Second 7 - Constructors Car Club

September 2013
The Magazine of the Constructors Car Club (Inc)
www.constructorscarclub.org.nz
Second 7
Graeme Rose build
his second 7
page 13
A Different(ial) Kind of Story
Page 22
Toyota Factory 2 Spider LSD
Notice
Items owned by the club that club members can borrow:
Engine hoist:
Custodian: Brian Hanaray
Car show equipment:
Custodian: the Show Committee
The Hobby Car Manuals:
Custodians of copies: Tim Hutchinson, Mike Macready, Grant Major, Dave Clout
Whole car rotisserie:
Custodian : Russell Ashley
Spare Parts
On the cover:
Building my second 7, page 13.
Club Officials
President:
ph: 563-7368
Secretary:
ph: 477-4356
Club Captain:
ph: 232-3336
Treasurer:
ph: 976-8594
Phil Bradshaw
e: [email protected]
Dave Clout
e: [email protected]
Richard Kelly
e: [email protected]
Stewart Collinson
e: [email protected]
Club Meetings
The club has the following scheduled meetings:
1st Tuesday – Show committee meeting
(at Phil’s place) … until the show in Oct
2nd Tuesday – Club night (at Vintage car
Club premises 3 Halford Place, Petone)…
every month
3rd Tuesday – Committee meeting (at Petone
Community House, 6 Britannia St, Petone)…
every month
Last Tuesday – Technical committee meeting
(at Petone Community House, 6 Britannia St,
Petone)… as and when required.
September 2013 Issue 8 Volume 26
In this issue
Club activity coordination.........................2
Club minutes Tuesday 13 August 2013.....3
The President’s Page..................................5
Last month’s mystery car...........................6
Last month’s mystery face.........................6
This month’s mystery car..........................7
This month’s mystery face.........................7
CCC Car show – the MasterPlan..............8
Too much pressure..................................12
Building my second 7.............................13
Suspension of Disbelief............................16
A Different(ial) Kind of Story..................22
Monaco Historique –
One off the Bucket List...........................28
Bendy bits...............................................32
USA – July 2013......................................33
Buy and sell.............................................39
Who’s who September 2013....................40
Club Magazine “Spare Parts” is produced monthly from Feb to Dec each year. Contributions and
advertisements are welcome.
Cut-off date for contributions for the club magazine is 6pm on the Friday 11 days prior to the club
meeting. Send contributions to Nik by email: [email protected] or to Secretary by ordinary mail.
Club Correspondence to:
The Secretary, Constructors Car Club, PO Box 38 573, Wellington Mail Centre, Lower Hutt 5045
Editor: Nik James, phone 04 526 2584, [email protected]
Printing: Vertia, 10 Raroa Cres, Lower Hutt, phone: (04) 570 0355
Design and typesetting: Tanya Sooksombatisatian, [email protected]
Club bank account:
Bank: Westpac Lower Hutt | Name: Constructors Car Club | Account: 030531 0536795 00
Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Constructors Car Club(Inc),
the Editor or its officers.
Issue 8 Volume 26
1
Club activity coordination
Brian Worboys – Club Activities Coordinator
The table below shows what the committee has got planned for the next few months.
Use this list to mark things up in your diary but please check the coming events section
of the magazine for actual times and places. “TBC” indicates that there are some details
still to be finalized. This is something of a living document, so please refer to the version
in the latest edition of Spare parts.
Month Date
Tue 10
Sept
2013
Thu 19
Sat 28
Tues 8
Oct
2013
TBC
12-13th
Nov 12
Nov
2013
Thu 21
Sun 24
Dec
2013
Tues 10
Sun 8
TBC
Item
Club night Fuel Systems and Fuel
Car:
Eion’s Buggy
No tech night to enable
Tech night members to progress car show
preparations
W/E
Manfeild track day
Club night Car show preparations
No tech night to enable
Tech night members to progress car show
preparations
W/E
25th Anniversary Car Show
Club night Cooling Systems
Car:
Dave Hansen’s Lotus 7
YHI Wheels & Tyres – Firestone
Tech night
TBC
W/E
Christmas BBQ lunch - TBC
Club night VW enthusiasts visit
Car:
VWs
Southwards Restoration Garage
W/E
: Waikanae
Informal: Book night – Bring car
Club night
books
Car:
Whoever turns up
Jan
2014
Tues 14
Feb
2014
Tues 11 Club night
Mar
2014
2
Sun 23
W/E
Skite night: Bring along your
car/project
Project advice tour
Co-ordn
Stephen O’Neill
Stewart Collinson
Richard Kelly
Car show committee
Car show committee
Stewart Collinson
Dave Clout
Brian Hanaray/ Bob
Cumming
Bob Cumming
Stewart Collinson
Stephen O’Neill
Phil Bradshaw
Tues 11 Club night
September 2013
Club minutes Tuesday 13 August 2013
1. Introduction of Existing
President/Secretary/Treasurer
or Others
Phil made a rude intro of his assistant,
namely one Dave C. Revenge will be
sweet, one day when he least expects it.
2. Welcome/Visitors:
Those along tonight apart from guest
speakers – Dean, friend of Kevin ?
3a. Special General Meeting:
Proposal to change club constitution
wording regarding audit of financial
statements.
Full wording was posted in July issue of
Spare Parts, page 5.
Stewart spoke to motion. No questions
but comments on audit process by ex
Treasurer Steve Strain.
Moved motion: Stewart Collinson,
Seconded: Dave Clout
Vote: Unanimous. Motion passed.
3b. Coming Events:
As per magazine.
Thursday 15 August – Tech Night: Visit
to John Mines? Postponed.
Richard gave a brief run down on the
upcoming driver training day at Manfeild
on Saturday 28 September.
4. Treasurers Report:
Stewart had prepared a suitable Statement
of Income & Expenditure that still requires Auditor and club meeting approval
– can now proceed due to special general
meeting motion being passed.
Brief report on finances. All on track.
Issue 8 Volume 26
5. Committee Report:
Club is in process of getting a new more
up to date web site – Richard gave a brief
talk on progress – coming very soon.
6. Technical Committee Report:
Edgar and his small team are looking at
the LVVTA guide lines for welding.
7. Technical Questions:
None recorded.
8. Magazine:
Nik asked members to consider writing
something for the next magazine. Note
that the cut-off date has been brought
forward to 6.00pm the Friday 10 days
before the club night.
9. Mystery Car:
Last month (July) – ??
This month (August) – Stewart
Collinson – Berkley or Barkley? Villiers
2 stroke twin engine.
10. Mystery Man:
Guess the name of person in the photo. Just
a bit of fun for answering on the night.
11. Buy, Sell, Swap:
Members please note – they should fill
in a form before the meeting (available
from kitchen bench) if they want details
recorded in the next magazine minutes.
12. General Business:
The car show is progressing. Should see a
few more emails coming thru now asking
for specific help. Phil outlined how many
functions would happen.
3
13. Tool of the month:
None, Dave forgot … but Steve Strain
showed us a head remover tool? Screws
into a spark plug hole?
14. Guest Speaker:
None. Various members had brought
along parts of their exhaust systems and
gave brief descriptions of how and why
they used these ones.
15. Guest Vehicle:
Member David Hanson with his Lotus
7 replica – weather dependant. It was
raining.
16. Raffles:
Number: 43
Name of winner: Roy Hoare
Special Raffle:
Note – you have to be present at the draw
and wearing your club name badge to be
eligible.
Number : N/A
Name : N/A
Meeting closed at 09.35pm?
From top:
El Presidente Phil
holds court
Material Thickness
Measuring Device
Half of a V8 header
set
Collection of exhaust
parts
4
September 2013
The President’s Page by Phil Bradshaw
In a little over a month we will be
staging the 25th Anniversary Car Show.
Preparations are well in hand, with some
of the detail contained in an article elsewhere in this month’s magazine.
I have been away to Auckland a lot
again of late with work, and our on going
renovations have been occupying much of
my time and energy over recent weekends.
The good news is we are making progress,
with our kitchen and dining room now
fully lined out with plastering and painting next on the agenda, before we do the
final kitchen unit fit out. The bad news is
I’m not getting any shed time.
Whilst I have not been able to get any
time in the shed, I have managed to acquire
some more treasure off trade me. My
comment last month concerning opening
a used Anglia bonnet emporium was more
true than I realised, as I have since added
yet another one to my collection… Long
story short I got lucky on some $1 no
reserve auctions, so I ended up acquiring
an Anglia bonnet, passenger door, boot lid
and rear bumper for $40 in total. The seller
had stored them for the past 13 years and
all are in about as good a condition as you
could ask for. The pile of Anglia bits at my
friend’s house in Auckland isn’t getting any
smaller. May have to organise a road trip
with trailer to fetch them methinks.
I gave club member Paul Dansted a
hand a month or so back to pick up a
Fraser Clubman kit. It never ceases to
amaze me how much the 1988 Auckland
Motor Show was an influence for many of
our membership – this show started Paul
on his dream of one day owning a Seven.
He ended up buying an unfinished project,
which in fairness is more of an un-started
one, in that the kit itself has hardly progressed beyond the state the factory delivered it in three years ago.
Issue 8 Volume 26
The good news is the kit was exactly the
specification Paul was after (and in many
ways a spec that he aspired to but would
have most likely reduced to keep costs more
manageable) and that the previous owner
had put most of their time into sourcing the
various parts from donor vehicles and had
commenced preparing them. Even better
was the kit was located only 10 minute’s
drive from Paul’s house, and all it took was
two trailer loads to get it home.
The engine (a Toyota Altezza BEAMS
3SGE 2 litre VVTI with 6-speed manual
gearbox) was partially stripped for cleaning and modification (a dry sump conversion is required to reduce the overall
height sufficiently to fit under the Fraser
bonnet line), with the long block mounted
on an engine stand. The engine stand
was in as-new condition and was rated
at 1000lb capacity. Imagine our surprise
when we arrived at Paul’s to find the stand
had broken and the motor was largely
being held up by the ratchet tie downs I
had used to anchor it to my trailer’s cage
to stop it moving about.
The engine stand failed due to a piece
of box section splitting along its length.
I doubt the long block weighted more
than 100kg; i.e. 1/5th of what the stand
was rated for, and I doubt we had any 5g
bumps on the 10km journey home, during
which we never exceeded 80 km/h. So,
in addition to the dodgy beam axles and
other items recently identified by LVVTA,
you can add cheap Chinese engine stands
to the list. Sadly it was a material failure
– the overall design of the stand and
welding etc appear fine. In simple terms
the inadequacies of the stand are hidden
from the eye. If this is what cheap engine
stands are like, I shudder to think what a
cheap engine lifter is made from… usual
story, you get what you pay for.
5
Last month’s mystery car
The car is a Berkeley B95 from 1959.
Detailed story on http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Berkeley_Cars.
Earlier cars were distinctive in having
Villiers 2 stroke motors, but the 59 B95
and B105 had 4 stroke Royal Enfield
motors.
Quirky cars indeed!
Last month’s mystery face
The Mystery face belongs to Adrian
Newey.
Mr Newey is a fabulously successful
Race car designer.
Adrian Newey OBE (born 26 December
1958) is a British Formula One engineer.
He has won more (nine) Constructors’
Championships than any other designer
and is the only designer to have won
Constructors’ Championships with three
different Formula One teams. He is currently the chief technical officer of the
Red Bull Racing Formula One team,
having designed their 2010-winning Red
Bull RB6, 2011-winning RB7, and 2012winning RB8.
Newey has worked in both Formula
One and IndyCar racing as a race engineer, aerodynamicist, designer and technical director and enjoyed success in both
categories. Considered one of the best engineers in Formula One, Newey-inspired
designs have won numerous titles and
over 80 Grands Prix, dominating much
of the 1990s and early-2010s. After designing championship-winning Formula
6
One cars for Williams F1 and McLaren,
Newey moved to Red Bull Racing in 2006,
his cars winning the Formula One drivers’
and constructors’ championships in 2010,
2011 and 2012.
The above details are at http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Newey.
September 2013
This month’s mystery car
This is a competition. Do you know what this vehicle is?
Please provide country of origin, manufacturer, model name and number and other
distinguishing details.
Have a go. Announce your best guess at this month’s club meeting and get it recorded in
the minutes, or email
it to The Editor. The
winner will be announced in the next
issue of Spare Parts.
Extra points will be
awarded for any additional interesting
relevant
information, pictures etc.
provided.
What is this and
what is the year of
manufacture?
This month’s mystery face
Who is this and what was his nickname?
Issue 8 Volume 26
7
CCC Car show – the MasterPlan
The Constructors Car Club 25th Anniversary DIY Car Show
12-13 October 2013: Planning
Introduction
Key Dates
With the show only a few weeks away now
it is time to appraise you all of the plan of
attack. More detail will be provided in due
course, but the following covers off the
majority of the plan as it currently stands.
There will be no other club activity beyond
normal club nights until after the car show,
with the exception of the day at Manfeild (see
below). This is to provide club members with
the maximum time to prepare for the show
(and get credits with wives and partners).
Some contact details are included below;
otherwise use the listing in the back of the
club mag, group email list or contact me
(details at end of this note).
Tue 3 September:
•• 7:30 – 9:30PM Show Committee
Meeting. All welcome.
•• Venue: Phil Bradshaw’s House. 68 Glen
Road, Stokes Valley.
Tue 10 September:
•• Club Night
•• Normal Club Night with show posters
available for uplift so members can
distribute. Volunteers for specific show
roles called for.
Sat 20 – Sun 21 September:
•• Placement of roadside signs promoting
show around greater Wellington. Bob
Cummings has lead and will call for more
volunteers as required.
Sun 28 September:
•• CCC annual day at Manfeild.
Tue 1 October:
•• 7:30 – 9:30PM Show Committee
Meeting. All welcome.
•• Venue: Phil Bradshaw’s House. 68 Glen
Road, Stokes Valley.
Sat 5-6 October:
•• Retrieve car show items as required from
club storage container and prepare for
use in show. Ken Raynes has lead on
what will be required. Further detail to
be advised at September Club night.
Anticipate needing 3 x trailer/vans and at
least 6 x volunteers in total.
Tue 8 October:
•• Club Night.
•• Focus on finalising show organisation
(volunteers, rosters etc).
Advertising and Participation
The show’s success depends on two
main factors – advertising and club
member participation. The advertising
strategy includes word of mouth, emails for
forwarding to friends and acquaintances,
posters and road side signs (intent is to
blitz the greater Wellington area from mid/
late September), articles in community
newspapers in September, and with any
luck some television coverage.
Your participation is needed in three
areas: provision of your vehicle/project;
assistance with the set up and break down
of the show, and help during the show.
8
September 2013
Fri 11 October:
•• Once the public have left the display
•• Car show set up.
•• NZ Kennel Club venue (Prosser Street,
•• Assistance with cleaning up the venue
Porirua) is available progressively from
12 noon, with likely one indoor sport
court unavailable until mid/late evening.
•• Vehicles will be assigned a display area
in advance and marshalled outside venue
into suitable sequence to enable venue
to be progressively filled in the most
efficient manner. It is critical that people
get their vehicles to the venue as early as
possible with before mid afternoon being
preferable. Provided weather is fine
time spent ‘in the queue’ can be spent
assisting with the show final preparations
or cleaning vehicles.
•• Work will continue that evening until
the show is fully set up and ready for
opening to the public.
Sat 12 October:
•• Any final preparations will occur first
thing in the morning.
•• Doors are open to the public from 9:00
until 4:30 with the public cleared by
5:00.
•• Drinks and nibbles will be held at the
venue that evening from 6:00 until 8:00
for club members, guests and exhibitors.
Cost will be $20 per head, payable in
advance. Payment will be collected at
upcoming club nights and a cut off date
will be announced when confirmed. Cash
bar will operate once the complimentary
drinks have been consumed. Intent is for
people to make own arrangements for
dinner on completion. Please contact me
if you are qualified to run an event that
has alcohol.
Sun 13 October:
•• Doors are open to the public from 9:00
until 4:30 with the public cleared by 5:00.
Issue 8 Volume 26
vehicles can depart.
will be required.
•• We have access to the venue until Noon
Monday in case some vehicles cannot be
removed on the Sunday.
Sat 20 – Sun 21 October:
•• Return Club show gear to club storage
container.
Vehicles
•• The vehicle organising sub committee is
Matthew Porritt and Patrick Harlow.
•• It is anticipated that 100-120 vehicles
••
••
••
••
••
will be on display under cover. Over 80
are already confirmed.
If you have not already been contacted
please get in touch with Matthew Porritt
or Patrick Harlow to get your vehicle/
project booked in.
Vehicles do not need to be finished,
WOF or Rego’d, or in concourse
condition. We want to show the full
spectrum of vehicle types, construction
stages and conditions.
All vehicles will have a standard display
placard giving basic vehicle details. You
are encouraged to provide information in
addition. Please advise the vehicle sub
committee if you have any requirements
for power or wall space.
You are also encouraged to display your
car to best advantage – open bonnets
and removed wheels etc to show off
aspects of the car’s construction are
encouraged, as are having the car on
axle stands or similar. Most car spaces
are notionally 2x5m; advise the sub
committee ASAP if you need further
space or facilities.
Vehicles will be behind rope barriers
and club members will be on continual
9
patrol, but please advise if you have
any particular requirements or concerns
regarding vehicle public access.
•• Club vehicles with engine swaps are just
as welcome as scratch builds.
•• The intent is for all vehicles to be on
display for the duration of the show,
without leaving before 5:00 PM on
Sunday. Owners need to advise the
vehicle organising sub committee if
they need to get away early, in which
case efforts will be made to place those
vehicles near an exit if possible.
Preferential Parking
•• The intent is to have the public park on
the road and car park next door to the
show venue. Traffic management using
club members will assist in this regard.
•• There will also be preferential parking
in the driveway leading up to the show
venue and outside for car clubs, special
interest cars and those unable to
have their car in the show itself for the
duration. In this manner there will be an
informal ‘show within the show’.
Health and Safety/Security
Venue will be locked and lights on. Intent
is to lock the external gate in addition.
Regular patrols will be undertaken.
•• Outside parking for trailers will be
available on site, with trailers able to be
locked inside the venue overnight.
•• Please advise me if you hold a current
First Aid Certificate.
Financial
•• EFTPOS will be available for the
purchase of tickets and cash out (to
reduce the amount of banking).
•• Show admission is $5 per head with
under 12s free. Club members with
vehicles on display, exhibitors or those
helping out will have free admission. All
else are to pay.
•• Those able to billet out of towners, or
requiring a billet are asked to contact
Patrick Harlow.
Entertainment
•• This year is also the 25th anniversary of
••
•• CCC is investigating public liability
insurance for the show.
•• Vehicles will be on display at owner’s
risk although we are investigating the
possibility of liability cover.
•• Batteries will be disconnected and fire
extinguishers will be strategically located.
•• Oil drip trays are not required unless you
know your car has a leak, in which case
you need to provide something. Owners
are responsible for cleaning up any oil
etc from your vehicle.
•• Security is being provided for Fri, Sat
and Sun nights. It will include a minimum
of 2 x adults at any one time, who will
be awake for overnight with cell phones.
10
••
••
••
••
Fraser Cars, and there will be a number
of Fraser Car Club cars on display as
space allows.
The intent is to set aside a large
section of the outside car park to allow
Scott Tristram of Fraser Cars an area
to demonstrate the ‘Demo Fraser’
throughout the weekend.
A Bouncy Castle will be available for
children.
A commercial cafeteria will be running for
the duration of the show.
A separate room for club members and
exhibitors will be available as somewhere
to relax and store bags etc.
Patrick Harlow will be showing a number
of historic video clips throughout the
show covering NZ built cars.
September 2013
Show Magazine
Trade Stands
•• A one off 25th anniversary special edition
•• At this stage we have around 10 trade
of Spare Parts will be available for sale
at the show for $5.00. 700 copies will
be printed, providing one free for each
member and the remainder for sale.
Under Construction
stands that are vehicle/project related
confirmed, with more trickling in.
Volunteer Groups Needed
•• The intent is to have teams generally
•• It is intended to show a succession of
Lotus 7 type cars under construction,
illustrating the 6 major stages in a build.
If you have a build that can help in this
regard please advise the vehicle sub
committee.
•• Likewise it is intended to have a range
of common engine and transmissions
on display. Contact Phil Bradshaw if you
can assist.
Identification
••
••
•• Club Members are asked to bring their
club cards and wear them when the
show is open to the public.
•• We will aim to have more on hand for
helpers.
•• Exhibitors will also be provided with
suitable cards.
••
Club Stands
••
•• The club will run two stands at the show
– one being ‘front of house’ which will
be where admission is collected. Steve
Strain has the lead in this area. The other
will be a club information booth coupled
with a technical question and answer
service. Steve Strain 021 463 594
[email protected]
•• LVVTA will most likely provide some
information and display materials but is
unable to provide personnel to the show.
Issue 8 Volume 26
••
operating in 2-hour shifts throughout
the show, unless the roles require only
casual activity.
Electrical Team. 3 people to run power
cables and assist with set up on the
Friday night. The loan of a variety of
extension leads and multiboxes will be
appreciated. Make sure you clearly label
them to make sure you get them back.
Leads etc must be in good condition.
Team leader required.
Cleaning crew/Plumber. 3 people to
keep an eye on the toilets and clean
them as required throughout the day and
deal with any blockages. Team leader
required.
Rubbish. 3 people required to empty
rubbish bins and replace bags as
required throughout the show. Lead: Rolf
Feinson
Marshals. 10 people required to assist
with marshalling the cars on the Friday
plus traffic management and parking/
traffic control throughout the show. Most
likely to require 2 x shifts of 5 x people.
Team leader required.
Engine Display. 2 people to help Phil
Bradshaw with the set up of the engine
display.
Phil Bradshaw
President
Constructors Car Club Incorporated
027 442 1968
[email protected]
11
Too much pressure
by Brian Worboys
I have been a bit busy with other things and
getting the Road Rat back on the road has
had to take a back seat. However, the car
show is almost on us, so I had to get onto
it. Last year I got the rebuilt engine together
and ran the car in some local motorsport
events, The car went OK, except for fuel
flow problems where I had pinched a fuel
line, but it was plagued with oil leaks from
the engine and transmission and too-high
engine oil pressure (over 90psi). Then finally
at a Trentham autocross, an oil filler/breather
hose split splashing oil all around so I have
had a few oily issues to address.
First off I planned to get the pressure
under control. Currently I have a higher-thannormal volume oil pump, so I thought I would
replace it with a standard one. I emailed
my usual NZ supplier about this and Mark
rang me back to discuss what might work
better for me. He said they were commonly
having more trouble with new-built aircooled
VW engines with high pressure, than with
low pressure. The standard pressure relief
system just doesn’t seem to be up to the
flow with a tight new engine. He told me
that changing to a smaller pump might not
be the best path and suggested fitting an
external pressure relief system so that the
oil delivered to the engine is at a pressure
that it can handle. He had imported from the
states a combination external oil filter and
pressure control system and a special fitting
for the engine to return the excess oil to the
sump. He warned me it was a bit pricey, and
he wasn’t wrong. The kit is about $450. But
.. it did make sense. It also got me thinking.
All I really need is something with a spring
and a ball bearing in it to make a pressure
relief valve.
12
So off I go to Bunnings for a browse around
the plumbing department. My external oil
system is all half-inch hose. So I gathered up
a bunch of parts that would seem to do the
job. Using copper-to-polybute fittings I got an
ID of about 10mm, and a “12 inch” connector
is about 15mm inside. So this meant I could
use a 12mm ball and a 7/16” spring. The
parts cost about $35, and a 12mm ball from a
bearing place near the Porirua tip cost $1.20.
I took my bag of bits home and assembled
it cutting bits of tube to pack up the spring
to adjust the relief pressure. I used my air
compressor to test the operation and get the
pressure right. Set for 50 – 60 psi. All seems
good. However.. Nik-the-Ed is very insistent
on his deadlines… plus it’s a bit cold in the
garage these nights… so I haven’t actually
tested it in the car
yet. Finger’s crossed
for that. Hopefully I
can give a positive
report for the next
issue… or maybe, if
interested, you will
be able to check it
out at the show. I
do have some hoseroute problems to
solve. It’s a bit tight
in there.
Oil pressure relief
valve
September 2013
Building my second 7
by Graeme Rose
Once upon a time back in 1982 one of the
car yards in Hastings had a Lotus 7 series
3 for sale. I managed to go for a spin in it.
What a buzz. My wife at that stage had a bun
in the oven and couldn’t get in to it. She said
where are we going to put the kids (kids) we
are only having one right? She said yes at
the moment. So that was it for some time.
In 1988-89 I started to build one. I found
a guy here that had a Steel Brother Chassis
hanging up in his shed (and he still has it
and still hanging up) Well I managed to
borrow it and started to copy it. I was Kart
racing then and I found out about a man
that was racing Karts in Auckland that had
built a 7 and he had the jig for the front wish
bones. Well after some time I had a rolling
chassis. The dude that had the chassis had
the moulds for the guards and nose cone
so we use them also. With a house and two
kids money was not plentiful, Karting had
gone also.
I was doing everything on a shoe string.
It took me over a year to get the gauges
for it. I wanted Smiths and the way to get
them was out of Triumph PI’s. Everything
was drawn out & I started to lose interest
in it. It had the motor and gear box in it (
motor 1600 Cortina, the box was out of one
too but it had different specs, Escort diff
and rack, Triumph Herald/Vitesse up rights)
I was trying to do it as close to original as
possible.
But it got to the time where I had to trade
her in ( the wife that was) I kept the car for
about a year after but I had lost interest to
much that I sold it in 1993. It’s in Masterton
now. I saw it about three years back at the
Napier Art Deco and the same guy has it.
But I had got another one wife…
About 2007-8 a friend of mine came to
me and said you had a 7 didn’t you and I
said why, he said I’m thinking of building one
– and I said lets build two – so we managed
to get our hands on a later model chassis to
copy. I want say what one but they aren’t to
accurate either, but we got it right. My friend
and I were going well together but he lost
interest and has since sold his one. But my
one is that far on now I want to finish it.
As you can see from the photos I don’t
have far to go, I have been a lot luckier than
some people that build these cars, as I am
a car upholster by trade I can weld (Gas,
Mig, Arc) I have my own Lathe and Milling
Machine, so I have done a lot of the work
myself which keeps the cost down, also my
nephew works for a stainless steel out fit in
Lotus Chassis
Issue 8 Volume 26
13
Hastings, he is a whizz with a Tig. He has
made my roll bar , muffler, petrol tank, front
guard up rights, light brackets, spare wheel
carrier, windscreen frame and brackets etc.
And last of all my son is a car painter so
the paint job should come out pretty good.
He has already done under the bonnet and
the top of the motor etc. The weirdest thing
about building you own car is that you do
things two to three time because you see
a different way of doing it or you don’t like
it that way.
I have already redone my seats plus lots
of other stuff.
The rear guards were off Trade Me. I
didn’t want the standard box type tail lights,
so went LED strip lights, but that meant
reshaping the bottom side of the guard to
take the lights.
Ok that’s all done stand back and have a
look at my work. Up close looked good but
stand back ( S#@T) the bottom of the guard
was a different shape from the other and
it was in the mould. The two guards were
different, one had a curve on the bottom
the other was straight. So with that done it
looked great. BUT you sit on the ground and
look at the tops of the guards the drivers
side one sloped down from the inside to the
outside with about 25mm of bog in it….
To get the guards round I made a sanding
board from 3mm custom wood with a block
of 25mm squire on each end , I glued sand
Left: front corner
Below: Fitting the panels
14
September 2013
paper with contact glue and taped that to the
guard and pushed the board down onto it
that gave it the shape and by sliding it back
and forth that gave me a perfect round guard.
You can buy them from panel suppliers at
$150.00 I made 2 for about $10.00. It’s
amazing what looks flat. You run your hand
over it and you can feel hump and hollows in
it as you will see on the nose cone.
The spec are Toyota 4age, T50 box , Twin
40 Dellortos. Escort diff , Cortina Hubs. And
this is where we are up to.
Right: foam seat
Below: Bare bones 7
Issue 8 Volume 26
15
Suspension of Disbelief
by Phil Bradshaw
Introduction
Plan of Attack
I need to upgrade the rear axle in my
105E Anglia project, with my intent being
to go to a 5-link turreted coil-over type
arrangement, with equal length trailing
arms and a panhard rod.
There are a few reasons or this, as follows:
•• the stock rear axle will not last long
behind the 210 horsepower BEAMS
3SGE engine from a Toyota Altezza.
•• the stock drum brakes will not be up to
the task either.
•• the stock rear leaf springs will also
struggle to control the axle under hard
acceleration.
I was going to use a narrowed (as I don’t
want to fit ‘bubble arch’ flares) Toyota
T-series (6.7” crown wheel diameter) disc
braked rear axle assembly (as fitted to AE86
Corollas) but these are getting rare now
and are therefore getting expensive. The
axles appear to be the weakest link, with
later models having larger axles. The later
axle variants are very sought after, but the
whole assembly is still marginal to handle
200 horsepower. Furthermore LSDs, whilst
readily available, are also quite expensive.
Long story short I am now going to
narrow a Toyota F-series (7.5” crown wheel
diameter) rear axle assembly. These seem
capable of handling up to 500 horsepower
(which should be adequate…) noting there
is a remote chance I may upgrade one day
to a turbo 3SGTE, which I happen to have
lying about in the garage. These make 260
horse stock and are capable of a lot more.
The F-series is the best ‘next size up’ option
from the T-series amongst Toyota’s diffs.
I could have used a complete Previa rear
assembly as the basis (as these use F-series
rear axles, in various live and independent
forms), but will actually build up a hybrid as
follows:
•• Housing is from an early/mid 1980s
Toyota Crown sedan as the design makes
it slightly easier to narrow than the Previa
housing – the Crown outer axle tubes are
parallel for a greater distance and so it is
fairly easy to remove the axle outer bearing
sockets and weld them back on after
cutting the housing to the required width.
•• Diff head is a 7.5” Previa 3.9 ratio unit,
from a supercharged 4 cylinder petrol
model. This ratio will ensure the engine
remains in its standard speed/RPM range.
I am running 195/60x14 tyres which, with
the 3.9 diff, equates to the facelift Altezzas
that ran a 4.3 ratio with 215/45x17 tyres.
•• LSD is an Altezza Torsen (TORque
SENsing) gear-type LSD, although I also
have a TRD 2-way plate type LSD buried
somewhere in the shed. The latter are a
favourite for track work and drifting, but
possibly a bit aggressive for the Anglia
as it is for predominantly road use. The
Altezza also uses an F-series diff.
•• Axles will be standard Previa, narrowed
and re-splined with the flanges re-drilled
from 5x114.3 to 4x114.3mm PCD to suit
the wheels I am fitting.
•• Brakes will be standard heavy duty Previa,
which feature a vented disc and integral
drum handbrake. These are a very tight fit
inside my 14” wheels but I am confident I
can make it fit. Admittedly they are overkill,
but I have already got them so why not?
16
September 2013
Costs
To give an idea of costs, I recently sold a complete TE71 disc braked rear axle/diff assembly,
which is almost identical to AE86 albeit slightly older, for $1000 – and this was a ‘small axle’
variant. The diff wasn’t LSD either. By comparison the Previa rear end cost me $250 from
Pick a Part and you can get Altezza Torsen LSDs for $250 on Trade Me.
Nik James’ Nissan Turbo powered Niscort seems to work really well with an early Alfa rear
axle complete with LSD. Nik has kept the leaf springs, but has fitted upper arms as well,
which is a fairly common RS Escort modification. I plan to modify the Anglia to fit a 5-link style
rear suspension with coil over shock absorbers mounted in turrets.
NOTE from Nik
Yes the Alfa rear axle set up does work well. By the time the Niscort project got to the rear suspension
the budget was really blown, thus simple and cheap was the name of the game.
The car was not for rallying or serious track work, so long travel suspension, mighty reinforcing and
fadeproof Bilsteins was not a requirement. Rear turrets are readily available for Mk1 Escorts, and it has
all been done before oodles of times, but I decided to run a leaf spring set up and see how it goes.
Way back in the 60s, race regulations in UK demanded that the original suspension medium should
be retained. Enterprising race car builders devised a system utilising rollers to locate the axle to the
leaf springs. This divorced the spring from the function of locating the axle, leaving that job solely to the
radius arms/panhard rod/Watts linkages. This was all very well but my wallet was empty.
Some simple but very well made radius arms were acquired thro Trademe for a price that I could
not have made them for, and installed on the Alfa axle parallel to the car centre line running forward
to brackets under the rear seats. These arms were very close in length to the effective radius of the
front half of the leaf springs. Thus the leaf springs and the radius arms formed a kinda parallelogram
constraining the axle to approximately vertical movements. I welded a bracket to the leaf spring clamp
plate which would serve as a location point for a Panhard rod. The leaf springs were left stock, with
a rate of around 120lb/in. Steve at SAS got me some excellent shocks – nothing fancy, merely the
Monroes that are listed for standard replacement items on Escorts. These were fitted using the OE
bracketry, which fits them at an angle – not ideal but vertical fitment demands turrets.
A road test at this stage revealed the spring rate felt right, and the axle did not tramp.. However the
axle was certainly lacking in lateral location, since this was solely being addressed by the leaf springs. It
was apparent that the rubber bushes in the leaf springs were around 40 years old and so were replaced
by Polurethane items. These lovely bushes transformed the feel of the car, allowing the leaf springs to
do a remarkably good job of axle location.
The car felt so good that I never fitted the Panhard rod. At the track it’s great, and it only gets a bit
unsettled on severe washboard surfaces on the road.
The moral of the story?
Be mindful of the type of driving you will do.
Don’t underestimate the massive effect of replacing old rubber bushes with modern materials
This is where it gets difficult. Whilst it is a relative term, the Anglia is a budget project,
which means I am not keen to spend $1000 on some Escort style trailing arms and link
boxes (that will need modifying) plus source coil overs. Neither am I keen to spend around
$1300 plus shipping, customs and GST (so probably closer to $2k) to get an Anglia kit from
the UK (even if it does include everything). I also have concerns over which ride height (and
therefore suspension geometry) these kits are optimised for.
So, I plan to make my own.
Issue 8 Volume 26
17
Above: Escort 4 Link
boxes
Right: Escort 4 link
layout
18
September 2013
Left: Escort with 4
Link Boxes
Below: Anglia with 4
link boxes
Design Considerations
This raises a number of design considerations,
that I will cover off below along with my current
thoughts. I’d appreciate any feedback.
Ride Height and Stance
Overall the Anglia is being built for ‘fast road’
use (whatever that really means). The front
ride height has been dictated by ensuring
I have sufficient wheel travel and lock at full
bounce. Despite being considerably lower
than stock my Anglia is no where near as low
as the current trend seems to be for those
featured in overseas magazines. Admittedly
these cars run smaller overall diameter tyres,
but to my mind they don’t look right.
My intent is to set the rear ride height at
one that provides the best ‘stance’ overall. I
suspect the sills will end up either parallel to
the ground or slightly lower at the front. This
will ultimately dictate the axle ‘height’ relative
to the body at normal ride height, and thus
the design of the axle and body mounts
for the trailing arms, so their geometry is
optimised.
Issue 8 Volume 26
Rear Spring Rate
Rally Escorts ran leaf springs around 145lb/
in rate. Noting I plan to fit coil overs that will
most likely be directly above the axle, placed
as far outboard as possible and more or less
vertical, then I will aim for something around
the 150lb/in region. I currently have a set of
225 lb/in springs, that will do fine for initial
set up and building around. If anyone has
some 150 lb springs they want to swap for
some 225s please contact me. I have 225 lb
springs on the front struts, which I suspect
will be about right.
19
Trailing Arm Length
I plan to fit 4 x equal length trailing arms.
I have got 2 x sets of AE86 arms; these
have long lower arms and shorter upper
arms. I plan to use just bottom arms, which
are ~19”/475mm between the eyes; these
compare with ~14”/368mm for Mk 1 rally
Escorts and ~25” between eyes/641mm for
Mk 2 Escorts.
My plan is to make the arms as long as
possible, as my Leitch Lotus 7 replica has
relatively short parallel trailing arms, which
induce roll steer as one side shortens
relative to the other with body roll. I may
even use the leaf spring front body mounts
for the front end of the lower arms if it looks
simple enough to do so, and modify the arm
length to suit.
Generally speaking cars that get ‘long arm’
4-link conversions sacrifice the rear seat
(as the height of the link boxes (see below)
precludes fitting a seat), and most cars that
get this conversion are for competition use
so the rear seat is long gone. Generally
speaking the arms run forwards and attach
to a modified structure that ties into the front
of the original seat base location.
I would like to stay with the rubber bushes
to reduce binding, but will upgrade to
nolathane if axle tramp becomes an issue. I
also have some rose jointed aftermarket arms
I can modify to suit but would prefer not to
use these in what will primarily be a road car.
Trailing Arm Geometry
My intent is to mount the arms parallel
to the ground at normal ride height, and
directly fore and aft. I will design the body
mounts with a series of holes in an arc to
enable some tweaking to provide some
anti-squat if needed. Some Escorts angle
the arms in plan view with the front mounts
slightly closer together than the back as this
20
enables the arms to ‘centre up’ in the trailing
arm boxes as the body rolls. Given my intent
to have in effect a wide open mounting area
I will run them straight. It will also simplify the
mount design.
I will aim to have at least 150m between
the upper and lower trailing arm centrelines
with ideally 175-200mm to spread the
loads. The constraint will be to have the
upper arms no higher than the diff centre if
possible.
I will also aim to have the arms directly one
above the other in side view – I had toyed
with offsetting the upper arms towards the
rear of the car by say 75mm, but suspect I
will gain little in real terms.
Trailing Arm Mounts
Rather than fit ‘standard’ trailing arm boxes
that are relieved into the rear floor pan
under the seat I am tempted to cut the rear
floor pan out of the car completely and
fabricate something from tubing to mount
the suspension components from, and
cover it in flat alloy sheet as required. This
structure would tie into the car sills and
other strongpoints in the body. The aim is to
mount the arms as far outboard as possible.
I need to replace most of the rest of the
floor pan anyway, due to the firewall and
trans tunnel modifications that are required,
coupled with rust in the front foot wells.
I want to retain some semblance of a rear
seat but will probably build a custom base
without springs on some high density foam
(to reduce the base’s overall thickness), and
mount it a bit higher to fit over the trailing arm
boxes. Realistically with me in the driver’s
seat there isn’t much room left behind it to
the rear squab anyway.
Coil Over Location
I will aim to mount the coil overs on top of the
axle, with the bottom mounting eyes parallel
September 2013
to the axle axis. If this isn’t practical then I
will locate the coil overs immediately behind
the axle. The top of the coil over units will
be slightly inclined towards the centreline of
the car.
Axle Width
The Anglia is significantly narrower than an
Escort or RWD corolla etc, particularly in
the rear. Many people simply fit an Escort
type rear axle and use ‘bubble arches’ to
cater for the increased track width. I really
want to keep the car looking mostly stock
externally, hence need to narrow the back
axle. Realistically the Previa rear end is so
much wider than Escort etc it would have to
be narrowed regardless.
I am building the Anglia to take 2 different
sets of wheels. One set are 14x7” minilite
style with a 10mm offset. These run
185/60x14 tyres as that is the maximum
diameter that will fit relatively easily in the
front guards. The rear rims are 15x6 with a
20mm offset, running a 195/50x15 tyres to
achieve the same overall diameter. Ideally
the 15” rims would also be 7” wide to seat
the tyres better, but the style I am using only
come in this size.
If my calculations are correct, the outside
edge of the rims sit almost in the same
plane, with the difference in widths and
offsets almost cancelling out, with a new
Issue 8 Volume 26
difference of a little over 2.5mm per side. I’m
not sure exactly how much difference the
relative tyre width to rim width and hence
sidewall bulge will make.
The rims and tyres I am using are already
too wide for the Anglia – the only way I
could get the current wheels on under the
guards was to remove the brake drums to
crib a few mm each side, so the final flange
to flange measurement of the narrowed axle
will have to be less than the stock Anglia
axle. I will check with both sets of rims, but
suspect I will need to narrow the new axle
to be about 30mm narrower than the Anglia
one. It looks like the inner guards will enable
me to achieve this without needing surgery,
but I will need to check that too.
Next Steps
The next step, when I get some time, is to
roll the Anglia out into the sun and play with
various weights in the boot to determine
which ride height/stance looks best (and
workable). Once I have got that determined
I will take some accurate measurements to
base the suspension component design
around.
I will get the various brackets laser cut, and
will slip the axle brackets onto the housing
when the bearing sockets are removed. A
jig of some kind will also be required to keep
everything in alignment.
21
A Different(ial) Kind of Story
by Phil Bradshaw
Late last year I received a call from my friend
Byron in Christchurch, asking if he could
borrow the spare early 80s Celica/Supra
F-series 7.5” IRS Limited Slip Diff I had
squirreled away in my come in handy pile.
The Toyota F-series 7.5” differentials have a
remarkable degree of interchangeability and
were in production for over 30 years, with
multiple ratio and LSD options. They were
produced in both live axle and Independent
Rear Suspension (IRS) variants, and
although the IRS housings tend to vary
significantly in design (specifically mounting
points) to suit the vehicle they are fitted to,
the internals are all interchangeable, as this
story will show.
Unfortunately the 6.7” T-series doesn’t
have quite the same level of interchangeability
due to there being three different axle splines
used throughout its life, but that is a story for
another day.
Byron has an early 80s Celica Lift Back
running a 3TGTE that he uses for club
motorsport, primarily sprints and hill climbs.
Byron had bought his Celica about a year
earlier, which, despite having a compliant
cage and a few go faster bits, was a bit
rough around the edges.
The 3TGTE was Toyota’s first foray into
performance turbo twin cam engines and
was only made in turbo form. It featured
an 1800cc DOHC 8-valve twin spark plug
head and very strong bottom end, although
they were unbelievably heavy. Toyota built
some 30,000 in order to develop the limited
edition 2.1 litre 4TGTE variant, that went on
to Group B Rally success in Africa in a 380
bhp incarnation, and ultimately Group C
sports car racing with a 600+ bhp variant.
22
Anyway, Byron rang because the welded
diff (the good old ‘NZIG Locker’) his race
car came with had finally expired, and as
he had an event in 10 days time he was in
need of a quick fix. As luck would have it the
spare LSD I had lying about had come from
a similar vintage IRS Supra, and it would
bolt straight in to his Celica. I had acquired
that diff about 4 years earlier when I was
collecting bits for my V8 Celica.
My Celica project is actually based on the
lowest spec body shell, which comes with a
live rear axle and 5 link suspension set up, as
opposed to the IRS fitted to the higher spec
cars like Byron’s race car. My ‘poverty pack’
Celica shares broadly the same bare body
shell that the Group B Rally homologation
cars were based on, as a live rear axle was
considered more suitable and durable for
rally use at the time.
Under Group B regulations a manufacturer
had to build 200 base vehicles before they
were permitted to build a minimum of 20
homologation ‘evolutions’ per year, that they
were then able to rally. To say that Group
B regulations were somewhat permissive
is an understatement, as in many cases the
evolutions bore scant resemblance to the
200 homologation cars.
Anyway, I had to upgrade my Celica’s
original T-series 6.7” crown and pinion
drum braked rear axle to a F-series 7.5” disc
braked variant from a similar vintage early
80s Toyota Crown, as the original rear end
was no where near up to handling the Lexus
V8 I had fitted. The Crown rear axle is not
only a much heavier duty unit with 5 wheel
studs (as opposed to the Celica’s original
4), but it is also some 90 mm wider.
September 2013
As it happens, the FWD type offset 17x8”
and 17x9” 35P rims I have fitted front and
rear, tuck further in, hence cancelling out
much of the added axle width. Thus I ended
up with much wider wheels and tyres that
fill the stock guards much better. A bonus
was that the LSD units (plus crown and
pinions) from IRS MA61 Supras of the
same vintage were interchangeable (as
are those from much newer Altezzas and
Previas, Estimas etc).
I had actually managed to acquire two
disc brake Crown rear ends from a selfhelp wrecking yard near Oamaru during my
four year stint in Dunedin. It took me about
an hour to liberate each rear axle, which I
thought was pretty good considering both
cars had sunk a fair way into the dirt. To make
it even more fun one Crown had another car
stacked on top, whilst the second Crown
had two stacked on it…
Like most Toyotas of that era the Crown
came with a mind boggling array of engine
options, which resulted in not just various
specifications of rear axles and the like,
but also a wide range of differential ratios.
Accordingly I ended up with two identical
rear axle assemblies, apart from one having
a 4.3 ratio differential and the other a 4.55.
My V8 Celica needs a differential around
3.727 or 3.909 to optimise the gearing. Many
moons ago I managed to stumble across a
factory 3.9 ratio 2-spider LSD equipped
IRS MA61 2.8 litre twin cam Supra at Pick
A Part during a trip to Wellington. I ran out of
time to liberate it, but managed to convince
an obliging Dave Beazer to pull it out for me
the following weekend. Thanks Dave.
This I duly combined with the 4.3 ratio live
rear axle Crown diff housing to produce a
3.9 ratio Factory 2 spider LSD unit, that I
installed in the back of the V8 Celica, once
I had modified the axle housing to mount
Issue 8 Volume 26
Celica suspension. Incidentally the other
Crown rear axle assembly will end up getting
narrowed and fitted to my Anglia. I threw the
Crown’s 4.3 ratio open diff internals into the
now empty IRS housing and chucked it in
the corner for later.
It turns out that ‘later’ wasn’t all that far
away, as I next managed to stumble across
someone up in Auckland scratch building
a Lotus Seven type car with an F-series
MA61 IRS differential, that was geared too
tall for his car. As it pans out he also had a
spare diff centre he wanted to set up with
a different ratio again. In essence he had a
3.7 and 3.9 ratio but wanted a 4.3 and 4.55,
whilst I had a 4.3 and 4.55 but wanted a 3.7
and 3.9. I couldn’t believe my luck.
More to the point, his 3.9 diff was another
factory two-spider LSD, that he didn’t want
as he preferred an open diff, and he was
willing to do a straight swap of components
with me. So, with a bit of juggling, in one go
I managed to swap my surplus 4.3 ratio (in
the complete IRS diff head) plus the 4.55
ratio internals (all of which were no use
to me at all) for 3.7 open internals plus a
complete IRS 3.9 LSD. Bonus!
Around this time I also discovered that the
Torsen (mechanical TORque-SENsing) LSD
internals fitted to Altezzas bolt into the earlier
F-series diffs, and having duly acquired one
whilst living down south I produced a 3.7
Torsen LSD alternate diff head for the V8
Celica from the loose ‘Auckland’ internals.
Accordingly to my spreadsheet the 3.7 ratio
diff will enable the Celica to hit 100km/h in
2nd gear at redline, and the speedo will read
correctly given the drive gears in the gearbox.
That said, I am still tempted to run a 3.9 as
that is the ratio my V8 JZA70 series Supra
had and it was great fun to drive, although
as the Celica is likely to be some 350+ kg
lighter I can probably get away with going
23
one ratio taller. This is why I am keen to have
both a 3.9 and 3.7 ratio available.
The 7.5” F-series factory 2-spider LSDs
are prone to wear and aren’t all that strong
in relative terms, and I had always been a
little concerned about the longevity behind
the V8, as the smaller 6.7” T-series units
fitted to AE86 corollas and the likes can be
broken fairly easily. I also had really got to like
the characteristics of the G-series 8” Torsen
that was in the back of my V8 Supra, plus
the fact that they needed no maintenance.
These factors lead me to decide to swap the
V8 Celica to Torsen LSDs.
Anyway, with the 3.9 ratio 2-spider factory
LSD fitted Crown rear end modified and
sitting under the V8 Celica, and the 2nd
hybrid 3.7 ratio Crown diff head with Altezza
Torsen LSD internals tucked away under the
bench, I had used up my stock of loose diff
internal components. This left me just the
complete, spare 3.9 ratio IRS LSD from the
Auckland Seven builder, that I stowed under
the workbench for ‘later’.
Fast forward around four years to when
Byron rang with his broken diff and the
trouble was, this spare IRS diff was a 3.9
ratio and Byron needed a 4.55 for his race
car. Fortunately in the interim I had acquired
a surplus 4.55 ratio (and Altezza Torsen)
from some horse trading I had done with
Matthew Porritt.
Matthew’s ‘Matterati’ project was initially
built around a mid 80s on GA70 Supra IRS
set up. Matthew’s GA70 donor was originally
a base spec 2 litre 6 cylinder non-turbo, and
as such had not only a 4.55 ratio open diff
but also the smaller 7.5” F-series differential
unit as opposed to the 8” G-series fitted
to the rest of the Supras of that vintage.
Incidentally the G-series is what my hot
rod Woodie project will run. We had earlier
fitted another Altezza Torsen LSD (courtesy
24
Altezza Torsen LSD
Toytoa 2 Spider LSD diagram
September 2013
Toyota Factory 2 Spider LSD
Cusco LSD
TRD 2 Way LSD
Issue 8 Volume 26
25
of TradeMe, naturally…) with standard 4.1
ratio (later Altezzas run a 4.3) into Mathew’s
diff head, which was the correct ratio for the
Matterati, noting the relatively large overall
tyre diameter he is using.
Unfortunately, as time progressed it
became increasingly apparent that the
Supra rear suspension did not lend itself
well to mounting coil over units within the
confines of the body contours Matthew had
in mind for his project. As luck would have
it, around this time I had bought a crashed
Altezza as an engine and gearbox donor
for the Anglia, and on inspection the rear
end assembly (which had yet another 7.5”
Torsen LSD in it) looked like it would fit the
Matterati nicely.
This enabled a much simpler coilover
shock absorber mounting arrangement
than Matthew’s original Supra set up, and
resulted in less interference with the body,
although the rear section of the Matterati
spaceframe had to be completely replaced.
We did a straight swap, as I will be running
70 series Supra suspension components
in my Woodie, and the Altezza bits were of
little use to me.
Given that Byron had no real experience
in setting up diffs I volunteered to throw
together a complete 4.55 ratio IRS LSD diff
head that he could simply bolt in, using the
IRS housing and LSD from the swapped
Auckland diff, and the ratio from Matthew’s
original Supra diff.
Alas this cunning plan fell apart quite
rapidly when I realised that I had actually
sold the 4.55 ratio I had swapped with
Matthew some time earlier (but forgotten I
had done so). The Torsen LSD centre, which
I had removed when I sold the 4.55 ratio,
was buried in the corner of the shed and
earmarked for swapping with the 2-spider
LSD in the V8 Celica as an upgrade.
26
On to Plan B, which was to simply pull the
bare LSD internals from the (now long time
stored) Auckland IRS LSD 3.9 diff head and
courier them down to Byron. I wanted to strip
the diff as there was little point couriering
an additional 15 or so kg of housing, crown
wheel and pinion etc. Meanwhile Byron had
arranged for someone local to build up a diff
using his ‘locker’ crown and pinion with my
LSD centre.
So, imagine my surprise when I opened
up the spare MA61 IRS 3.9 ratio LSD
diff housing to find that the centre looked
nothing like the factory 2-spider LSD it was
supposed to be. It also looked nothing like
either a 2-spider open diff or an Altezza
Torsen. Given the size of it, it was most likely
some sort of LSD – so the question became
what was it?
Courtesy of Google and the ‘images’
option I quickly determined the mystery diff
was in fact an aftermarket TRD 4-spider
‘two way’ LSD, which are a favourite of
those wanting to go drifting. These sell for
well over $1400 new, and over $800 2nd
hand (if you can find one) – happy with that!
I promptly despatched the LSD unit down
to Christchurch, which Byron duly put into
his broken NZIG locker. Byron found he had
to come to grips with a pretty aggressive
LSD that locks up not only under power, but
also under hard deceleration (i.e. braking) as
well – hence the ‘2-way’ aspect.
By this stage I had also acquired a 3.9
Previa complete rear live axle assembly from
Pick a Part, that I wanted to turn into a 3.9
Torsen diff head for my V8 Celica (to replace
the 2-spider Factory LSD unit I had put in
it initially), using the Torsen internals that
originally came from Matthew’s car, so I could
simply swap the heads over. This meant
that the 3.9 ratio and IRS housing that had
contained the TRD LSD was now surplus.
September 2013
Byron was also building his own back
burner V8 Celica project, which has the
higher spec RA63 body shell with IRS, and
needed a 3.9 Torsen LSD, so I decided to
instead combine the now spare IRS 3.9 ratio
and housing left over from the TRD 2-way
unit with the (ex-Matthew) Torsen LSD I had
sitting about (to reduce the number of diff
bits scattered about), and also sent that to
Byron.
Byron promptly bought another Altezza
diff from TradeMe to replace this 2nd
unit I was about to send him. I then finally
fitted the 3.7 ratio Torsen LSD live axle diff
head I had built up back when I was still in
Dunedin (and had stored all this time) into
my V8 Celica, liberating the hybrid 3.9 ratio
2-spider factory LSD in the process. I ended
up swapping this 2-spider LSD centre with
a friend in Auckland for a hydraulic throw out
bearing for my V12’s clutch conversion, and
fitted the Torsen LSD from the diff Byron
sent me back into the housing. I kept the 4.1
ratio from the Altezza diff as a come in handy
and dumped the remainder.
No sooner had I done that than Byron
emailed me a link to another auction on
TradeMe – he had spied yet another Altezza
diff head for sale, that was advertised as a
LSD but the photo clearly showed it wasn’t
a factory Torsen – so what was it? Courtesy
once again of Google images I managed
to fairly quickly establish that it looked like
a Cusco brand LSD, and given the paltry
$210 buy now price Byron pounced on it.
The Cusco unit is really smart, in that it
is a 4-spider plate type LSD, much like the
TRD unit but far more tuneable. In simple
terms the Cusco unit has two ’rings’ with a
ramp profile on them that the spider forces
apart when the diff starts to ‘slip’. The rings
moving apart in turn cause the LSD clutch
plates to engage and thus limit the slip.
Issue 8 Volume 26
The rings are able to be reversed, exposing
a different set of ramp profiles, thereby
changing the diff from a 2-way to a 1.5 way;
i.e. less aggressive on braking/deceleration
than acceleration.
Furthermore there are 10 clutch plates
per side, comprising alternate driven and
driving plates. These can be re-stacked
with some doubling up of each plate type
(i.e. two driven plates back to back followed
by two driving plates); in this manner the
diff ‘aggressiveness’ can be set to 60, 80
and 100%.
So, the Cusco diff got sent down to
Byron and the TRD 2-way came back home
to roost.
This left me with a 3.7 ratio live axle Torsen
under the back of the V8 Celica and a 3.9
ratio live axle Torsen diff head ready to put
into the Celica as an alternate. I will most
likely swap the 3.9 into the Celica, but will
retain the 3.7 in case the Celica ends up
being a little ‘short’ in its gearing due to its
much lighter weight than the V8 Supra was.
I also have the 3.9 ratio 2-spider open
live axle diff head from the Previa and the
TRD 2 – way LSD centre. I will track down
another Altezza Torsen LSD in due course,
to combine with the Previa diff head, for the
Anglia. As it pans out the difference in wheel
diameter and engine rev range between the
cars results in both diff ratios being the same.
In the unlikely event the Torsen units
prove fragile behind the V8, then I will fit
the TRD unit, although my concerns over its
aggressiveness for road use remain. I have
kept the spare 4.1 ratio (just crown wheel
and pinion) from an Altezza, just in case the
Anglia is a little too tall.
27
Monaco Historique – One off the Bucket List
by John Cumming
Spectators view of the start line – not quite straight!.
Turning 50 has its benefits, one of which is
a ready-made excuse to attack the bucket
list. By happy coincidence our holiday to
England and southern France was perfect
timing to take in some historic motor racing
and what better place to go than Monaco.
My enthusiasm for grand prix cars starts
to wane after 1994 when real formula 1
was finally usurped by commercial F1 and
sanitised by tracks in places with no history.
Monaco on the other hand has it all, a uniquely
picturesque and most unlikely setting for
motor racing that echoes with the history of
the sport. The Monaco GP Historique is run
every second year about two weeks before
the modern imitation; a perfect way to soak
in the thrilling spectacle of grand prix cars,
racing as they were intended.
28
We stayed in a hotel in Nice that in the days
of the Alfa Tipo B would have been a grand
affair across the road from the entrance to
the yacht harbour, but now in need of a few
million to restore its former glory. The train
ride along the coast from Nice to Monaco
takes about 30 minutes with great views of
the coastline with its pretty little harbours
along the way. The train filled up with people
in GP regalia who were staying in numerous
hotels and pensiones along the way, all there
for the weekend’s racing.
Fears about accessibility and cost were
pleasantly put to rest; tickets were NZ$80
for Saturday and Sunday in the grandstand;
try $650 per day for the same seats at the
F1 race! While the event was well patronised
the grandstands were mostly half full and it
September 2013
never seemed over crowded. Monaco is a
very intimate setting for a race track where
the only separation between spectators and
track is a few rows of Armco and a small
safety zone with a mesh fence. I doubt there
is anywhere else where you can get so
close you can feel the wind blast as grand
prix cars tear by on full noise.
For Saturday’s station we chose St
Devote, the first corner after the start line
and pit exit. This was an excellent vantage
point to see mighty cars as they scrabble
for grip and accelerate up the steep hill to
Mirabeau and Casino Square. As a bonus,
climbing to the top of this grandstand gives
panoramic views of the track on the harbour
side, from the exit of the tunnel past Tabac
and down to the swimming pool. Day two
we were at the site of the old gasworks
hairpin with the stand right alongside of the
track, taking in the exit of Rascasse hairpin,
paddock exit and pit entry, and a tight corner
leading on to the start finish straight. From
here I was amazed to stand beside the
Armco and look down into the cockpit of
these historic formula 1 cars as the drivers
positioned the car within inches on the other
side, a blast of power before the apex and
set up for the exit to the straight.
The field of cars was mind blowing; I am
sure the collection would be unequalled
anywhere. The first grid was pre 1952
Voiturettes and Grand Prix cars including
Bugatti 35 and 59, Maserati 8CM, and
the mighty Alfa Romeo 8C Monza. The
sight of ERA’s wheel to wheel, drifting
under power and racing wheel to wheel
was quite incredible. Between races the
Mercedes SSK course car was not hanging
about, evidenced by the shrill whine of its
supercharger which would engage on full
throttle, and Hans Stuck treated with a
lunchtime demo run in an Auto Union Type
Issue 8 Volume 26
C.
Pre 1961 GP cars featured front and rear
engines with BRM’s of both persuasions
battling with Lotus 16’s and others. The
sight of Maserati 250F’s and Ferrari 246
Dino was just perfect for the setting, though
the sad sight of the Ferrari in the bales was
a reminder of the unforgiving nature of this
track. A field of sports cars and GP cars to
1965 entertained and all classes probably
turned on racing as good as in their day with
less break downs!
Sixty formula 1 cars from the 3 litre era
were grouped to 1972 and up to 1978, jaw
dropping stuff for anyone with an interest in
this golden era. The grid included Amon’s
1967 Ferrari 312 and Lauda’s version from
1973, Stewart’s Tyrell 006, along with
Clark’s Lotus 49 and March, McLaren and
others too numerous to mention.
The star of the show is just too hard to
call but I was amazed to see an ex Surtees
Ferrari 1512 from 1965 racing there, one
of very few to survive from this era when
there was no sentimentality at Modena for
last year’s machinery and most went for the
chop. The shrill flat 12 breathed through four
megaphones and was probably the loudest
as well, quite a statement amongst so many
straight pipes.
All this excitement was thirsty work so
we wandered down one of Monaco’s side
streets where the amiable crowd was
enjoying a lunchtime break. A street side
café offered a comfortable seat, and a
Peroni beer and glass of Pinot Gris with
complimentary olives soon arrived. I thought
I might need the reserve gold card but was
pleasantly surprised when the bill came to
12 Euros or NZ$20; on par with what you
would pay in many spots in New Zealand.
The last race for 3 litre cars to 1978 was
run in the wet which added to the excitement
29
but didn’t seem to dampen the competition.
After the days racing there was free rein to
walk the track and visit the paddock with full
access to drivers and teams.
In some ways Motor Racing seems
imposed on this beautiful old port town
with grandstand structures cluttering its
architecture and style, but in another sense
the Principality seems to survive on the
strength of its extremes and it all somehow
fits together. For my bucket list it was a
perfect day, up close to real racing cars,
driven hard as they were meant to be driven
in such a fairy tale setting.
Duelling ERAs
Hans Stuck in Auto Union C Type
3 litre cars power down from the tunnel
30
September 2013
In his masters
presence – Fangio
takes a rest
Hunts McLaren
sails by his airborne
Hesketh at St Devote
Classical Grand Prix – Maserati 250 F at
Monaco
Issue 8 Volume 26
Through the wire at Rascasse
31
Bendy bits
by Gavin Bateman
A nice day was being had by all at Manfeild.
I had just been out for my first race at
the MG Charity classic & posted a personal
best for this car of a 1:19.1. We had
finished refuelling etc and were standing
back looking at the car when I commented
to Dad “does it look like we have a lot more
negative camber on the left front than we
started with?” He agreed so we pulled the
nosecone off and had a look at the front
suspension. It seems that one of the byproducts of making a car go faster than it
has before is that components get a harder
time. Who’d have thought?!
Turns out the ½” bolts that hold the front
suspension arms into the car had bent.
Mainly due to inadequate design when the
car was built back in 1964, but owing to
the fact that they had bent a good 12mm
we decided it was best to call it a day & go
home to fix the car.
After removing the radiator, oil cooler &
steering rack this is what I found:
Yep, an unsupported 9” long stud with the
load going into it part way along.
After a session with a big piece of wood to
straighten the stud enough to get everything
apart, I started fabricating, making sleeves
for the studs that were welded into the
plates on either end, and triangulated with
diaphragm plates to the rack mounts and
each other, all nicely tig welded.
The turned studs of unknown material
were replaced with cap screws and
assembled to look like this.
Now to redo the wheel alignment using
my specially designed wheel replacement
devices…
But that will be another story.
Gavin Bateman
mob: 027 246 8948
ph: 04 232 2336
[email protected]
32
September 2013
USA – July 2013
by Dave Pattie
Hello across the ditch…
Thought it was about time to make a small
contribution to the Magazine and the month
long trip to the USA seemed a fitting place
to start.
The trip was supposed to be Nurburgring
and Goodwood Festival of Speed but Mr
Ecclestone decided to move the German
Grand Prix which meant the Goodwood
Festival moved back a week which then
clashed with the pre-planned USA bike trip.
Missing the 20th Anniversary show, and the
50th for Porsche and McLaren, was a bit of
a disappointment but maybe have to make it
up next year.
Anyway that left Christopher and I with
a month to fill in and what better place
than the old US of A. So how to fill in the
month…. how about LA – Seattle then
catch the train to Chicago and NY, fit in a
bit of culture in the Big Apple then head to
DC. As it happens the Coke Zero 400 was
also on so jump to Daytona for the weekend
before heading back west to Phoenix, Las
Vegas and join the bike trip to San Fran for
the Americas Cup and back to LA. Yep, that
should do it.
So here are the photos …
Seattle and Kennedy Space Centre – we went
to all three Shuttles (NY, KSC, LA) and a lot of
aviation museums (Seattle, NY, DC)!
Issue 8 Volume 26
33
NYC – with the Fraser shirt!
AMTRAK sleeper car – four days watching the
world go by before Times Square at midnight
Self explanatory – entrance and infield
34
Must do – sign the start finish line
September 2013
Then walk pit road and watch the concert from
the banking
Then the race … 20 rows back and you still get
your hat blown off (true!)
And enjoy a beautiful Florida evening
Issue 8 Volume 26
35
Grand Canyon – in a Convertible Mustang (see
later)
Death Valley – and that is quite hot on a bike!
The Bike and the crew
Christopher and I at the lowest point in the valley,
before heading to the coast (Malibu) and home
36
September 2013
LV Cup – Go Team
NZ
Rudy’s Diner –
Classic USofA
Issue 8 Volume 26
37
Buy and sell
Toyota AE82 Corolla GT 1986
Ideal club/motorsport vehicle.
Full cage homologated with MSNZ
(would cost up to $2k)
•• healthy 4age (bluetop)
•• MANZ log book
•• Unused D2 adjustable coilovers all round
•• Camber plates all round
•• Racetech seat
•• LUKE 5 point harness fia approved (still
valid)
•• exhaust extractors
•• 15” alloys
•• very drivable
•• sound bodyshell
Screen is cracked, otherwise only cosmetics required to make a fun safe competiton car
A bargain – offers around $2400
Car is in Upper Hutt, and is available
for view anytime by arrangement with…
Nik James, e-mail address and phone no
in the mag
Issue 8 Volume 26
39
The Constructors Car Club 25th Anniversary
DIY Car Show
This year is the club’s 25th anniversary year, with the highlight being the anniversary car
show to be held over the weekend of 12-13 October 2013 at the NZ Kennel Club venue in
Porirua. Set up will be from midday on the Friday, and the venue will need to be vacated by
midday on the Monday.
Titled ‘The Constructors Car Club 25th Anniversary DIY Car Show’, the show will be
open to the public from 9:00-5:00 daily, with an evening cocktail party drinks and nibbles
function at the venue for club members and show exhibitors between 6:00 and 8:00PM
on the Saturday night. People will then be free to head off to dinner in small groups. It has
been decided to not hold a formal club dinner in conjunction with the show but to organise
a separate event mid year.
The aim of the show is to celebrate what we do as a club, and to provide the public with a
unique opportunity to view a broad selection of the vehicles that are the embodiment of ‘The
Alternative Drive Style’.
To this end Patrick Harlow’s comprehensive guide to NZ low volume vehicles, currently
entitled ‘New Zealand Manufactured Cars ‘A Cottage Industry” is due for release Father’s
Day (1 September 2013). The book covers over 50 years of small volume NZ car production
and of the 90 or so different vehicles covered in the book, it is anticipated that 70% of the
featured models will be on display, with over 60% of those cars actually belonging to current
or former members of the CCC. It is expected that the book will be a great aid in promoting
awareness of the types of vehicles we have an interest in, and therefore the show itself.
Given the size of the venue, it is anticipated that we will be able to showcase over 100
home-built cars, kit cars and special interest cars under one roof, and in so doing will have
the largest show of its kind ever staged in New Zealand.
Previous shows held by the Club in 2001 and 2005 attracted several thousand visitors
each, and we are hoping to equal or better that in 2013. There will be a modest admission
charge of $5 per adult, with profits being donated to the Wellington Free Ambulance.
The show will display vehicles ranging from backyard built specials to replica supercars,
competition vehicles and much more. One thing that separates our show from other car shows
is that it won’t just be for gleaming, completed cars. Some of the most interesting vehicles
on display will still be under construction or scarred and worn from years of being used and
enjoyed. There will also be displays of some of the more common engines, gearboxes and
other key components that are frequently used in projects.
Space will be set aside for a limited number of companies that are involved with the industry
to display and sell their products to help promote our unique hobby, and external preferential
parking will be available for members of the public with unique cars.
Our aim is to make the show something very special. The assistance and support from the
wider club membership is vital to make the show a success.
We need you and your vehicle/project to take part, and will be calling for registrations of
interest shortly, so we can start to refine the show layout.