May 2 Team Meeting

Big news hit the team before we even touched a tool.

We received word from Keith Kerman at DCAS that the city may be able to provide a tow vehicle and fuel to get the solar car to Texas — a massive potential win for the program. That was quickly followed by a call from Tommy at OEM, who laid out a solid lineup of options: a 2021 Ford F-150 Lariat, a 2025 Silverado, additional F-150 configurations, and some heavy-duty F-350 options for good measure. We’ll be meeting with them on May 21 at the New York City Fleet Show to nail down the details — and we’ll get to show off the car to the public while we’re at it.

On the build side, we got back on the lathe and knurled the steering input shaft on the rack to give it better engagement with the steering shaft clamp. It’s the kind of detail that makes the difference between a connection that holds and one that slips under load.

Students are also working through a slop problem in the rack and pinion. There’s some lateral fore-aft movement happening as the wheel turns, and the team is designing a series of 3D-printed and brass bushings to dial that out and tighten up the steering feel.

We did attempt to turn some brass bushings on the lathe, but the stock we pulled from the old machine shop turned out to be oblong and out of concentric — not salvageable for precision work. We’ll source better material before the next attempt.

Sponsor thank-you emails went out as well, keeping those relationships warm as we head into the final push toward Texas.

We wrapped the day with a meeting at Pier 76, who continue to be a great supporter of the team. Good people.