first welding complete

Harness bar now fully welded in. Ready for primer and paint.

preparing for re-fit of standard oil pump

This afternoon I pulled the sump pan off the engine in order to get ready for re-fitting the standard Ferrari dry sump oil pump unit and drivechain. There are one or two small components I still need to purchase but I should have the engine back together within a week to 10 days.

Once the sump pan is back on there is nothing preventing me from connecting the engine and gearbox for what should be the final time. An event that will really feel like some good tangible progress is being made! I really like the rear flywheel clutch layout of the gearbox as it means the necessity for splitting the engine and gearbox in service is very low, and clutch flywheel maintenance is straightforward.

Gratuitous shot of titanium con-rods! (piston spray jets also visible)

stripping more stuff out

about time i posted an update on the weight reduction totals so far:

REMOVED		344.773	kg
interior trim	3060
Audio system	3323
stock wing mirrors + side indicators	1247
rear glass	2277
rear clam	26813
driver seat	7000
passenger seat	8400
petrol cap	314
gearknob	141
alarm	642
engine cover	4800
exhaust	20655
bulkhead (including heatshield)	3713
fog lights	1062
front grill	308
front bonnet lock	143
battery & bracket	10313
evap system	769
rear bracket	150
numberplate plinth	216
wiper motor trim	57
k-series airbox	1416
fuel filter holder	45
wiring loom	159
heater	3940
engine mounts	3997
front wheels	28800
rear wheels	32600
front mudflaps	500
tow hook	50
locking wheel nut key	94
front brake calipers, discs, pads & hoses	16000
Koni dampers	10200
fuel tank cutting	1480
front anti roll bar	1986
steering wheel	1786
old fuel tank	12693
engine & box	130000
subframe cutting	3624

quite substantial. Obviously a lot of this stuff either has to go back on, or be replaced with similar. I hope to be able to weigh the new engine and gearbox in the next couple of weeks. The 130kg value for the K-series lump was a number I found online so may not be entirely accurate.

Wheels are another area I may be able to make some decent savings (despite aiming to run a significantly wider rear tyre).

more cutting - rear subframe

As you can see the rear subrame crossmember has now been cut away to make space for the F355 gearbox. The suspension pick up locations are un-affected by the work I am doing so hopefully the finished car will retain the magic Lotus handling, with a lower and more central CofG.

Many of the bars for re-bracing the rear subframe are now cut and profiled, so tomorrow the welding will begin. We are starting with the harness bar which is inch tube, seamless CDS as per MSA rollcage regs. 

I have decided not to run a full cage in this car as the car will primarily be for non-competetive trackday use. The standard roll bar in the Elise chassis is very substantial, and the seats and harnesses I am fitting should offer the driver/passenger significantly better protection than the standard items.

The reason for starting with the harness bar first is to allow me to continue with fabricating the new bulkhead which will sit up against the rear of the bar, and just behind the seats. The bulkhead will be a carbon fibre panel, bonded into place.

Barely visible in the pictures is my new steering wheel, just having a few issues getting the brand new quick release boss to a state I am happy with in terms of free-play. I will post some pictures of the finished wheel in a later update. 

lots of angle grinding!

so with the CAD design 90% finalised it was time to start cutting metal.

Following pictures are pretty self explanatory. The sump is in it's final position +/-5mm or so in any given direction in the images, so you can see how far forward and low in the chassis I should be able to get the engine.

This image also shows how the driveshafts will retain an ideal angle. :)

I have also now taken delivery of a load of steel for re-bracing the rear of the car following the cutting of fuel tank area, and up-coming cutting through rear subframe... stay tuned!

Computer Aided Design

so in parallel with stripping, cleaning and checking the engine and 'box I have been busy measuring up the Elise chassis and formalising a plan to mount the engine, without compromising the strength or stiffness of the chassis, whilst also trying to minimise the amount of weight I will be adding to the back of the car.

Pictures speak 1000 words:

Standard model of rear chassis & subframe

Cut out rear subframe and tank area. Concept #1 - Re-braced with 25,30 and 50mm steel tube.

How this would look with engine and gearbox mounted. There is perfect driveshaft alighnment (no offset). Engine and gearbox will be mounted on stiff rubber mounts as solid mounting would be too harsh for a car I intend to be able to use on the road as well as the track.

F355 gearbox/transaxle

Transaxle arrived this week, from a 19,000 mile crash damaged F355. 

I have had the clutch cover off and the clutch and gearbox internals look in exceptional condition.

My initial calcs on the gear ratios with the tyre size I intend to run indicate around 183mph theoretical top speed.

The transaxle has an internal pump so I can run a gearbox oil cooler.