June 19 Team Meeting

We finally covered the aluminum array frame with polycarbonate today. Bonded it down with silicone and mechanically fastened with M4 bolts, all countersunk for a clean surface finish. We made sure to leave a little clearance around each bolt hole to give the polycarbonate room for thermal expansion, since PC moves more than aluminum does as the temperature swings. Once it was buttoned up, we moved the whole array into storage in the other shop to keep it safe and out of the way until we’re ready to mount it on the car.

Before getting into shop work, the team made a Home Depot run to grab supplies, then headed over to McKee to get to work. We set up in the parking lot under the tent since the shop space was tight, and that worked out fine for the day’s tasks.

We also spent some time thinking through egress, ingress, and door placement on the car. Small details like this matter a lot for driver safety and quick exits, so we wanted to nail it down before we run out of time.

With practice coming up next week, we emptied out the trailer so we can start using it as a mobile workshop on the road. Having tools and a workspace that travels with us is going to make a big difference once we’re out of the home shop.

We also placed an order for replacement leaf springs for the trailer, since the ride’s been getting rougher than we’d like on the current set.

Lunch was hot dogs off the George Foreman grill, a short but well-earned break in the middle of a productive day.

It was a shorter work session overall, but a necessary one. We’re closing in fast: the deadline to have the car finished is this Friday, and we ship out for Texas Motor Speedway on 7/12/26. Crunch time is here.