Hot Rod Buggies Part 2

I figured I'd an an indepth WIP series on the second buggy.  I'm keeping this design straightforward so hopefully this will be of some use to anyone who wants to follow along.  The lootin's good this time of year!
I started with a trukk chassis.  I clipped the last section off to shorten the overall length.  I want my buggies low to ground, right down in the weeds so I clipped the front leaf springs off an moved the front axle to the front of the frame.  I flipped over the rear axle to drop the back end down.  I also installed the engine at this point.  I should really scratch build the block, but my time is now so limited it opted for the easy way out.  All I did this time was chop the scoop off the top. I don't want the buggies to look exactly the same...

I'll be glueing the body directly to the frame, so in order to get the best bond I'll clean up the frame:

Starting on the body shell, I measured for the floor first, eyeballing the cutout for the engine.

I then made a cut for the firewall.  I used the Dremel to round the inside of the cutout a little bit to clear the engine:

 

Here shows the gusset blocks I added to keep everything square and lend more surfaces to glue against.

 

Before I add the side panels, I have to trim these nubs off the rear springs.  My panels run the entire length of the frame from the firewall back.  Without trimming these the don't seat correctly.

You also have to trim the inside of the rear axle between it and the frame..  Just trim enough to fit the panel.

 

I set that aside and started on the side panels.  I measured my length down the side, from the firewall to the back of the frame.  The height was based on the firewall again, and a round number that looked right. The windshield angle and roof length are arbitrary, based on an asthetic preference.  I wanted my windshield at a slant, but there is no reason that couldn't change:

I didn't want a square back, so I introduced and bit of an angle:

I duplicated the panel and added them to the frame.  I braced the joins with square gussets, just as on the firewall.

This angle gives you an idea of the profile:

The windshield is really more of a plate and slit affair. I cut a panel based on the body shell measurements, then  cut out rough vision slits and distressed the edges:

A backing plate was added to fill the holes:

That's it for now, mtk