After 3 years of road car use my own 182 is finally going to be taken off the road and be converted into a fully fledged Blue Book standard race car, it will then be entered into some amateur championships for my first taste of competitive driving.
I'll be back at Brunel Unversity in a years time to complete a masters in Motorsport Engineering, but before then I want to get stuck into some motorsport in a similar style to old Jay & Tony with Burpspeed.
Now I know buying a cup racer does all the work for you blah blah blah, but it isn't half the fun & the knowledge gained doing the conversion yourself!
The first step was to secure a daily driver/tow car & trailer. Along came the Volvo:
After 3 years of driving the clio day to day & with over 35k a year covered the V is a lovely daily driver, can cram it with rubbish & people and it still pulls like a train, heated seats, 50mpg etc etc.
Still on the look out for a BA clubman trailer, will hopefully pick one up in the next couple of weeks, something like this will do the trick:
Right onto the car:
It began life as a ff 182, the road spec was effectively a mild braking setup, RS2 Manifold & AST coilovers valved to suit track orientated spring setup. A couple of Bimarco Seats and that was about it.
Moving on I've drawn up and bought the rough spec list for the build;
Chassis:
- ASTs (rebuilt by AST to race spec) - AST Top Mounts
- Rolling chassis setup inc. the use of spacers/camber shims etc.
- Standard Calipers CL RC6 Pads
- Internal brake lines with balance adjustment.
- Poly bushes (wishbones etc) & a bearing kit for the rear beam instead of the standard rear bushes.
- 2118s & A048 tyres.
Interior
- Full caged rollcage
- FIA Expert Seat
- FIA 6 point OMP harness
- Sabelt Steering Wheel.
- Reworked loom with switch/control box for all auxiliary controls. Drycell battery.
- Plumbed in extinguisher system.
Engine
- RS2 Manifold
- Headlight blanks with direct feed to filter on the RS2.
- PMS Aircon Removal Kit
- Miniature cooling fan kit.
- BTB 182 Exhaust & Competition CAT.
Extra project work includes:
- relocating the heater matrix with a miniature barrel fan to demist the front screen.
- relocate the gearstick aprox 50mm further toward the rear of the car to allow the seat / steering to sit in an ideal location.
The first shakedown for the car is on Saturday 27th November @ Brands, so lots to do! I'll wack the updates in here as it develops.
I'll be back at Brunel Unversity in a years time to complete a masters in Motorsport Engineering, but before then I want to get stuck into some motorsport in a similar style to old Jay & Tony with Burpspeed.
Now I know buying a cup racer does all the work for you blah blah blah, but it isn't half the fun & the knowledge gained doing the conversion yourself!
The first step was to secure a daily driver/tow car & trailer. Along came the Volvo:
After 3 years of driving the clio day to day & with over 35k a year covered the V is a lovely daily driver, can cram it with rubbish & people and it still pulls like a train, heated seats, 50mpg etc etc.
Still on the look out for a BA clubman trailer, will hopefully pick one up in the next couple of weeks, something like this will do the trick:
Right onto the car:
It began life as a ff 182, the road spec was effectively a mild braking setup, RS2 Manifold & AST coilovers valved to suit track orientated spring setup. A couple of Bimarco Seats and that was about it.
Moving on I've drawn up and bought the rough spec list for the build;
Chassis:
- ASTs (rebuilt by AST to race spec) - AST Top Mounts
- Rolling chassis setup inc. the use of spacers/camber shims etc.
- Standard Calipers CL RC6 Pads
- Internal brake lines with balance adjustment.
- Poly bushes (wishbones etc) & a bearing kit for the rear beam instead of the standard rear bushes.
- 2118s & A048 tyres.
Interior
- Full caged rollcage
- FIA Expert Seat
- FIA 6 point OMP harness
- Sabelt Steering Wheel.
- Reworked loom with switch/control box for all auxiliary controls. Drycell battery.
- Plumbed in extinguisher system.
Engine
- RS2 Manifold
- Headlight blanks with direct feed to filter on the RS2.
- PMS Aircon Removal Kit
- Miniature cooling fan kit.
- BTB 182 Exhaust & Competition CAT.
Extra project work includes:
- relocating the heater matrix with a miniature barrel fan to demist the front screen.
- relocate the gearstick aprox 50mm further toward the rear of the car to allow the seat / steering to sit in an ideal location.
The first shakedown for the car is on Saturday 27th November @ Brands, so lots to do! I'll wack the updates in here as it develops.
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