stripping 3

running totals so far:

REMOVED			44.464	kg
interior trim	2371
Audio system	3183
stock wing mirrors	1217
rear glass	2238
rear clam	26600
passenger seat	8400
petrol cap	314
gearknob	141

obviously this is a mixture of items that are gone for good (audio, rear glass) and those which will later be replaced for lighter items. I am finding it interesting how on such a light car (~760kg) there is still quite a lot of excess fat in the interior trim.

The stock seats will come in at around 17kg/pair. I am hopeful of finding fibreglass replacements at around 8kg/pair.

Still to weigh are the stock exhaust system & engine hatch cover.

stripping 2

A productive couple of days has seen the rear clam removed. This has enabled me to better see exactly the space I am working with for an engine conversion.

The OEM rear clam weighs in at 26.6kg not including the engine cover! I am hoping to fit a lightweight Exige rear clam and hardtop which should hopefully save significant kilos over the Elise clam and soft top assembly.

As I have been removing parts I have been cleaning them up and listing them for sale. The proceeds will go towards the parts to convert the car to serious track spec.

stripping 1

stripping the car commenced today.

interior trim = 1.826kg
Audio system = 2.973kg
stock wing mirrors = 1.217kg

the wing mirrors will be replaced with some much lighter racier items later...

the base car

ok then, onto the interesting bit.

after some deliberation I settled on a fibreglass Lotus for the base car. for a number of reasons:

- inherently light, always good for track cars. less use of brakes & tyres. less torque needed for acceleration.
- mid engined options: I haven't owned a mid engined car yet, so a good opportunity to try the layout.
- handling. most Lotus' (Lotii?) are lauded for their excellent handling & steering feel. some are labelled as 'challenging' near the limit. both of these factors appeal to me. rubbish steering feel being a particular pet hate of mine...

having got this far the only remaining question was which fibreglass lotus was going to for the bill, could get to the 530 BHP/tonne target within an achievable budget?

initially I started looking at Mk1 Esprits with engine failures. best conversions would have been an Audi V8, chevvy LS engine or possibly some boosted V6. however the cost was looking high & so was the weight.

then I stumbled upon a particularly well priced S1 Elise with 12month MOT, and in vgc. the price was so good due to Cat D, but the damage was front clam fibreglass only and had been well repaired. I knew that once I had finished with it, it would have been so thoroughly rebuilt & documented anyway that the Cat D rating wouldn't matter a jot, so I bought it on the spot.

pictures show car as advertised.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.

This corner of the internet is going to be dedicated to the build of my latest track car project.

The ultimate aim of the project is simply to have a car in which to go fast and have fun, whilst giving myself a stimulating engineering project to work on outside of my work.

There are some secondary aims based upon previous projects I have completed, and things I have learnt upon the way. These are as follows:

1) Do as much as possible myself. Use the project as an opportunity to learn new skills.
2) Minimise monetary expenditure, maximise return. Although I am not building the project to make a profit, nor can I afford to throw money down an endless pit. The key to not making a loss will be in purchasing the right components and completing as much work as possible myself.
3) Make it fast! I have owned, driven, and been driven in some very quick cars over the past 10 years. I appreciate that you can have just as much fun on track in a 1.5d citroen AX (see here) as you can an Ariel Atom. When it comes to scaring passengers however, faster definitely tends to be better! :) As I like to attend trackdays with my friends I intend to make this car faster than the previous one in order to maximise the grin factor.
4) Finally, get the practicality balance right. In it's final guise my previous track car could not traverse certain speedbumps and could not be driven in heavy rain. With this car I aim to minimise weight and I am quite happy to sacrifice comfort, but not compromise the ability of the car to drive to/from the circuit in any conditions.

Target:
over 530bhp/tonne wet weight with 5l fuel, no driver.