Attempting to build the fastest road legal Elan in the world

[stevebroad]

Decided to order the polycarbonate for the side and rear windows today. I was pleasantly suprised that it was still available as I had assumed that it would have all gone to make shields and barriers. Well, a lot has and some suppliers are prioritising these uses but I found a couple that can supply with only an extra week added to the shipping time.

[stevebroad]

Had a final session of grinding on the passenger door, prior to sticking on the inner panel, and added 100gms of lightness :-)

[stevebroad]

Passenger door finally complete and surprisingly stiff now the inner skin is glued on. Now begins the task of making it presentable and ready for paint.

Started work on the driver's door. This has its challenges as I had to raise the bottom corner of the windscreen due to it being low. I discovered this when I was setting the car up in readiness for the roll cage to me made. I got the chassis level and found that the top of the screen was low. I cut the A pillar in order to level it up but this then required the bottom edge of the screen to be adjusted to match.

This resulted in a lift of around 25mm. All looks good but a knock on effect was that the door was now too low. I used the existing door as a pattern for the mould but I have now got to make it fit. The car body was a mess with nothing lining up but is should look OK if you don't look too closely :-)

The window support in the top of the door comprises of 4 parts and I was able to line this up with the new body line. However, as shown in the second photo, the outer skin is a little short so some extra work will be required to sort this out.

[stevebroad]

Filleted? I meant fettled. Also, 2.6kg is 5.7lbs. I put it down to stage fright and no script :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGfi5yq_XI0&fe...

[stevebroad]

F1natic said:

I know you are focused on the 1/4 mile and utterly applaud the work you are doing to achieve this end, but the way this is coming together it would also be a weapon in hill climb events too - still short enough duration to consume the whole tank of nitrous both down the gullet and sprayed over the intercooler. Any interest in corners, or are you eyeballs on the horizon only?

Interested to know how you are going to handle waterproofing of the doors, is all new rubberwork easily available?

My main focus is the 1/4 mile. However, the suspension has been designed to handle corners and I have done sprints in the past so plan to tackle those and also climbs. These are just drag races round corners and up hills :-)

No waterproofing as drag racing isn't done in the wet! Also rubber is very heavy, adding around 4-5kg :-) If I end up competing in wet sprints or climbs then I will get a little damp around the edges. However, there is nothing in the interior that will be affected by rain so not really an issue. I will probably seal the windscreen anyway.

[stevebroad]

M4CK 1 said:

Hi Steve
It's a nice to see the details and craftsmanship you've put into this.
Have you thought about using an alloy block.
They seem to be half the weight and would certainly help balance the car. Big bucks but would certainly be worth it in your car.

Yes, I have thought about that. However, as you say, properly designed units aren't cheap (around £5k) plus the rebuild cost of an unused engine isn't within my present budget. A 20 kg saving would be nice but will have to wait.

Once I have the car up and running and can use all of the present power all avenues will be investigated.

[stevebroad]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmlGb0o5mj8&fe...

[stevebroad]

I can't keep it secret any longer, here is my proposed paint scheme for the Elan.

[stevebroad]

rev-erend said:

You know that paint will add 7~11lbs in weight?

Who's worried about weight when it looks so pretty?

[stevebroad]

stevebroad said:

I can't keep it secret any longer, here is my proposed paint scheme for the Elan.

I found this image on the internet and thought, Wow, that is striking and did actually consider it for a few seconds, but what little common sense I have left regarding this build made itself heard and I decided against it :-(

I have actually decided on the paint scheme. For the entire build of the car it was going to be black. Started off matt black but then everyone and their dog started to do that so dropped that idea and went back to gloss.

However, gloss black is very difficult to get right as you need a perfectly prepared body as the slightest imperfection will show up. Knowing my skill and patience aren't up to that particular task I have veered away from this choice.

So what to do? I want it to be unusual, but not in an 'in your face' way. This is not easy to do as most ideas have been done, with many of them done to death as a neat idea gets copied very quickly by the sheep and becomes as common as muck.

However, I have stumbled upon a scheme that will be unique, no other car in the world will look the same :-) The caveat is that it may look rubbish when done so the car won't be revealed unless I am happy with it. What others think will be interesting but of no real concern as the only person it has to appeal to is me, and possibly the wife :-)

[stevebroad]

Turn7 said:

Considered wrapping it ?

Yes, but they aren't wide enough to wrap the car without any joins.

[stevebroad]

Turn7 said:

Oh really ? I wouldnt have known that.....

Any idea how far from completion now ?

A lot closer than before lockdown :-) Body almost finished. Then spraying. Waiting for polycarbonate to arrive so I can make the windows and rear screen. Then I have to finish the interior. Then it is wiring snagging and fire up. After that suspension setup. Then insure and MOT and test drives. Then sorting out issues :-) Aiming for next season.