MAX Update No. 47: Nose Fabrication Continues

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Last week, I split the nose in half so the fenders would cover MAX’s wheels, and wrote as an aside, “Actually, there’s another option, and I kind of wish it had come to me before I grabbed the Sawzall, but more on that later.” So now it’s later, and here’s the other option: Since I made the control arms myself (those are the arms that connect the wheels to the chassis), there’s nothing stopping me from making the arms shorter and moving the front wheels closer together.

But I won’t do that just yet. Instead of using a removable single piece nose assembly, I’m making a decidedly un-Lola-like three piece nose — two fenders separated by a hood. This will make it easier to check the oil when my pit crew’s not around (open the hood, duh), plus I’ll be able to make body width adjustments by changing just the hood, which should be fairly easy compared to a fender. If I find I need to make the body an inch wider, I can make an inch wider hood and that will push the fenders apart an inch. I’m doing similarly in the back, so I’ll be able to fine tune the body without starting all over.

The fenders are pretty good the way they are, so now we need a pattern for the hood, and I’m going to make a basic hood first. I’ll add the bubble (see Update No. 46) once I know exactly where it’ll be needed. Here’s the progress to date:

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