Found a few more shots from the last time I visited the shop. Appologies to qforum folks who may have seen this already:
The gearbox now rests on mountings which come off the shell rather than off the front sub-frame. This means that, just like the rear differential, there is no connection to the sub-frame which means that the entire suspension can be ‘dropped’ without removal of any part of the drivetrain (differential/gearbox).
The fuel tank is installed in a close fitting ‘cage’ and the firewall has now been fabricated around this. The firewall provides a safety barrier between the occupants and the potential 120 litres of trouble being carried in a foam filled bag behind it.
The roll cage has been finished and it looks the business! The rear stays tie-in to the new differential mounts, so any torque in the drive is transmitted through the whole car. All the cage joints have 360 degree welds to comply with the latest requirements of the FIA.
The turbo has been mounted and a cut-out has been fabricated in the chassis-leg to facilitate easy removal/re-installation:
Brakes and mounting spacers have arrived from AP Racing and this adds a bit of meat to the (already) impressive Proflex struts.
I recently took another trip abroad to pick-up some cross-braced wishbones and original Audi-Sport rose-joints/sliders (bottom ball-joints), along with even more Kevlar parts. On the way home, I met up with Andy (in Tyne & Wear) who now owns Nigel/Coxy's old 'Sanyo car'. After picking-up a present for Hamish there, it was off to Cumbria to borrow a dry-sump from Hamish so that the guys at the workshop could see what it looked like as my own one has yet to materialise. It was great to see his SWB project in the flesh and he really deserves all the smoke you can blow up his posterior for what he has done. Top bloke.
Next time I go to the shop I hope to be heading back to Cumbria with the borrowed dry-sump and then on to visit Mr Krinks with a swirl pot that I'm getting made for him but which (in common with most things about this build) is taking too long..
One final thing....... I've taken delivery of two brand new Recaro seats to replace the two which you have seen already in this thread and which have never actually been fitted or used. Thanks to new FIA/MSA rules, all seats in new-build rally cars must be within 5 years of their manufacturing date. I originally bought my seats in 1998 as part of my 'future plan'. They have never been used but they need to be replaced with another pair which have a 'current' sticker on them.
If anyone needs a pair of Recaros for a rally recreation - give me a shout and you'll get a real bargain. The seats and mounts cost over a grand.
@ istoo - Hope to have it here by Feb/Mar 2011. Might even stop for a coffee at your place the day I bring her home!
@ Nigel - You can talk! When's that JapCrap going to be ready??
