grabercars.com

Last edited by admin on Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:52 pm; edited 3 times in total

I don't have enough going on, so I decided to start in on my 2nd la Bala build. Very Happy

This one will be powered by a 1.3L Yamaha FJ1300R engine which has been gathering dust in my garage since 2005. I really do like the sound of the smaller high-revving engines.

EDIT - This car will NOT be powered by a bike engine... More like a V8!

I've had almost all of the parts for this Bala stored in boxes for more than 3 years, so I figure this new year is the best chance to get started! It will be a slow progressing build and some of the driveline components will need to be custom built. But you probably know by now that the challenge is one of the reasons to do it. I will be using my steel tube packs which are available for purchase now.

This one will have DOORS and a Removable ROOF.

The Front Box has been started:

This image shows the tube pack for the front box and how all the tubes are cut to length and numbered according to the plans.

Here I've laid out the lower front box on a flat table and ready for tack welding.

Here the bottom rails have been tacked and the first verticals are in place.

More to follow... Very Happy

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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:54 pm Post subject:

Oh man I can't wait to see this. Are you gonna put a little more horsepower into this one? Maybe put a forged set and boost it to hell? I would love to see a La Bala in the sub-3.0 sec 0-60 range. Who else but the man who conceived such a fantastic automobile to do it? =D

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 12:09 pm Post subject:

I've been cutting the mitered ends of all my tubes using the templates from my plan set and my plasma cutter. I taped each template around the end of the tube, traced the template using a marker and then etched the line into the steel with a sharp tool tip. Because the plasma is so hot, any marker just disappears from the heat so you have to scribe a line into the steel with a sharp tool. The plasma cutter is a very quick way to make a rough cut of the ends. Afterward just a little bit of cleaning up to the etched line is done with a 4" flap disc on the end of an angle grinder.

I will be building this car mainly in my home garage just so you can see that anyone with a little space and the desire to do it can build it.

Here are some initial cuts made with the plasma:

Once they are cleaned up with the flap disc sander they are very precise:

After a few hours of tinkering I am at this stage:

This chassis can be built with only a few basic metalworking tools. The welder is a handymig 100amp cheapo and is fine for thin materials. Your basic eBay plasma cutter and a good vice. A brush and pan are required tools too.

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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject:

I'm excited to see this car when it's complete. Roof and doors instantly piqued my interest, and the bike engine is icing on the cake.

Will those of us who have the early adopter plans get the updates for the doors? Looking at the rendering posted in another thread; this chassis, with the dips in the sides for the doors, looks a lot like the original chassis in the build logs.

I received plans from my fiance for x-mas but won't be able to start building till maybe fall at the earliest. My plan in the mean time was to build a 1/4 scale model using piano wire, and working on modifying the chassis for doors since I'd really like that for track use. I may not need to modify now though.

Will you have any new renderings of the body work with the roof and doors?

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:57 pm Post subject:

Steve, how do you do the headlights on La Bala? Are they included in the kit or do the builders have to come up with their own? Also, how did you make yours to begin with? I saw the pictures of where you cut into the body to put in the headlight buckets, but how did you cover the headlights afterwards?

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:58 am Post subject:

The headlamp buckets are integrated into the hood clamshell. I thermo formed my own lexan covers, but have been working on a mold to take to a specialist shop to have professional quality lexan parts created before any builders are needing them.

The plans for the chassis with the lowered side rails is really just a change in the side of the cockpit area. Nothing else changes. But the short answer is yes, builders will be allowed to have either set of plans. - when I am finished and happy with the results. Smile

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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:25 pm Post subject:

Hey Steve, I was going to follow you step by step but....I can't wait lol, I"m a bit ahed off you already Wink

Get better soon !

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:50 pm Post subject:

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:23 pm Post subject:

Sure thing Steve. tomorrow I will try to take some fotos and post them, that is, if I can figure out how Confused

I have the front box tacked, and the cabin floor laid out already, hope to weld it all tomorrow:)
Off course there are some differences because I dont know exactly where the cabin is going to meet the engine compartment yet, but I'm pretty sure it's going to work:) cheers

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:16 pm Post subject:

I managed to cut all of the main cabin floor pieces on Sunday and lightly tack welded the basic shape together.

The rest of the floor tubes are all cut, but I need to pull my flat and level welding table out of storage before moving forward. The frame should always be build on a flat level surface if you didn't catch that. Smile

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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:44 pm Post subject:

What??

working on sundays??Not fair!
Hey you are suposed to work from front to back lol, I can't work on roll bar yet!
I measured the mold from the mini, and I think I'm within an inch from your overall with, not bad.
Hope tomorrow I can do some work on the firewall, Today I had to work on client's car!
Steve, we need to get this site running busy, get those people w ideas to get involved here, what do you think?
I think I have read all the posts here lol, lot's off good stuff, and there was a lot off involvement, let's wake them up Razz

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:59 am Post subject:

Steve, are you going to consider a supercharger for this one? Boost comes on too strong with a turbo that it makes you lose traction but the gradual buildup of a supercharger on an engine that revs so high should make awesome power.

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:04 am Post subject:

I had all my shocks dyno'd last night. Very interesting findings: I wrote something about it in the Suspension Section: http://www.grabercars.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1865
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:44 pm Post subject:

where can i get hold of one of them magnetic squares you're using?

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:47 pm Post subject:

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 6:58 pm Post subject:

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:00 pm Post subject:

It's good to know the shock's work, I just bought 2 on eBay:)
The website looks good Steve!
Today I will be making brackets, oh and I will be using the dion set up, It will fit, so....why reeinvent the wheell!

Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:33 pm Post subject:

Progress!

The cabin side rails are in. I took the chassis down to the fiberglass shop and we mounted the 2 side panels, they fit great on the new chassis and the doors will be a straightforward addition. Although the cost is putting me into deeper debt as this type of work is not cheap. Needed to be built are completely new side molds and door molds for the skin and interior. If people want the original style chassis and doorless side panels, they will still be offered for sale of course.

All my cnc plasma cut flat steel parts arrived from David Foy last night and I am very excited to get these into the catalog. They are GREAT! These pieces will make everyone's build look much more professional and save Mucho Time!

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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:38 pm Post subject:

Where are those brackets in the catalog???? I'm looking lol, I sure I'm tired off making brackets, did I miss something??

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 7:33 am Post subject:

nope you didn't miss them. I will be adding them to the catalog page in a little bit. The cost for the flat pieces will be $220. I am trying to decide if I should include the bearing pieces for the bellcranks in that package. That would add 4 outer sleeves, 8 bronze sintered bushings and the 4 inner pivot crush tubes.

What happens when the outer bearing sleeve gets welded to the bellcrank brackets, the welding process distorts the inner surface of the sleeve and the bronze bushing will not fit. This piece then needs to be honed out to 1.005" so the bronze bushing press fits correctly. That's why I think I should create a package where the bellcranks are prefabbed and fitted with the bearings.

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