QUICK UPDATE:
Waiting on a small metals order for the fuel tank (arriving tomorrow) and placed a new order for fasteners this morning to keep things moving along.
The fuel system research continues, which is going to be an expensive tri-fecta of fuel system components, fuel line materials and new flaring tools, so it's important to get everything right.
In the meantime, there is still plenty to do. The CNC work on the cage plates is completed, but virtually every location requires some special "customizing" to fit... especially on the underside of the bedfloor where there are numerous flanges, cross-sills and other pieces in the way.
The new Wilton vise makes the through-hole drilling process a total breeze!!! The weight of the vise actually helps to stabilize the cutting process substantially, and using the small upper cage plates and a drill guide it's a simple matter to get holes into all of the thicker materials and maintain perfect alignment too!
The first 4 plates were installed with minimal fuss. These are the ones that support the B-pillar cage area. The next ones that were a bit tougher are for the small diagonal supports that run alongside the inner wheeltubs.
In addition to the underside plate needing quite a bit of clearancing, there was an "odd" discrepancy in fitment between the L & R side wheeltubs themselves. After pulling a bunch of dimensions from each side a 1/4" variance was found in the stamping of the holes in the flange of the wheeltubs themselves!!! On one side, the holes are perfectly centered in the middle of the flange, but on the other side, the holes are very close to the outer edge. Since the cage plate butts right up against the wheeltub, it's quite noticeable from side-to-side and the cage bar lands in a different spot on the plate.
Tonight, the objective is to look at a few extra wheeltubs that were set aside and look for a better "matching pair" to install. Otherwise, all of the holes will need to be filled and re-drilled to shift the wheeltub by that necessary 1/4". It seems like a small detail, but there's just NO way that it can be left as-is now that I know it's there.
Parting shot for the evening. 4 plates completely installed. 2 more in place waiting for wheeltub rework. 6 more positions left to install....!!!
-G