Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/634989
one in 2008. "This was the first time I've built a chassis, I've got to be honest with you. I've got a lot of bent tubing in the garage if you need it. That was the stuff that didn't fit. I'd build one side and couldn't replicate it on the other side." Eventually, McMahon got everything to fit. The main rails are 2-inch by 3-inch .120-wall box tubing. McMahon built the rest of the chassis using 1.5-inch .120 wall seamless tubing. The interesting is that there were no plans for building a tube chassis for a 1967 Healey. McMahon spit-balled the whole project himself, using Factory Five chassis as examples of how things went together in terms of safety and construction details. McMahon looked at those cars, made some drawings and started bending tubing. "I borrowed a set of I beams and I set them up in my garage, welded them together, parallel and even, and I welded the box frame based on those, using that as a platform to build the car on," he said. The shop where McMahon was buying the tubing gave him a crucial tip as he was nearly finished with the chassis: Don't cut the chassis loose from the I-beams till you heat every single weld on the car. By heating them with a torch, the frame could "take a set" instead of twisting when he cut it free of the I beam jigs. McMahon did all the work himself. A self-described tinkerer, McMahon also fabricated the aluminum interior, fashioned all the vents on the hood himself, made the fender flares and even painted the car and did all the suspension work. "It does run pretty good," he said. "That's just in a two- car garage inside my house. I'm not a big-time racing fabricator. I've been into cars my whole life. I just enjoy them. It's not my background. My background is in accounting." The results of all his work are impressive. The car weighs just 2,100 pounds without the driver, which sounds like fun, but it's even more mind- boggling when you consider a stock Healey weighs 2,800 pounds and came with a 140-hp six. The car is good for 1-minute lap times at Lime Rock and 2:14s on the 78