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Hi mark. Open to suggestions on how to improve the design. Are you talking about the engine adapters or trans mount? Both are 1/8" wall which is the same as the frame and parts of the trans mount are 1/4" thick same as the bulkheads. Engine mounts are just tacked in at the moment but will have 1.5" length weld on both sides of the top and roughly 2" long welds on the front and back of the inside of the frame rail. That's a horizontal and vertical surface welds for bracing in multiple directions. On the trans mount it's connected via 1/4" on both sides and is one solid piece. This is thicker than most OEM trans mounts which are thin sheet metal! Where do you think I should add some bracing?

@@staynerbuilt601 Hey there, just to preface I am a structural engineer and been in my field for 20+ years so basically my job is to find failure points and improve upon them. So please forgive me for being so critical! The 1/8" wall is strong enough, but my concern is fatigue failure over time at the weld beads. Under vibration the parallel walls of the bracket will flex slightly and this can fatigue the base joints. My suggestion is to simply cap the opening on one side at least, with a 100% weld around the cap perimeter. That should be sufficient!

@@Battlefresh appreciate the suggestion. I can run a piece of flat bar all the way down the frame rail on the outside and it'll be boxed in and welded on 3 sides

@@staynerbuilt601 Sounds like a good plan!

LOL I would love to but not sure how that even works. I have quite a few Milwaukee as well that you'll see when doing more of the mechanical work. I run the DeWalt 20v and Milwaukee 12v systems. I like having everything on the same platform with the same batteries so if I want another 12v tool I'll buy the milwaukee and if I buy another 18/20v it will be dewalt. I dont like having 4 different battery systems. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for the feedback. This was the first video edited with imovie and everything was shot on a cell phone. Given my inexperience, there will be a learning curve to get these videos up to par. I just looked up how to turn up the audio and will do that for the talking portions of the next one I post. Do I need to turn up the working audio also or just the narration?

@@staynerbuilt601 The audio level on the narration is a bit low but you are doing great! Thanks for doing this. I put a link on the Manta Mirage FB page to your videos. I'm sure it will be of interest to many people.

@@neilalbaugh4793 Can you link the page? I might not be in that group. I figured out how to turn the audio up in the editing software and will make it louder for the next one. I have already shot the video on removing and modifying the steering rack to give more space in the pedal area. This weekend I have a friend coming over to help me put the rear clamshell on to see fitment before fabricating the exhaust. I hope to have everything I need to fabricate the headers this weekend.

@@staynerbuilt601 I will do the link later today. Regards, Neil

Thanks Joel. If I had all the parts and didn't have to sit around waiting for them the progress would be much faster. I did all of this plus the steering rack modification (video not published yet) in a weekend. 70% or more of the time I have been waiting for more stuff to show up. Plan is to drive it next summer. Yes, I have considered the drop gears and I think I am going to get a set of the 0.90. They're stupid expensive for what they are but eventually I will probably get a set. Not sure if I will wait to drive the car first or put them in when everything is disassembled for paint/powdercoating.

That sucks you got rained out! Would love to see what it was capable of. I will be using a quick release steering wheel. Charley designed this radiator mounting straight up with the chassis/body. At this time, I haven't tried to fit the front end or gotten it running but Charley believes it won't have any issues cooling. It's a 4 pass afco. My plan is to fully test fit everything and once everything is all the way together fully disassemble for powder coating the chassis/suspension and paint. Otherwise you'll have a freshly coated chassis you need to weld a tab on! The technology is all in the tune. It's actually not that complicated it just takes a lot of tinkering to get it all where you want it. Thats all done after it's running. My goal is to be driving it next summer.

@@staynerbuilt601 You've made a great start. One advantage that 2-part epoxy primer has over powder coating is that it saves big $$$ and you don't alter the heat treatment of the aluminum alloy. Also you can easily paint over the chassis yourself. Repairs are easy, too. Regards, Neil

@@neilalbaugh4793 It's my understanding that as long as you don't bake over 400* there are no I'll effects on the aluminum structure. The biggest advantage of paint is that you can easily touch it up if damaged and for me it would be free (run a body shop). Powder coating is more durable by a long shot to scratches/chips. I'm not 100% ruling out paint but I would highly prefer powder coating for durability.

@@staynerbuilt601 The question I have is , how closely does the powder coating oven hold its temperature? Frankly, I don't trust those applicators with heat-treated aluminum fabrications. The epoxy primer I used on my steel chassis is very hard and durable; I bought it from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty in CA. If I can help you, let me or Charlie know. Regards, Neil.

Thank you Joel. I hope to have the time to clip together the video of building the engine/trans mounts and getting everything in the car soon.

Thank you. I purchased a car that came with a chassis and the body. Would be happy to sell you the original chassis if you're interested! I should have the time to put together the next video soon of putting the engine and trans in the car and building the mounts for each.

@@staynerbuilt601 Hi there, I am looking to build a McLaren M6GT as a road car here in Oz. My aim is to find a company where I can buy the body, chassis and perhaps most of the components for me to assemble at home. I'm not up to the type of thing you are doing with mods to the chassis etc. The Strickland Racing chassis looks awesome. I've watched his videos. Charley talks about the cars he makes and says he has moulds for the M6GT. You are the first person I've seen on the net that is building with his chassis. Am I just not seeing all the others? Looking forward to seeing the next video. Cheers, Ross.

@@rosscooper3961 I'm not sure who makes a more complete m6gt kit. The manta montage might be your best bet if you don't want to take on a project this large.

@@staynerbuilt601 ok. Thanks. I will keep looking. And watching out for your next video.

Hi John, I did not design any of the suspension geometry. What makes you state it is all wrong? I have not adjusted anything at this point. Just put on hand tight for test fits.

I have 700 pages of computer analysis from Robert Metcalfe, the Indycar designer, for that suspension. It is the same design that I have used on my Lambo replicas for years without any oversteer issues. Please elaborate on your comments and your qualifications. I too am an engineer but I sure do not tell people that. What I do say is that one test is worth a thousand engineers.

Definitely not wrong geometry you must be looking at it wrong. I've raced many cars and have a mid-engined McLaren M8B replica.

@@rodbrace7584 Ya think? He is looking at it while drooping off of jackstands. It is never shown with proper geometry and at ride height. This is why I do not tell people that I am an engineer.

@@staynerbuilt601 I agree- what looks wrong? Without actual measurements, it looks close enough to me to be OK. My approach to building my rear suspension was totally different- I used s 5-link design but that is not inherently better or worse that what you did. Bump steer needs to be avoided, especially toe-out in the rear!.

Thanks for watching. I'm running a Graziano transaxle which are in Lamborghinis and Audi R8s. Tilting would be an option but for sake of a simple reply it's to aid in cooling. The front clamshell cuts won't be visible because it's only cutting the lip underneath. I also will have an air to water radiator and AC condenser. Yes, will be running AC. The AC unit will sit in the passenger side rocker pod. The slits in the passenger side of the tub are the return and the ducts will be under the dash.

I used a Porsche G50 in my "Werewolf". It is a nice conversion but the chassis modifications are far from trivial. I used Porsche 996 forged aluminum rear uprights and a slightly modified version of their 5-link rear suspension geometry. The original late-model Corvair rear suspension geometry is not bad, it was very close to the contemporary Corvette geometry. Lots of Mirages were built using worn-out rear suspension Corvair parts and the rubber bushings were never replaced and the car was never aligned properly. You can't blame its ill handling on the original design. One more thing- a mid-engine car has a low polar moment of inertia- it sticks like glue up to the point where you lose it then the ends swap places very suddenly. If you grew up driving front-engine cars it takes some time to learn how to drive a mid-engine. Your choice of tires makes a difference, too. Regards, Neil

@@neilalbaugh4793 the g50 is a good trans and was one of the options I considered. Ultimately the graziano is supposed to be a better option for durability in high horsepower applications. I'm sure it will take some getting used to but driving it often is what makes all this work worth it. This will be my first mid engine after dreaming of a mirage since I was a little kid. Maybe I'll have to meet you out at the salt flats when it's done!

@@staynerbuilt601 Get 2 current rule books, put one in the john for reading and the other in the shop for reference. I bought my G50 when they were still around $2k. Take it easy driving your car the first few times. It is SURPRISINGLY fast and things happen SUDDENLY! Don't be like the dumb ass basketball of football players that go out and buy a fast car and promptly kill themselves in it. Work up to speed....

@@neilalbaugh4793 won't be my first fast car just my first mid engine car. I've previously owned an LS swapped RX7 and daily driven a 500 whp trans am. No doubt this will be a big step up so I'm planning to up the tune as I get used to it. Put it at 500whp for the first month, then up to 600 and then to 700. In a car this light, I don't ever see a need to go above the 700-750 range and I wouldn't have traction to use that power anyways. I will have plenty of turbo to hit 1000+ if there was ever a desire but again, that's stupid power for what I want to do with the car (street car that's occasionally taken to a road race course)

Thank you for watching. Hopefully will be pretty steady progress over the next few months and complete for next summer. I'll be asking for some suggestions throughout the build and any input is appreciated

Thanks! should have videos up of the chassis the first week of august. Everything will be test fit then torn down for paint, powder coat, etc. Will document everything and be happy to answer questions.