TomoTek - 182 Track Build here we come!...

[Tomotek]

#22

To finish off the work on the shifter I still needed to close up the tunnel and fit the gaiter.
I measured the Gaiter OD and trimmed a round hole into the tunnel, then cut out some 1.2mm plate and fabricated a cover plate and cylinder for the gaiter to sit over.

Next job was to get rid of all the play in the gear shift system and extend the link rod to reach the new position of the gear stick.
I ordered a pure motorsport gearbox pivot and rod. These new parts removed all the lateral play in the gearstick!
I did extend the link rod but found that the one Pure motorsport rod only has two bends in it, where as the Renault standard one has about 6 to miss all the components around it as it weaves its way back under the tunnel. Unsurprisingly the Pure motorsport one knocked on everything when I fitted it.

I decided to cut the bearing housing end section and clamp off the Pure link rod and weld them to the standard link rod instead.
After I did this and tweeked the lengths of the sections It shifted into every gear with no knocking and plenty of clearance to all the other components.

The final step for the gearshift assembly was to weld on tabs and nuts to mount the various components I wanted onto it.
This included:
- Electronic extinguisher unit
- Master Switch
- AP Racing brake bias adjuster

I'll be working on the car over this weekend so hopefully will have some more updates next week of progress!

 

[imprezaworks]

Just brilliant mate. Real credit it too you

 

[Mash.]

I could to with a linkage bar like that! Ive had to remove my lambda sensor for the time being, as i could not get the shifter to work with it in at all!

All looks awesome though! love a custom job

 

[Tomotek]

Just brilliant mate. Real credit it too you

Cheers mate! 😌

I could to with a linkage bar like that! Ive had to remove my lambda sensor for the time being, as i could not get the shifter to work with it in at all!
All looks awesome though! love a custom job

Oh really!, that's not good! did the original rod work ok before you put the pure kit on? (with the current lambda position you have)
Yeah I prefer the built not bought route.. can make everything exactly how you want it then

 

[Tomotek]

#23

Bit more progress over the weekend!.. well when we could feel our hands and feet anyway (a lot of time was spent huddling around the space heater!) .. Had @chrispy.clio and @Jenbo over to help out all weekend which I massively appreciated.. @Jenbo is sharing the driving so he should be helping anyway :tongueclosed:

The weekend was spent mainly:
- Finishing off any chassis prep we needed to do ready for painting
- Fabricating the steering column support
- Tapping passenger seat rails
- Trimming Seat side mounts to clear lap straps
- Prepping Wheels to sell
- Sorting parts for powder coat/anodising

Regarding the column mount design I thought I'd show some pics.
I wanted to utilise the dash bar that was welded to the cage as the main support for the end of the column. The mount closest to the UJ was left as standard. I decided as I wanted the column to be interchangeable with the E-PAS system (just in case we try that) that The mount at the end of the column would be clamped to the column rather that welded to it. This design also allows for the angle of the column to be adjusted up and down, to fine tune the position, by sliding the clamp up and down the column.

I had 3 (40mm) camera roll cage clamps that I thought I could use as the base for my design

The column end clamp would need an aluminium spacer welding to it, with steel end bosses bolted to it (as shown below)

I got one of my friends Max (who I co drive for) to turn these up for me at work, as with my current job I don't have access to a lathe any more!

I also bought some M8 rod ends to use for the other end of the design (these will screw into tubes I pre cut and welded threaded top hats into a few weeks ago when I was making the gear shift system)

Here are all the components I had prior to modification/assembly
First step was to drill and tap down the shaft sections of the bottom two camera clamps. This is what the rod ends will be bolted too.
The top clamp was then filed flat ready to have the aluminium spacer welded to it.

Here is the top section of the steering column clamp after the spacer was welded to it and ground smooth

Close up of the final design fitted to the roll cage / column.

That's all the driver control finalised now!.. just off to the powder coaters and can nearly start to rebuild everything!

We also saw that the standard column mount flexed at the mount tabs. So we fabricated to triangulation plates and welded them to the mount and gave the column a clean / cut all the old mounts off / welded a plate over the steering lock hole, and @Jenbo gave it a fresh coat of gloss black. The design is really solid which is good!

Next step is to paint the interior and gets all the parts we need powder coated and anodised ready for the build!.

 

[Mash.]

The car had had the centre console cut out and a flat steel sheet welded into it.

This meant a new gear stick hole could be made further back along with the handbrake hole. So there was nothing there before me, and the hole is about 90 mm further back so standard shifter or the standard length PMS shifter was to short.

Also great idea with the camera mounts, have you got a linked to the ones you used? as I've just mocked up my centre console atm and it needs properly welding in (like yours)

 

[Mash.]

Bad picture but you can see where the flat floor joins the original centre console.

 

[Tomotek]

The car had had the centre console cut out and a flat steel sheet welded into it.

This meant a new gear stick hole could be made further back along with the handbrake hole. So there was nothing there before me, and the hole is about 90 mm further back so standard shifter or the standard length PMS shifter was to short.

Also great idea with the camera mounts, have you got a linked to the ones you used? as I've just mocked up my centre console atm and it needs properly welding in (like yours)

Ah I see.. Looking at how you extended your linkage (gearbox end), It would probably have been better to extend the other end as the bends in the linkage are designed to miss the subframe/rack/exhaust etc which haven't moved. And you have moved those bends rearwards quite alot.. probably why it hits the lambda sensor.

Cheers.. I was lucky I had them knocking around. The clamps were off an old car my mate bought so not sure who manufactures them, sorry.

 

[Mash.]

Ah I see.. Looking at how you extended your linkage (gearbox end), It would probably have been better to extend the other end as the bends in the linkage are designed to miss the subframe/rack/exhaust etc which haven't moved. And you have moved those bends rearwards quite alot.. probably why it hits the lambda sensor.

Cheers.. I was lucky I had them knocking around. The clamps were off an old car my mate bought so not sure who manufactures them, sorry.

Yep that makes sense, yeah i think i looked at extending the linkage so to keep the same pattern, but yeah unfortunately extending rhe linkage was the easiest/cheapist way for me I think.. cheers though

 

[s.mac]

I think I'm going to have a similar issue with set up, having moved the seat right back and more towards the centre line.

 

[CZUCZU]

You can always put a handbrake in another place.

but you must relocate the handbrake. My friend put iton the downside of dasboard welded to rollcage

 

[Tomotek]

Been a busy time both in the garage and out. Got a lot of progress done on the car whilst starting a new job at the same time!.. Finally all settled down (well as much as it can) so I have time to do a few more updates.

#24

Whilst we were finalizing the steering column I made the decision to fabricate and weld in some sill stand tubes. These will be safer to use in the gravel pit areas of most tracks as the pin of the a frames will locate in the tubes welded in the car. I will also be able to make both low and high stands too to make working on the car easier.

I want to use 21mm Sill stand pins so I bought some 1" tubing 2mm wall thickness which has an inner diameter of 21.4mm. This meant I got to pull out the good old 1" drill bit!....

I pre calculated the best positions for the holes, taking into account weight distribution and roll cage/sill thicknesses and positions. Always scary attacking the external panels with a big drill!.. end results below...

Once the holes were drilled I fabricated the internal and external strengthening plates to weld the tubes too.

@chrispyclio sneakily taking pics of me while I welded up the tubes

Front Sill stand tubes and strengthening plates welded up.

I then moved onto the rear and followed the same process.. Mark up, Drill, Trim and Weld.. I took special care when locating these tubes that I was still able to fit the fuel tank as the tubes encroach into the fuel tanks area.
Caps are also welded onto all of the internal tube faces to ensure the sill stands don't protrude through the tubes into the components next to them.

Next step was to make the brake lines that run through the cockpit. We decided it would be better to do them next than paint the interior as there is a lot of crawling around required and with brake hardlines being handled in the cockpit there was a high potential the new paint would get scratched... Next update will be soon, keep an eye out!

 

[Tomotek]

#25


As I said, Brake lines were the next job on the job list. As I have previously said on my thread, these are to be ran through the cockpit using ATEC Fluid Systems aluminium hardline tubing and machined aluminium tube fittings. These lines are so light and are protected with a polyamide coating. I will be leaving the corner flexi lines until the suspension is on so I can properly calculate the required lengths/angles etc.

Before I started on the brake lines I fitted the battery case. This is a Varley Red Top battery case and battery that was supplied by our kind friends at Nimbus Motorsport whom we have a long relationship with through their sponsorship of our Formula Student University Race Team

We decided on placing it behind the passenger seat, against the rear seat bulkhead. Keeping weight low and back.
The holes on the case conveniently lined up with the ribs on the bulkhead too.

I then started to strip and refurb the existing master cylinder, which came out pretty well.

BEFORE

AFTER

I then made up a couple of small brackets to be fixed to the chassis to mount the bulkhead mounted aluminium fittings..

Below shows the rear T Piece in position. This fitting includes a bleed nipple to help bleed the brake system, as this is the highest point in the rear section of the system itself.

This next set of fittings is part of the 'future proofing' that I discussed previously. They will initially be linked together to connect the master cylinder with the rear brake calipers. Then when we install a pedal box we will use the front one to feed the front calipers and the rear one to feed the rear etc.

And finally I made some washers to mount the rear bulkhead 90deg fittings which will be welded into the floor. The flexi lines going to the rear calipers will be attached at this point.

I then dug out one of my dads old tube flaring tools!, it works so much better than the new ones you can buy. However I think it must have cost a fair bit when he bought it!.
I then started to practice on a few pieces before I made the proper final brake lines.

After a few attempts i started to get the hang of it.. and the double flares came out really well!!....

I then mocked out the rear lines with welding wire. This enabled me to play around with the bends easily and fine tune the path/route for each hose. It is also flexible while maintaining each bend so I could manipulate it around the cage easily while trial fitting it.

I then took the wire to the bench and transferred the bend ctr lines (marked out on masking tape on the hose in the pics below) and measured the bend angles with a protractor before using the tube bending tool to replicate the wire mock up. Measure twice bend once!.. fitted first time!..

I then did the same for the other side and the tubes which lead to the brake bias valve mounted on the gearstick frame (which was at powder coat at this time, hence why I've left additional length to finish off when It comes back)

Next step was to mock out all the front tubes with welding wire again, before transferring the bends to the final tubes.. I'll leave you to look through the pics of the process below...

With that all done, the final step before paint was to mount the fire extinguisher. Which was positioned in the passenger footwell. There will be a footrest positioned in front of this the prevent passengers resting their feet on it.
When we go racing and remove the passenger seat this will be relocated in front of the battery case to get the weigh back and help to equalize the driver weight across the car. The fire extinguisher is an OMP aluminium white series bottle with electronic activation.

Next step paint!.. and I actually mean it this time haha!

 

[NorthloopCup]

#25


As I said, Brake lines were the next job on the job list. As I have previously said on my thread, these are to be ran through the cockpit using ATEC Fluid Systems aluminium hardline tubing and machined aluminium tube fittings. These lines are so light and are protected with a polyamide coating. I will be leaving the corner flexi lines until the suspension is on so I can properly calculate the required lengths/angles etc.

Before I started on the brake lines I fitted the battery case. This is a Varley Red Top battery case and battery that was supplied by our kind friends at Nimbus Motorsport whom we have a long relationship with through their sponsorship of our Formula Student University Race Team

We decided on placing it behind the passenger seat, against the rear seat bulkhead. Keeping weight low and back.
The holes on the case conveniently lined up with the ribs on the bulkhead too.

I then started to strip and refurb the existing master cylinder, which came out pretty well.

BEFORE

AFTER

I then made up a couple of small brackets to be fixed to the chassis to mount the bulkhead mounted aluminium fittings..

Below shows the rear T Piece in position. This fitting includes a bleed nipple to help bleed the brake system, as this is the highest point in the rear section of the system itself.

This next set of fittings is part of the 'future proofing' that I discussed previously. They will initially be linked together to connect the master cylinder with the rear brake calipers. Then when we install a pedal box we will use the front one to feed the front calipers and the rear one to feed the rear etc.

And finally I made some washers to mount the rear bulkhead 90deg fittings which will be welded into the floor. The flexi lines going to the rear calipers will be attached at this point.

I then dug out one of my dads old tube flaring tools!, it works so much better than the new ones you can buy. However I think it must have cost a fair bit when he bought it!.
I then started to practice on a few pieces before I made the proper final brake lines.

After a few attempts i started to get the hang of it.. and the double flares came out really well!!....

I then mocked out the rear lines with welding wire. This enabled me to play around with the bends easily and fine tune the path/route for each hose. It is also flexible while maintaining each bend so I could manipulate it around the cage easily while trial fitting it.

I then took the wire to the bench and transferred the bend ctr lines (marked out on masking tape on the hose in the pics below) and measured the bend angles with a protractor before using the tube bending tool to replicate the wire mock up. Measure twice bend once!.. fitted first time!..

I then did the same for the other side and the tubes which lead to the brake bias valve mounted on the gearstick frame (which was at powder coat at this time, hence why I've left additional length to finish off when It comes back)

Next step was to mock out all the front tubes with welding wire again, before transferring the bends to the final tubes.. I'll leave you to look through the pics of the process below...

With that all done, the final step before paint was to mount the fire extinguisher. Which was positioned in the passenger footwell. There will be a footrest positioned in front of this the prevent passengers resting their feet on it.
When we go racing and remove the passenger seat this will be relocated in front of the battery case to get the weigh back and help to equalize the driver weight across the car. The fire extinguisher is an OMP aluminium white series bottle with electronic activation.

Next step paint!.. and I actually mean it this time haha!

Awesome update mate!! Love this build thread!

 

[sonny172cup]

Fantastic work there mate

 

[ACS_Motorsport]

I need to seriously stop bloody reading this

 

[josh11490]

90% of what you have done has gone straight over my head, but I like looking at the progress pictures!

Attention to detail is amazing, can't wait to see this built.

 

[imprezaworks]

@Tomotek

Have sent you a pm mate

 

[Tomotek]

Awesome update mate!! Love this build thread!

Cheers mate, I was long overdue an update. Just in the middle of writing another quick one now. You finished yours yet or what?!!!!

Fantastic work there mate

Thanks Sonny, appreciate it

I need to seriously stop bloody reading this

Haha, least you get to use urs!, haven't driven mine in 2 years!.. U'll have to pop up when Ben is over and we can have a sesh on it!

90% of what you have done has gone straight over my head, but I like looking at the progress pictures!
Attention to detail is amazing, can't wait to see this built.

Thanks josh, I try to make the pic to text ratio in favor of the pics anyway :wink:.. i'm the same, gloss over the text when i read most threads. the pics pretty much explain everything anyway.
I'm looking forward to bolting stuff on instead of taking it off too!!!!

 

[NorthloopCup]

@Tomotek you mean you've not seen my updates?! It's not finished, but it runs!!

 

[Tomotek]

#26

TIME TO PAINT!!!.. Finally .. For @Jenbo and I this was a huge milestone!. Ending the era of fabrication and modification and starting to get closer to an actual finished built car!.

My OCD got the better of me so I decided to tackle the laborious task of cleaning all the underseal and rust from under the car... Well I had gone all out with everything else so didn't want to leave any stone unturned... Imagine my disgust if i was to roll it at paddock hill and the car was sat on its roof and the floor was all rusty for everyone to see!!! 🙈

So out came the scraper and wire wheel!.. 2 days later, and 2 coats of Hammerite black and the floor was as good as new again!.. I also straightened out the sills while I was at t too!.. Some one had gone to town on them with a jack in an earlier life!...

I then masked off the exterior paint in preparation for the paint. Not a job to under estimate!.. pretty time consuming.

We then set about making a temporary 'spray booth' to prevent any over spray from covering everything else in the garage!, then we got on to the next laborious job of rubbing down the primer, vaccing the car out, washing it down with warm soapy water, drying it thoroughly, degreasing all the surfaces ready to paint...

SAFETY FIRST KIDS!!!!!..

Final coat of paint for the interior done!!

Time for a quick bake to cure the paint! and for us to warm up!

Back in the morning for the grand unveiling (didn't want any overspray or dust landing in the paint)

After a tidy up, the garage was back to normal and we had a car with a Satin Dark Grey interior and a Satin Black engine bay/wheel arches!!
We were really happy with how it came out!, ... here are a few pics of finished chassis! :smilingimp:

 

[Tomotek]

@Tomotek you mean you've not seen my updates?! It's not finished, but it runs!!

I'm going to catch up tomorrow at lunch, don't get time to come on here these days with the new job!, flat out most of the time now!. Glad its running though, that's ace!.. any plans for when you plan on getting it out on track this summer?

 

[NorthloopCup]

I'm going to catch up tomorrow at lunch, don't get time to come on here these days with the new job!, flat out most of the time now!. Glad its running though, that's ace!.. any plans for when you plan on getting it out on track this summer?

Need to get it mapped first and see if it survives before I book anything!

 

[CZUCZU]

Best topic ever

 

[Welsh.Dan]

I'd be too scared to take it on track after all the hours you've put in to it so far, never mind the rest of the hours you'll put into it finishing it! [emoji23]
It's absolutely brilliant mate! Looks so good. Can't wait to see the interior finished with your custom cluster and gear setup. It's going to be truly sexual! [emoji5]

 

[Tony Hunter]

Just get it finished, racing starts soon.

 

[Mash.]

What are you doing with the remaining ports left on the master cylinder bud? Just blanking them off?

 

[Mash.]

Sorry just saw you're using the 2 port ABS master cylinder.

 

[Tomotek]

Sorry just saw you're using the 2 port ABS master cylinder.

Hey mate, yeah just using that one for now until i switch to the AP pedal box.. not 2 fussed with a slightly longer travel in pedal.. wont be much difference.. i prefer to just fit a t piece instead of seperate ports on MC.. plus when i fit the pedal box i will need the t pieces as those master cylinders only have one port each anyway.. so new pedal box will be plug and play [emoji106]

 

[Mash.]

Hey mate, yeah just using that one for now until i switch to the AP pedal box.. not 2 fussed with a slightly longer travel in pedal.. wont be much difference.. i prefer to just fit a t piece instead of seperate ports on MC.. plus when i fit the pedal box i will need the t pieces as those master cylinders only have one port each anyway.. so new pedal box will be plug and play [emoji106]

Yep looks really smart mate! I'm just about to go rip out all my half arsed copper pipping, although does the job I was in the pits at the 24h at Silverstone this weekend and working on the cars and seeing it all done right was gurrd, and yours definitely.

So on your boot, it's hard pipe to bulkhead through connecter then flexi underneath? Leaving enough pipe for axle motion?

 

[Tony Hunter]

We are racing at Silverstone next weekend.

 

[Tomotek]

Oh thats a shame i would have come!.. I'm up in sunderland all this weekend though, family thing.. going to try to pop over to Rockingham.... hope you have a better race at silvo, ill keep my eye on the timing! Need to get ahead of the Peugeot's

 

[Tomotek]

@Mash. Yeah you got it.. hardline to bulkhead, then flexi to caliper..

I Need to do a proper update soon (maybe at the weekend).. been busy busy on the car got alot more done.. I've had to take a break for a few weeks now tho as currently buying a house and sorting that is taking up alot of time..... it means ill have the car in my own garage though so its all worth while... should make some serious progress once that is all sorted and we're moved in

 

[Mash.]

@Mash. Yeah you got it.. hardline to bulkhead, then flexi to caliper..

I Need to do a proper update soon (maybe at the weekend).. been busy busy on the car got alot more done.. I've had to take a break for a few weeks now tho as currently buying a house and sorting that is taking up alot of time..... it means ill have the car in my own garage though so its all worth while... should make some serious progress once that is all sorted and we're moved in

Thanks for the reply bud, have fun with all the house stuff!

What are you doing with all the wiring? Ecu/loom etc?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[nath&alex]

#20

I drove down to ATEC Fluid Systems at Brackley a few weeks ago to pick up all the brake and fuel lines/fittings for the car. I had dealt with them before through my previous job and absolutely love their quality! 2nd to none!..
I spent a long time thinking about the routing and what fittings I needed for 'future proofing' the car for future updates. (Fitting pressure sensors, Throttle Bodies, Pedal box etc etc) I wanted to make sure I only had to route all the hoses once and that any updates will be an easy job to install.

I have gone for ultra lightweight Black polyamide coated aluminium hardlines for both the fuel and brake system, these will be ran internally in the car. At the corners of the brake system I will be utilising clear PVC covered 600 Series PTFE/braided hose, and the same for the 400 series hose for the fuel tank/rail joining hoses. These lines will be connected to Black anodised bulkhead fittings. This system will give me a firmer brake pedal over the conventional fully braided hose throughout, and a significant weight saving.

I will be routing all the hardlines over the coming weeks.. I'll keep the updates coming as the installation progresses.

@Tomotek what length does the brake pipe come in?

 

[andyj007]

INSPIRATIONAL!!! when god thought about build threads he had something like this in mind...
the gear lever fabrication work is just epic..
well done!!

 

[Tomotek]

@Tomotek what length does the brake pipe come in?

Hi mate, the hardline normally comes in 3m lengths.. but you can buy as much or as little as you want, ATEC can cut it down to suit.. There is no minimum purchase amount [emoji106]

 

[nath&alex]

Hi mate, the hardline normally comes in 3m lengths.. but you can buy as much or as little as you want, ATEC can cut it down to suit.. There is no minimum purchase amount [emoji106]

Cool, I know you went in person but do they do mail order? Is it expensive? You can PM if you want
Also is there a particular reason you went through the boot floor for the rear brakes? I was thinking about coming through the rear arch, not sure whether they'll be clearance issues or not!!

 

[Tomotek]

INSPIRATIONAL!!! when god thought about build threads he had something like this in mind...
the gear lever fabrication work is just epic..
well done!!

Haha, i wouldn't go that far, but thanks!! I just try to do the best job I can..

Yeah I'm really happy how the gear lever came out, just cant wait to see how it performs on track!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Tomotek]

Cool, I know you went in person but do they do mail order? Is it expensive? You can PM if you want
Also is there a particular reason you went through the boot floor for the rear brakes? I was thinking about coming through the rear arch, not sure whether they'll be clearance issues or not!!

Yeah you can get stuff delivered.. couldn't tell you how much though sorry.. If you ring up ask for a guy called Jody Bowman, he's really helpful.. i just went through the boot floor as the holes line up well with the pivots of the rear axle and keep the lines away from the rear wheels/tyres

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk