Weather doesn’t stop to enquire about your plans before happening

Well, plans were to wrap my workout around getting my toes done down the street, but the weather has other ideas. There has been a line of thundershowers going over since shortly after noon, when I got to sleep about 0600 after putting the previous blog post to bed about 0430. That post took extra long because I would write a little bit, go crawl around in the bucket body for a while, run some numbers on the calculator, crawl around the body again, run some more numbers on the calculator, write a bit, rinse and repeat. I spent about 3 times as much time with a tape measure inside the body as I did sitting at the keyboard. And I still need to get my toes done, the nails are getting a bit on the long side, while it is still raining with occasional lightning and thunder over Casa de El Poeta preventing my walk.

On the TGS2, the mind kept going after the post was put to bed. I considered saddle tanks as well as wrap-around tanks with luggage space on top of the tank. I genuinely think the best option would be putting the Jaz Products 892-032-01 32 gallon bare cell on edge so that it would be 17″ tall, 14″ wide, and 33″ across, behind the seat and using the space beside the seat for carrying things. Unfortunately nobody I have contacted sells them, so I might have to get it directly from Jaz, which makes the price a mystery. But it is possible to interpolate a price by comparing the costs of bare cells that I can get to the costs with cap and fittings for the same size cell, then applying that difference to the 32 gallon cell with cap and fittings. I think I’m looking at $143 plus shipping. Compared to a custom tank that’s cheap. I would still need to fabricate a firewall and fuel filler, but that would be true for any tank inside the bucket body. Jaz even makes a fuel gauge sending unit to fit this configuration.

On the bike-riding front, I’m still not riding. I do the PT that is supposed to make my neck more flexible but all it seems to be doing is keeping me from getting any worse. It doesn’t hurt to hold my head back or turn to the right, it just doesn’t go back or to the right. And I’m still getting the pain and tingling in my neck and shoulder, especially after I do my exercises. It’s almost like they never took Chris Christie off of my neck, except I have a little more range of motion especially tilting my head back. I still notice it there, and the improvement without a useless lump of fat on my neck. Every few days I check the tires on the bikes to see if they need pumping and once in a while I pump them up.

And now I think I’ll have dessert and a big cup of covefefe (CO-vay-Fay-fay). If Trump can make up words, I can make up the pronunciations.

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Still thinking

One of the things that has been gnawing on me a little is I missed another Ride of Silence this year. For those new to my blog since I dropped the bike wrecks click on the tag RoS or Ride of Silence to see previous posts about it. I started missing the RoS when the tumor on my neck got so big that I couldn’t ride any bikes. But after Chris Christie was removed from my neck I got to the point I could ride bikes with a very upright riding position or recumbents, but not very far. Well now I can’t ride anything except a bus or car because Arthur Dent is causing troubles. I have a pain that starts in the middle of the dent and radiates to the end of the trapezius in one direction and up the back of my neck in the other, and makes my deltoid and rotator cuff tingle like they are trying to go to sleep. It’s very annoying but not much of an impediment except to bike riding at the moment, but it feels like it is trying to get worse.

I’m stalled on the Mid-Bucket (aka the Thunderbolt Grease Slapper 2) ATM because I lack cash for parts or raw stock. I still haven’t replaced my ID since the last time I lost my wallet, because I needed my ATM card to get the cash to pay for it. ATM card should finally get here this week and I will renew my ID early so I can go to Nashville and see the eclipse this August. When I get stalled on one project my mind starts on a new project immediately, in this case a lighter weight version of the Sprint-T with the Pentastar V6. Basically it is just the same as the V8 version with lighter components because of less weight and lower power. Remember the vicious circle of too heavy so other parts have to be stronger and heavier making the car heavier so other things need to be stronger…? Well this is the benign circle of less weight allowing for less heavy supporting and connecting parts. And the weight came to under 1400 pounds with the balance almost 50-50 I can use all the same size wheels and tires on each corner. If I could have gotten one of those free things would have been a lot easier.

Pole Day for the Indy 500 is on the idiot box so this is time to wrap this up. Congrats to Kyle Busch on winning the All-Star race last night in a masterful performance. Condolences to Sebastien Bourdais on that wreck at Indy yesterday and wishes for a quick recovery.

Opus the Unkillable

Running late again with a bank run and an RPG session, and the Feed

I had to go to the bank today so I had money for groceries tomorrow, then we had a character-creation session for the ShadowRun game this Saturday so I didn’t even get started creating the post until 2100 tonight. So, yeah you might not get to see this until after midnight…

We got two entries from Ted today, one that I’m glad I can just link to his site instead of having to create the links myself, and our Daily Ted. Daily Ted first. Guest Post: Beeline Bikes Expands Fleet of Mobile Bike Shops to SoCal, Offering a New Path for Mechanics. If I lived in L.A. I might enquire about this opportunity…

And this is the story I dreaded reading all the articles to create the links. Gardena police video released in shooting of unarmed man looking for his brother’s stolen bike Notice the races of the victims and the LEO. #BikePeopleMatter.

And while we are in that part of the country. Hundreds mourn Afghan refugee killed in Sacramento while biking This rider never should have been hit, much less died.

And speaking of hit-and-run drivers. Mother of Philadelphia Hit-&-Run Victim Remembers ‘Good Boy,’ Asks How Driver Didn’t See His Bicycle The scary part is she is not even considering the possibility the driver did see her son but decided he should “get out of the way” instead of the driver moving over to make a safe pass.

This effort would not even be necessary if we had single-payer health care in the US. Website set up to help injured Sugar Grove cyclist

From the UK another reminder that (your) life is cheap if you get killed riding a bicycle. Aspiring film star who killed cyclist, 18, in a hit and run crash while speeding in Audi he was not insured to drive is jailed for 20 months Considering this was a Daily Mail link the comments section was extremely anti-driver.

I am hopeful that this driver will be found guilty if she was in fact the driver of the weapon vehicle, and that she will get a much sterner sentence than the previous paragraph’s driver. Young woman, 21 charged over Kalamunda cyclist ‘hit-run’ The driver was drunk and unlicensed… Just shoot her and get it over with.

An outside agency is taking a hard look at NYC bicycle infrastructure. Six cyclists dead in NYC: where are the most dangerous spots for bikes? No conclusions released about the infrastructure, some about the relative vulnerability of cyclists when hit by cars. I need an actual sarcasm HTML tag for this next sentence: Did you know that a bicycle has no protection for the rider against getting hit by a motor vehicle? /s

Cycling is fun for us older people. Lynn Magdol: Love of bicycling rolls on unabated Yep, if I could still ride like I used to before “Chris Christie” grew on my neck I would love it too. I’m getting there.

And last link is to an e-assist bike that was built to handle the “first/last mile” problem with public transit. Tiny e-bike weighs 12kg and folds away in seconds The tiny battery lacks range, but this is a bike that range is not why it exists. The reason this bike exists is to get commuters to and from public transit, no matter what the terrain looks like between home or work and the transit station or stop, and then ride with the commuter on transit to be used on the last mile to the final destination for that trip.

And I managed to finish before midnight, now to proofread and tag and publish before midnight.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Happy Fourth of July, and the Feed

Since this post won’t be seen until after midnight I have no problems with putting tomorrow’s date on it. So happy 239^th birthday United States of America! You don’t look a day over 230 😉

On a personal note, the massage seems to have had a lingering effect on my neck mobility and pain discomfort levels. I still hurt after working on the blog all day, but before I do I feel great and have full left-to-right mobility of my neck, and nearly full up-and-down range of motion. The edge of the dent is still noticeable by touch, but I don’t think that anyone who didn’t know where to look could find it just by sight. But the big bunch of skin wadded up from where “Chris Christie” was removed is still quite visible. I’m just hoping I can tilt my head back far enough to ride Francis/es to the Full Moon service tonight, but since I have to work on the blog post, probably not. I’m sure I could now after the massage if I didn’t spend hours bent over the computer, but I have to spend hours bent over the computer… for you (and my sanity, I get a little “off” when I don’t write anything).

Up first is a story about a person recovering from a bike wreck just a town over from WoaB. Cyclist finds freedom after holiday weekend crash nearly took her life Another drugged and/or drunk driver hits a cyclist. Best wishes on a continued recovery to the cyclist.

“Stuff” like this is why I hate display a strong antipathy towards the NYPD. Pedestrian Killed By Private Garbage Truck In Bushwick Hit-And-Run The body lands outside a crosswalk and the NYPD calls it a “mid-block crossing” meaning the Right of Way law can’t be used against the hit-and-run driver…

The driver of a vehicle that ran down a cyclist legally crossing the street while the weapon vehicle was doing 80 MPH in a 30 zone says he didn’t do it. Man Alleges Innocence in Bicyclist’s Hit-and-Run Death He may not have been driving, but it was his car and the glass found in his hair was a match for the glass in his windshield, so he was there. So if he doesn’t give up the name of the driver they are going to have to assume it was the guy with cuts on his face and windshield in his hair.

Speaking of drunk idiots, another link to the Seattle bike wreck caused by a driver who admits he had 4 beers and his ADD meds right before he hit a cyclist. Prosecutors: Seattle driver who killed Ravenna cyclist was drunk I am still bothered by the fact that he only had half of one beer at the restaurant and looked sober on the security video, and less than a half-hour later he was stumbling drunk. I have no sympathy for drunk drivers, I’m just not 100% convinced this one was really drunk.

Our Daily Ted. Weekend Links: Cyclists help save missing woman, bike cop injured in fall, and Sac cyclists injured in car assault

Remember that report I linked to earlier this week about the Nepal National MTB team getting caught near the epicenter of the earthquake and then going into action ferrying supplies to places cut off from any other ground traffic? Dates set for 4th annual Disaster Relief Trials This is how you can train for that.

And another rerun on the “safety in numbers” hypothesis. Why It’s Safer to Walk and Bike Where More People Walk and Bike There might be an infrastructure connection that is being missed, because places where lots of people walk and/or ride bikes usually have lots of infrastructure that makes those activities feel safe, and the feeling of safety translates into actual safety because there are so many people out on the roads and streets.

Sometimes it takes a crazy person to do great things. ‘Battle Mountain: Graeme Obree’s Story’: Edinburgh Review Not trying to be rude, Mr. Obree’s mental health issues are mostly public knowledge, and his contributions to the Hour Record are equally public. I’m just making the observation that to do something crazy sometimes takes someone who is having mental health issues to do it right.

More OR infrastructure news. Another bicyclist injured on Powell at CHS prompts ODOT action Remember what I said in the previous paragraph? It holds true here too.

If you always wanted to own your own TdF bike team, here’s your chance. “That’s no team bus … ” – Lego recreates Sky’s Tour de France line-up (and Death Star) This is an almost-unique Lego set, the winner’s set and the prototypes are all that will ever exist of this.

What does a world-class trials rider do after getting paralysed from the waist down. Video: Trials legend Martyn Ashton Back on Track in film charting his first mountain bike ride since life-changing 2013 crash Build a bike he can stay on, then learn to ride it, of course.

Now for the extended caress on the wrist. 😛 Driver pleads guilty to causing death of Denbighshire cyclist by careless driving Yep, House arrest for three months with a 1900-0700 curfew, and “banned” from driving for 5 years combined with a tiny (£145) fine. That will teach him to not kill cyclists. I put the “banned” in quotes because in reality he can drive for his own needs pretty much without interference, he just can’t drive for pay any more.

And a lawyer wins a national prize in Jolly Olde. Peebles cyclist is a true Pioneer

And I’m out of links, while the washing machine is going through second rinse on half of my underwear drawer. You know it’s amazing how small a load of laundry I have after a week and a half of no Mrs. the Poet doing laundry every other day. And yet when she was doing the wash every other day, there was much more clothing in the machine than when I didn’t do laundry for a week and a half. How does that work out?

Billed @€0.02, Opus the lonely Poet

I rode a bike today, and the Feed

I pumped up the tires on Francis/es and took a lap around the block to see how my neck is doing. And let’s just say my neck is doing better but still not ready for prime time yet. One lap around the block is about all I can manage without a helmet on today. I’m still running into the limits of motion where I can’t contract that muscle under “Arthur, Arthur Dent” enough to quite get my head up enough to see where I’m going yet. It pretty much takes all I can do just to get up enough to see, then by the time I get ³/₄ of the way around the block it’s exhausted to the point that I can’t even hold it up enough to sit up straight… So time to dust off the welder and my fine detail cutting tools and build that stem extension.

Up first because I had to stop filtering and clear out some links and there are a bunch of links to this wreck. Cyclist Killed In Collision With Truck Driver In Ditmas Park and Cyclist dead after swerving into truck also Cyclist Dies After Box Truck Runs Him Over Near Prospect Park, NYPD Says even Cyclist killed when collides with a box truck in Brooklyn and don’t forget Cyclist killed in collision with truck The driver reported the cyclist “lost control” and rolled under the rear wheels of the truck. The only problem with that is that area is a blind spot not covered by mirrors.

Our Daily Ted, Part 1. Hemet mountain biker found dead on trail after being reported missing Sad, but it looks like natural causes or maybe heat-related.

And Part 2. Morning Links: Safer streets spread, except in Congress; aliens attack; and a non-dog hero saves a young cyclist The “non-dog” was that cat that ran off a dog attacking a kid riding a bike in the driveway of his home last year.

You would think that LEO would have more sense than this. Lawsuit claims Allentown police hit cyclist with stun gun Yeah this would be like using a stun gun on a driver of a moving car. And if they caught up to a guy riding a bike on foot he wasn’t trying very hard to get away, lending credence to the victim’s statement he didn’t know he was being pursued by LEO.

Update on the VT cyclist killed by a drunk driver. Cyclist killed on Ferrisburgh road; local woman cited for DUI

While we are in that part of the country. New Milford man charged in cyclist’s death Kill a cyclist, spend 6 months in jail and maybe get a $1k fine… TANJ!

And back in NYC for this fine example of driving prowess. Graphic Video Shows Drivers Running Over Man In Crown Heights, Driving Away The victim in this case violated NY’s door law, standing next to the car for too long but at any rate this comment seems to capture the emotions of the incident. A second part of the problem is the initial weapon vehicle has huge front blind spots, and should never have been allowed in a city in the first place.

At least this door prize winner will get some $ for his suffering. Staten Island Powerball Winner Sued For Dooring Park Slope Cyclist

More on the cyclist killed in London yesterday. Cyclist killed at Bank is London’s eighth fatality this year Eight fatalities, 7 HGV involved, and 6 women victims… Things are not so jolly in Jolly Olde.

Maybe if UK bicycle infrastructure wasn’t so universally crap when it even exists, people would stop dying? London cyclist deaths: What other cities could teach the capital Probably, but it still won’t get fixed.

Getting back to the US for more infrastructure news. San Diego Joins Vision Zero Ranks The problem with announcements like this is this is usually the last we see of anyone caring if anyone in a car lives or dies.

I wonder if this bill extends to bicycles or just stops with motor vehicles and Amish buggies? Committee clears bill to help motorcyclists stuck at red lights

Can a massive corporation change the infrastructure to suit its employee base? Google’s New Bike Plan Wants Silicon Valley to Be More Like Copenhagen

And last link, a GPS equipped bike share system let researchers track cyclists using regular bikes and e-assist bike to see if there was any difference in behavior. UT Study Could Improve Safety for Cyclists, E-Bikes Sadly, there wasn’t, both groups rolled red lights and stop signs, and went the wrong way on one-way streets.

And today was rather long because of mowing the lawn and because I had to help Mrs. the Poet get ready for her vacation. My vacation $ got spent on kicking “Chris Christie” offa my neck and leaving behind “Arthur, Arthur Dent”.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Too tired to make a full post, so I’m doing a post about the dent in my neck

Let’s just say that the trip to the surgeon’s office could have gone better. I had the time wrong for the appointment and got there 4½ hours early which meant that I got back to the house with just enough time to swallow a sandwich and a glass of tea before I had to leave again to get back for my actual appointment.

The actual appointment was peachy, mostly. The pathology report was the mass massed just over a pound, and was all fat and blood vessels, i.e. NO cancer. Now the bad news. in order to keep the dent from filling with fluid and getting infected they are leaving the skin sutures sticking up out of the back of my neck in the middle of “Arthur, Arthur Dent”. I would take a picture except you couldn’t see anything in one I could take and Mrs. the Poet is like the world’s worst cell phone photographer. She has other qualities that make up for this shortcoming by a wide margin. The deal with the sutures is they are keeping the dent compressed so it doesn’t fill with fluids by going down into the muscle under the dent and up over the skin with other sutures that wrap up the muscle and everything is made from various sizes and formulas of dissolving sutures so that it will take 2-3 months for everything to come loose and let the muscle expand.

That means I will still have limited range of motion in my neck (subject to my legendary pain tolerance) for the rest of the summer but that range will slowly expand week after week. Another thing that means is I will have some level of discomfort lower than with “Chris Christie” for the next 6-8 weeks. It will still hurt (a little) to lean my head back or turn all the way to the right, but it will be because the stitches are getting pulled on as the muscle contracts. Leaning my head slightly forwards and to the left will stop all the pain instantly.

And because I know you have been waiting for a long time for links, here’s Our Daily Ted. Update: 66-year old woman killed riding her bike in Laguna Hills

And now I want to go to bed.

PSA, Opus

I had an RPG yesterday and “other stuff”

The “kinky RPG” group met yesterday, so my Warlock5 in that game got to get some exercise. Since this was the “kinky” game and this is (mostly) a family-safe blog I won’t be recounting this game session. That means we have to talk about the “other stuff” going on in my life.

The main thing going on right now is “Arthur, Arthur Dent” taking over from “Chris Christie” on the back of my neck. “Arthur, Arthur” is much better behaved than “Chris” ever was. As a matter of fact, the biggest problem with “Arthur, Arthur” is all the loose skin wrinkling up the incision site, followed closely by all the steri-strips getting all crumpled up over the incision. The combination is not very comfortable, but stilllll, orders of magnitude better than having the lump sitting on the back of my neck. I finally got all of the adhesive residue off from the dressing they put on after the surgery which was the most aggravating thing I had before. And when having a layer of sticky, gummy, residue on the back of your neck is the most aggravating thing about your surgery, your life is relatively fantastically great. I mean think about it: “The back of my neck is all sticky” compared to “I have a huge lump on the back of my neck and I can’t look up or to the side” is a massive upgrade in the quality of my life.

So, other stuff going on, I’m trying to get back on a bike, any bike. I have Blue “up on jacks” in the garage for repairs, and all Francis/es needs is the tires pumped up as soon as I can get the pump to it I’ll be able to ride it. I’m still not “clear” to ride until after they pull the stitches out tomorrow, and I’m just aching to get one out and ride it. But I will have to wait another day. Talk about anticipation!

And there was an interesting collection of racing on the tube today, GRC from St. Petersburg FL, Sprint Cup from Dover DL, and Indy Car from Belle Isle in Detroit MI. Ken Block (of Gymkhana video fame) won the GRC race, Jimmy Johnson won the Sprint Cup race, and Sebastien Bourdais won the Indycar race in Detroit that was shortened by numerous yellow flags and one red flag. Several cars ran out of fuel on the cooldown lap after the race with the winner running out of fuel during the victory donuts in the IndyCar race. That’s cutting the fuel mileage really close.

And I have to go to a church meeting now, so I’m stopping here.

PSA, Opus

I have an interesting pain in the neck, and the Feed

The pain in my neck has changed drastically in the last few days. What used to be a generalized ache in the muscles has now become highly localized to the edges of the dent. There is also a little bit of bruising near where I’m assuming the main blood vessel feeding “Chris Christie” was located. If you go back to the pictures that would be the dark spot at the top of the image of the mass that was removed. But the pain and discomfort around the edge of the dent is the part I find most interesting. All of that is still way less than what I was going through before the operation. And being able to walk upright again? That is F&%(*&^ awesome. I am actively looking forward to being able to get inside the garage and work on getting Blue and Francis/es operational, as soon as the weather breaks a little. Mrs. the Poet is likewise looking forward to a break in the weather so she can mow the lawn. I might have to help her out a bit on that one because the grass is getting a little too tall for her to manage on her own. I have been doing the stuff that required more than just pushing the mower along (fences and other obstructions) but I couldn’t do the whole thing before the operation, my back just wouldn’t take it. But the pain in my neck becoming localized to the edge of the dent, that is fascinating.

The drunk driver that killed a cyclist riding in the Horsey Hundred bike ride in KY continues to generate news items. Police: Cold beer found in cup holder of truck that killed cyclist and Cyclist killed after being hit by vehicle more stupidity Citation: Suspect told officers he had six beers, smoked pot prior to crash that killed cyclist And with the admission of being drunk and stoned we now have a good idea on why the driver was charged with murder so quickly.

Two part Daily Ted, Pt. 1. 58-year old Joshua Tree cyclist killed in high speed rear-end collision and Pt. 2 Morning Links: CicLAvia comes to Pas, PCH hugs it out, and SoCal has one of the world’s best bike lanes

At least this time the cyclist getting shot was not an intended target. Bullets injure three including 14-year-old bike rider

And what is it with cyclists getting hit with bullets lately? Boy, 7, shot while riding bicycle in Dorchester What could a 7YO have done that would cause someone to shoot him?

Things are getting better in Upstate NY? Bicyclists say more drivers are sharing the road I’m tempted to make a comment about Stockholm Syndrome, but I won’t.

A Ghost Bike in NC. GHOST BIKE PLACED IN REMEMBRANCE OF FATAL ACCIDENT I’m not so sure about making the bike a portable memorial, this just sounds like an invitation to steal the thing.

FL infrastructure, where they don’t post the detour for the bikes while they replace the bridge with the bike lane. VENETIAN CAUSEWAY CLOSING COULD SPELL MORE BICYCLE DEATHS There is a reason why “Florida man does something stupid” is an internet meme. Many reasons, this being on the list.

Another data point on the death spiral of the once-great state of Walkerstan, formerly known as Wisconsin. Republican legislators making war on bikes Why cut off your nose to spite your face on this?

Bike Month news from far West Canuckistan. Drivers urged to watch for cyclists

And more on the ride to protest what looks like defunding the Workman’s Comp system in the Great White North. Injured workers stop in Brockville Tuesday during 600-km bike ride

And I’m out of links again.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet

Still not ready to deal with the Feed, so an update on my surgery instead

I got sliced and diced yesterday, but I got so dehydrated waiting for my surgery that I got held up from leaving post-op until I was hydrated enough to pass urine which was about 2 hours and 2 liters of water and IV fluids later. As I wrote, part of the issue was I was restricted from food and fluids from midnight before the operation but did not get into the OR until between 1130 and 1145. The last thing I remember was transferring out of the gurney to the operating table and then getting woozy from the pre-op drugs. Next thing I remember is waking up in post-op from the nurse shaking me gently.

Anyway, getting back to the dehydration, I was denied fluids for 12 hours before the operation so that I wouldn’t throw up during the operation, and I was given very dry O2 during the operation that dried me out even more. After the operation I had about 1500 cc of oral fluids (water and coffee) and 500cc of IV fluids and I managed to get a trickle of urine about 2 hours later.

After I got home I had iced tea and water pretty much solid for another 4 hours, until I was passing urine normally. Then I just hung out with my Peeps.

Mrs. the Poet was able to get a good picture of “Chris Christie” after removal.
I should tell you that this doctor does not have small hands, if anything they are larger than normal.

I was told that there would be a dent left behind when Chris was evicted from my neck, but I was not expecting anything like this dent.

That is a friggin huge dent, especially when you compare the “before” shot.

And a lump that large takes a large incision to remove.

With all that the relief in pain was immediate, from about a 2 or 3 to maybe a 1 on the 0-10 scale. And that was with no post-op pain drugs. I was forced to take 1 Hydrocodone after the operation because maybe I would have some pain after the shock of the operation wore off, or the last of the anaesthesia wore off or something like that, but I haven’t needed anything for pain at all. I feel less pain now than I have in months.

The only thing I regret is I will have to miss the Ride of Silence tonight because I can’t let the incision area get sweaty.

PSA, Opus the unkillable badass Poet

Chafing with antici.. wait for it, wait for it… pation

I’m getting tired of waiting. I want “Chris Christie” off my neck. I got tired of the “ugly lump of useless fat that is a pain in the neck” months ago, now I’m tired of waiting for it to be gone. I started this trip back in June 2014, when I was for sure I had health insurance (I had to fill a prescription for antibiotics and presented my insurance card and got $50 worth for like $4) and it took until now to get scheduled. Now I just have to wait until there is a free spot in the OR.

I’m still working on the Sprint T, mostly as a distraction from waiting to get my neck sliced open. I used a hunk of tubing from a bike project that got stalled when my source for another size of tubing I needed to complete the project went out of business to plot where I would put the body mounts. The tubing is not the same size as the frame rail it represents, but I was able to get a good idea of where the mounts will go under the body. The manual for Speedway’s kit that uses the same body suggests 6 mounts, 3 to a side. I can get to the far corners of the mounting flange and keep the frame rail under the body, and also for the middle of the body so I’m good to go on that front. I also go one up on the Speedway kit by putting the mount directly to the body instead of through the plywood floor that is glued to the body. You can see roughly where the mounts will go by looking at this picture.

The front mount will go right behind where the front of the body is resting on the floor about ³/₄” from the outside and front edges, the rear mount will go about even with the back edge of the floor cutout in the body and likewise ³/₄” from the outside edge of the body, and the middle mount will go on the line connecting those two about the middle of that run. I wish Chrome had a decent photo editor so I could make those marks and lines and show you where the mounts will be rather than just telling you.

There is a method to my madness in this. I’m trying to simplify the frame construction as well as knock as much weight off the build as possible. So, I’m changing the frame design again so that I have 3 distinct sections that can be built independently of each other so I am not filling my entire workspace with the full length of the frame all at once. The front part of the frame, the part where the engine goes and the front suspension is attached, is two parallel rails on the bottom with a front and rear tubular bulkhead and a diagonal from the top of the front bulkhead to the bottom of the rear bulkhead. The top of the rear bulkhead and the top of the front bulkhead are connected by the upper frame rail when the front clip gets welded to the passenger compartment section. The rear part of the frame is also two parallel rails on the bottom, with a front and rear vertical bulkhead made from a tube structure braced with a sheetmetal diaphragm, and an upper frame rail made from the same material as the lower connecting the two bulkheads and likewise sheetmetal used to brace that assembly as the rear of the frame makes the trunk/fuel cell container completely separated from the passenger compartment. Those two assemblies define the width of the frame where they meet the rest of the frame. The rear bulkhead of the engine compartment is also the front hoop of the roll cage that defines the upper frame rail, and the rear hoop is mounted to the part of the frame that connects the front and rear clips together and runs under the body. The real fun part is the entire roll cage runs outside the body to protect the driver and any passenger that might be unlucky enough to be on board in a wreck, and as I wrote earlier use the largest possible dimensions for the frame to use the d⁴ principle to make the frame torsionally stiff. And this means I will have to figure out a way to get the body inside the frame after it gets finish welded and everything painted without having to cut any diagonal braces or scratch any paint. I think maybe I should build a couple of “ship in a bottle” models to get ready for this. The old style, where the ship was built except for the rigging outside the bottle and then rigged inside the bottle.

Actually, I’m thinking that the diagonal braces inside the body are going to have to be bolt-ins that are installed after the body gets finally installed through the side or top of the frame. If I have to go through the top that means the top braces are going to have to be bolt-in as well, so I might just make the whole mess bolt in as a single unit if it makes it any easier to do. Or not. 😮

PSA, Opus