The next area to look at is the chassis and fitting the Rotary Engine and gearbox so that the integrity of the original chassis was not compromised in that the strength of my design section of new chassis is as strong or stronger than the original Van-Dieman.
The Chassis & engine after the first cut.
There was a lot of procrastination before I took the grinder to cut the car, knowing that it was a perfectly good chassis and that I could do more harm than good, but it needed to be done if I was to forge ahead with the project.
The photo shows the cut chassis and the donor rotary engine and gearbox after the first cut of the chassis, as they say the first cut is the hardest. It had to done and the thought process was to cut only a small amount off the chassis and continue to cut bits off until all the new components were going to fit correctly.
Chassis and engine showing bracing
I purchased some steel tubing and started to sort out how I was going to fit all the components of the rotary engine and gearbox into the chassis.
The photos show the process of working out the structure of the new chassis. I decided to fit dowels into the main chassis rails so that the new joint sections were very strong, as well as plug welding all the joins etc.
Chassis & Engine rear view
The chassis needed extra bracing from the front main roll over bulk-head to the rear chassis, so extra braces were welded to accommodate this.
Chassis, Engine & Gearbox rear view
All the joints at the original chassis end were welded with nickel-bronze and all the other joints were welded with a MIG welder, as this was easier for me to use.
Chassis showing the front engine mount
The engine needed to be supported so it was mounted and braced to make it very strong, and to try to keep it as low as possible to keep the center of gravity low.