Winter Projects

[Peter Mallett]

I said to Ken, let"s not rush this, take it slowly and we can look to finish it by December 2013. So with that in mind, it's off for its new roll cage next week. Dipped the week after, then panel work by April, so should be on the track by August!

Although I hope not because I have no time to race this year.

[terence]

Originally Posted by delta

Attachment 39401
Winter projects has been a bit quiet this year guy's.!!!!
We just about finnished moving Delta workshop at the start of Jan.Me and Martin been buisy getting cars and trucks prepped for the season but we left Josh to build another Delta, Plan was rolling road yesterday then Mallory this Wednesday but I had to pull the plug Thursday afternoon.Another couple of days and we would of been there. "ces't la vie".
Anyone else with any news.

I'm worried Iain,not a tea mug in sight! Times must have changed.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

I said to Ken, let"s not rush this, take it slowly and we can look to finish it by December 2013. So with that in mind, it's off for its new roll cage next week. Dipped the week after, then panel work by April, so should be on the track by August!
Although I hope not because I have no time to race this year.

Was it a BL attempt at an ART car?

[delta]

Originally Posted by terence bower

I'm worried Iain,not a tea mug in sight! Times must have changed.

Just washed em up Tel.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Although I hope not because I have no time to race this year.

This work stuff seems to be a bit disruptive Peter.

Are you absolutely sure you'r not using it as an excuse for avoiding doing something important?

[grantp]

Originally Posted by terence bower

I'm worried Iain,not a tea mug in sight! Times must have changed.

It does look a bit sort of 'tidy' doesn't it? Lacks patina if you ask me (not that anyone has ...)

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

I said to Ken, let"s not rush this, take it slowly and we can look to finish it by December 2013. So with that in mind, it's off for its new roll cage next week. Dipped the week after, then panel work by April, so should be on the track by August!

Although I hope not because I have no time to race this year.

Hmm. Nice project Peter.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by terence bower

I'm worried Iain,not a tea mug in sight! Times must have changed.

Come to think of it, in respect of the thread, no Escort either.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by delta

Attachment 39401
Winter projects has been a bit quiet this year guy's.!!!!
We just about finnished moving Delta workshop at the start of Jan.Me and Martin been buisy getting cars and trucks prepped for the season but we left Josh to build another Delta, Plan was rolling road yesterday then Mallory this Wednesday but I had to pull the plug Thursday afternoon.Another couple of days and we would of been there. "ces't la vie".
Anyone else with any news.

Probably just as well Iain. Might not be able to make this (next) Wednesday.

The following week, however ....


(It's not that I'm self centred or anything but ...)

[delta]

Originally Posted by grantp

Come to think of it, in respect of the thread, no Escort either.

She has been moved behind both the Trucks GP.Much too Martin's disgust.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by delta

She has been moved behind both the Trucks GP.Much too Martin's disgust.

I see no trucks ...

[morninggents]

Main job this winter has been to get the car in thread number 1492 set up properly after a couple of none too successful outings at the end of last season. Built to genuine Appendix K spec with no trick bits at all (OK - I know it will be slow compared to U2TC cars) I've measured it up and the wheelbase on driver's side is 5mm longer than passenger side. There is slight negative camber on passenger side (which I would expect with the genuine Lotus TCAs using the correct crossmember mounting holes and top mounts) but slight positive camber on the driver's side !!
I got some uprated single leaf springs for the rear but we have to put a 2 inch lowering block on the left side spring hanger and nothing on the driver's side to get it to sit square !!
Guess the chassis must be a bit skewed - anybody know if there are still Churchill jigs about with Cortina Mk 1 settings?

[terence]

Originally Posted by delta

She has been moved behind both the Trucks GP.Much too Martin's disgust.

"She"????????????

[Clive Brown]

Originally Posted by terence bower

"She"????????????

Song by Frog crooner Charles Aznovoice?

[grantp]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Main job this winter has been to get the car in thread number 1492 set up properly after a couple of none too successful outings at the end of last season. Built to genuine Appendix K spec with no trick bits at all (OK - I know it will be slow compared to U2TC cars) I've measured it up and the wheelbase on driver's side is 5mm longer than passenger side. There is slight negative camber on passenger side (which I would expect with the genuine Lotus TCAs using the correct crossmember mounting holes and top mounts) but slight positive camber on the driver's side !!
I got some uprated single leaf springs for the rear but we have to put a 2 inch lowering block on the left side spring hanger and nothing on the driver's side to get it to sit square !!
Guess the chassis must be a bit skewed - anybody know if there are still Churchill jigs about with Cortina Mk 1 settings?

Build tolerances were different "up north".

I recall a story about a regular road car - Mk 2 Cortina allegedly run as a repmobile by someone in Cumbria (as it is known recently) who thought the handling and tyre wear a tad odd.

Turned out, after 6 months of "investigation", that the tolerances were at max on both sides leaving the track 2 1/2 inches out of alignment from front to back. From memory the car hated roundabouts but was a gem on left handers. Might have been the other way around.

I had something similar with a VX Omega.

For circuit use I suppose one might make positive perfomance gain from such anomalies?

[midgetman]

>>>>>>Circuit use...positive performance gain....

Except at Imola.

My winter project has gone...I'm now 924-lessMax as well as MidgetlessMax. No racing car around the house, but on the plus side I do have two TKMs to look after as I shall be running Alex's old kart for me this season alongside his latest.

[Clive Brown]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

So with that in mind, it's off for its new roll cage next week. Dipped the week after.

If you mean acid dipping, shouldn't the shell be dipped before the cage is fitted?

Wouldn't dipping the cage reduce the diameter of the tubing?

[Peter Mallett]

Probably, but I'm not a technical person.

[Peter Mallett]

Probably, but I'm not a technical person.

[Al Weyman]

I would walk away from that twisted Cortina, I had and built it in to a race car a Chevy Monza spyder Gt with similar problems. I spent a whole load of time and money getting it jigged to no avail, the thing would not turn in properly on right handers. It culminated in going straight on and up the bank at the end of the Lydden strait and broke its back and nearly mine to boot, I still suffer a neck trauma as a result.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

If you mean acid dipping, shouldn't the shell be dipped before the cage is fitted?

Wouldn't dipping the cage reduce the diameter of the tubing?

Probably what was done in period!

[Al Weyman]

I think the twisted Cortina highlights the whole problem with putting ridiculous values on old unibodied cars as unlike proper race cars they can not effectively be rejigged in many cases and when they are bent they are bent so its a new shell so how much of the original is left and how can they be worth so much with maybe just a chassis plate left from the original? This is exactly why Penske Racing went over to tube framed Camaros like my project (still on going and now have the doner bodywork almost ready) from the previous Unibodied cars because they wer impossible to keep them all running straight and the same. The irony is the earlier cars are worth more money simply because they have more places to race at the moment, most odd. Also I was lucky to walk away from my bent Monza at Lydden although still suffering years later but the thing could have killed me so would have been best with hindsight to have cut my losses and scrapped the thing before it cut my life short as it so easily could have (or more importantly someone elses). If I had the money and owned a car like the Alan Mann Escort I would build a replica and race that, I would never risk the real thing with a unibodied car.

I would imagine Ken would soda blast the car Pete as this seems to be the current favoured technic, acid dipping removes too much original precious surviving metal the last thing you want to do.

[morninggents]

Bit too early to walk away. I've not yet driven the car in anger on a circuit but the feed back from my son Dan is that it's good on lefthanders but all over the place on right handers - a bit of a problem on UK clockwise running circuits - perhaps we should run Daytona! There's plenty to go at on the set-up and I suspect the front mount for the offside upper radius rod has not been fitted correctly so that should fix the differing wheelbase problems. There again it could be that the offside front roll bar mount is a bit out pulling that wheel forward a bit. There's no evidence that the shell has ever had any accident damage so it should be straight but as I mentioned earlier it would be good to find a chassis jig.

[MartinH]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Bit too early to walk away. I've not yet driven the car in anger on a circuit but the feed back from my son Dan is that it's good on lefthanders but all over the place on right handers - a bit of a problem on UK clockwise running circuits - perhaps we should run Daytona! There's plenty to go at on the set-up and I suspect the front mount for the offside upper radius rod has not been fitted correctly so that should fix the differing wheelbase problems. There again it could be that the offside front roll bar mount is a bit out pulling that wheel forward a bit. There's no evidence that the shell has ever had any accident damage so it should be straight but as I mentioned earlier it would be good to find a chassis jig.

Hi there - I've prepared & raced a Cortina in the U2TC series for the last few years, so could maybe give you some ideas on set up etc if you would like to pm me.

It may be worth making some basic diagonal measurements on the shell to see if anything is way out - look on Alen Henderson Racing website as he has recently uploaded a genuine Ford Motor Company bodyshell drawing which gives you the idea of where to measure etc. I can't believe the shell is 2" out as the doors & glass would never fit & in the pictures posted the car looks good.

Any further help, please contact me.

Martin

[Al Weyman]

Good luck with it MG my Monza looked as straight as a die on the bodywork but I just couldnt get it right, I am sure you will be luckier as there is so much documented about setting up the Cortina.