Sbeckman7's Project: BR1

[sbeckman7]

That mainly depends on what I end up putting inside it. I have thoughts for a well done microsuede interior, speaker system, etc. I would say the range, from pure race spec to luxury items is about 1500-1700. I'm shooting for a nicely done car in the 1600's, but I do want some speakers

[mtnman533]

Pfft, my caterham doesn't even have a heater. Who needs speakers .

Sounds good!

[sbeckman7]

Great news today: My metal has arrived! I got it at 10 this morning in San Rafael, then drove home with it in my friends pickup. It's a lot of metal. Anyway, once I got that put away I began cleaning up garage space to start cutting the floor tubing. My friend needed the welder back for a few days, but I'll be cutting my material for a while Anyway. Here are some pics.


I was worried that the massive bell housing from the v12 would cramp my foot room but I ended up with plenty of space.


my wonderful 535i in the background


The wheels are dialed in at full camber




You can see why I needed to do some cleaning.




Mock-up floor plus leg shot from a very determined friend. He's been working out.




The seat is mounted on the same level as the top of the rear subframe mount, which is 5" higher than the dip in the main side pipe. Visibility is much improved and the car still looks proportional!






Bag O' Wires, pedal set, and one massive alternator. I weighed the wires at 60lbs and hopefully I'll be getting a much smaller/more efficient alternator as well. I believe it will be fairly to modify the e32 pedal set to accommodate the e28 clutch pedal. More on this later.


e32 steering column, weighs half as much as the cast iron unit from the e28


The little band saw I got off Craigslist... Hope it works well!


And finally, lots of metal! If you squint really hard, it sorta looks like a car...


Hopefully I can start cutting tomorrow.

[sbeckman7]

These may very well be the last set of Renderings that I post. I don't think I'll need to work on this CAD model any more as all the dimensions for the frame and engine fitment are complete. The only things I may need to add are the engine mounts, but everything else is as it will be on the final product. I may also update the model with a set of 17" style 5's if I feel like it.

[Tammer in Philly]

That design is so, so much better than your initial drawings and ideas. I commend you for accepting constructive criticism and asking questions. Now hurry up and finish the damn thing. I wanna drive it!

-tammer

[mtnman533]

That design is so, so much better than your initial drawings and ideas. I commend you for accepting constructive criticism and asking questions. Now hurry up and finish the damn thing. I wanna drive it!

-tammer

X 1 billion.

It all looks really good, and am eagerly awaiting progress!

[sbeckman7]

Thanks guys. I'm going to start cutting metal as soon as I ship an instrument cluster for another forum member. mtnman, you may be able to help with this question: I can't tell if the orientation of the cuts for the transmission tunnel matter. In other words, would it be better to have my three horizontal tubes be solid (with no cuts) or have the two longitudinal tubes that are the bottom of the actual transmission tunnel be solid (with no cuts)? Does it make a difference?

[Tammer in Philly]

My hunch is that if the welds are done well, it won't matter. Is this square tube or round?

-tammer

[mtnman533]

Well, I can show you what the Caterham does.

There's only one continues piece of metal going from one side of the car to the other, and it's at the back (bar closest to the diff in pic 1). There are no others that go across the whole car at the bottom of the trans tunnel, there's one at the top at the front, and some braces between the two sides of the tunnel...

So in short, make the ones that go down the tunnel (not across the car) the uncut ones.

Picture 1, diff area, one brace (furthest from diff) and one solid that continues along the whole width of the car.


Picture 2, the front of the tunnel, just the transmission mount (which I'm sure is structural) and another brace between the two sides.


So in total, 3 braces, and one bar at the bottom that goes all the way across... of course there are more, but no need to fill this thread with those pictures... and I'd need to take them anyway, and most of the frame is hidden by aluminium.

Hope this helped... even just a little bit .

[sbeckman7]

Yes, it definitely did. Tammer, this is for the 1.5" square tubing. If I can do it accurately, I will follow in the steps of the Caterham. If it becomes too hard to perfectly center the tunnel pipes, then I'll do it the other way.

[mtnman533]

Cool, just let me know and I can try to take more if you need.

[sbeckman7]

So I successfully created a hybrid e28/e32 pedal assembly using the gas and brake from the 750 and the clutch from the 535i. It was actually really straightforward; all I needed to do was to swap the bolt that the pedals pivot on (for the longer one) and stick the e28 clutch pedal on. Then I had some clearance issues with the oversized 750 brake pedal so I decided to make it the same size as the e28 brake pedal. And now I successfully have an OEM 3 pedal set.


e28 assembly on top, e32 below


e32 brake pedal too big


my cutting template


cut e32 vs e28 brake pedals


back of pedal


new pedal set


still need to adjust clutch throw... I accidentally broke the spring assembly trying to adjust it so I may need to order a new one.

[mooseheadm5]

The spring doesn't adjust clutch throw. Once the clutch master is in place the pedal will be at the correct height within a cm or two. After that you use the eccentric bolt that the clutch master pushrod mounts on to set the free pedal height. Use an adjustable stop on the floor to limit the clutch pedal movement downward. That spring is just an overcenter helper spring. Don't mess with adjusting it.

[sbeckman7]

The spring doesn't adjust clutch throw. Once the clutch master is in place the pedal will be at the correct height within a cm or two. After that you use the eccentric bolt that the clutch master pushrod mounts on to set the free pedal height. Use an adjustable stop on the floor to limit the clutch pedal movement downward. That spring is just an overcenter helper spring. Don't mess with adjusting it.

Good to know. I will replace the broken part when I make more progress on installing the clutch down the road.

[mtnman533]

I was watching an oldish Top Gear just now, and this comparison popped up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bhnE2rAWuA

From the dimensions of your project I'd imagine it'd be closer in performance characteristics to the Veritas than to the R500. The Veritas has slightly more kit too... little bit more luxurious than the Caterham.

Any more updates?

[sbeckman7]

Well today is a bit of a happy and sad update


At 1pm I will depart for Australia. I've been planning this trip with my cousin from Connecticut since June and it's finally about to happen. We will be in Sydney for the first week and will spend the remaining time working on a watermelon farm in Bundaberg, a city about 800 miles north, still on the coast. We will travel after work to other areas of Australia as well as New Zealand, returning sometime in February. So this will probably be the last post for several months

Here is my new welding helmet and gloves I got at cyberweld.com, as well as the metal cut for storage in the garage.






I'll be in touch.

Spencer

[mtnman533]

Have fun in Aus! You're not going to want to leave.

Although, personally I wouldn't be going during the summer...

[sbeckman7]

I had to write something.

Australia has been an amazing adventure. Sydney is amazing and the work on the watermelon farm in Bundaberg paid well for the 6 weeks that I was there. I'm back in Sydney now with my cousin to plan our next leg of the trip: the fun one. We will be taking a diving course next Wed-Thurs to get our Diving Licenses that enable us to scuba dive anywhere in the world. Friday we leave for Adelaide and Melbourne... In my new car! Bought a '94 318i with a 150k miles on the clock and a 5 speed for $1500. It's such a fun car. Here are a few pics:






After Melbourne/Adelaide, my cousin heads west and I return to the Sydney area, possibly to work for a family friend at his mechanic shop for a few weeks. We'll finish Australia up north sometime mid to late Feb and I return home after that.

In terms of the project, there obviously isn't much I can do on it from here but I've still been thinking about it pretty much every day. In terms of the stripped V12, I have two options. Option 1 is to clean it quickly, throw it back together, and run the M70. Option 2 is to leave the M70 alone and purchase an M73. This is something I will want to do sooner or later Anyway, I just don't know if it makes sense to do it now or wait until I get the car running on M70 power first.

The M73 for sale is from the same guy I'm getting the transmission setup from. Here it is with the tranny attached:




All in all, that's about it. Can anyone else think of stuff I need to spend money on but haven't thought of yet? This list so far is:

Parts Needed:

-850 CSI Radiator (Nissens, Behr, Performance Radiator, Silla, Zionsville Autosport)
-Honeycomb floor material
-Fiberglass
-LED’s and light system
-Speakers/wiring system
-Microsuede for interior trim
-Tilton Pedal Assembly
-Analog Gauges (VDO, etc.)
-Steering Wheel (Momo Mod78/88 or Nardi or Personal)
-Engine chip (if I "need" it)
- Wheels/Tires
- Exhaust fab w/ bike mufflers

Tools Needed:
-Torque Wrench (Teng, Norbar)


I'm just trying to come up with a budget plan. Did I leave anything out?

[tsmall07]

I missed this thread somehow since before your October updates. I've been wondering about it over the past couple weeks. The design looks great and I'm excited about the progress. I agree with Tammer about hurrying the hell up.

I also still think you should have stayed with the m30, but I'm much more confident in the v-12 now than I was when you first suggested it. Even an s52 would have been fun and maybe easier.

A few costly items that I can think of off the top of my head are:

hard lines for brakes/clutch hydraulics
hard lines and rubber for fuel
associated clips to mount the lines
spare rear tires

[Tammer in Philly]

SPEAKERS? WTF?

[tsmall07]

SPEAKERS? WTF?

[sbeckman7]

I missed this thread somehow since before your October updates. I've been wondering about it over the past couple weeks. The design looks great and I'm excited about the progress. I agree with Tammer about hurrying the hell up.

I also still think you should have stayed with the m30, but I'm much more confident in the v-12 now than I was when you first suggested it. Even an s52 would have been fun and maybe easier.

A few costly items that I can think of off the top of my head are:

hard lines for brakes/clutch hydraulics
hard lines and rubber for fuel
associated clips to mount the lines
spare rear tires

Thanks for those! Yeah, I know man, pretty much any other BMW engine would have done the job. But, V12!!! It sounds like heaven... I'm not any more worried about setting it up than the M30, especially with the entire 750il Wiring Harness. I can't wait to get home and start on the frame!!!

And hell yes, speakers. I need something to listen to on my road trip from SF to Indianapolis besides constant explosions

[mtnman533]

Pfftt, speakers are over rated... so are doors, sound dedening, windows, comfy seats, being out of the rain, snow, sleet, hail, and mud... incase you were wondering, yes, I love driving my Caterham in the winter !

I look forward to when you get back state side, and seeing this project come back to life.

Your time in Aus sounds pretty good, it's been a long time since I visited my home country. Enjoy the rest of your time! And remember, the gear shifter is left, with first away and up . The indicators are on the other side of the steering wheel, and most importantly, they drive on the left .

[sbeckman7]

And remember... The indicators are on the other side of the steering wheel, and most importantly, they drive on the left .

This!!! Everything else is fine except for the occasional flick of the windshield wipers whenever I am turning


Glad you're giving your Caterham some outdoorsy love

[mtnman533]

And remember... The indicators are on the other side of the steering wheel, and most importantly, they drive on the left .

This!!! Everything else is fine except for the occasional flick of the windshield wipers whenever I am turning


Glad you're giving your Caterham some outdoorsy love

Very nice , the Cat doesn't have stalks around the wheel, so I haven't done that myself. I did almost go onto the wrong side of the road once though... that was exciting!

[sbeckman7]

Yum, environment!

It occurred to me that, although I don't need cats to register the car in january under a special-construction vehicle, I will need them to register the car in August/September when I drive it to school. So for now I'm planning on running them unless I get so far behind that it won't be finished by then.

Stupid CARB compliant cats are twice as much as the rest...

http://www.amazon.com/Magnaflow-36306-U ... &carId=001

And now the quest for a rasp-free V12 sound

[davintosh]

Cats? Bah. All you've got to do is escape California.

[sbeckman7]

Cats? Bah. All you've got to do is escape California.

I can leave in the dead of night, wearing nothing but a black cape. Then, if I go fast enough, I can probably fly past the two police stations before anyone has time to react, and if they even catch a glimpse of me, they'll probably be too scared to chase me down... I simply follow this train of thought for several hundred miles, and then, NEVADA! HOME FREE!!!


I do actually have two very good pieces of news. Firstly, I'm buying that lovely 5.4 M73 with the white valve covers shown above. I don't know if I should sell the M70 or just keep it as "back up." Secondly, my friend figured out how to properly use the Frame Generator/FEA stress analysis in Autodesk, so I'll actually see how well engineered my frame is!

Lastly, hoping no one think's I've lost it, I am hoping to install some sort of HHO injection system on the engine after it's running. I'm hoping for one of two things. The first is a mileage increase with the same power output. The second is an increase in power output with the same mileage. Wish me luck.

[mooseheadm5]

HHO = scam

[tsmall07]

You really need to stop modifying the car before you've built it. 24 pages and it isn't even supporting its own weight yet.