cheapracer

Later this afternoon I slotted the engine back in which lowered the front and trimmed, but not fitted, the bonnet scoop, threw the seat in for relativity, then parked it next to my Hyundai Tucson work hack for a size comparo ... http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/low1_zpse62da6ef.jpg http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/low2_zpsc2970b9e.jpg http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/compare2_zps1fb4da47.jpg http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/compare3_zps72091f16.jpg Long way to go yet but getting there.

Now it's really starting to take shape! The car has no engine/box here so a little high in the front. Note that the scoop, just sitting on the hood here, is universal so it's of course too long and too high in order that it can be cut down to suit whichever engine is fitted later... Next is the rear fender flares and the front fenders.

First time on 4 wheels proper today ...

So I made up an adjustable hood scoop that can be raised or lowered to suit different engine heights and then sent my bodywork over to my mate's fibreglass factory to start getting some moulds prepared and in the meantime will get some steering, pedals and brakes sorted out ...

Yeah, there's certainly times when you can rely on your eyes and gut feeling and don't need FEA to declare that a chassis is somewhat lacking for the job.

Great feeling isn't it and no matter how many you start for the first time the good news is the feeling never changes. You can run it for a minute or so and no harm at all will be done.

As a young guy I couldn't afford 2 cars so my competition cars were also my daily drivers and most ended up with straight cut gearsets. Yeah the noise is awesome the first 1000 times you hear it but it becomes not only a PIA after a while but you even start to cringe at the people noticing you as well. Attracting attention to cops doesn't help the wallet either. Very tall first gears become very tiresome too, in fact my first CR gearbox for my Datsun B210 (geez I'm old ... ) was a straight swap for my road going 5 speed because the guy had had a gutful of the very tall first gear!

Pictures of the setup, history; eg, has this just started etc ....

I think it's starting to look snappy!

Just a little more to go then some filler and blending and get some nice radius into those corners ... I have been told my hood and nose is finished being bondo'ed so will go look in the morning.

Thank you. Wheels/tyres are 205/55/16 which are 610mm/24" diameter.

Getting the rear bodywork together, you can see where I am headed with it ....

You own 2 of them, I respect any opinion coming from a true enthusiast and understand there's an ethos as you see it that you would like to see maintained. Anyway ..... chipping away at the rear shape the last few days ...

In 1967 a Toyota Corolla weighed 1500lbs, now a Corolla weighs 2500lbs. People are now also considerable bigger, up and especially sideways. The biggest selling car in America is a Ford F150 - mine is a small nimble car, it's now 2014 and it's called relativity.

Well I'm happy enough with the buck's basic shape now to send it off to the car repairers and get it bogged/bondo'ed up and see how it comes out in a few days time ...

You had better hope that Jeremy Clarkson gets to drive it and turn into an "Alien" - see how that worked out for Ariel, instant cult car with long waiting list yet every other exoskeleton car has been a flop. Being a British based car your's may have a good chance of achieving that or similar, Chris Harris etc.

So while I am waiting for the wood to dry and get shaped for the new nose I ordered, I have started to chip out the rear bodywork. One of the nice things about having the basic diamond shape chassis is that triangulation often is the normal rather than needing to add it ....

One piece tilt would be great but I imagine people would complain after a small accident where they just want to replace the nose cone so things to consider ..... It may come across as being a big car ... until you stand next to it and realise it's not, it's only large relative to a tiny 7. Aluminium is nice but not really cost effective or very repairable/modifiable. Nor is it much lighter at the end of the day and little difference in power to weight with an LS3 sitting up front (I like you thinking!). With 32" trailing arms under it a lot of live axle issues are suddenly nullified.

Managed to get back to this the other day and got my wordworking friend underway on the main buck ...

Australian Touring cars went from V8s to 2.0 litres once. Once. There is an unreplaceable mystique surrounding big V8's, only a fool would replace them and relevance be damned.

You're right, it's great that I can zoom in and read it and copy pictures into paint shop, see minor details, send them to friends or post them etc etc.

Well here's a shot with the Toyota 2JZ engine and W57 gearbox sitting in for a better perspective maybe ....

In front of the axles behind the seats for a bit better balance and safety. You can see the 2 of them in the 3D, last picture, first post.

I like triangles and simplicity

After spending a bit of time getting some body work bucks done and some of it off to the fibreglass company for finishing and mold making and other pressing projects, I got a bit more done on the rear end/trailing links and for a change the computer 3D and the reality pretty well matched up without any big changes .. http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/trail3_zpscf6a269c.jpg http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/trail0_zps149fae5c.jpg http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/trail1_zpsea09bc70.jpg http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/mongrelexo/trail2_zpsde8988f6.jpg