m8kwr
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| posted on 9/1/10 at 07:55 AM |
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I am currently building a car based around a lotus 49, and tecno F2/F3 from the late 60's
I am having the same issue as you deciding whether to put it on the road, but the cost of putting it on would pay for a second hand trailer, tow bar
on the car etc, and the insurance tax etc would pay for track days!!!
But the car would get more use if driven on the roads, with 2 kids I might not find the time going to track days etc.
Unsure what year of car you are thinking about.
Someone on here has built a formula 1 rep, I think it uses the mr2 running gear, I think that has 2 seats though.
The new book from Chris Gibbs is a similar I believe to the one I am building, from the only picture i've seen. And you think that would be
able to get through the IVA.
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johnston
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| posted on 9/1/10 at 10:22 AM |
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If you want to do it s a practical road car and be comfortable I would say no.
If you want to do it so you can say you did it then go for it!!!
Although if your roads are anything like the ones round me you might want a comfy seat and some extra suspension travel!!
mmmm copy lotus's twin chassis
Although I wouldn't like sitting in one in a 40fter sandwich down the motorway
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hicost blade
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| posted on 9/1/10 at 10:27 AM |
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I love the idea of a road going formula car
Suspension could be sorted with some kind of air lift device to get over bumps, like a lot of super cars
I would love a car quick enough to keep up with my mental mate on his R1
The point about being on your own is b******t, how many superbike riders want a passenger when they are giving it the beans?
I saw a road going formula first at Exeter a couple of years ago and it looked like a lot of fun (apart from the CVH engine pointing the wrong way)
Can't the wings be taken off for IVA??
If we all decided to go the easy route this forum would be called the cheap jap/crap 4wd saloon owners forum, but it's a specialist car
builders/owners forum isn't it?
Don't let people poo poo your ideas, we all need to dream, at least yours is exciting!
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nitram38
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| posted on 9/1/10 at 11:51 AM |
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Guys been there done that!
Look for my posts on The F1-2.
The main problem with converting a racecar is road clearance. Most formula cars run 20mm of the racetrack.
Just lifting them causes all sorts of geometry problems with the suspension.
Buy a kit off Russ Bost if you don't want the hassle of figuring out.
You are 1yr too late to have bought my car!
Both mine and Russ's cars are tandem seaters. Two seats in a line to take a passenger.
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scootz
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| posted on 9/1/10 at 05:38 PM |
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But was yours not a scratch built Nitram, so not an ex-race car???
It's Evolution Baby!
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Wadders
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| posted on 9/1/10 at 07:58 PM |
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Trust me, i for one wasn't trying to wee on anyones bonfire, it's just a fact that cars built for a specific purpose, simply don't
transpose well to other uses.
If you fancied going rallying for instance, you wouldn't start by converting a go kart 
Have a good look round a modern single seat race car and the pitfalls of converting to road use would become obvious. 
Yes i'm sure it could be done, but why waste the effort?, just build a fast road car from the off if that's the aim.
Al
Originally posted by hicost blade
I love the idea of a road going formula car
Suspension could be sorted with some kind of air lift device to get over bumps, like a lot of super cars
I would love a car quick enough to keep up with my mental mate on his R1
The point about being on your own is b******t, how many superbike riders want a passenger when they are giving it the beans?
I saw a road going formula first at Exeter a couple of years ago and it looked like a lot of fun (apart from the CVH engine pointing the wrong way)
Can't the wings be taken off for IVA??
If we all decided to go the easy route this forum would be called the cheap jap/crap 4wd saloon owners forum, but it's a specialist car
builders/owners forum isn't it?
Don't let people poo poo your ideas, we all need to dream, at least yours is exciting!
[Edited on 9/1/10 by Wadders]
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russbost
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| posted on 9/1/10 at 09:42 PM |
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I have to say that race cars don't convert easily to road use. Nitrams car, although it looked like a track car was a scratch build with proper
(ish) ground clearance.
My original (twin engine, Ferrari colours) car was an ex formula Ford which I cut in half & extended - steering column had to be replaced (one
piece straight column - no good for IVA), no handbrake so rear calipers had to be replaced, even after extensive suspension mods I could only get
ground clearance by fitting 18" wheels which was not my original intention.........
This was why when I designed the production Furore F1 I started with a fresh sheet of paper & designed it to look like a race car , but drive like
a road car. I agree that single seater road cars are fairly pointless, hence why the Furore has 2 seats!
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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t.j.
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| posted on 10/1/10 at 08:01 AM |
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If it's possible in germany, why not in the UK?
formula-3
Please feel free to correct my bad English, i'm still learning. Your Dutch is awfull! :-)
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nitram38
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| posted on 10/1/10 at 11:24 AM |
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I would have loved a "real" race car to road conversion, but it was easier to "scratch build" then end up with an abomination
that could not work safely on the road.
Even the German car has ground clearence issues.
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scootz
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| posted on 11/1/10 at 11:28 AM |
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Just thinking out loud, but wouldn't a set of 18" centre-locks give you a couple of extra inches without compromising the suspension geo.
It's Evolution Baby!
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russbost
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| posted on 11/1/10 at 01:28 PM |
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That's exactly what I did with my original car, depending on original & new profiles the sidewall height tends to stay around the same, but
it only gains you about 2.5" & you really need to gain about 4" - 5" extra.
The original ground clearance of a Formula car may well be sub 1" & they have very little suspension travel, so given that you need 4"
to clear a speedbump & you need to allow extra clearance for the day you have a heavy passenger & a full tank of fuel (Formula cars
don't carry much fuel either!) 5" is probably what you actually need to gain - you're then going to add weight & that figure
will shrink again.
18" wheels don't really look quite right & unless you're going to spend an absolute fortune they, along with the much bigger
tyres, weigh about as much as a small bungalow!
The other issue is that if you're going to 18" rims you need to be running widths of at least 245 or they just look daft - & those
widths won't necessarily look right with what you're doing & will affect suspension geometry to a certain degree - scrub radius for
one thing.
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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scootz
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| posted on 11/1/10 at 01:49 PM |
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Cheers
It's Evolution Baby!
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