PARTS WANTED:

Dry sump bits: Sump, Pumps, Tank, Hoses, w.h.y,

Any info about above parts will be greatly appreciated, Thanks Eddie Walsh

Also if you want to alter your Suspension Geometry or are just interested to see what you got, if you can work out your Suspensions X , Y and Z coordinates I can run it through my Software and let you have the results, Regards Eddie Walsh.

Introduction

June 02

We are about to start to build a Track Day Car, i.e. a car that can be used for track days, sprints, and hill climbs, etc. As most people do not like to use their pride and joy for fear of damaging it and therefore needing other transport home from the event.  We are keen to receive feedback from you, as customers,or just car nuts like me who be interested in such a project, as to the viability of such a venture. I am also writing a Book so that when the Car is finished I will try and get Published so everyone can share the experience or even build their own.

Regards Eddie Walsh

Proposal

We will use our 308 GTS Fiberglass body shell, and build a tube space frame chassis incorporating a full roll cage for protection and strength, and fully rose jointed suspension for fine adjustment.

Here is the Chassis starting to take shape, cockpit section is almost complete , having trouble trying to bend tube nicely for Roll Cage,so if you have experience of bending Tube with out spending a fortune on a Tube Bender, let me know OK. Front and rear lower sections of Chassis are also in place. We have got a pair of front suspension uprights so now we can also start to make the Wishbones, we have decided to go back to original idea and go inboard with Shocks and Springs using Pullrods pivoted as close to top Suspension swivel joint as possible so as to avoid putting a bending load into Wishbone as we will be using1000Lbs ?? rear spring and 550Lbs ?? front ( you have to start somewhere) , so hopefully this way we will not have to worry about spring angle. Also thinking about making an easily adjustable rocker so we can alter wheel rate easily.

I am already thinking about the steering rack , and how to mount it so we can also move this back and forward as well as up and down so we can alter the ackerman angles as I believe this will give us a very useful chassis tuning tool where we can set the car for different tracks ???.

Rear Uprights (Hub Carriers) are proving also difficult as I am trying to Fabricate them , so if you know who or where we can get nice Aluminum ones or just Raw castings let me know .

For rear suspension we will use the Vauxhall Astra GTE front hub and brakes set in our own fabricated Upright, an Ali one would be nice so if you know who can supply these let me know ( at reasonable cost OK)

Wheels will be initially 13 inch Dia X 10 inch for rears , and 13 inch Dia X 8 inch fronts, so this should give us a very fast 0 to 60 time ?? if we find we are running out of revs on the straights we can always go to 14 inch Dia ???.

Bodyshell is also been laid up in the Fiberglass Mould and we are trying to keep it also as Light as possible, Shell Molding finished , leaving in Mould until Chassis is ready.

So let me know what you think of it so far ????? sales@ferrarispares.co.uk

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Above Picture shows all engine mountings made and engine installed, I have tried to keep engine as low as possible, but had to tilt it forward 15% to keep the Driveshafts straight, so will either fit some baffles and move oil pickup in sump, or fit a dry sump kit ???

sales@ferrarispares.co.uk

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Power will be provided by a standard, inexpensive, and in plentiful supply 2 Liter 16 valve 4 cylinder engine, we have decided to go with the Vauxhall Astra GTE ( are these fitted with a LSD ??) unit and we should be able to get around 170 BHP with out spending a Fortune,and if we fit Throttle Bodies we should get the Power up to around 200 BHP,so if we can keep the overall weight down to 700 Kilo it should be pretty fast ???

Pricing should be from £15,000.00 (approximately $30,000) for a fully completed car, or we can supply kits or part kits?

So if you are interested or would like to suggest any ideas we would love to hear from you.

We will include some pictures as soon as they are available, and if you would be interested in buying such a car please let us know your thoughts and/or any input you might like to make.

What should we call it? We have decided to call it the "BRANOCH TCR"

Yours Sincerely,
Eddie Walsh

sales@ferrarispares.co.uk

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Update 18 Nov 02

Hi, it is now 6 months since we started on our Track Day Car Project, and progress has been slow what with trying to earn a living and money for buying material when needed, but I am happy with what has been achieved as I have never attempted anything like this before and it is giving me the chance to put my limited knowledge, that I have achieved from working on all types of cars from Minis(my first love)to last 20 years on the worlds greatest of course Ferrari's.

So to date we have completed 90% of chassis got the Engine gearbox Transverse unit fitted having made all engine mountings (look very nice) got 2 rear hub centers all machined and bearings fitted next build upright to these so again not bad,also at last having tried several ways and abandoning them have made the front Lower Wishbones and very nice Jig so we can make replacement ones that will fit, this has been a real eye opener as having seen lots of Formula cars and wishbones they always look so easy but now I know different , so next is top wishbones and Top Chassis to fix them too, and steering rack, so hopefully these will not take so long. Bodyshell is also completed in mould and we have started Making a Rear Wing that will hopefully give us some Downforce with out much Drag, so to date for a one man band I think I have not done badly ( My friend Craig has done all the Fiberglass work) and I am still very enthusiastic about the Project and still hope to be on the Track early next year ????? sales@ferrarispares.co.uk

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Above Photo shows the very latest Front Suspension Top & Bottom Wishbones that was made complete with fully adjustable Rose Joints on inboard and outboard ends, Steering Rack is mounted on Sliders so we can adjust the Ackerman for toe out , also Steering Column is fitted, so just Pedals ,Push rods, and Rockers , to do and front is finished ???

sales@ferrarispares.co.uk

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So till next update Drive carefully out there. Regards Eddie Walsh

Update 4 August 03

Progress has been slow as have had lots of other things to do to earn a living.

I have just finished the Brake and Clutch Pedal box notice the two Brake Master Cylinders and adjustable Bias bar so we can vary the braking to front and rear by turning a knob which will be dash mounted, and if I may say so myself it looks pretty good ??? here is a picture below.

Here is a picture of the pedal box in car below, looks good ???

sales@ferrarispares.co.uk

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Update 22 August 03

I have just started making the rear susp upright and it is not looking very pretty but hopefully it will turn out all right and be strong enough to do the job, firstly I could not decide whether to have the upright inside the wheel or outside, as if I put it inside the wheel we have limited the width especially at the bottom which will be our main toe control as we are only having a single pivot at the top , so eventually went for latter and build it outside the wheel where we now have nearly 10 inches between the two lower pivots so plenty of leverage to control toe ///. I am making it from 19mm square tube X 1.5mm thick in a vee shape welded to my extended bearing carrier and braced with same tube to outside of bearing carrier so should be strong enough , only downside is the weight ??? but what can we do ? cast items and all the machining is very expensive , but maybe later who knows

sales@ferrarispares.co.uk

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Update 4 Sept 03

Some very good news I have just been given access to a very good Software Program for Designing and evaluating our Chassis and Suspension, check it out for yourselves at <www.SusProg.com> and it is not very expensive, so hopefully this will help us get it pretty good first time out and save us lots of time and money redoing things several times until we get it right ???, so for now all the best .

Regards Eddie Walsh

Update 9 Sept 04

Sorry about the delay in updating it has been over a year ???? how time flies, I have had quite a busy year doing other things and earning a living.

But I can say I have finished the rear suspension uprights and made all the rear wishbones all fully adjustable so very pleased with these. I will put up the Photos when I get my New PC which my son is sorting for me .

But as usual having done the above and checked my drive shaft lines I find they are not running in a straight line so will have to raise the rear of the engine and diff to bring them back to parallel but in doing this the Engine and Gearbox is raised above the undertray and as we want to keep the ( Center of Gravity) weight as low as possible I will have to remake the front Engine Mountings to lower the front of the powerunit , so hopefully this winter I should get a lot more done ???, anyway all the best and keep these comments coming as you all have been most helpful , new contact details below OK,

Regards Eddie Walsh.

<sales@ferrarispares.co.uk>

Update 4 July 05

Hi there, I know I have not been doing a lot since I last updated but it is just pressure of work trying to earn a living so the good news is I should be getting back to it very soon and looking forward to it got lots of ideas to try so cant wait, all the best for now so watch this space.

Regards Eddie

Update 14 July 06

Hi again , I am sorry I have not updated this Build Record for so long as I have been busy doing other things mainly trying to earn a Living ( restored a 308 GT4) which took all my time, and also awaiting news on my suspension Invention which I have applied for a Patent ???, so hopefully that will be fourth coming soon , so I should be getting back to this soon, I could do with some help so if there is anyone out there that lives nearby and is interested in helping then I would be very grateful, as it is hard to try and do everything yourself not to mention keep the enthusiasm going, so email me or give me a ring anytime, OK.

Regards Eddie Walsh

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18 March 07

Hi at last got Track car down from its resting place and could not resist putting 2 of my light weight Fiberglass seats in it and trying them for size so well pleased as they fit and tilt just right and as they only weigh around 2 Kg a lot lighter that anything you can buy, so if you want some of these seats just email me and Priced at £75.00 each they are a bargain.

01 April 07

I have started to remake the Engine mountings, as I just could not tolerate the drive shaft angles so hopefully with the engine tilted forward some more they will be running in a straight line most of the time.

16 May 07

Hi nice to be back and seeing some progress, I have redone the engine Mountings so now Drive Shafts are running in a straight line so was well worth the extra time as I would have never been satisfied if I had left them as they were.

Also I have finalized all my suspension Geometry and got what I hope will be good handling ??? from the start or at least I will know where I am and be able to adjust to fine tune, so here is what I decided I wanted (and my "Suspro 3d" suspension design Software is a great help and must save hours and hours trying to get what you want ) Front Roll center about 50mm below ground and long swing axle length approx 16530mm, Rear Roll Center about 80mm below ground and again long swing axle length 25278mm, now with this setup we are trying to achieve virtually no front wheel camber change under the brakes so the max negative camber we get under the brakes at full bump 45mm ( nose dive) is 0.39 Degrees which is very good, and similar story with bump steer which is again at max bump 45mm only 0.19mm toe in which will also compensate for wheels tending to toe out under the brakes, I also shortened the Steering arms by 40mm approx so I could move the Ackerman point to about 42% of wheelbase in front of rear axle line (987mm) so now we can achieve lots of toe out on turn without having to run any static toe out, and with my rack mounted on my sliders I can tune the amount of toe out I get so should be a great help ,with this amount of Ackerman when my outside wheel is turned 5 degrees then my inside wheel is turned 5.30 degrees which is great for the high speed corners, and if I move my rack back on my sliders I can alter that to outside wheel 5 degrees and inside wheel 5.4 degrees.

Now I know what you are thinking ??? what happens when I am cornering with such long swing axle lengths my wheels especially outer loaded outer ones will be going into Positive Camber because as the chassis leans so will the wheels, but do not think I have not taught of that and have got the solution (Hopefully) which I can not reveal yet as I am hoping to Patent it , and all I will say is the purpose of the suspension is to keep the tyre sitting as flat as possible on the road so we have max grip at all times, whether accelerating, Braking or Cornering, ??? and this is what I am trying to achieve, as if you are like me you are always watching all types of racing cars and seeing how much front static Negative camber they use so really they are comprising their grip especially under the brakes for the benefit of the extra grip in the high speed corners, so hopefully with my design we will not have to compromise as much ??? .

17 January 08

Latest Photo showing rear 10inch wide rear wheels and some wet tyres and front 8inch wide and wet tyres, do not worry about the Wishbone angles at present as the Chassis is really sitting on the floor so once lifted up to ride height which will be 75mm then wishbone angles will be at the correct designed angle, and if you look at the engine you will see a lovely set of Suzuki Bike Throttle Bodies which I have modified and fitted to XE Manifold these are a huge saving on Jenvies etc, and I am also working on a Megasquirt ECU as these are also self build and all the code is open source so anyone can use and or alter to suit your self or Engine spec. great to get the best from any mods such as cams , Throttle Bodies, High Compression Pistons etc, and with the tuning software ( Megatune) you can tune using your old laptop with a serial port as you drive, I have removed the Distributor and made a nice Blanking Plate to fil the opening, as I will not be running a distributor, not 100% sure yet whether I will run wasted spark or coil on plug (COP) and another useful item is a Wide Band Lamda sensor with a dash display which you can see at a glance what air fuel Ratio ( AFR) you are running, and also Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGO) throughout the entire rev range, so no worries of running lean and melting your pistons, just can not wait to get the engine running, I have also got most of the items for the Dry Sump system, Tank, Pump and Sump, just need the mounting Bracket for the pump ansd some Hoses, and oil cooler not sure yet where to mount it so I can get a good air supply, I could use one of the side air intake flutes on the Ferrari 308 GTS Bodyshell but I was going to use both of these to supply the Throttle Bodies Air Box so that I might also be able to get some Ram Air effect and as the Megasquirt also runs a Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensor on board we should be able to take advantage of any pressure increase and automatically adjust fuel Ratio.

I am now trying to sort my pull rods out which is not as simple as I thought as it is very hard trying to achieve straight lines for the suspension loads and I do not want to have to make them very heavy to withstand any offset loads ????, so anyway next time I write I will have done it hopefully, Regards Eddie Walsh

20 August 08

Hi, it has been a long time since I have updated here,  as I have been busy doing other things ???,

The other thing I have been working on is my Bike Throttle Bodies for the Engine, I have built lots of different types, using Suzuki, Yamaha, BMW, Throttle Bodies and all mounted on my Chopped down 20XE Manifold and been selling them on ebay with great success. My latest set are direct to head and only measure from top to bottom 5 inches, they are from the Triumph 3 cycl choke size is 41 mm which is large enough for 360HP, I machine the mounting flange off of them and then Tig weld to my chopped down Vauxhall 20 XE Manifold, will have to make a new fuel rail and will hopefully use a set of injectors from a VW golf turbo which can supply 350cc a minute which should do my engine fine, not decided how far to go with my Track Car engine yet although near 250 BHP woud be very nice ???.

Update;

Well I have made the fuel rail or actually 2 fuel rails as  instead of you using larger Injectors I am going to use the Std Vauxhall on the original portion of the OE manifold,  and also the Bike ones fitted to the Bike TB's, so this way I have more than enough capability without  buying larger injectors, and with my Megasquirt I can run one set of 4 upto say 5000 RPM and then bring in the other set so will definately have no shortage of fuel.

I have also managed to Build the Megasquirt ECU kits which was a very pleasing experience as I never though I would be able to do it, and to date I have built 4 MS 1 V2.2, one MS 1 V3.0, and MS 2 V3.0, and now also learning how to modify for particular engines, ie adding coil drivers for different coils, the most popular is to run the ford edis wasted spark coils direct from the MS ecu so you do not have to use the edis module, and hopefully I shall also be able to sell these on Ebay or if you want one please contact me, next step is to set one up on my 20XE engine as lucky I have an Astra  GTE which still has the engine in it so I should be able to get that running with a Megasquirt ECU , so all I have to do is make the Loom and connect all the sensors, can even use original Knock Sensor with a small add on board so should be great and can not wait to start tuning it with my laptop connected.

Update;

I have now got my Astra GTE 20XE  running with my Megasquirt  1 V3 Extra fitted with 2 coil drivers so running a coil pack in wasted spark mode also  fuel injection and runs great.

So back to the Track Car I have now fitted my modified front top  Ball Joint's, I had to modify the top Wishbone by fitting a larger top joint but it all works fine and looks great.

So now started to make the watts type linkages for my Suspension pull rods, and have got a fairly clear idea of what I need to do as it is always a tossup with making it light but strong enough to take the severe shock loads when you hit a kerb etc at speed, so that's all for now and hopefully it will not be so long next time, Regards Eddie Walsh