Rosco's haynes Build "Warhawk"
 

Started my build last weekend, with the help of my Dad, just thought I would start a thread to share with you guys and get a few pointers along the way

A bit of background info, I'm 28, and a cnc miller by trade and my dads a carpenter so between us we get on with things ok, I've always loved cars and always wanted to build a kit car, I'm going down the bike engine route in a bare bones track chassis no luxury much to my dads disappointment, I'm going to work to the book and get it on the road as soon as I can, funds permitting, and then after that I will start replacing the uprights for cnc aluminium ones etc, but if I start doing those things now I will never get finished

First I got some sierra bits from a breakers yard for a bargain price,



I have stripped the hubs and they are at the blasters as we speak

Material ready to get started



Next we built a build table, we used a sheet of ply for the frame, and a sheet for the top

Then got things marked out and started cutting







Front frame done

I was surprised how quick it started to take shape considering we cut the box as we went along

Next up the tunnel and cross braces



Then the diff cage

Got my roll bar bent up yesterday by Tom at www.tube-bender.co.uk, not to far from my house, bent out of 2" cds tube, well pleased with it,
I'm aiming to meet msa spec but not sure if the rear stays can be angled out, I'm going for a full cage but just got the rear hoop until I get my
Scuttle mounted and see what room I've got

It's only clamped on for now as I've got to finish drawing up my parts for laser cutting this week hopefully





And that's about where I'm up to

Thanks for looking

welcome and that's some progress in a week ! there are plenty of helpful minds on here so don't be afraid to ask. if need be.
what engine are you using?
good luck with the build and keep the photos coming
regards gary

Haha cheers, it has been two weekends! Not sure on engine yet, either an r1 or zx10 I think, I've not really looked into the engine to much, I'm going to get the wishbones made next and try and get some wheels on it

Great progress well done

Nice one Rosco and welcome to the forum and yes that is pretty mean progress in a short space in time......on the road for next spring lol, looking forward to watching your build progress.

great progress in such a short time, nice to see a scratch build as well.

Welcome to house of fun,save yourself some hassle and if you can find Ginetta G20 rear uprights they bolt straight on with calipers and discs no probs.

Looking good. Is the pedal box upright in the correct place? I'm sure I made that mistake when I made mine.

Cheers

Haha, I hope so

Cheers

Thanks will have a search

Yeah it was but I've moved it, thanks tho!

A bit more done tonight, took my cad drawings down to the laser cutters after work, hopefully get some bits back for the weekend!

Also cut and turned to length the wishbone bush tubes, just got to bore them out to size, not sure if my little lathe will cope, might have to upgrade!

Some more progress ready for a busy weekend

Made my wishbone end threaded tubes and got my laser cutting back, also I got the sheets cut out for the wishbones jigs so there nice and square

you're definitely not hangin around guess your going to bevery busy this weekend !!
keep up the good work

I'm also very impressed with the progress you've made in such a short time.
I like the laser cut parts, especially the one-piece steering rack support, and the one piece bent diff brackets (I have the same kind on my car).
Keep up the good work! Looks like your Raodster will be on the Road sometime in 2015 ?

Your build seems to be moving on well too! Cheers

Thanks, yeah I had seen a few on the internet and thought they looked neater, I saved quite a bit on the price too as I drew them up my self!

Your car looks stunning by the way, one of the best I've seen!

Nice work, at this rate you'll be done by christmas.

You seem to be blazing along. You'll be finished by next summer at this rate.
If you haven't already, make the plate that the steering column goes through from 3mm steel not the book 1mm. It's a real pita to change it after it's been fully welded on.

[quote=Rosco;99095]Your build seems to be moving on well too! Cheers

thanks ,trying to get all the plumbing done for the supercharger and sort out the exhaust manifold / pipework, also started stripping down the wiring harness ( it was a bit parky out so dining room floor was commandeered) getting some more bits together to make another push forward,
seems to be lots of bits and not a lot of room :)
really looking forward to the electrics... mmmmm

We had another good weekend, my dad help too so got a bit done

Started off welding up the shock towers, my weldings ok but my mate who's a pro is going to weld my chassis up

Then tacked the roll bar on



Then the diff mounts

Then made some foot plates for the rear stays



Next all the suspension brackets, which took a bit of time to make sure they were as good as they could be, we tweaked the legs of the front frame out to close the gap between the brackets so no packing was needed





Then took it from my workshop into my garage ready to go for welding next week

That's that, got the workshop tied out so we could move again as it was getting a bit tight with the chassis in there,

Then just cut the tube up ready for the wishbones







Thanks for looking!

Ok mate cheers, prob use 2mm then as I'm trying to keep it as light as possible, is 1mm to thin then?

It will flex when you brake. I changed mine to 3 and it was hard changing it afterwards. It also isn't really think enough for the steering column bearing.
Plan on using a different one if your going for a sierra column.
guide
Search ebay for SLFL 25 Self Lube Bearing.
Lastly. Cut out plate where the handbrake cable goes through and weld it in vertical rather than on an angle, as it puts pressure of the handbrake cable and doesn't let it flow as easily. Lastly cut 2 slits into the plate so you can get the cable through the plate without taking the cable to bits.
I hope I don't sound too bossy but they are things I would have done the first time if I was doing the car again.

Ok mate cheers, no problems, grateful for the input, how wide do the slits want to be? And I will order a bearing in a min!

Thanks again

If your going to use mx5 bits you will need a different bearing btw.
For the sierra shaft you will also need part of the original bearing. (It's all in the guide)

For the cables, about 2-3mm slits just enough to get the cable through.

Yeah I'm use using sierra bits, ok cheers

On another note on the pedal box what are the v cuts for on the foreword stops and also the book says you need 8 shock brackets but two are fixed to the uprights

Am I missing something?

I've no idea what the cutouts are for. There are better designs for a box on the forum.
Sus brackets, I count 6 too. No idea where 8 comes from.

Haha ok cheers, thought i was loosing it

Found the pedal box here

Btw not every thing in the 'book' actually works. Like using the stock engine arms, the steering shaft goes through the top of the rubber mount.

Also I was at your stage 5 years ago so I may be wrong on the suspension brackets but I don't think so.

Got my chassis welded up this week





Sorry about the photo quality

Also I got my hubs back from the blasters so I can get them painted and built up

That's about it for this weekend

Not so much progress as as I would of liked but never the less, I've made all my wishbone jigs and made a start on them but got side tracked with the rear uprights



Added a bit to the jig to help position the tube and side plates

I've rotated the front plate as from what I can work out it should make the handbrake cable on the rear discs fit better,
Does it look right to everyone?

Also I think the 66mm in the drawing below should be 70mm, I've posted a thread here if anyone can help

http://www.haynes.co.uk/forums/showt...9211#post99211

Rosco, do you know what engine you will be fitting? Most engines won't fit with the diagonal chassis rail in the engine bay on the drivers side so it is usually removed. Also if you are considering fitting a zetec then you may want to modify the rear up-most chassis member in the engine bay as you can't fit a standard thermostat housing with the chassis member there. You can buy aftermarket thermostat housings but they are stupidly expensive and don't work very well.