Cockpit

Building the Cockpit was an interesting project. I'll occasionally use polished Aluminum were it seems practical, it really adds a lot to the overall look. On the downside, over time it will need to be cleaned and polished, but I think I can live with that.......

The seat was hand formed out of flat stock. Six individual pieces were cut, formed, drilled, and riveted. It was then hand polished, which nicely compliments the steering column. I will eventually sew up a Leather seat cover, which should be very cool...

The steering wheel was also cut from flat stock, drilled, bent, and polished. The hand grips were carved from hardwood, stained, then attached with Brass rivets which adds a nice little touch. The steering column is made completely from wood and painted.

People often confuse the Fire Extinguisher with a Nitrous bottle, seems back then it pointed directly at the driver.....The bottle was turned on the lathe, the straps were cut from aluminum then bent to shape. The gauge was a simple painted wooden disk.

There are still some parts I need to fabricate...foot pedals, brake handle, and harness.....

......starting to look like a race car.....

"Blower Belt"

I had been wondering how I was gonna make the Blower Belt since the beginning of this project. If I could've just bought one of these I would've......pretty slim chance of that......


I started by forming a piece of PVC around the pulleys using a heat gun to bend it to shape. This is much easier said than done.....The seam was connected using a piece of scrap PVC, which would later be ground off. With the Belt in place, I started adding the wooden blocks. Because the tolerances of the slots in the pulleys weren't exact, each one was fit individually....(this was a pain in the ass)........Once these were done, I was able to slide it off the pulleys and add the rest of the blocks. It was then sprayed with a few coats of liquid rubber, it turned out great......


Taking the Belt on and off is a challenge....the slots have to be lined up perfectly like a keyway.........it's an exact fit......