For more information you can visit the NAERC web site: http://www.exoticreplicacars.com/

Andy Bujtas wrote me with this about the NAERC chassis:

At the Knotts show I got a good look at the NAERC chassis. It is a very nice piece of work. However, in examining the NAERC chassis I noticed that something was missing: the seat mounting bolts. Therefore, I'm submitting a suggested method of installing them to the NAERC chassis. The method can be applied to a completed chassis as well as one that will be fabricated by the builder. The suggested method begins at the stage the chassis was presented at the show - that is, complete with the floor plan already installed. It is also based upon using the Fiero seat rail as a starting point, but can also be adopted to any seat rail. This also assumes that the seat mounts have already been completed. Click here for more details

Andy Bujtas

The NAERC chassis is a very nice piece of work. The suspension components match very closely to the real Diablo. This chassis is also good if the builder is of tall stature. The floor pan is sunken a bit to allow the seats to be mounted deeper than if a stock Fiero chassis were used. However, understand that the NAERC chassis is basically designed and built for use with a NAERC body. Diablo bodies do vary between the manufacturers (e.g. IFG, D&R and NAERC). But the chassis could be modified to fit a different kit body if needed.

As for the cost of building the chassis yourself, that depends. Generally, it would be cheaper to build it yourself, but would require a lot of work and possibly, a lot of equipment (and room) as well. To build a chassis properly, one needs a rigid table and a jig. Welding a lot of steel together can cause the final product to warp as the welds cool down. So the chassis must be anchored to something rigid while welding it together. Jigs or fixtures are also required in order to align the separate pieces for welding. Fixtures are also needed to weld the suspension brackets in the correct locations and symmetrically everywhere on the chassis. You don't want to build a nice chassis only to find out that it is crooked or warped or misaligned when it is finished. At that point it is virtually too late to fix it.

All this may require the builder to go to a professional weld shop to make the chassis properly and you will really save nothing in the process. As a matter of fact it could cost you more since the shop will have to make the jigs as well as the chassis - adding to the cost. At about $40-50/hr (what a weld shop may charge) + $2000 for the plans from NAERC, you can see the cost can add up pretty fast. Therefore, unless you have the room and equipment to do the work yourself, it would probably be cheaper to buy the complete chassis from NAERC. If you still want a weld shop to make it for you, then I advise that you contact NAERC and ask the average time it takes to build the chassis. Then go to your local weld shop to get their rates - a shop large enough to tackle such a big job. Make sure they have a large, heavy welding table to work on. With this information you can estimate the cost and compare it to NAERC's cost.

The material cost for such a project will be small compared to the labor cost since steel is relatively cheap. It will probably cost you only several hundred dollars in tubing and sheet metal. And it would be best to get the material from a steel supplier and not from a retail hardware store. Hopefully, there is one near you.

Andy