Text Box: So leaving the pickup points all in the same location I designed the new upright in ProE. As you can see some of the tube intersections creating some interesting geometry, so what I did is to treat each tube a "Sheetmetal" and generate a 1:1 paper template of the flat pattern for each tube, I then wrapped those around the actual tubes and scribed a line of where to cut each tube. The result was nicely fitting tubes to position in the fixture for welding. I also did the same thing for the main hub, scribing the intersecting location for each tube. The assembly is TIG welded which I did myself. The resulting part has worked quite well for over 5 years and the entire corner assembly is ~2lbs lighter than original. Text Box: Upright assembled w/new Drive parts (Wheel side) Text Box: Tiga Rear Upright Weldment Text Box: Upright assembled w/new Drive parts (CV side) Text Box: Upright assembled to car Text Box: Weldment Upright Design (ProE) Text Box: Rear Upright Weldment; The original upright as built by Tiga was a casting, which were known to break. The drive axle components, Hub, outboard CV joint and axles were pretty much obsolete and the CV joint was integral to the stub axle, so before I had a CV joint go bad I wanted to convert it over to more readily available parts. I could have modified the original casting, but chose to leave it in it’s original condition as it would have greater value to vintage racers should I sell the car. I was also concerned with the amount of material to be machined away and the resultant strength. Text Box: Racing Projects (cont.) Text Box: Vincent T. LaManna’s Resume/Portfolio Back Next