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For those who were interested, The Life-Taker is done.
Doctor Derek Doctors - 16/9/12 at 09:33 PM

Its taken me 2.5 years and if you add on the time it existed before that its been a long tortuous build.

This thread is just for the people who have taken an interest and been involved over the years.

Thanks to everyone who helped, there are way to many to name you all but you know who you are and I really appreciated the help.

Here is the thread of Steves chassis build for those who want to see what happened before I bought it.

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=132958

Here it is as I bought it, jammed into my the original tiny garage and christened "The Life-Taker" after my Gran proclaimed on seeing it "You'll kill yourself in that thing"

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Some early progress, changed from a ZX10R engine to a 919 Fireblade and the decision was made to go racing as the cahassis was originally intended to:

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2012, new job, new home, new monster garage and new wheels but very little actaully progress on the car.

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Spring 2012, it hit me that I had to pull my finger out and make the bodywork.... the pace really started to pick up:

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Finally bit the bullet and designed and ordered my mid-mounted fuel tank:

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Luckily the summer was crap so I spent every minute that I wasn't at work or asleep I was in the garage and low speed shakedown took place at the end of July:

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The Life-Taker was then completely dismantled so the chassis could be coated, leaving me with the lego kit I dreamed of as a kid

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The chassis returned a month ago and the final build kicked off:

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I quick trip to Donnington for the RGB guys to look it over a couple of weekends ago:

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A lick of paint, some finishing and fettling, a number of small changes and its done.....

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And thats it, if you like it or not I couldn't care less as its mine. I only added these pics for the people who made bits for it, had a hand in the build and helped me out.

My favourite comment so far was from Tilly just yesterday " Like the floor, I really like the floor, I want a floor like that"

[Edited on 16/9/12 by Doctor Derek Doctors]

NigeEss - 16/9/12 at 09:42 PM

Nice, love the shark mouth

Wonder if that's the chassis Steve was working on when I collected some body panels from his place ?

tilly819 - 16/9/12 at 09:44 PM

Looking good

Tilly

trextr7monkey - 16/9/12 at 09:58 PM

There's me thinking it was going to be Coozer's firewood saw again!!!
atb
Mike
PS Well done with getting the car the way you love it!

slingshot2000 - 16/9/12 at 10:05 PM

quote:
Originally posted by trextr7monkey
There's me thinking it was going to be Coozer's firewood saw again!!!
atb
Mike
PS Well done with getting the car the way you love it!


^^^^+1
and I worry about Coozers thumbs, too !

nick205 - 16/9/12 at 10:15 PM

superb!

always liked that chasis of Steve's and the finishef car looks very well too.

andylancaster3000 - 16/9/12 at 10:57 PM

Looking good!! Out for the end of the season then?!

Also notice from your archive pics a certain blue French hatch still exists - still going ok???

liam.mccaffrey - 17/9/12 at 06:11 AM

Well done mate.

steve m - 17/9/12 at 06:52 AM

Nice, love the shark mouth

+1

AllWeatherDan - 17/9/12 at 07:26 AM

+1 Looking good :-)

TimC - 17/9/12 at 08:43 AM

MK9R - 17/9/12 at 10:16 AM

Well done! Will we see you out at Mallory?????

PAUL FISHER - 17/9/12 at 10:28 AM

Looks superb, have you weighed it yet?, I will also be interested to see how well it goes on track, when's your first outing

coozer - 17/9/12 at 10:57 AM

Eh?

welderman - 17/9/12 at 12:40 PM

keep us posted, looking good

jonabonospen - 17/9/12 at 04:08 PM

I personally think it looks really good. Well done.

DIYMAN - 17/9/12 at 04:17 PM

Looks very good, congrats on getting it finished. Hope the diff worked OK.

Doctor Derek Doctors - 17/9/12 at 08:09 PM

Cheer guys, lots of names on that list of replies who deserve a thankyou. To answer a few questions:

Yes it will be at Mallory, 14th October with special guest James 'Breaker' Breakell doing the driving honors.... Thats if nothing goes wrong beforehand.

Not weighed it yet, when the new shocks turn up it'll be on the corner weights and we'll find out.

Diff (Quaife ATB from a Megablade) is fine, and a perfect fit.

The track day Gendarme are still laying down the law to Porsches accross the race tracks of the UK in the trusty 306 GTi-6. Despite being run out of oil twice, doing loads of 4 hours straight stints on track and never ever being given a rest it still embarrasses much faster cars.

andylancaster3000 - 17/9/12 at 08:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Doctor Derek Doctors
Cheer guys, lots of names on that list of replies who deserve a thankyou. To answer a few questions:

Yes it will be at Mallory, 14th October with special guest James 'Breaker' Breakell doing the driving honors.... Thats if nothing goes wrong beforehand.

Not weighed it yet, when the new shocks turn up it'll be on the corner weights and we'll find out.

Diff (Quaife ATB from a Megablade) is fine, and a perfect fit.

The track day Gendarme are still laying down the law to Porsches accross the race tracks of the UK in the trusty 306 GTi-6. Despite being run out of oil twice, doing loads of 4 hours straight stints on track and never ever being given a rest it still embarrasses much faster cars.


I should never have got rid of that car. Staggering how much fun you can have for so little money!

Would pop over to Mallory if I wasn't out at thruxton myself. Hope it goes well. Got your ards don't yet?

Doctor Derek Doctors - 17/9/12 at 09:24 PM

Andy, heres the Gendarmerie 306 ready to go, the steel rear wheels are to fit over the Nissan 300ZX rear brakes.

I fitted those replacement doors you gave me for it... they lasted 2 weeks before somebody broke into it. Thats Nottingham for you.


Davegtst - 18/9/12 at 10:13 AM

Looks really nice, love the shark mouth too. I'd love to know if that extra floor area gives an extra aero benefit.

fullpint - 18/9/12 at 04:14 PM

Nice work mate, worth it in the end..
What happened to the milite type wheels in the first pics? I prefer them, in fact I want a set

Doctor Derek Doctors - 18/9/12 at 08:21 PM

I still have the Minlite style wheels, they are Compomotive race wheels that I will probably use for racing but I currently only have the required Yokohama A048's for the image split rims so I will be using those until the tyres have worn out.

I also think that they look 'meaner' on the car but the image rims with the polished outers tend to match the WWII fighter style paint job better.

GonzoRacer - 21/9/12 at 12:30 PM

Greetings from across the pond!

Good looking work, Sir, well done!

I also say "I like the floor!" Are there "sidepods" to go with the extended floor alongside the body or is the floor a "stand alone" aero device? I would like to know if there's any downforce gained by the floor alone. Interesting idea, and looks decidedly racy!

Thanks for posting the pictures!
JD Kemp
Tallahassee, FL, USA

procomp - 21/9/12 at 03:31 PM

Hi

Are those floor extensions easily detachable. I only ask as the RGB regs would define them as a WING and they would also fall foul of the 50mm past plan view. ?
Or is it having it's outing in Bike sports. ?

Cheers Matt

bobinspain - 21/9/12 at 05:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Eh?



'Belly dancing beauty with a power drive saw.'


They don't write ''em like that anymore.

Doctor Derek Doctors - 22/9/12 at 12:49 PM

quote:
Originally posted by GonzoRacer
Good looking work, Sir, well done!

I also say "I like the floor!" Are there "sidepods" to go with the extended floor alongside the body or is the floor a "stand alone" aero device? I would like to know if there's any downforce gained by the floor alone. Interesting idea, and looks decidedly racy!



Cheers.

There are no plans for sidepods. Without the use of a wind tunnel or an F1 spec test driver with hours of back to back track testing we'll never know if it makes any downforce but I like it the look of it.

GonzoRacer - 22/9/12 at 01:07 PM

I'll loan you my wind tunnel as soon as the wife finishes drying her hair with it...

True enough, we'll never know if it generates downforce, but it certainly looks the part. There was actually a bit of discussion on the design over in the US Locost forum. Several builders (including me!) think the extended floor on the sides would limit air going under the car and would give the air hitting the rear wings a surface to "stack up on" and thus generate high pressure and therefore a bit of downforce. (We think...)

Thanks for the response, and good luck with the car!
JDK

Steve Hignett - 5/10/12 at 01:50 PM

Congratulations Cal...

Who needs a wind tunnel anyway - I can send you some offcuts when the wife finishes my little boys next scarf...





Also, I haven't forgotton about those bits of carbon fibre that I said you could have for nowt, but there weren't as many as I thought, so I will have another good look round and hopefully get you a few pieces to make some aero whiskers or similar etc...

Once again, congratulations


ps; I do have (somewhere) some photo's that are of the inbetween stages - ie the photos that were taken after that previous thread of mine and before it went to you...
ATB
Steve

ETA
PS - I haven't read others comments. so I'm sure tha someone else may have mentiooned it. However, although the wings in Carbon/Kevlar look stunning, it looks like you may have mounted them on the wrong sides. Was this intentional for any reason???
ATB
Steve

[Edited on 5/10/12 by Steve Hignett]

Doctor Derek Doctors - 7/10/12 at 05:35 PM

Hey Steve, the arches are on the side that they fit so no problems there. If you have photos of the inbetween stages post them up, would be good to see them.

Doctor Derek Doctors - 16/10/12 at 09:03 PM

A couple of pics of it looking mean at Rockingham:

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And my tame artist has now finished the awesome WWII bomber style pin-up lady for the bonnet:


ceebmoj - 19/12/12 at 09:35 PM

do you have any more pictures of the fuel tank and fuel pump instelation?

Doctor Derek Doctors - 23/12/12 at 06:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ceebmoj
do you have any more pictures of the fuel tank and fuel pump instelation?


Had a few questions about the tank so I'll expalin and clarify.

Firstly we positioned it were it is for a couple of reasons. 1) Its the only part of the car that changes weight (noticably) during the race so to reduce the effect of the weight change it should be as close to the centre of gravity as possible (not hanging out over the rear end) 2) To reduce the weight of the fuel system the best thing to do is put the fuel as close as posible to wear its needed (right next to the engine) 3) A tall thin tank reduces surge problems and negates the need for a swirl pot.

Here is a pic of the orignal mock up:




It essentially occupies the space that the pedals do on the driver side but on the passenger side. The changes made to the final tank were to make it square (in plan view) so that there is room for the pick up pipe on the rear right corner of the tank. (Most UK circuits are clockwise so the fuel will usually be in that corner under acceleration)

This pic shows were the tank would be on a standard locost chassis, the blue is the position of the fuel pic-up:




This pic shows the finished tank in the car, it was made by OBP and holds 25L of fuel. The pump sits just iin front of the tank on the floor. The fuel lines are very short though and it packages very well.

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It does mean that a staggered bulk head is needed (can be seen in the pic) and the passenger does lose ~250mm of leg room. I have checked with the 750mc RGB organisers and it meets all rules and regs, being under the bonnet it does require a splash tray.

MK9R - 23/12/12 at 06:28 PM

I like that idea, a good exploit of the 75% RGB rule, we'll done! Look forward to seeing you put in it next season. I assume there is a full bulk head in there to keep fuel out of passenger foot well.

MK9R - 23/12/12 at 06:30 PM

I am looking at putting the tank in front of the engine on my new MNR GM, only concern I have is keeping tank cool and xomtaing possible leaks. What are your plans as that tank sits right next to the engine and manifold. Is the tank foam filled???

Doctor Derek Doctors - 24/12/12 at 08:16 PM

quote:
Originally posted by MK9R
I am looking at putting the tank in front of the engine on my new MNR GM, only concern I have is keeping tank cool and xomtaing possible leaks. What are your plans as that tank sits right next to the engine and manifold. Is the tank foam filled???


Keeping it cool was a concern but I have done a few things to negate this:

1) The bits of the manifold that are inside the body work are wrapped.
2) There is a twin layer ally heatshield plate between the manifold and tank.
3) The tank is covered in gold tape on the front to keep it cool.
4) the fuel line are inside insulation tube.
5) There is an outlet vent alongside the tank to draw out hot air.

With all of this you can put your hand between the engine and tank and there is no heat build up and the tank is cold to the touch even after a long run.

From the work we do on the dynos at work the main thing to consider is 'line of sight', if there is direct line of radiation between the hot things (mainly the exhaust) and the tank then stick something in between them. The simplest thing we do is to just cut out some sheets of ally or stainless and then double layer it with a small gap in between.... better than pretty much anything else...

I'll try and get some pics of the heatshielding.

ceebmoj - 24/12/12 at 08:32 PM

Thanks for the info. Can you also take a picture of the fuel pump location and the heat shealding?

Doctor Derek Doctors - 3/1/13 at 08:45 PM

Got her out at Donington last week, awful conditions but the car was perfect all day:

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Duncan36 - 4/1/13 at 12:16 PM

It certainly sounded great going past the pit wall. Are you going to make it on the grid of any RGB rounds this year?

cheers

Duncan

phelpsa - 4/1/13 at 12:23 PM

Can you make the front splitter any longer within regs?

Bring the ride height down 20-30mm and that floor could stand a chance of working quite well!

Who made the cage? How much does it weigh?

Adam

phelpsa - 4/1/13 at 12:23 PM

Can you make the front splitter any longer within regs?

Bring the ride height down 20-30mm and that floor could stand a chance of working quite well!

Who made the cage? How much does it weigh?

Adam

Doctor Derek Doctors - 13/1/13 at 06:12 PM

quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
Can you make the front splitter any longer within regs?

Bring the ride height down 20-30mm and that floor could stand a chance of working quite well!

Who made the cage? How much does it weigh?

Adam


Sorry, couldn't reply for a while was in sunny Mexico.

To answer a few questions:

Should be making an appearance in RGB this season, probably a limited campaign of the local races (Silverstone and Donnington) and Cadwell at the end of the season.

It will be on the rig next weekend to set up the cornerweights, ride heights and what-not ready for some dry running. Not sure of the weight yet, should find out on Saturday, once I find out which end is heaviest and I can decide were to concentrate the first weight reduction mods.

The cage is from Caged, believe its a modified Locost cage and it comes with MSA approval and serial number.

The floor seems to be working pretty well, all the mud at Donington gave a really good makeshift version of Flow-Glow so we could see what was going on, basically it was all working as expected

Currently its at Phase 1.0 (driveable), next raft of updates (Phase 1.1) will be to get it race ready and will include a load of cooling system updates plus a few aero bits (barge boards and splitter), ARB's, new springs, new front uprights etc etc. I'm also working on a new design for rear wishbones and uprights to simplify everything and make it all lighter but that will be for Phase 2.0 (race winner....?)

I still need to try and get some pics of the fuel tank heatshield.