My new build

[kevlar corolla]

I know it has nothing to do with a corolla but some expressed an interest in seeing what I was up to so....

Here's where I'm at after months of studying and drafting(I'm a pencil and paper kinda guy)I started to build the thing a couple of weeks ago.
Full tube chassis,yamaha R1 engine mounted where the drivers seat should be,miata diff,hubs and brakes,all suspension pivots determined and the arms to be fabricated from scatch to suit those pivots.The panels to enclose the chassis will be on the inside so every joint and weld will be seen,the chassis will be black and the panels will be a very bright colour-likely orange or perhaps copper in homage to the car I spent 9 years with.
The use for the car will be solely autox and track day fun,projected weight is 900lbs(or less)and with 160hp should do 0-60 in the mid 3's and the quarter in the low 11's.If thats not enough I can add boost down the road to improve thos #'s a bit.

Thanks for looking,back to the garage to mount the diff and maybe hoist the engine into place to get a handle on mounting it.

[mexellent]

absolutely awesome. Cant wait to see it come to fruition.

[CBR_TOY]

wow just wow! this should be awesome!

[mooreofit]

PLEASE keep us posted!!

[dr.occa]

tom, this is wonderful! let's get a look at the "paper and pencil" draft you got my friend (i'm a paper and pencil guy too by the way but then i move it over to the laptop )!

yamaha r1 motor huh. can't wait to see that AND your suspension and steering build.

[Ricky86]

Awesome!!! My little bro built an FSAE car for UofH, thing was looking rad until the school dropped out of the program.

[kevlar corolla]

I don't even have a scanner anymore so putting these drawing on the puter is a little tough,besides their all dirty from using them in the shop.What I did after the paper drawings were completed is to then draw the car on MDF sheets full size,did plan view,side profile and front and rear views and took all that along with the paper drawings to the race shop to bend my tubing.All they had to do watch match my full size drawings and I didn't have to worry about a missunderstood detail,measurement etc when I picked up the tubing.
The diff is sitting in place along with the engine,nether have had the mounts built yet but its a start.I lifted the engine into place myself,even at only 145lbs thats a pretty good lift to carry across the shop and set up on the table-I should start a gym membership in the new year.

Ricky,the FSAE cars are very wicked little cars-I studied those for a bit as well but they are way to well engineered for me.

[mexellent]

Good job! The only thing I would have done differently is make the passenger compartment smaller and integrate the seat into the chassis to save weight.

On another note, I think going with the miata wheelbase and track was a good idea. I opened up a sketch in solidworks and set up a couple of quick lines to show the wheelbase and track of a couple of vehicles. I was surprised by a couple of things:

-an NA miata is actually really small in wheel base and track
-a 2009 Mini Pooper is actually GIGANTIC.
-an S2000 and an AE86 have almost identical wheelbases (coincidence?)



Anyway, keep up the good work. The hard part is just doing the work.

[kevlar corolla]

I'm actually shorter than the miata,I've kept the same track width but where the miata was 89" I've settled on 81".Should be a lively little bugger to drive.

Once you see the engine in there you'll see that its about as narrow as it can be while still offering elbow room/side impact protection for yours truly.I hopefully will have the engine mounted this weekend and will take some new pictures.

[dr.occa]

i'm really digging the frame jig.

[kevlar corolla]

Pic update,engine is in and the rear mounts done,fronts started.The diff is done and the wheels are sitting at the track width for reference,btw those wheels are what I'll be mounting the 20x8x13 hoosier slicks on.I think they look pretty good for the $20 ea I paid.

[dfi1120]

dam i want thos wheels, build looking good, nice work

[85levin]

very nice! how are matting up that trans with the miata diff?

[kevlar corolla]

A very short driveshaft,u-joint on the engine end and a cv on the diff due to the angle.Also a small ring gear to mesh with a starter motor to provide reverse will be included near the diff.

[mooreofit]