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Old 06-21-2018, 10:33 AM
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heinke heinke is offline
MetalShaper of the Month Jan 2018
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Prescott, AZ
Posts: 487
Post Miura chassis construction underway

As a reminder, I decided to use an all aluminum monocoque chassis from Strickland Racing for the Miura. I’m very excited about this chassis for the Miura as to me it represents a big technological advancement. The original Miura chassis was known to exhibit some flex and was prone to metal worm attacks over time. The Strickland chassis should be much lighter weight, more rigid, and shouldn’t deteriorate over time given the use of “marine grade” aluminum. In addition, Charley’s highly automated approach to chassis construction keeps the cost in the reasonable range.

A small part of the car sizing answer was in consideration for chassis table fixture mounting. By adding .5% on 105% giving the 105.5% this resulted in good alignment to the chassis table such that mounting holes aligned to fixture holes. The chassis was fully modeled with a CAD application and then the CNC cutting instructions are generated from the model. Chassis parts are made from 5052 aluminum and are cut from ¼” sheet on a 3 axis CNC router. I’m told the accuracy of the CNC cut chassis parts is incredible and they fit to one another easily by hand.

Some chassis parts after cutting and removal from sheet.





Sheet on CNC cutting table after the cut pieces have been removed. With careful placement on the sheet, there’s very little waste after cutting.



The chassis is assembled on a precision chassis table. The chassis members are secured to the table during assembly to ensure alignment for a straight and true chassis. Tabs and slots are used to accurately index the chassis members to one another.





After trial fitting to ensure fitment, the chassis members are fastened together with special metal bonding epoxy glue. As you can see in these pictures, the chassis is quickly taking shape.

I’d like to thank Charley Strickland for providing these progress photos. I know it provides much better insight for you as to how something is made when you can see it in the various stages of construction.
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