Citroen 2cv V8 Racer
Discussion
A bit more done, steering column mounting tubes tacked into place and seat trial fitted . The seat is about an inch out so needs doing again .
When everything has found its place the body and mechanicals will come off , everything will be fully welded the chassis will then be stripped and painted ,all the components will be refurbished then assembly will begin but that won't be until early next year probably .
Edited by grumpy52 on Tuesday 11th August 23:43
Petrolism said:
Nice progress.
Question: Won't it be a bit odd-looking out of the windscreen from that far back, with perspex windows for the rest of the driver's peripheral vision?
All of these specials are a compromise with vision but I am told that you soon get used to it .Question: Won't it be a bit odd-looking out of the windscreen from that far back, with perspex windows for the rest of the driver's peripheral vision?
It has already been discovered that having the air vent open improves vision to a degree .
It was thought that vision in modern single seater racers would be a problem with the halo system but this hasn't proved to be so .
The biggest change that many have reported is getting used to an altered position caused by the Hans device especially by those that like to sit fairly upright.
This was the original trigger for building the Caterham chassis special.
The builder was driving the Honda Prelude ( ex Rod Birley , Thunder saloons championship winning car )
500+BHP , Spice C2 underpinnings .
The Caterham just drove around him at Paddock bend but the Honda had him on the straights .
A Caterham with a body would be the way to go , 16 years later it's finally happening.
Things might slow down for a while .
Peter , who is the owner , builder of the car , has a son Sammy who is 14 years old and a very keen speedway rider . He is the junior ambassador for Kent Invicta Speedway team . Unfortunately Sam had a big off today at Lydd and has broken both bones in his right ankle . He will find out overnight if he needs an operation to pin the fractures .
It doesn't help that he is in hospital 40 odd miles away from where they live .
Get well soon Sammy .
Peter , who is the owner , builder of the car , has a son Sammy who is 14 years old and a very keen speedway rider . He is the junior ambassador for Kent Invicta Speedway team . Unfortunately Sam had a big off today at Lydd and has broken both bones in his right ankle . He will find out overnight if he needs an operation to pin the fractures .
It doesn't help that he is in hospital 40 odd miles away from where they live .
Get well soon Sammy .
Radiator mounts finished and rad fitted .
Hoses to be sourced and fitted and brake ducts fabricated and fitted next .
The remote gear linkage is almost finished and the seat and steering column is all mounted properly.
The seat is that comfortable that Peter informs me he uses it when he has back aches or when he has longer phone calls to customers or suppliers to make .
His son is home from hospital after his speedway accident . They didn't pin his fractures but have plastered him from toes to upper thigh and recommend using a wheelchair for mobility . It will be 3 months before he is allowed on a motorcycle again.
It is going to be raced and will have a full cage .
The front cage will be added when all the other supports have been fabricated for the bodywork and ancillary systems. It's easier to do this without the front cage being in the way .
He does have nearly 40 years of experience with classic and racing cars and motorcycles .
The front cage will be added when all the other supports have been fabricated for the bodywork and ancillary systems. It's easier to do this without the front cage being in the way .
He does have nearly 40 years of experience with classic and racing cars and motorcycles .
All the parts are bits that have been hoarded over a 20 year period!
As the body will be totally detachable swaps could be a possibility, as the builder is a classic jaguar specialist it might be a coincidence that e types are of very similar dimensions and he does have access to a modsports shell .
The car was put on the scales today.
The target is 600 kg .
It hit 495kg today but still needs fuel cell , front cage , carbs ( 4 x48 IDA ) and wiring, instruments , rear aerosol, flooring and front splitter .
There is some lightening of the panels and doors still to do .
It will be close but with an expected 400 -420 BHP, the power to weight ratio is looking pretty good .
The colour choice keeps changing, it was going to be along the lines of the black and yellow of factory Citroen 2CVs now it's erring towards black and silver . The Joy of doing it all in house is it can be changed very easily . It will be old school 70s style Special saloon scheme.
The target is 600 kg .
It hit 495kg today but still needs fuel cell , front cage , carbs ( 4 x48 IDA ) and wiring, instruments , rear aerosol, flooring and front splitter .
There is some lightening of the panels and doors still to do .
It will be close but with an expected 400 -420 BHP, the power to weight ratio is looking pretty good .
The colour choice keeps changing, it was going to be along the lines of the black and yellow of factory Citroen 2CVs now it's erring towards black and silver . The Joy of doing it all in house is it can be changed very easily . It will be old school 70s style Special saloon scheme.
Petrolism said:
Aside from possibly using old parts, why not sell the carbs and put Jenvey throttle bodies on? Surely a decent modern closed loop ECU will make initial and further tuning a lot easier, whilst also allowing flat shifting, etc.?
It's harking back to the 70s era of Special saloon racing , no electronic gizmos and no ecus .The expected power output is pushing the limits of normal tuning without going to very expensive and extreme levels .
We ran a very similar set up in a MK1 escort 15 years ago that was pushing 360bhp and was incredibly reliable, with the latest head and camshaft development we have been reliably informed that the target power is very achievable.
Using stuff that has been hoarded over the years, some very canny trading over the years , lots of in house fabrication, old school technology and lots of know how the total build cost should be surprisingly low . The biggest single expense will be the carbs .
In the near future it looks like we will have a car at the BHP show at Lydden in Oct probably this Holden .
Konrod said:
I love watching threads like this, thanks for posting it up. One (probably stupid) question, but how will you get the pully on the water pump and run the belt - it looks from the pictures that the chassis is in the way. Are you extending it in front of the chassis?
That is just the mule engine , the race engine is yet to be built .I am told that it will have a high capacity water pump of a much shorter design but things will be tight ! It will only have an electric fan mounted on the rad .
A similar engine is currently being assembled for a mad customer to be fitted into his Land Rover!
Not a great deal to report of late .
The pedal reservoirs have been fitted on the second attempt, the first ones looked far too modern so older style ones were fitted .
The doors are being stripped lightened, strengthened and repaired as necessary.
My cousin Lee Follett of FG Fabrications visited today to measure up for the front roll cage hoops. Once these have been fabricated and fitted the rest of the body mounts can be fitted and the exhaust system can be fabricated and fitted .
The colour scheme changes almost weekly, last week.it was yellow in tribute to the one in the Bond Film , this week it's Red Charleston colours .
The past choices have been Yellow /Black and Black/ Silver.
The Dry sump system is near to complete and will be trial fitted shortly .
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