picture update

[racerx]

Howdy!
its been a little while since we first started our race car project and i wanted to post some progress pictures for all of you who have been so helpful and interested! to recap, we are making a race car for the grassroots motorsports 2009 challenge. This is a drag race, autocross race, and concourse event with a stated $2009 dollar budget. the car was purchased for about $500. as you can see in the pictures the reduction in price came from a reduction in sheet metal (of the orange flakey kind). since the money required to significantly increase the 2 liter's HP #'s significantly was more than the race rules allow, we have elected to install a 4 liter V6 from a 1990 ford ranger complete with a ford ranger 5 speed. the pics below show the last two weeks progress. enjoy!



this is what was left of the floor after removing the rusty parts! well, almost all the rusty parts! the passenger side subframe bars are rusted free of the seat bracket and the unibody under the passenger door has many many holes in it. but this was all we could take out until the new subframe and roll cage were put in for stability.



the idea was to put the new motor in as far back as possible so that we wouldn't hurt the handling of the car. after all, we did chose this car as a starting point for a good reason! we moved the firewall back 10 1/2" (yes this makes the windsheild wiper operation a little bit iffy....but its a race car with slicks so that shouldnt be a huge concern).



this weekend we tested theory with a little reality. as you can see the engine fits (mostly). the 60 degree ford offset leaves lots of room for brake master and exhaust. the oil pan does drop lower than we want over the steering link, but we think we can make a new bar to work with it. otherwise everything fits but the intake manifold. (the fan will not be in the final installation). the weight distribution was also a pleasant surprise as nearly all the additional weight was transferred to the rear wheels

hope you enjoyed the pictures and i will see you all in the forum!

racerx

[pope]

Now you have a Ford slant 6.

[rlux4]

That's coming along pretty well Racerx. It sure looks like a lot of work! How many guys (oops) persons are working on it?
Ron

[ga.spyder]

Something like that could only happen in Georgia! Those 4.0 sixes have a lot of torque,what are you planning to do for a diff? You guys should have a lot of fun,and it might keep up with that V8 VW that is there every year.
Craig
ps....did you get the disc I mailed you?

[racerx]

yes, you are right it could only happen here.... must be the soil!

we have 3 guys total on the team now (after some pairing down of dead weight. one former teammate has managed to accomplish the removal of only 8 bolts in the last 5 weeks!). it has been a lot of work but the uniqueness of the project has made it pretty fun.

right now our plans for the diff are running parallel with Sonny's plans for the drought. for those of you outside the great state of georgia, that means lots of praying! and while we may not keep up with the VW in the straights, we should at least catch up in the turns!

and yes! thanks so much for the disk! for now, most of my exploration into the fiat world has been with a wrench or a cutoff wheel, but that disk will no doubt be very useful over the next few weeks as we tweak and verify the fitness of what is left! how is the "lemons" project ?

mike

[ga.spyder]

Mike,
I am riding up to Winston-Salem this weekend to work on the Lemons car.Motor is in the process of 'freshening',and I think suspension work is on tap for this weekend.Roll cage ,seat,etc... done.We are gettin there.Sonny's prayers 'must a' worked.The lake up here is up to the road in some areas,and its raining today!
Craig
I hope the disc comes in handy.It isnt scanned real well,but at least you can zoom in on the pix and wiring diagrams.

[katsi]

DUDE, THAT IS SO F***ING COOOOOOOL!!!!! , I really hope you keep posting updated on this project.