Just when I thought I was running out of things to do...

Glad to see it get another chance. I vote major surgery on the chassis though.

I've been itching to build something like this only with a triumph 955 triple in it (around 150hp and sounds glorious). This one is a 600cc bike engine with drive shaft - I think it goes to a spitfire rear end sort of following the old coopers with the leaf springs as upright mount. For a hillclimber I think I'd want an A-arm set up.

What's the backstory that made it go from

to a pile of twigs?

How and why did it get disassembled?

Sil80redtop wrote: My GF would have a heart attack if she came home and found that sitting in the screen porch.

No GF or wife. Daughter think's it's cool.

Watch out. It is undrivable. Completely so.

Maroon92 wrote: What's the backstory that made it go from to a pile of twigs? How and why did it get disassembled?

The story I got, in bits and pieces: GRM sold it after the Challenge, the new owner could not get it to handle well at speed, that problem is thought to be a combination of front wheel drive, a very light car and a heap of horsepower.

It was then sold to another fellow who tried to build a hillclimb car from it but ran into the same handling problems. (He still has the body, though.) The rolling chassis without wheels/tires was sold to another guy who pulled the Suzuki motor etc to use in his A Mod which was built from an FSAE car. I then bought the chassis and suspension stuff from that last owner.

My plans are to make it more of a conventional A Mod car, the broad strokes: big bike motor in the back, shorten the front subframe to put the cage more in the middle of the car and build a new front suspension with a rack and pinion gear. The cage is plenty beefy for hillclimb use, which is my main objective. There's lots of details to be worked out of course.

About the cage: IIRC Denny Crabill built it and the man is an absolute magician. His fabrication makes me look like the amateur that I am, the welds make me want to just sit there and admire them. I think I have a man crush.

Tom Suddard wrote: Watch out. It is undrivable. Completely so.

That's the story I get. See above. But tell you what: I'll leave you the Trooper in my will.

Curmudgeon wrote: I'd like to do some hillclimbs and for that you need a good bit of HP. I am not a fan of front wheel drive, either.

An RB20 and F150 rear end sound to be in order.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: What about using a bike driveshaft setup to a small diff like they use on 4x4 ATVs?

That has been considered too, but the drawbacks are the ATV diffs are not all that strong and this would also create some packaging problems, the car would be pretty long. The most ideal ratio of length to width is somewhere 1:5 or 1:6-1, I plan on a 48" track width which at 1:5 puts me at 72" wheelbase which is coincidentally the SCCA minimum A Mod wheelbase. 1:6 is 76.8" wheelbase which is where I want to wind up. The closer to 'square' the car is, the twitchier it handles. Karts are a prime example of this. The longer the length ratio the less twitchy but the slower the car responds to inputs, i.e. it wants to keep going straight. Extreme example: rail dragster.

Example of threads on the subject:

http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9744

kevlarcorolla wrote: The poly chain might not like standing starts with slicks,f500 guys run poly for road race but switch to chain for autox.

Thanks for bringing that up, I thought launches might be a problem with polybelts. It reinforces my inclination to go with a duplex chain.

If you don't mind shopping across the pond you can find used versions of autograss drive boxs on various classified sites.

I was thinking front engine, shaft drive to an 8.8 IRS diff out back. Extend the wheelbase and have a blast.

I don't want a spinning driveshaft that close to Little Jimmy and the Twins. Thanks to MrJoshua's link I came up with a brainstorm or a brainfart (still remains to be seen which it is! ), I am going to look into using a Morse link belt chain inside the angry hamster box and a duplex chain from the motor to the box's drive. That will solve the problem of how to keep the diff running in a lube bath.

Hey, Tommy etc: what did the front spindles and CV shafts come out of?

Re: chain drive gearbox brainstrom/brainfart: Man, you would not BELIEVE how hard it is to get a freakin' 57 fang HyVo gear.

Curmudgeon wrote: I don't want a spinning driveshaft that close to Little Jimmy and the Twins.

I was thinking driveshaft inside a torque tube running the length.

Ah, so this is what you're interested in the R1 engine for.

PS> My buddy says the 3d ignition box is with it.

In reply to DaveEstey:

Suh-weet. We need to get this done.