Winter plans

[coffee break]

Thanks for the links. They helped me confirm the idenity of the unit. It is a Lucas 43D.

 

 

(not a bra size):smilielol5:

[coffee break]

The Distributor Doctor has the parts in a kit and the Royal Post delivered them via the USPS.

Not the speediest method. :banghead:

[Croc]

In the 420R I also switched to a new type of Tillett that angled the backrest in such a way that I did not have to be an orangutang to use it - you know legs to short and arms too long. So I visited Tillet on the Isle of Sheppey in UK and had a fitting session with Steve Tillett. Excellent time spent. They had a seat that accommodated my vast bulk and fitted my Caterham.

 

The only downside is that the production line wait times are up to 4 months now with Tillett. They are so successful that they cannot turn the products out quick enough.

 

 

 

 

 

On the seat front, with the assistance of Ian (many of you have met him at the NJMP event - he mechanically saves us along with TJ), I decided to make a resin bead seat for my CSR. So I bought this kit:

 

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection.asp?Product=4525

 

 

 

My first lesson - the XL size is too big for the bathtub area of a Caterham SV even after removing everything there. Hindsight says it should have been a Large or possibly a Medium.

 

So step 1 is vacuum out all the grvel and detrius from a year on track.

 

Step 2 is tape or cardboard over all the sharp protrusions in the space that would otherwise threaten to rip the plastic bag of beads and cause them to flow everywhere in the cockpit. So bolts, chassis tube ends/braces, belt buckles, etc

 

Step 3 is trial fit of bead bag (no resin yet). This test showed pretty quickly that we had too many beads in the bag. So about 25% to 35% came out and we test fit again. That was better.

 

Step 4 is prepare for the vacuum - there is a hose into the bag. You connect it to a vacuum and it keeps the bag under suction through the initial cure fitting.

 

At this point, take a piss, dump or whatever as you wont be going for a while. Secondly, wear long pants as the resin curing is quite hot on bare skin.

 

Step 5 - mix the resin into the bag. WE ended up using all the resin as the mixture felt too dry. You put the bag on the floor and knead the resin around the beads so there are no clumps.

 

Step 6 - Bag with beads and resin into the car. Then lower yourself GENTLY into the bag. Squish yourself, ass, legs, shoulders, hips, etc. to get comfortable for a good driving position. Move the beads around to where they need to be. Once you are comfortable then stop moving and sit still. Vacuum is on. Ian brought a beer and a donut for me to snack on. I had the phone. Otherwise I just gazed around the hangar.

 

At this point you contemplate the messiness of our existence. Jeff's blue Caterham awaiting its yet again rebuilt engine (hint - dont use 10,000rpm on a Zetec). A certain blue Holden awaiting its engine to go back in. A Corvette with a blown clutch. The rental blue Datsun 200sx for hackers to destroy.

 

After an hour I was allowed out. The seat had firmed up enough that my ass impression was not going to move. Getting out was entertaining. I could not use my traditional hand holds to lever myself up plus I could not move my legs much given the beads. And my non-removable steering wheel was where I needed to be. Having Ian piss himself laughing over my predicament was not helping me. Eventually...

 

 

Yes folks, that impact crater, is my ass impression. Looks like aftermath of the movie, Deep Impact. Its amazing where your body leaves divots - a love handle on one side, a ballsac divot, my leather belt line, a wrinkle in my shirt, a hole where I had my SUV keys in my pocket, you get the idea. At this point we turned the vac off and left it to cure over the holidays. It only really needed 24 hours but we were heading out on holidays so not a problem.

 

LAst weekend was removing it from the car. Using a hot knife you sledgehammer away about a third of what is there. It was at this point I discovered something critical:

- if the bag is too big then it bunches up and creates chasms of plastic in between the beads

- If you mold a bead seat under the lip of the center tunnel then it will not like coming out.

 

The hot knife is key. It makes life so much easier carving and shaping the seat for the space. You need to car space channels for the belts on the sides and underneath for the submarine belts. Need to carve a hole for the submarine belt to surface through the seat to meet crotch.

 

 

So I had to cut it out in 2 pieces but it worked out fine in the end as the pieces were easier to manage than one whole seat. Currently off at the upholsterers who will professionally cover it in nomex and make it look better than anything I could do. I can focus on another car project/basket case to solve.

 

Now its time to sort out a head rest so that we dont have helmet against roll bar. More to follow.

 

 

To wrap this up, I trimmed the resin seat result, cut a hole for the crotch belt and bundled it all together for the upholsterer to do their job and create a cover for it.

 

The consistency is nice and hard now. But it would all start coming lose if you started abrading it.

 

Quite a comfortable seat. Will test it out tomorrow.

 

 

 

[panamericano]

Hope it works as good as it looks. Good ideas for anyone contemplating a real seat. Just one thing. I thought surely you would have it covered in red antelope suede or blue nomex with piping and the a crest and your initials. Are you saving that for after you use and approve it?

[coffee break]

News alert: Winter is coming (Duh)

I've got no plans for upgrades but I'm sure somewhere out in the realm plans are afoot, or at least on the Christmas wish list.

[Vovchandr]

I've gotta 

 

Swap headlights to lower mounts and wire 

Swap headlights to CF

Swap blinker pods to CF

Send oil to blackstone labs

Mount nose cone whiskers

Finally setup the pops for tonneau cover

Mount CSR fenders 

Mount new ITB velocity stacks

De-cat the muffler 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Vovchandr

[Jesse D]

I've got to make the usual repairs to my passenger rear fender from Autocross (there is a reason why I hit passenger side cones). Need to replace the foam in my oil pan and, as always, looking for a nice wide set of 13" rims to mount new slicks.

[fastg]

Typical winter projects. 

 

1. I am actually look inside my junkyard Honda engine, just replacing the head with a rebuilt unit. New inlet, injectors and throttle body, It should be the biggest HP increase so far:) Picked up a used K20A2 head for $150, currently off at 4Piston racing being rebuilt.  The K20A2 has larger ports than the K24A2 stock head. 

2. New shocks. from Procomp and big UK Locost racing shop. If they will ship to the US, might have to go thru a family member. My current setup is quite soft and I don't like the feel thru high speed corners. 

3. Relocate the Tillet brake/clutch reservoir higher up the firewall, instead if being under the air inset pipe. 

4. New electronic power cutoff, with a remote switch inside the car. So I don't dislocate me shoulder after getting strapped in and forgetting the switch the car on:)

5. Trim the dash to get better knee clearance.

6. Add padding to the roll cage. 

[JohnCh]

Graham, as I recall you previously mentioned that head is capable of 275 whp with the right cams and throttle body.  What's the goal?  

 

 

 

 

[fastg]

For this time around the goal is 275 rwbhp on pump gas. I will still be using the DC 2.2 cams but they are the best option for the current rpm limit. I want to end in on the 325 rwbhp range. 

 

Graham  

[JohnCh]

Hmm.  Roughly 320hp at the crank in a se7en.  That should be...adequate?   

 

-John