Peugeot 205 Saloon Libre - RWD Space-Frame Silhouette Racer

Peugeot 205 Saloon Libre - RWD Space-Frame Silhouette Racer

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CamMoreRon

Original Poster:

1,237 posts

124 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
I've decided it's about time to drag my arse on to this forum and share my project with everyone.. it's a 205 GTI silhouette racer, designed and built by me to compete in Sports Libre Hillclimbs and thrash on track days. The story so far is pretty long; it's taken me about 3 years so far, from the first concepts to building the "final" design, and is likely to take another year or so from here.

This thread will be exactly how all internet-featured projects should be: open, detailed, and full of pictures! So.. 56k GTFO before your modem implodes. (Sorry, I couldn't resist a dial-up joke) Anyway..

The basic concept is: space frame chassis; SLA suspension with push rod to damper; front engine - rear drive with 2.0 Duratec turbo, Drenth sequential gearbox, Ford 7" diff and all custom shafts; carbon bodywork with front & rear "clamshells", CFD developed aero (as if an 80's brick could be aerodynamic..) with an emphasis on light weight at all times - predicted weight is 600kg with driver, and power output is to be in the region of 350bhp.

It started with a year of solid design work, then about this time 2 years ago I went out and bought a 1.6 Auto base model to use as the "donor".



It wouldn't stay like that for long, and was raised up on some home-made adjustable stands and duly torn to pieces.







So then I set about levelling the shell on the stands, and building a flat level platform to take some measurements from. I'd had the rough space-frame design made up using some pretty basic technical drawings I found on the internet, but needed some good measurments to confirm everything. It was basically all done with string, tape measures, pencils and rulers.







To do that, I chopped out the floor and started to install the ROPS (roll-over protection structure) which came from an MSA approved Custom Cages shell. I had some sill reinforcement rails made up, then went about fitting the hoops. I opted to follow the MSA regs on foot-plate sizes - it seemed to be a bit of a grey area with the rules and space-frames, so may not have been necessary, but I didn't want to run into any problems with scrutineers once the thing was built!













I used those few parts to measure the ROPS and confirm / adjust my CAD model, then set about a series of FEA simulations to get a good ratio of stiffness to weight.

More to follow..

grenpayne

1,976 posts

161 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
Excellent stuff, looking forward to seeing this unfold thumbup

Lawbags

1,047 posts

127 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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That's some tidy welding there fella!

Look forward to more progress pics!

CamMoreRon

Original Poster:

1,237 posts

124 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
Things started getting a little cramped in that single garage, and looking back I have no idea how I thought I'd be able to build the whole thing in there! I found a cheap unit with a couple of mates, then after a bit of cleaning and painting, moved my car in.





I had to build a new measuring platform, and with all that space figured I'd do a slightly more elaborate job this time. I got the car up in the air, first of all, then built the frame around it. I gave it a replaceable wood surface that I could scribble all over and made the front & rear platforms removable so that I could get good welding access later.





Then I built up a jig for the front panel (I'd need it later) and started hacking the shell to pieces.











Then finally tidied up the A-pillars and welded over all the holes.



More to follow..

D4MJT

1,253 posts

157 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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f***ing awesome.

I'm all over this.

themanwithnoname

1,634 posts

212 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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aaaaaaaand bookmarked. Looking like this will be a fascinating thread.

miniman

24,827 posts

261 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
themanwithnoname said:
aaaaaaaand bookmarked. Looking like this will be a fascinating thread.
This.

MotorsportTom

3,318 posts

160 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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At first I thought it was going to be a terrible cut and shut thread with lots of over exaggeration and little technical know how.


I duly apologise and this whole idea now sounds more awesome after seeing some of those pics!

You must be handy with a TIG to get welds like that!

Can't wait for more updates thumbup

vrooom

3,763 posts

266 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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"BIG LIKE"

OlberJ

14,101 posts

232 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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Inspirational stuff. Looking forward to seeing this develop.

5potTurbo

12,482 posts

167 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
MotorsportTom said:
You must be handy with a TIG to get welds like that!
^^^ I thought the same.

CamMoreRon

Original Poster:

1,237 posts

124 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
At this point (around August 2012) I hadn't done any TIG since my final year of uni on 2010, so I was really keen to get back in to it. I bought a Murex Transtig AC/DC unit 2nd hand and set it up with a good torch so I could get going. I decided to start at the back of the car and work forwards, as I was still working on steering geometry, so made the rear bulkhead and went from there.



I got some practise in then went for it..





Then started to tie the bulkhead back in to the ROPS.



Good fits being essential for TIG!







For those who are intertested, I used the following method to vastly simplify the process of profiling joints:

1 - Extracted tube surface from CAD model andp rinted out 1:1 it can be wrapped around the tube.



2 - Although that doesn't make the joint perfect, as the surface print-out assumes zero thickness; there's still a little to be done to get the fit right.






jonstable

2,535 posts

212 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
Looks to be a very interesting project! smile

CamMoreRon

Original Poster:

1,237 posts

124 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
Lots and lots of cutting & profiling later.. I had the rear end finished.







I could then start on the front! (A recurrent theme of this project is I love building jigs) I opted for a Caterham CSR steering rack, which I duly bought and measured so I could get my front geometry finished and get started on the frame.







I put the engine in so I could confirm clearances before I went and welded everything up, as I was a little worried about being able to get it in / out and having enough clearance for the oil pump. There'll be a removeable aloooominum engine X-brace over the top that will stiffen the front end up.











I got myself a nice light carbon seat (lightest I could find for a reasonable price) and checked that it would fit. It didn't. So I had to modify the trans tunnel slightly and narrow it enough to fit.







More to follow!

CallorFold

831 posts

132 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
In for more smile

CamMoreRon

Original Poster:

1,237 posts

124 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
Sorry I've been rattling through the updates so missed the comments! Thanks for the kind words everyone. thumbup

That all takes things up to the beginning of this year. At this point I hadn't saved quite enough cash up for the gearbox I wanted, so bought a cheap T9 off eBay so I could line things up. I also got a Sierra Cosworth rear axle to steal the 7" diff out of as it seemed to be the best balance of cost, weight, FD options and performance. I also kept the hubs and stube axles, but all the other bits were ditched.





Once I was happy that all the main components would fit, I went and bought a water cooler then fully welded the basic frame up with my TIG.









Then I cut the body off the frame to improve welding access to the roof & rear of the frame.









Once the basic frame was done, I could fit the remaining few braces and the rear diff mounting structure.






HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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CamMoreRon said:
Oh nice

Pet Troll

1,362 posts

177 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
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Nice to see this back again, will be keeping an eye on the build smile

omgus

7,305 posts

174 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
There are some amazing builds in Readers Cars at the minute. This is added to the list. thumbup

CamMoreRon

Original Poster:

1,237 posts

124 months

Wednesday 20th November 2013
quotequote all
Then I got on to making the suspension brackets, starting with the wishbone mounts. I machined up a little 3-piece spacer to get the holes concentric and ensure the correct spacing. Then used the surface table to position them on the frame to be welded in place.













I think these were the first CNC bits I'd hade machined, and are the front / rear subframe mounts. I wanted to have the front / rear bodywork and crash structure removeable so that any minor accidents wouldn't ruin the whole chassis; the majority of aero loads will also run through these so I needed a good strong way of transferring that into the frame. I turned down some socket screws (all about the weight saving..) and welded them captive, the result is a very good positive location.