Another Wreck, another Race Car.....

[Jarred]

Great work Pete.

Love the attention to detail!

[gldgti]

All looking very inspiring and pretty Pete.

Can I ask - is it normal/good/advisable/advantageous to run without the brake backing plates? (not a loaded question - just wondering. I always thought that the backing plate is probably designed (atleast in VW's case) to be useful to some degree with cooling or at least keeping heat away from the brake hose - but having said that, I never ran them on my mk3 road car on the rear (they were on the front though).

[Peter Jones]

On a road car they're there to deflect water spray, rocks etc, they don't really aid the cooling unless there's a duct attached.

I just couldn't be bothered with them. Better to have the backs open the radiate heat away and get a bit more air to the rotor.

At least that's my theory until not having them causes me some sort of issue.

It was hard enough figuring out the Girling 60 Calipers, MK2 Hubs and wheels to suit without having to figure out which backing plates fit too.

[kaanage]

is it normal/good/advisable/advantageous to run without the brake backing plates? (not a loaded question - just wondering. I always thought that the backing plate is probably designed (atleast in VW's case) to be useful to some degree with cooling or at least keeping heat away from the brake hose)

I had my rear backing plates removed by my (race) mechanic after he found that I'd cracked one of the rear pads.

[Peter Jones]

Bump steer is looking good with only 0.76° of toe out over full suspension travel.

That's a relief, a lot of guestimation seems to have paid off.

Now I can move on with putting more of the car together.

[roccodingo]

Well done Pete, what is the suspension travel range ??

[Peter Jones]

It was 7cm at the tie rod end. I worked out bump steer to be 10° per metre.

[dubmc]

I had my rear backing plates removed by my (race) mechanic after he found that I'd cracked one of the rear pads.

I suppose another advantage of the backing plate is if a cv joint/boot breaks, either inner/outter grease isn't sprayed onto the rotor...cars looking great Pete excited for further updates!

[Peter Jones]

A small detail, I cut a vinyl sticker for the fuel filler.






Back windows are in. CAMS says that the roll cage manufacturer's name must be visible through the back window hence the stickers.

I'm leaving the cling film on the perspex for the moment just to save it from scratches and dust.



Here's the windscreen just sitting in place. I've booked a pro in to fit it on Saturday morning.

Normally I'd fit it myself but I've got a lot invested in this screen. It's an electrically heated unit from Ricky Evans motorsport.

Heated Windscreens

It will be a long time before I get the opportunity to ship another one of these.




The heating elements are very fine. Here I'm holding a piece of paper up against the inside of the screen so I could photograph them.

The screen is dived into separate sections for driver and passenger sides.



The connections just come out from between the glass and the rubber on either side of the screen.



I've been trying to find a swirl pot that would mount hanging from the floor of the car. Most are designed the other way up to mount in the boot of a sedan.

This is a brand new design from Integrated Engineering which incorporates the mounting of the fuel pump internally.

Integrated Engineering Billet Surge Tank- Submerged 044 Pump




Here's the pump to go in it. No surprises, it's an 044.

I've been using the SAE handbook to look up suspension geometry and brake hydraulic info. Great reference for anyone attempting to build a car from first principles.



Mounted up the dashboard.

I folded up some aluminum sheet to box in the remains of the upper column bearing.

It's secured on one side with 3 M4 screws and on the other by the M8 clamping bolt.

The sheet is quite rigid, I don't think I'll need a diagonal brace on the vertical section. In any case I need to re-check the viewing angle once the seat is back in.

Once I've done that I can easily add in a small brace.













Here's a couple of shots with a dummy wheel on it from roughly the driver's perspective.





It's about time to start on another gearbox.

Here I'm recovering a 3.94 ring gear to go onto that Peloquin I've had sitting about for the last 3 years.

[Jarred]

You've been very busy Pete.

So exciting seeing all the details coming more and more together!