At Last!. I have started on my car ;-) PART 2

I would have thought you would have gone for a 'lighter' shade ;) Tis a shame to cover up all that engineering excellence! Pity it can't be transparent!
 
I am in a bit of a quandry in trying to decide where to locate the fuel cell, all 11 litres of it weighing 13kg when full.

The wheelie bar runs for the bracket supporting the diff, so this precludes puting the tank behind the pumps.

Option 1 - Above the pumps. This will aid straight line traction but not cornering. Pipe runs will be long.

Option 2 - To the left. This will help with corner weighting the car but adds weight due to longer, and untidy, fuel lines.

Option 3 - To the right. This allows for shorter fuel lines but adds weight to the driver's side, making corner weighting more difficult.

Any thoughts:





 
On the left or right, the corner weights would change depending on fuel level, so I would have thought the only option would be central. or possibly a smaller fuel cell either side with a balance pipe.
 
As I will doing only sprints and drags, the fuel level change will be minimal so as long as I keep the fuel level constant this shouldn't be an issue.

My concern with it central but high is the detrimental affect this may have on cornering.

The twin tank suggestion is a good one, apart from the cost :)
 
Smaller tank to the left with longer lines, carry the fuel in the lines. Then again how much fuel is held in the swirl pot?
 
What do you mean by smaller tank? Swirl pot holds 1.2 litres

Going back some builders used to run larger fuel lines in order to carry more fuel. Mostly to do with circumventing the rule book. So in effect distributing the weight a little and therefore a slightly smaller tank if looking for small gains. In hindsight probably better suited to a larger car than your layout. I'll get me coat..................(B)
 
Ah, understand :).

Fuel pump layout was designed before I decided to fit a wheelie bar. If I was doing it now I could rearrange things to keep pipe lengths to a minimum.

Tank to the left seems to be the way to go and I will have to live with the long and untidy pipes :-(
 
Car is ready for th eroll cage installaton so I have started to get the trailer ready. It has two steel runners but in between them there are large holes for seven plastic boxes. Also, the runners have an upstand that the tyres would have to run along.

I have been keeping the Elan body in an old bread baker's van body. This has an aluminium floor that is perfect for the trailer. Almost finished cuting the pieces to fit. I had to angle grind th etwo upstands off and used my new TIG welding skills to add supports where the sheets meet. The welds held and can't be seen which is a bonus :) I will secure the sheets with pop rivets.



 
Been thinking about what colour to paint the car. A few years ago, before everyone started doing it, I was going for a matt black. Common as muck now.

My plan now is to go for a smooth fade from black to dark grey. Virtually impossible in paint but easy in a wrap (I think). Not decided on finish but thinking of silk. I have made electronic contact today (Sunday) with some local companies so should get some responses next week.

Cost seems to be in the £1000 - £1500 range, which is good compared to a complete respray.
 
One step forward, two steps back.

Took trailer wheels (10" alloys) to be cleaned and powdercoated as they are probably porous. They won't be ready until Friday so have had to delay roll cage until next Monday :-(

Spoke to a local wrapping company re my idea for my car. To wrap my car it will be just under £1700 due to the complex front end.

However, they can't guarentee that the fade from black to grey will be perfectly uniform without any transition lines. Need to talk to a few others.
 
Update. Just spent and informative 15 minutes talking to Scott form Custom Exotics in Harlow, Essex.

http://customexotics.co.uk/index.html

He can do what I want in paint, but I will have to sell one of my kidneys - £6-7000 depending on how much prep is required. However, it would be show quality.
 
Update. Just spent an informative twenty minutes talking to Scott at Custom Exotics of Harlow, Essex.

http://customexotics.co.uk/index.html

An example of their work:


He can do a black to grey metallic fade but I will have to sel lone of my kidneys to pay for it - £6-7000 depending on how much prep is required.

Also found out that the maximum width for printed vinyl is 1500mm, not wide enough for my car, so paint it seems to be.
 
That width won't matter Steve as long as there is and adge eg bonnet/boot edge they will be able to do It
 
Do you have the option to have the shell sprayed at your place? They are currently planning to go to Norfolk sometime to paint a racecar, all the tools etc are transportable.
 
It still fits :)







I have a turbo blanket which will be part of the heat management programme along with Zircotec heat shielding and ceramic coating (as can be seen on the exhaust):



Once the roll cage is fitted and everything is (hopefully) square I can start to make everything fit. The body was in a crash before I got it (didn't know at the time) and the repair wasn't exactly a good job alignment wise.



I think that I will be using the carbon fibre window frames I kept from the aborted CF doors:

 
It nearly looks like a car now Steve ;)........:lol:
I can see an end in sight now, please give me at least two weeks notice when the car debuts on the track so that I can clear my diary ;)
 
OK, probably next spring. A lot of secret testing will be done prior to its first public appearance :)
 
One step forward, two steps back then three forward!

Got the windscreen down from the loft in the barn to check the fit (bought it around 10 years ago as the original was cracked). Unwrapped and offered it up to the opening. It didn't seem to fit, length is fine but it's around 40mm too shallow.

Bugger, possibly new screen required. However, on getting a supplier to measure one of their screens is appears to be correct so the rubber seal must be pretty wide (I have a new one somewhere so I will check later).

As I was in windscreen mode I decided to confirm that Lexan screens were illegal for road use. However, on checking there seems to me no mention of windscreen materials. So I popped round to my MOT station and checked. As far as they are concerned, as long as it is clear and not scratched then no problem. So, a few more kg shaved off (6kg). Result!

A couple of concerns:

Some race classes ban polycarbonate screens.

Glass screens add to the chassis/body stiffness.
 
I would also be concerned that a polycarbonate screen may 'pop out' at speed. It has been know for the side windows to go if not screwed in place all around. A front screen is not exactly rigid enough to hold its shape let alone being located within a fibreglass surround. When I did oval racing I used a Lexan screen with 2" holes drilled in rows to maintain clear vision when wet. Wipers were no good for obvious reasons.
 
Rain isn't an issue as I won't be racing in it, or even on the road. However, with terminal speeds around 150mph the point about popping out is a good one and I think, on reflection, that sticking with the glass screen is favourite. Thanks for your advice.
 
That's what we are are for, sometimes it is easy to overlook something unless you have experienced it or seen it. I've had side screens pop out on track, I wasn't prepared for a fast track with alot of crosswind! They started to look like wings as they were fixed at the bottom but only located in the door channel at the top, lesson learned. Guessed wet conditions is a no-no for yours, would be a handful, even in the dry I bet!
 
I should have thought of it. My freind's Ford Pop screen came out at around 100mph. Although this was due to the tight fit resulting in the screen not seating properly, it should have rung alarm bells. 5.5Kg saving lost but a saving of £230 gained :) This will pay for the lexan rear screen, which, hopefully, will not pop out :)
 
Started on radiator, intercooler and air intake first fit. It is all a rather tight fit but I knew that. But, compared to modern cars there are acres of space :)





Sealing radiator







 
My fisrst piece of serious heat shielding arrived today.

Zircoflex III triple layer flexible ceramic heat shield.
Size 400mm x 200mm
Cost £56.60!

 
Elan is now tucked up in the trailer ready for the short trip to the rollcage frabricator tomorrow.

Managed to push it up the ramps and in on my own, so the weight reduction programme worked :)

 

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