[stangtjk]

Worked on this idea a little more.

I plan on having some 1/8 plate CNC plasma cut for the step structure. I added locating tabs in the design to make fit up and welding easier. To maintain the contour of the outer rocker I was thinking it would be easiest to keep the lower section that gets cut off and reattach it to the step skeleton.

I went ahead and ordered some miata headlight motors to figure out the wiring and judge whether or not they'd be sufficient to raise the step.

I've got access to a manual mill and lathe however I have no machine skills so I tried to keep things simple in that perspective. For the hinge points I'm looking at off the shelf 3/4 stripper bolts and oilite bushings. Only machining work will be drilling, tapping and cutting a couple counter bores.

One part I'm still contemplating is how to pin together the links of the crank/rocker mechanism that will be driven by the motor. My thought was to use some pins/rivets similar to how a hood hinge is put together. I don't want to use nuts/bolts because that would require bends in the links for clearance and I think I'd have a hard time keeping the links the correct length to allow the 4 bar to operate correctly.

Will also need to factor in some kind of adjustment to maintain alignment of the rocker with the step closed. Not expecting a lot of slop but things have a way of moving around over time. Maybe a little adjustable bump stop similar to how the front of a car hood is aligned.