Citroen 2cv V8 Racer

[grumpy52]

My mate , old boss is starting the build of his Special Saloon Racer .
It's basically a 2CV V8 !

I was wondering if there would be any interest in a build thread .
The images so far are just parts positioned to see what fits where and an idea of what the proportions would be like .
We are looking at a Caterham style chassis , 2cv steel basic structure , widened fiberglass wings , initially a 4litre V8 ,5 speed box , ford cosworth lsd axle . Weight should be about 700kg and about 380-400bhp . 4 x 48 IDA carbs and NO ECUs or electronic wizardry .
Hopefully ready for next season .
Their is a history of loud and hairy racers including a V8 escort , cosworth Honda Prelude , V8 F1 stock car , Turbo wankle F2 single seater and a few other weird and wonderful racers .

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This gives an idea of how much the front wings need to be widened.

[grumpy52]

He has history of wide race cars .
The 2CV will be about the same width when finished .
The race tyres were historic F1 rubber and the 2CV will use similar 12" × 13 rears and 10" x 13 fronts .
Usually sourced from the rich historic F1 racers who bin them after each race .

Edited by grumpy52 on Friday 31st July 19:09

[grumpy52]

Breadvan72 said:

May I also ask about the white Jag or Daimler in the background. Standard, or bonkers?

The white car is a customer car and is standard , the business owner is mainly a car restoration guy who specializes in jags . He does have a racing jag .

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Spare tyre said:

Promise me you’ll keep the ventilation flap

That is definitely staying, and will be in the open position , it will help with forwards vision and will help with driver cooling as racing cars are hot places to be especially with a hard working V8 on your lap .

[grumpy52]

Initial mock ups suggest that the front will be 12" wider than a normal 2CV and the rear close to 18" wider . The frame is a surprisingly good fit over the chassis , basically just requiring mounting brackets to bolt it all together . The aim is to have the body easily removable to allow access to the mechanical components.
The vast majority of the work will be done in house with only machining passed to trusted , often used contacts . Suspension and brakes are all easily available from nearby suppliers and all the engine mods are tried and trusted technology that have been used in the past .

[grumpy52]

Chatting to Peter the owner/ builder this evening to dig up some more information about the bits that are the basis for the car .
The chassis is a Panther GTS that had only ever been used to display the wares being sold by a famous local supplier of race and rally parts . It already has Willwood brakes and Gaz suspension.
The Rover engine will have a full rebuild and is being taken out to 4800cc with balanced offset crank , lightened flywheel , full race heads , latest race cam , dry sump and 4 x 48 IDA carbs , LT 77 5 speed box and Sierra cosworth axle and LSD .
Custom side exit exhaust. The body frame is already mounted to the chassis and a front roll cage needs to be fabricated and fitted with extra location points for the body frame . The front bodywork will be one piece .
A plus point is the engine sits well back in the chassis leaving plenty of room for a big alloy Range Rover radiator and oil cooler if needed .
The joy is it's all basic fabrication and engineering with stuff that's relatively easily available.
The engine machining will be done by a very experienced company and the engine build will be done in house .
Things can and no doubt will change as the build progresses.
The progress will be slow and steady as he has lots and lots of customers cars taking up most of the available time and that's what pays the wages , race cars certainly aren't cheap, even if you build them yourself.

[grumpy52]

grumpy52 said:

My mate , old boss is starting the build of his Special Saloon Racer .
It's basically a 2CV V8 !

I was wondering if there would be any interest in a build thread .
The images so far are just parts positioned to see what fits where and an idea of what the proportions would be like .
We are looking at a Caterham style chassis , 2cv steel basic structure , widened fiberglass wings , initially a 4litre V8 ,5 speed box , ford cosworth lsd axle . Weight should be about 700kg and about 380-400bhp . 4 x 48 IDA carbs and NO ECUs or electronic wizardry .
Hopefully ready for next season .
Their is a history of loud and hairy racers including a V8 escort , cosworth Honda Prelude , V8 F1 stock car , Turbo wankle F2 single seater and a few other weird and wonderful racers .

And nobody questioned £3/4 million of Aston Martin's finest hiding on the left !
Standards have certainly slipped around here lately!

[grumpy52]

More mocking up .

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It's going to be wide !

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Hang on lads , I have a great idea !

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B'stard Child said:

grumpy52 said:

Hang on lads , I have a great idea !

The rear wing will need a little more support

Already in hand !, end plates and supports on the drawing board and a further boot lid .

[grumpy52]

Fishy Dave said:

Hope that will be racing with CSCC Special Saloons and Modsports? It would good on the grid alongside the Moggy Minor V8. ??

A very distinct possibility the owner/builder knows many that race with CSCC .

[grumpy52]

Starting on the front baulkhead,side bodywork and bonnet mounts and radiator frame . All tacked in place before being fully welded .

Edited by grumpy52 on Saturday 8th August 20:08

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The rear wings will be on Dzus fasteners and slave wheels will be used on the rear . The car won't fit on the trailer or in the transporter in its race setup . The trailer has already been widened to take a Holden Commodore race car .