NC 20BPP Time Attack / Track Car - Build Thread

[lightyear]

Also, note the little strap to stop the door opening too far. Means you can delete the Oem steel one.

[orx626]

What did you use on yours?

IIRC there were 6 layers of 225gsm and a 4mm core. The outer door skin is way stiffer/stronger than OEM....and clearly excessive.

My doors have a full flat "door skin" on the inside.
Next time I make door moulds, i want the inside door trim to sink right in. Will upload a pic to explain.
My NA door moulds are Oem shape on the inner half. Like you said there are so many holes to cut, meaning so many holes to fill when it comes to moulding.
I prefer to see build/progress pics, than seeing the final thing. Always have. Also, note the little strap to stop the door opening too far. Means you can delete the Oem steel one.

Thanks for the piccie Lightyear. This is exactly what I had in mind for the next version.

I do love the Valtonen FD...shame about the engine though! Would love to see it race against Australia's best.


The next issue of RACE magazine has just hit the stands. It has a great couple of articles on all things WTAC....and even a little blurb on the NC.






Cheers,
Danny

[bruce]

Flames are dramatic. They get you attention (and your pic in a magazine).

[orx626]

...5th October - Sunday continued...

...with the fitting of the drivers door.












...transferring of the door internals from the OEM to the composite...




Queensland's Labour Day holiday on the 6th October - Monday was a godsend with the office phones quiet. So I was able to get the powertrain back in the car.






...the rear end fitted...








...the heat exchanger assembly, exhaust and PPF all in place...








...the passenger door bolted on...






...the rear wing mounted...








...a few more bits in the engine bay...








...the steering column and air-jack plumbing in...




...the ARB pillow block...




...and a few aerial shots to capture the days efforts.








...only 8 days left!!!

Cheers,
Danny

[Okibi]

eye candy.

[orx626]

7th October - Tuesday

After some silly hours the front plug was ready for a "One Use Only" mould to be taken from it.








8th October - Wednesday

The composite rear clip is on and it fits!!!






Fitting up and trimming the OEM front wheel arch liners.




The front ARB pivot arm and alternator side fire suppression nozzle installed.






The ignition system modules and battery bolted in.






"Green Skin" templates for the side skirts trimmed to suit the profile of the NC underbody.





9th October - Thursday

The wiring loom(s) have been finished.






All ready to be laid in and terminated.








...only 5 days to go...

[orx626]

10th October - Friday

In quick time we have a "One Use Only" mould!




The composite components are arriving just in time! The bonnet...






The upper skin of the side skirts...






Got wiring!









...working air-jacks!






...and a fibreglass nose clip (albeit rather green)!!!




11th October - Saturday: No photos...must have been busy though


12th October - Sunday

The rear is on for the last time and fitted with my hand crafted rotor-shaped exhaust surround.








The new, however temporary, wing end plates fitted.






The amplifiers for the EGT's secured in the windscreen cowl.




The front suspension bolted in.








The alloy front splitter being positioned so that its rear mounts can be made and the front clip trimmed to suit.










...only 2 days to go...

[orx626]

13th October - Monday

During the day a crap load of body components were trial fitted and painted. This was the result by the evening. It finally looked like it might almost be completed in time for WTAC 2014!












The temporary rear diffuser was starting to take shape.






14th October - Tuesday - The Last Day

Dyno time!!!











The heat exchanger ducting...








Cold engine intake air ducting in place...






All ready for its first full rev range pull...








So it was now 1pm and the car had to be ready to go down to MR Tuning by 7pm! The subsequent 6 hours of craziness resulted in this.




A quick wheel alignment...






...and loaded, bound for WTAC 2014! We had done it!!!




Cheers,
Danny

[MattR]

Danny,

Interested to know why you kept the OEM plastic inner guards under the front? Was this because of rules or to protect the carbon panels? My race cars I never worried about them as they were extra weight and generally were the first things that were trimmed fitting wheels and tyres when getting the castor I wanted, or weren't there, or the first things damaged from stones and rocks off the tyres.

Also, with the doors, did you transfer all the internals or just the minimum required? With my build I am keeping the steel doors for safety, a bit more of a risk of banging doors than time attack, but will be cutting out the intrusion bars and most of the inner panel, except for the bits needed to mount the window mechanisms and motors for the plastic windows to save weight. I will have to play with the internal door handle and rods to get a better solution than standard so I can use a flat piece of alloy as a new door card with the internal handle flush with that rather than what is fitted standard.

[MattR]

Danny, also forgot to ask why did you choose to use the Motech dash/logger and analogue gauges? I would imagine it would have been easier and lighter to just use the dash/logger for both the overall wiring and installation.

I am looking forward to seeing the aero development for the coming year and the ongoing suspension tuning to see what the car can do once it's sorted and you're more comfortable in the office.

[orx626]

Interested to know why you kept the OEM plastic inner guards under the front? Was this because of rules or to protect the carbon panels?

Hi Matt, primarily for aero reasons. Unlike NA's and NB's, NC's don't have full metal inner wheel arches. So without them there is nothing preventing wheel house air entering the engine bay and vice-versa. Neither reasons are rule related. There are other areas on the car that need lining for the same reasons.

Also, with the doors, did you transfer all the internals or just the minimum required?

The doors that are currently on the car were an exercise in functionality. ie. I was able to transfer the whole OEM door functionality (sans side intrusion) to the composite door body. These doors will be available to purchase sometime later this year. I'm yet to delve any further into adding a side intrusion member with a view to road use compliance. However, the initial advice I have been given is that it is doable as it is no different to what is required for low volume production vehicles such as Cobra's and GT40 replicas.

Later this year this year I will have doors made of a lighter composite schedule that will have a fixed poly-carb window and/or racing net.

Danny, also forgot to ask why did you choose to use the Motech dash/logger and analogue gauges? I would imagine it would have been easier and lighter to just use the dash/logger for both the overall wiring and installation.

It's really a story of evolution...kind of happens when a build takes 8 years! I purchased the Defi gauge set since 2008 and had sorted the instrument cluster panel not long after. It wasn't until late 2013 that it was decided to go the whole Motec hog with respect to data logging. Personally, I prefer analogue gauge displays so I proceeded with having both. Another bonus is the redundancy I have with two independent engine health monitoring systems. However, from the two test days I have completed the Defi tacho has proven to be unreliable (works and then doesn't) and has now been removed from the car (not replaced). The C125 is now positioned between the Defi Engine Oil pressure and Engine Coolant temperature gauges. I'll get some piccies up later this month. Í have also spent some time earlier this week learning the C125 programming software to personalise the various screens.

I am looking forward to seeing the aero development for the coming year and the ongoing suspension tuning to see what the car can do once it's sorted and you're more comfortable in the office.

Me too! Need to finish the aero before we can finish the suspension tuning.

Cheers,
Danny

[MattR]

Thanks for the reply Danny, makes a bit more sense now.

I am too used to my Datsuns with their construction so no need for the plastic liners that break or split as soon as you look at them and just add weight.

I got quite used to having the stone dents showing up on the guards from underneath as my steel panels were lighter than 'glass or composites thanks to lots of acid to strip paint off them and filing off the high spots to meet the low spots when repairing them.

Will be interesting to see how my plastic panels compare to carbon in terms of weight and rigidity. I can see advantages of both and where one material would be better for time attack, carbon, compared to the rigors of door to door racing, plastic.

[orx626]

Another belated and awesome photo from WTAC 2014.

[orx626]

After WTAC 2014...the NC returned in style to Brisbane care of MR Tuning's transporter.




Having felt it in the car when shifting from 5th to 6th (engine revs flaring) and looking at the data it was pretty obvious that the used clutch was just a little bit too used.

So upon it's return to the workshop the first thing we did was have the clutch overhauled and the worn-out carbon friction plates replaced with readily available sintered metal items from Direct Clutch Services here in Brisbane.












A couple of details that I hadn't posted earlier was the completed heat exchanger inlet duct work....




....and the adjustable front ARB with a nice little rocker-arm arrangement. The remote mounted (in-cab) ARB lever is still to be installed. So the front ARB is currently at full soft.






Cheers,
Danny

[orx626]

Not too much to report.

Haven't been able to get out to the track at all. Had to cancel last Monday's Club track day @ QR due to work commitments.

Anyhow, work on the aero and composite components has continued albeit at a much more casual pace than last year.

The mould for the hard top has now been completed with the hard top from the car being used as the plug.
















This change has made quite a lot of people happy....




Relocating the C125 to the instrument cluster was required as the Defi tacho was just too inconsistent/unreliable in it's function....which is really quite unusual. So I've spent a little time modifying the layout and will continue to do so using Motec's Display Creator.




A few other additions/changes has been the mounting of the Motec plugs in the dash....




...a master cylinder brace...




...and a remote vacuum reservoir.




Cheers,
Danny