Moving on.. new Welsh start for project

To start: apologies for no posts of late. It's been a fairly depressing time with little progress.

Martyn and Mandy (MVS Racing) finally picked up the Esprit from Phoenix Honda, it's a real load off my mind to know the car is moving somewhere wanted and where progress can again progress. Martyn has many yrs experience and the perfect guy to make the project happen.

Everything loaded up ok and Mandy says they got back ok to Wales. Only thing missed was I forgot to load up the old oil cooler. Alternator is on the way from US; but Martyn has another way to draw a charge for zero drag on the engine. Will see what Martyn wants to do re rads and Martyn has another idea for a fuel cell. Will need to get a gauge for that but will see what he comes up with first.

Martyn is going to start and itemise everything and work out what's needed before work commences. Slightly scary that he feels the car needs 16" wide wheels for the rear to take the engine output..

Although the money is now frightfully scary - at least we expect some light at the end of the tunnel. It means I can start thinking about the completed car etc - eta approx Sept-October.

The plan is also MOT the car and insure to widen its appeal. The pistonheads ad has been updated and we will continue to keep the car up for sale if the right buyer comes along.

The good news is we finished with Phoenix on good terms, the guys stayed helped helpful with the loading and although there is the small matter of a £600 bill; in the end it could have worked out much worse.. M&M were great and whole day couldn't have gone better.

Hopefully the next update will include comes pics and some continuing good news.

ttfn

a very tempting offer.. moving forward?

Martyn @ MVS has offered to take on the build - pending numbers - will speak to John L to get car back on wheels and ready to be picked up. The car will then be livered under MVS Racing and be built as a road-legal racer.

I'll reiterate at this point that I have the utmost respect for John Leitch, Alan Watson and Big Stevie @ Phoenix Honda Grangemouth; but that their mgt have demonstrated the worst possible customer care of the lowest order. It's a shame since they gave me good customer care yrs ago for my old Integra TypeR; but I'm a firm believer that if you take a project on then you see it to the finish. For the time taken I could have stripped the car myself. Very sad as I know the guys @ Phoenix were also keen to see it through and I know if John was allowed to make the shots then we'd be pushing ahead.

I look fwd to the day when the car eventually appears in magazines and on track and they knew they could have been part of that and realise the lost promotional opportuniy. As long as I am treated fairly from here on in then I see no point in taking any further; tho I'd love to have a sit down chat with them GM about the whole fiasco. People have suggested legal action, trading standards, local press and even Watchdog but as much as I am a big believer in fairness I want to move on with the project and finally get on track again.

Meanwhile the name Team Phoenix becomes more and more fitting.. will this bird every fly out of the ashes tho?

DIY?

The decision by Phoenix Honda was a shocking turn of events and they even have the gaul to consider invoicing me for basically gutting the car and returning an incomplete project.. nice one Honda. It's left my finances in tatters since we went ahead and ordered most of the bits but end of the day we jst can't afford to have it built somewhere else.

Project has been advertised for a wee while now on PH and racecarsdirect.co.uk but with only muted interest. There remains one potential buyer but he's stuck with his own sale currently.. I almost sold the engine/trans to an Ultima builder in Aberdeen but by the time I went back to the other buyer and back again he went and ordered sth from the US.so..

spoke to my dad last night - picking up his 2-tonne crane over next week and we're going to make a stab of sizing up and modifying mounts to fit the engine in. Looking at some Chevy ones currently whicgh we should then be able to mod to suit. From there it's case of going through the list of jobs and doing things in sequence. I reckon there's no more than a dozen simply because the set-up is so basic albeit it'll take time after that to set-up it up for the optimum.It means I've lost another season but would love to see the dream realised.

Finances look awful but just gonna suck it in and go for broke. Will then continue to advertise the car for sale but will of course increase the ante as we complete more at each stage. I'd hazzard final value in the 35-40K region once fully built and running, simply based on its spec and potential.

Esprit for sale.. £17K ono

Not left with much choice following Phoenix pulling the plug on Monday..

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/152919.htm

Looking for 17K ono

Martyn @ MVS has offered to finish the work.. sth to think about but I'd take an offer to sell first/

Gutted doesn't come close.. 30K down currently..!

Update - 4th April - bad tidings - Phoenix deal in flames

Where to start..

The General Manager at Phoenix pulled the plug yesterday - I must admit to still being stunned at this news. This then poses the very real problem of where to go to finish the work.

I spoke to Dunc at Hypertech yesterday but he's floored. Spoke to Alan at Falkland today who certainly has the expertise - especially via Kev's racing Cossie. I will speak with them again next weeke to go over what's involved - my big worry there being whether I can afford their rates but I have to be prepared to take at least some hit to get the project complete.

Gaz at Autotecnique will speak to another workshop for me and Coops will speak to Greesport.

I will keep the team name but from now on it will have no association with that company. Once car is safely out of their hands then I can think about whether any recourse is worthwhile given the tenious nature of the arrangement.

All very sad.

another monster lives...Wildcat Esprit

OMG - another v8 monster race Esprit already exists and campaigns in the BARC NW series..

http://www.espritv8.net/id170.htm

I have been racing cars since 1985, firstly in Hillman Imp Special Saloons and then from 1994 in the Esprit silhouette GT car. In 1996 the Esprit was fitted with a 5.0 litre Wildcat V8 engine, and this is when the fun really started. In 2001 my 5.0 litre engine expired, in 2005 I returned to the tracks with a 6.0 litre Wildcat V8 engine producing approx 450 BHP.... so the fun just got better !!!! This site is full of information, photos and race movies of me in the Esprit and Imp, including details of my Wildcat V8 engines. Also on the site is information about the BARC NW Centre Sports Saloon Car Championship, including Race Reports, Movies, Photo Gallery, Championship Reviews, and Other Competitors cars. Please look around the site, there is plenty on it. Why not add the site to your favourites list and visit regularly so you can keep up to date with the latest news.

so much for being unique... awesome car tho - I'll post more pics in due course.

I've contacted the owner (Simon Alloway) for tips on settings such a beast up..

Update - 29th March

Still waiting to hear back from:
MVS - carbon
GAZ - suspension
Team Dynamics - wheels
Underground - livery design
Touringcarspares - slicks

Adam Kindness (www.trackscotland.co.uk) was really helpful and sent me a p'copy of the trans section of the Porsche manual for his 930 - left it on John's desk mid-week and sure this will let them push forward.

Spoke to big Steve - he's got the GD gear linkage working and painted it black..

I still need to get to the workshop and measure the disk dims for Barry. Wooden 60's Chevy Chevelle SS gear knob came in the post from US - should work a treat.

Looks as if SIDC have a Knockhill track morning on the same day as the TA guys. John Stewart has privisionally put me down (I have a credit with SIDC) and hopefully a chance to show Rob Barnes (www.timeattack.co.uk) what the old gal can do.

Focus now is to complete the car, dyno and shakedown. Gaz @ Autotecnique can then give th ecar a lick of paint before UG put their graphics on it.

Other main focus is finding a sponsor and race series for 08.

update - 16th March

Not a lot to report; however did get time to do some new black blueprints of the modified Esprit - sent them to Martyn @ MVS and Scott @ Underground. Waiting to hear back from John L. Waiting to hear back from MVS. Waiting to hear back from Tony at www.touringcarspares.com Waiting to hear back from Gaz suspension - sent suspension down last w/e.

Cheers

Jon

keeping things cool.>?

I'm going to run a Moroso 3 quart accumulator for very reason for start-up and long sweepers. I have a champ pan which has the best baffles I've seen yet - very similar to the Moroso but even then Gardner Douglas said I need to either dry sump or use an accusump to stop starvation and at 8000rpm that's a big deal. Dry sump is fine but it's temperamental and I like a sump sitting nice n low for good CoG een if it can be bettered by dry sumping.. + save some weight. I then plan to use very good additives (as recommended) and good heat exchangers to get the thing running as cool as poss. However I have read to not use additives in the Porsche trans but certainly a good additive like silkolene, slick50, stp or zxl should work really nice. Above all I'd recommend overkill tp anyone running a race spec Chevy, jst make sure you have thermostats so everything can also run at optimum temp.

I got my accumulator on order from Scott at the Jeff Gordon race school - unused for a god price. Hopefully it now gets here in one peice...

Leda.. gone bye bye?

Got the suspension in the box ready to go Saturday then someone directed me to this website.> !

www.leda.com

With regret, the company has ceased trading and cannot therefore accept any further orders.
Efforts are being made to find a way to recommence business and a further announcement will be made as soon as possible.

So now I need to track down John who left leda to start up Gaz and see if he can servoce/revalave the Ledas and advise on some spring rates.. Falens and not Eibachs as the Eibach deal went bye bye..

forces conspiring against me...

A quick re-cap.. TPE-358-SS - Leta?

Lotus Esprit Trans Am ('LETA')

Leta's one of the oldest privateer Esprits in the Uk and prb the oldest Stevens privateer car still to be around. I think it was first raced around 1993: all racing history in that car was with John Hazzard of Hemmel Hempstead - most of which was in 750MC and AM Mid engined series, with some modest success inc. a 2nd in the 750MC c'ship one year and a few wins to its name, but the guys here will know more about it that I do. I'm just entering my novice season having sat my race license back in October.

As for the future conversion, rebuild is ongoing and is a complete overhaul and the car wont resemble much of what it was previously. I can send you full engine specs/pics etc but to summarise: We're trying to build an Esprit in a trans am rather than European GT mould. Plan is to race at Castle Coombe Special Gt series, UK Time Attack c'ships in 2008 and attend various race series where open categories are allowed. Ideally I want to race super modified Gt cars from the same era.

TPE-358-SS Esprit Trans Am Car:Fully strippedoriginal Chip Gnassi nascar dash - ex-cup car.Sparco quick release wheel and woodword hubfloor mounted pedal setBarry Colding (San An, TX) Dart 358ci sportsman steel motor - seasoned, rebuilt9000rpm cam, b&b, full spec steel internals, crane solid lifters, nascar springs etcStock port - 348 crank with overboreDaVinci-Holley 700CFM 2-bore - 550-600bhp on 114 RON, 650bhp with 4-barrell, 500bhp+ with 105RON.MSD ignition - nascar spec, ignition/rpm controller etcchamp pan - wet sumprace spec Porsche G50-50 trans with lsd - rated to 850bhp.Sachs race clutch, mini fly, Gardner Douglas lola T70 rod shift linkage - right hand shifterLeda coil over suspension - fully r-jointed - Eibach springsAlcon 4-pot brakes all round with bias etc17/18" Team Dynamics pro-race 1.2 wheels (slicks)15/16" Compo-Revolution 5 spoke split rims (wets)Multi-point cageFull lexan all roundlightened bodywork Group C cut-off rear endcomposite front end - trans am stylecomposite front diffuser composite rear undertraycomposite rear diffusercomposite one peice engine covercomposite Gt1 rear wing
goes on and on..

but it's a bunch of bits at the moment and we wont know about settings until we get her onto the black stuff. Once built we plan to start getting some testing done over the summer with a hoped dyno run and set-up in April. I have no tips as such to anyone wanting to build a race car as I have a workshop taking this on and it's very much trial and error. All I'd say is that there are a 1000 things to think about that could make your budget sky rocket. Building a GT car is not cheap but I have found ways to discount my costs by about 30-50% across the board. I take charge of procurement and the timetable - getting the parts needed to the workshop. I've sourced most parts from the US to again keep costs down.

Advice to anyone contemplating building their own race car> Don't.. much easier to go and buy someone else's.

Update - 5th March 2007

Need to track down a manual on stripping down the G50-50 for the workshop - it's really holding us up.

Spoke to Tony at: www.touringcarspares.com said he could hook me up with some part used slicks for v.little: "I use 265's on a 10" rim and 240's on a 9" rim on my sierra , you could use a 250 on a 10" rim tho I reckon , he wasn't sure if they have any 265's, his part worn storeman is away until tuesday do i'll ask him then .I havean old pair of avon 250 620(or 630) x 17" wets that I'd happilly part withfor peanuts if that helps get you going as well , theyre not worn out just afew years old ." Tony will also check on 250/18s which are Porsche cup fronts.. should do nicely for testing for a cpl of hundred. Does bode the question why I spent £1000 on Toyos..!!!!!

Spoke to Bev @ www.leda.com and agreed to send her the dampers/springs down at the weekend. Another easy £300-400 by the time I order new Eibachs.

Spoke to Scotty @ www.undergroundgraphics.com and he's aiming to send over some mock-ups over next cpl of days.

More shafts n things.. Repro-Prop

Spoke to Paul at Repro Prop - another nice guy.. coincidence (we think not)?

He's proposing 300m grade shafts and then adapted back to the stock CV joints if we can make up the adapter plates for the Porsche inners... Hilly>?

He says the Lotus CVs are probably a bit heavy but main thing is how strong they are - I can handle a bit weight as long as they're strong.

By sending down the ones that came out plus new length measurements etc (-1 that required for the adaptor spacers) then they will have what they need to mod the existing and mate up new shafts. He's quoting £290-310+VAT.

It's starting to close in a bit on the GD' GKN ones but then I'm not sure what grade they are or what would need modifying to them. Even if I can save £100 then it all helps and I'll know the exact spec used.

Phew!
Jon

Shafted!

not really..

Re making new driveshafts and cvs to fit the new set-up.. Spoke to Alun @ Abbey Precision, nice guy but it all sounds pretty complicated. To make custom would be expensive. However they could possibly make new shafts and modify to the current cv's..

I guess this would need adaptor plates like what Hilly has used. Or if measurements weren't too far off they could mod a design they already have.. e.g. Prodrive etc. He first would need drawings of the current shafts and cv layout - we'd then need to measure any changes in length for the new trans and of course the different shaft diameters etc for the porsche inners. They can then look to make new shafts and modify existing cvs like what Hilly has done to mate up to the porsche inners. But he said it may not work out any cheaper than buying off the shelf from the likes of Gardner Douglas.. basically if we can supply the drawings the can do the machining but we need to work out the strongest most cost affordable grade to use - my mech says gunmetal,Alun mentioned M24t but says there are plenty of grades above that.

GD want £430 for their shafts/cvs that m8 the G50 up to Scorpio hubs - not sure how far off they'd be..

I need them strong but I need them cheap!

As soon as I withdrew then this..

Team details up on Time Attack

Name : Jon Beckett
Company name : Team Phoenix Esprit Racing
Website : www.phoenixesprit.com
Vehicle : Lotus Esprit (TPE-358-07) 1991 N/A
Approx Power : Approx 500bhp
Preferred tyre choice : Yokohama A048R

Current Sponsors : Phoenix Performance Products Grangemouth, MVS Wales, Autotecnique Larbert, Underground Graphics Perth, B&A Foreign Cars San Antonio Texas.

Car spec :

Jon’s Lotus Esprit is a complete one-off culminating GT racer, IMSA car and NASCAR engine in one package. It is the only NA car to enter the Pro series competition in 2007.
GM Dart 358 cubic inch V8, fully balanced and blueprinted by Barry Codling (retired-NASCAR) of San Antonio, Texas. The car features 286 cams, 700CFM Holley-DaVinci carb, steel bottom end, lightweight internals, solid lifters and a 8000-9000rpm redline. This crazy mid-engined racer produces 575bhp in what Jon call’s the ‘stock port’ and more than 800bhp is possible from this engine (naturally aspirated!) This engine is then shipped back to Texas one a year for rebuild and power boost.

The car also includes a full custom MVS Racing aero package to tame the car’s otherwise tricky rearward handling and cooling modifications to keep the high revving V8 cool.
It will run a Meercat free-flow exhaust system, which is reportedly just within the noise requirements, Leda fully rose-jointed suspension & Alcon 4-pot callipers look after the on track handling and stopping action.

Jon did not take part in the 2006 series but followed the proceedings closely and he lists his favourite car from last year as Nadine Geary’s Viper GTS ' it’s a proper GT car in the old skool mould.. great to see American muscle battling out with Japanese technology' Jon says.
His best experience of 2006 was buying the Esprit and coming up with the idea to do the NASCAR V8 conversion. ‘We’re not there yet but hope to be ready in time for Donny and most certainly Silverstone’. Jon says.

Jon's predictions for the 2007 are that Zen Performance will lift the F/I Pro Time Attack Series, Kimi Raikkonen will win Formula 1 and Jeff Gordon will again win the Nextel NASCAR Cup

Jon lists his personal favourite race venue from this years calendar as Brands Hatch for Paddock Hill bend and winding-up the acceleration out of Clarke’s.

When we asked him which driver he is most looking forward to going up against & why Jon replied, ' Nadine Geary in her Viper GTS, ‘it’ll be a fearsome battle: Nadine has the experience and a car that’s proven with great top end, I’m just looking to develop myself and the car but would love to get close to Nadine occasionally’. Jon will also peg himself to the other rwd runners, as well as take the silverware home and is looking forward to the experience.

Should you be interested in getting involved with Team Phoenix as a sponsor please contact the Time Attack team by email and we will put you in touch.

Pulling out of Time Attack.. spiralling costs!!

well budget has truly spiralled and we jst about have al the bits to finish the build but after there is cost of dyno and testing up at KH. I can't stick my head in the sand too long and the 114 ron petrol fumes aren't having enough pyschotropic effectes to avoid the truth..

- so I'm putting the foot down and making a few hard calls to stop the money getting further out of control. TA raised their fees this year & want all fees up front next Wed regardless of whether the car can compete first cpl of rounds or not... so I'm pulling the car as it's too much a gamble. I emailed Rob Barnes today to officially withdraw the car/team from the 07 entry.

I'd rather get the car working and do the odd race meet and pick a up a cpl of sigs. Main thing is to get the car running and slow the money outflow as much as poss. If all goes well I can try and do the odd LOTRDC round but will get car working and see what I can afford. I'm not going to compete SMRC this season as I've just spent a grand on R888s for the TA, which is fine for LOTRDC but you can run slicks for SMRC iirc.

Main things that hurt the budget being the rising entry fee, wheels, tyres, shift linkage for the G50 trans, customs duty and shipping costs and lots of things you don't think of until you start building a car. It's been a learning curve for sure.

Update: I emailed GKN about shafts and cv's. They built the original V8 Europa prototypes so may be interested. Off down to workshop to go through o/s jobs to-do.

Long road ahead..

Long way to go.. Donny unlikley - S'stone looks better

Phoenix are working on:

• modifying the filter and spray bar arrangment on the G50-50 trans
• new engine mounts to be measured and made up
• Rod shift linkage on order from Gardner Douglas today
• Dampers to be stripped off and go back to Leda to be revalved and new spring rates sent up.
• Line up engine/trans - measure up new shafts and adaptor plates.
• Overhaul brakes, order new pads
• Re-fit springs and dampers
• Try new wheels for size - boot both sets of alloys
• New wiring loom + new dash and locate MSD ignition
• Weld in quick release hub and fit steering wheel
• Position new Optima battery
• New cooling system: rads, header tanks and lines
• Strip and check suspension arms and r-joints etc.
• Order up new fuel cell (front compartment) and make braided lines
• Service extinguisher - relocate to pax compartment?
• Fit new front bullet lights - add screw on perpex covers.
• Strip rear bumper and fit lucas rear lights + rain led light
• Position engine/trans
• Fit new rod linkage throught o cabin and adjust for shift pattern
• Locate new master cylinders
• Fit new pedal box
• Fit exhaust pipes to headers + fit Moroso headers
• Order exhaust wrap and wrap headers
• Fix new ally firewall + heat resistant material?
• Add second side brace to cage
• Fit new aero kit etc inc. front end, undertray, engine cover..
• Fabricate Y-bracket to support tailgate to trans mounts. Add brackets to support exhausts.
• Fit new seats and harnesses
• Dyno car
• Shakedown test at Knockhill - check suspension, brakes and engine set-up
• Send to Auotecnique for paint
• Send to Underground Graphics for livery

That's about half the job list. Barry Codling might be coming over April to help set up car on the dyno then shakedown. Should be ready for S'stone in June with some test laps under the belt.

Possible GD trans solution?

Gardner Douglas have stepped forward to suggest their Lola T70 rod linkage. From first pics and descriptions it sound sperfect and will give me a classic Le Mans shift arrangement to the right. Can bracket it straight onto the cage bar etc.

approx £500.. £500 I could do without but is prb money saved in the long run..

This would give me a proper Le Mans style come GT-40 gear shift (likely on the right hand side)..! Will see what John/Alan think...

ttfn

New livery design direction?

Spoke to Scott.. (www.undergroundgraphics.com) many things tie up that means we could run a 'Flying Tigers' military (WWII) style livery scheme and still blend in with the nascar idea, flames, Phoenix etc (see pic).

Could even go the US airforce star onthe roof and rear quarters instead of the big numbers.. or a combo. I'm guessing it's not possible to vinyl over the entire bodywork and even if we could it would be way too expensive.. ?

For the rear wing then a slogan like 'FIREPOWER' may jst do the trick.. rear spoiler becomes like the wings of the fighter - with maybe with the fighter bars and the wing side sections like the tail fin. UG could use military font sets etc. Jap flags would be funny. Remember the car's designation is 'TPE-358-07'. Flying Phoenix, sharke's teeth.. Could be awesome and will fit in well with the slightly military build's look and sound...

or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to save time and keep the interior looking argricultural..lol

Wheels n tyres ordered.. ouch.. money money!

Finally ordered the Rimstock Team Dynamics as discussed below for approx £450. Also ordered ToyoR888s and T1-Rs, which came in jst under £1000.. ouch..

Needless to say I've approached Toyo for direct sponsorship for the TA '07 season.

www.toyo.co.uk

Wallet looks very bruised..! There's steam coming off the Master Card.. Only time will tell if I should use the new softer 'SG' compund but will try the med-soft initially for longevity sake and also avoid the recent price hike.