May 2004

ikom Ultima Build

Welcom to visit my home

	Preparing for the build

	April 2004

	May 2004

	June 2004

	July 2004

	August 2004

	September 2004

	October 2004

	November 2004

	June 2005

	July 2005

	August 2005

	September/October 2005

	November 2005


The ULTIMA build continues

May 2004

Page 1 of 10 , there are 37 images in this channel.

Title	Redoing a panel
Description	Saturday May 1, 2004 I decided (after much overnight deliberation) that the full cockpit side, engine bulkhead panel that I made a few weeks ago is not to my liking - the offending flaw is the seat belt attachment cutout slot, which to me appears to be too wide and the proportions just do not please me. I know this panel and cutout would bother me as long as I own the car and to save myself from further angst, I got up very early and made my way over to the "Metal Supermarkets" to buy a sheet of 48"x36" 5052 0.050" (16 gauge) aluminum. I asked for as clean and unblemished a piece of aluminum that they could find in their stock and between the counterperson and I; we selected an unscratched good-looking piece, which he sheared to the exact size I wanted. I took it home and marked it up for trimming and fitting using the unwanted old piece as a template. I discovered that I am now quite proficient at using the air shears and made quick work of duplicating the piece exactly. The air die grinder took care of the final touches around the upper chassis tubes and welds connecting the front and rear hoops. I once again had to rig up a metal bender from some two by fours and a clothes rod to bend the metal to conform to the shape of the chassis. I had made all this progress by mid morning and at noon my son asked me if I wanted to accompany him to the BMW club's Dyno Day; so off we went. Quite a few cars had already been on the dyno by the time we got there and we chatted with the other drivers and looked at all of the assembled cars, the new ones, modifieds and the classics, like the E30 M3's which still holds a special place in my heart. I had a bit to eat and hung around to see how my son's and his friend's cars fared on the dyno. My son has a DINAN chip and a modified intake made by the two of us, so I was interested to see if it made more power than stock. The dyno run came up good for both their cars with a respectable 25 horsepower increase for my son and a 27 horsepower increase for his friend. A few more cars on the dyno and I returned home to the ULTIMA project. Final filing, edge sanding and the panel was ready for cutting out narrower 1.5" wide seat belt anchor slots which were very carefully measured using the actual six point belts and anchor bolts. The bottom of the slot was positioned just below the seat belt anchors, to clear the belts, so as not to rub against and fray the belts. A 1.5" (38mm) bimetal holesaw took care of the four round holes which when connected would make the two panel slots. The air shears and some judicious filing took care of connecting the holes perfectly. I am now much happier with the look of this panel and am very glad that I elected to redo it. Some things just have to look right, regardless of the work involved. My son's friend Chris, returned with his car and I helped both of them prepare their cars for a track meet scheduled for early next morning.
Size	260.67K
Date	May,01,2004

Title	Driver's side and front cockpit panels
Description	Sunday May 2, 2004 I marked up all of the completed panels (sides, front pedal area and front bulkhead) with my template and fine tipped "Sharpie" for locating and centre punching the drill holes. The metre long "yardstick with the pre-drilled 30mm spaced holes is invaluable for accurately transferring drill holes onto the panels. The centre punched panels were then drilled with an eighth inch (3.2mm) drill bit on the drill press and each hole was then cleaned up on both sides with a metal countersink bit in a handheld cordless drill. This is tedious and busy work but the panels look very good. I ended the day by once again pre-fitting the panels onto the chassis and making final fine-tuning adjustments until I was pleased with their fit.
Size	129.53K
Date	May,02,2004

Title	Marking tools
Description	Double ended "Sharpies" are great for marking the aluminum alloy panels and erased easily with rubbing alcohol
Size	244.3K
Date	May,02,2004

Title	Passenger side panel at rear bulkhead
Description	Junction of rear bulkead chassis members and trial fitted passenger side panel as viewed from cockpit
Size	175.3K
Date	May,02,2004

Page 1 of 10 , there are 37 images in this channel.