't be THAT expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_tone Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 You are welcome to come by, just let me know. I reused my roof skin as I was bored one weekend. I am going to call the ford house and see what a new skin costs....it might be worth it to get a new one and just hack out the old setup and be done with it.....I am sure these skins can't be THAT expensive? The roof skins are very easy to pull off with the right style spot weld cutter. I think that we had ours off in under an hour or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 You are welcome to come by, just let me know. I reused my roof skin as I was bored one weekend. I am going to call the ford house and see what a new skin costs....it might be worth it to get a new one and just hack out the old setup and be done with it.....I am sure these skins can't be THAT expensive? The roof skins are very easy to pull off with the right style spot weld cutter. I think that we had ours off in under an hour or so. What would be the "right style spot weld cutter"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST#97 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 What would be the "right style spot weld cutter"? It's essentially a large punch that cuts the spot weld similar to drilling them out. Body shops usually have them and might even find one at Northern tool.... Would make the job really easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 What would be the "right style spot weld cutter"? It's essentially a large punch that cuts the spot weld similar to drilling them out. Body shops usually have them and might even find one at Northern tool.... Would make the job really easy! like this? http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/NTELargeImageView?rfno=36327&storeId=6970&zoomId=none Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackboss Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 I use these: http://www.blairequipment.com/index.html They work great and as pointed above using the right tool will make the job not only easier, but much faster. -V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicane23 Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 I use these: http://www.blairequipment.com/index.html They work great and as pointed above using the right tool will make the job not only easier, but much faster. -V I also used the Blair kit and it worked like a champ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 I use these: http://www.blairequipment.com/index.html They work great and as pointed above using the right tool will make the job not only easier, but much faster. -V That looks pretty slick, what sizes are the most common on these mustangs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackboss Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 1/2" should do you well with most all spot welds. They (spot welds)are not all that precise and sometimes its difficult to see where the exact center is. If you don't buy a kit the reversable ones are a great alternative because sometimes these things do catch and break. Always nice to have another on hand. It also helps to use a flap disc on an angle grinder and sand the area a little to remove any burs and make it flat prior to drilling. Otherwise it's common for the tool to walk. -V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swhiteh3 Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Get some bigger sizes. If you use too small a size you'll be cutting through the weld itself, which will quickly destroy the cutting edge. You'll need a self-energizing center punch (to mark the center), a small drill (1/8" scrap bits in bulk work well - to deepen the center punch mark and keep the cutter from "skipping") a spot weld cutter (with spare bits, for most of the holes) and a rotabroach set (for the larger spot welds, or the ones you can't see. Remember, the idea isn't to cut through the weld, but through the top layer of steel. Have some gloves, long sleeves, and safety glasses ready. That stuff is nasty hot, especially when you're doing it on your back looking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 ... especially when you're doing it on your back looking up. I'll be doing it looking down, as I'm taking the roof off Now, what is a "self-energizing center punch"?? All the ones I have you have to hit it w/ a hammer to punch a center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_tone Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 1/2" should do you well with most all spot welds. They (spot welds)are not all that precise and sometimes its difficult to see where the exact center is. If you don't buy a kit the reversable ones are a great alternative because sometimes these things do catch and break. Always nice to have another on hand. It also helps to use a flap disc on an angle grinder and sand the area a little to remove any burs and make it flat prior to drilling. Otherwise it's common for the tool to walk. -V 1/2" is really too big for spotweld application. 3/8" is the right size. I use http://www.blairequipment.com/Spotweld_Cutters/Spotweld_Cutters.html # 13224 because they don't put a hole in the underlaying material, but allow you to simply remove the top peice. The center post is a guide/plunger so it doesn't drill through the 2nd layer. You can see the result of the cutter below: The circles that are along the body are the result of the Blair cutter. With the other style cutters those would have been complete holes. The actual holes you see are in the body and were not drilled by us. bpt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 So you have holes in the roof skin? That would be what I'd want to avoid... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicane23 Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 BT and Mark seemed to drill from the top down and yes the holes are not in the skin. I actually did the opposite with mine so I could save the skin as I didn't need the underlying material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_2kgt Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 BT and Mark seemed to drill from the top down and yes the holes are not in the skin. I actually did the opposite with mine so I could save the skin as I didn't need the underlying material. you mean the holes ARE in the skin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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