Midgetec

Got to work on the Midget for the third day in a row today - another year of this and I'll have it finished. Goal for today was to fab a little sub-frame under what will become the sheetmetal for the transmission tunnel.

Since the Midget is a unibody, and a roadster at that, every piece of sheetmetal through the center section has a purpose. The original transmission tunnel was only 18 gauge or so, but it was a nice big tubular section that added strength and rigidity to the chassis.

So, I needed to do what I could to replace it with something at least as strong, or better yet, a little stronger. Since I was going to be using 22 gauge for the new tunnel, and it was going to have to have a funny shape to fit around the T5 yet still leave room for the seat to slide forward, I decided to not rely solely on the sheet.

Here is the interior with the tranny in place, and the seat has been mounted to assure clearance. My 20 year old daughter, who was 2 when I bought the car, has fond memories of the original restoration, as well as hanging out at the vintage races. It hasn't been on the road since she has had her license, so she made it clear she was going to drive it when it came back to life this time. Since she is about 5' 2", that means the seat needs to move way forward.

By the way, if you're looking for small seats at the junkyard, I got these out of a 80's Fiat X1/9. Very comfortable, yet compact.

OK, so here's the first hoop of 1" x 1/8" flat bar. It is offset to allow the seat to pass by, with not much room to spare.

Now, the next three are in place. You'll see that they widen back out to accommodate the body of the transmission. The one just forward of the first is just past where the seat needs to travel to.

You'll also see a hoop we put over the end what was left of the original tunnel, to tie everything back into.

Next you'll see the cross pieces, forming sort of a cage. I got really good penetration with the welds, and then ground it smooth. It is very stiff and solid, and definitely exceeds the strength of what it is attached to, and that is before the sheet is added.

View from the other side. The strap around the shifter housing will also serve as the attachment point for the boot.

Here is the view with the seat back in. By having the subframe, I'm less worried about having to piece the sheetmetal together, and losing stregth in the process if I don't do a good job with the welding.

I did decide that I'm going to use the TIG on this sheetmetal, unlike the patch panel we did yesterday. I'm never going to get better with it if I keep grabbing the MIG. Of course all this work will be covered up with Dynamat, and probably carpeting, so I'm guessing it will be BEAUTIFUL, and no one will ever get to see it.