Dummies Guide to Building a Vortex - December 2004 (Project Genesis)

Home • Wish List • Forward • Monthly Log • Maintenance • Post a Comment

Chassis Construction • Front Suspension • Engine Subframe • Rear Suspension • Exhaust • Electrical

Reverse Operation • Other Stuff • Front Trunk • Engine Compartment • Exterior • Interior • Links

Other Projects:
Vortex 3-wheel Vehicle
17' Wind Turbine
Bradly GT II Kit Car
1966 Ford Fairlane GT
Spinning Wheels

Search this site:

Links to other monthly logs:

12/2004 1/2005 2/2005 3/2005 4/2005 5/2005 6/2005 7/2005 8/2005 9/2005 10/2005 11/2005
12/2005 1/2006 2/2006 3/2006 4/2006 5/2006 6/2006 7/2006 8/2006 9/2006 10/2006 11/2006
12/2006 1/2007 2/2007 3/2007 4/2007 5/2007 6/2007 7/2007 8/2007

12/2004 Log

This page logs my progress of the Vortex build for the month of December 2004

Date	Costs	Activity
	$90	Received Vortex plans, will have to make adjustments so that I can fit in aftermarket seats...
	$225	Purchased plywood and glue for chassis. I decided to build the bulk of the chassis from 3/4" plywood instead of the 1/2" plywood suggested in the plans. My rational is that 3/4" plywood is far flatter than 1/2". Don't believe me? then just put a nice new flat sheet in your garage and come back in a day or two...
12/17/2004		Got a 3 day weekend, getting started on the chassis and dedicate the entire weekend. There is no 10' plywood sheets in my area and plans called for one for C1, so what I did is to append on a 2' piece onto the front of C1, I located the seam in the area where the cutout for the steering rack would go. Use a piece of wood on top and below the seam and screw it all together. No need to glue as this area is cut out before glassing. Was able to complete the following: C1, C2, C3, C4, C9, C12 in one day, did not put the chamfer onto C1 will wait and do it by eye with a belt sander later. Since I am not putting standard bench seat C5, C6, C7, C8 will not be installed.
12/18/2004		Some confusion today, looking at plans it is not clear to me how C18 is positioned. Plan does not state which end goes towards the front of vehicle. Probably wasted an hour or so, finally compared taper to that which is on the front of C22 and made decision of which end is which. More confusion, the plans call for the top of C18 to be 11", it is not clear if it should be from the bottom of C1 or from the top. Looked at plans for front suspension and determined it is from the bottom of C1. I realized that the plans are great for individual components but lack any real assembly diagrams which shows how parts are lapped, it's cut and test fit to finally determine this... Only problem is that since I am using 3/4" plywood and tweaked some dimensions that it is tougher than if I had used original plan dimensions... Was able to complete the following: C10, C14, C15, C16, C18.
12/19/2004		Started out well today, put in C9, C20, C22, C25 and started on small triangular pieces C17. It became apparent that something was not right as C17 fitted was no where close to what dimensions in the plan state. Scratch head and pour over plans to see what went wrong. In the end I finally realized that the direction that I determined that C18 should be put in was wrong. Frustrated - early evening call it quits...
12/20/2004	$450	Through the Yahoo Vortex discussion group I located a person (Greg Dawson) that had a complete Triumph Spitfire front end including wheels/tires that wanted to sell it. Appears that he decided to go another route using a custom front end so I snatched it up. He also had a rebuild kit and steering rack included. I know that I will need some additional parts such as gaiters, tie rod ends, etc. but looked like a good deal (or at least a good start!). Included in the deal was a set of slotted aluminum front wheels along with a set of low profile Sumitomo HTR 200 175/50R13 tires.
12/24/2004		Spent today removing all parts that went into the front of the vehicle, glue worked pretty well and had to remake the parts... This time corrected the mistake that I made in C18 and put end that is more tapered towards the front of the vehicle. Also modified the top of C18, and bottom of C22 to include a 6 degree angle so that they would mate up better. I am not going to install headlights in front compartment, not sure exactly what will do but do not like the looks/functionality of them where they are.
12/25/2004		What a wife! After doing the Christmas thing in the AM, went to work in the afternoon! Today I put on the C13 as well as correctly put in C17.
12/26/2004		Clean up shop, tired of tripping over all the plywood scraps! Here is progress in the front compartment so far.
12/27/2004	$65	With the prior mistakes needed to get some more plywood, got another 3/4" sheet as well as a 1/2" sheet for portions that are not structural.
12/27/2004	$328	Found aftermarket seats that I was looking for bought them on eBay for $249 plus $75 shipping, they also come with a set of sliders.
12/28/2004	$80	Picked up 2 gallons of polyester resin, automotive body filler, and some glass mat. I already had a roll of 3" seam tape.

Month	12/2004	1/2005	2/2005	3/2005	4/2005	5/2005	6/2005	7/2005	8/2005	9/2005	10/2005	11/2005
Costs	$1238.00	380.00	218.50	1487.37	2115.97	445.33	321.94	636.39	(67.00)	103.00	0.00	12.00

Month	12/2005	1/2006	2/2006	3/2006	4/2006	5/2006	6/2006	7/2006	8/2006	9/2006	10/2006	11/2006
Costs	$501.38	555.70	648.26	315.90	356.84	410.00	479.65	187.93	1113.53	503.78	1445.80	83.60

Month	12/2006	1/2007	2/2007	3/2007	4/2007	5/2007
Costs	$763.86	119.85	199.10	288.66	119.40	239.00	Basic Project Done

Links to other monthly logs:

If you find this site useful and would like to support it, you can do so simply by clicking the button below and donating whatever you like.
To donate you can either use your PayPal account or a credit card (using secure authorization). Donations can be for as little as $1.00

Except where otherwise noted, this site is licensed under a Creative Commons License