My new project
My aim is to build my own spaceframed mini using a fibreglass shell, multi point weld in roll cage and the Honda VTEC engine from my current Mini. My aim is a 300BHP supercharged car weighing aroung 500KG's
The fibreglass shell and cage are currently on order so please check back soon
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7/1/09
There has now been a slight problem with the shell order, it's not going to be ready for about 3 months. The good news is that the roll cage has arrived and is ready for collection. Plan F will now have to come into play which is to chop up a good steel shell so that i can get cracking with the chassis whilst the fibreglass shell is being made. Oh well, more work but at least i can press on.
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22/01/09
The roll cage has now arrived to make up the spaceframe, along with the rest of the steel for the chassis. I can now press on once i have the floor cut out of an old shell, i have a mate on that job so should be done shortly. I cant believe that one day this is going to be a car.
25/01/09
With the aid of a few friends again we managed to make some progress. We got the rest of the floor out of the old shell and got the floor part of the chassis made. I say we, i mean them, it's great being ill!!!!!!!!
-----------------------------------------------------10/02/09
Still not much progress made as i've not been feeling too well recently but at least my new wheels have arrived and been shod with new tyres. I've gone for compomotive cxr rims as they are the lightest they do and will help to reduce my unsprung weight. The tyres are Avon slicks, 8.2" fronts and 7.2" rears. The rears are ultra soft, with the fronts being 1 compound higher to help prevent tearing the rubber off under acceleration.
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2/04/09
Well i've been feeling a bit better recently and have managed to spend the odd hour in the garage. Still not a lot of progress but i think it all helps.
The main part of the frame is nearly complete. Just got the roof diagonals and the passenger side door bar to fit and then i can start thinking about hanging some rear suspension onto it.
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10/04/09
well i'm back at work now and had 3 good nights in the garage getting on with all the prepared parts. The stub axles are based on MK2 golf and have been machined by myself from scratch to fit into the tubing, obviously using golf discs and calipers. The pics below show the progress made to date.
25/07/09
For the time being i've decided to run with a subframe in the front. This will enable the build to done quicker and for us to concentrate on other parts of the build. It's only about 5kg heavier then a custom frame and also easily removable, so if we can get the handling right who knows, it may even stay!!!!
Hopefully sometime soon i'll find some time to do something with the tatty old shell and make it into something a bit more decent.
5/8/09
Over the weekend i've changed the subframe upper mounts. To these i need to add some trianglation and a mounting point for the dampers, although i may use a bell crank for these and place them horizontally across the rear of the subframe
9/8/09
For the 1st time since the build i now feel as though i have achieved something, the chassis is now rolling. There is still no dampers on the front, so is sitting on blocks of wood but you can see how low it's going to sit. I've got a week of work soon so i may be able to get the chassis finished and ready for painting. After that i will be fitting an aluminium bulkhead, bodywork, engine in, front body work to fit then painting. I think the colour scheme is going to be a nice yellow with black roof and black arches with black graphics down the side
19/9/09
More progress made since the last update. The steering column is now fitted with a removable wheel, the drivers seat is fitted, The rear suspension mounting points have been redone and the fibreglass shell has arrived. It's goint to be a monster, with the race wheels on the shell is still too narrow.
The pic above is at race height but i think i may get better ground effect by raising the rear by approx 20mm. Thats one for the first test session i think.
17/10/09
The front suspension has now been fitted. The mounts have been redesigned and the bracing to the cage has been changed from the curved pieces fitted earlier. The advantages will be that i can also use the turrets for mounting an anti roll bar to and the engine mount bars.
The bracing for the front suspension mounts has started to go in along with the engine. One engine mount is in and ok but the passenger side mounting is half in but looks a bit weak so will probably be redone in 1" box section
The pedal box has also been made and will be fitted shortly. It was homemade as it will only be using one master cylinder for the brakes. All the current after market boxes seem to be made for two cylinders using a bias bar
10/11/09
The engine is now fastened in correctly with 2 new mounts made, stabaliser bars still need to be made but wont take long to knock up.
The next thing to go in is the rear diffuser, i call it a diffuser but my mate calls it the boot floor because it's too big to be a diffuser. Inorder to fit it we have had to cut off the boot hinge panel and raise it by a few inches, easily done with a bit of fibreglass.
28/11/09
We are now onto some bodywork, The arches are on and the doors are nearly somewhere near, just a lot of smoothing off and then the front to tackle. Once we are happy with everything our intentions are to make our own moulds of the rear arches so that they can be easily remade if we knock them off.
On the centre picture below you can also see that the exhaust is fitted and is going to run straight down the centre of the car, between the 2 seats. Once the frame has been painted the exhaust will be covered in by a small tunnel running down the car, between the two bulkheads. Cockpit cooling will be achieved by an a wrc air scoop fitted into the roof.
4/12/09
We have now started to fit the front and have also obtained a wrc roof vent. The roof vent is from a lancia integrally but you would have thought it was made for a mini as it has so far gone on without needing any adjustment. The vent came with 2 flaps, the standard one and an africa safari extension. We are not planning on fitting the extension as it would probably cause enough drag to lose 20 horse power.
The front took some head scratching, mainly on how to start. We decided the best plan of attack was probably to cut the hole out for the engine and then to try and locate the front so that every time we fitted it we could get it back into the same place. The hole we cut was a bit larger then we tought it was going to be but at least once the front was fitted the engine did not stick through quite as high as we thought it was going to. I'm quite tempted to leave the engine uncovered , mad max style, but being so expensive it is probably better off being covered.
20/12/2009
We got the rest of the roof vent fitted tonight, The inside is ok and i'm happy with that but the outside, well as soon as i can find time it's coming off. Not sure what i'll do, probably have to make my own up so will make it fixed instead of adjustable.
Also been on with making a better fit of the front end.Going after the metro 6r4 look on the front so that it will match the rear end better so have got some foam laid up ready to shape.
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21/12/09
Tonight the extension came off the roof vent, it's not going to work and does not look right, looks a lot better without it and will probably stay now.
We also started to shape the foam, there are a few areas that require a bit more filling but we can now see the rough profile and how it's going to blend into the fibreglass front
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