Last x Days Posts  1 | 3 | 7 Days  Search  Topics  Tree View  Help
  Soarer Central * Track and Major Rebuild Car Projects * Ben's Time Attack Soarer Previous Previous    Next Next  

  Thread Last Poster Posts Pages
Open in new windowArchive through November 16, 2008Ben Lipman71 
Open in new windowArchive through January 19, 2009Aaron Casey45 
Open in new windowArchive through February 28, 2009Ben Lipman45 
Open in new windowArchive through April 16, 2009Andrew McKellar45 
Open in new windowArchive through July 05, 2009Ben Lipman45 
Open in new windowArchive through August 10, 2009Paul Kalie45 
Open in new windowArchive through September 19, 2009Ben Lipman45 
Open in new windowArchive through November 14, 2009Ben Lipman45 
Open in new windowArchive through November 30, 2009Damian Ware45 
Open in new windowArchive through March 08, 2010Andrew McKellar45 
Open in new windowArchive through April 25, 2010Phil Gibson45 
Open in new windowArchive through May 24, 2010Aiden Cheese45 
Open in new windowArchive through June 15, 2010Andrew McKellar45 
Open in new windowArchive through July 14, 2010Bernard Smith-Robert45 
Open in new windowArchive through August 19, 2010Dan McColl45 
Open in new windowArchive through December 21, 2010Paul Kalie45 
Open in new windowArchive through January 24, 2011Peter Nitschke45 
Open in new windowArchive through February 25, 2011Ben Lipman45 
Open in new windowArchive through March 13, 2011Paul Kalie45 
Open in new windowArchive through April 14, 2011Paul Kalie45 
Open in new windowArchive through May 04, 2011Michael McKellar45 
Open in new windowArchive through July 09, 2011Ben Lipman45 
Open in new windowArchive through August 06, 2011Andrew McKellar45 
Open in new windowArchive through November 14, 2011Dan McColl45 
Open in new windowArchive through December 20, 2011Daniel Clarke45 
Open in new windowArchive through January 19, 2012Michael McKellar45 
Open in new windowArchive through March 12, 2012Aaron Casey45 
Open in new windowArchive through April 29, 2012Dan McColl45 
Open in new windowArchive through June 10, 2012Paul Kalie45 
Open in new windowArchive through August 26, 2012Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through February 07, 2013Andrew McKellar25 
Open in new windowArchive through March 29, 2013Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through May 04, 2013Clayton Carlyle25 
Open in new windowArchive through June 24, 2013Paul Kalie25 
Open in new windowArchive through July 01, 2013Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through July 17, 2013Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through July 27, 2013Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through August 16, 2013Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through September 05, 2013Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through October 02, 2013Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through October 20, 2013Aaron Casey25 
Open in new windowArchive through November 12, 2013Andrew McKellar25 
Open in new windowArchive through November 19, 2013Andrew McKellar25 
Open in new windowArchive through January 16, 2014Clayton Carlyle25 
Open in new windowArchive through January 27, 2014Clayton Carlyle25 
Open in new windowArchive through February 01, 2014Clayton Carlyle25 
Open in new windowArchive through February 05, 2014Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through February 16, 2014Clayton Carlyle25 
Open in new windowArchive through April 02, 2014Michael McKellar25 
Open in new windowArchive through June 04, 2014Peter Nitschke25 
Open in new windowArchive through June 15, 2014Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through June 30, 2014Paul Kalie25 
Open in new windowArchive through July 21, 2014Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through September 22, 2014Paul Kalie25 
Open in new windowArchive through October 23, 2014Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through November 06, 2014Aaron Casey25 
Open in new windowArchive through December 14, 2014Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through January 07, 2015Clayton Carlyle25 
Open in new windowArchive through March 09, 2015Aaron Casey25 
Open in new windowArchive through June 06, 2015Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through July 07, 2015Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through December 10, 2015Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through March 19, 2016Andrew McKellar25 
Open in new windowArchive through May 02, 2016Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through April 04, 2017Chayton Erth25 
Open in new windowArchive through June 29, 2018Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through December 24, 2018Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through March 24, 2019Ben Lipman25 
Open in new windowArchive through September 12, 2022Damien Nikiforides25 
Open in new windowArchive through December 18, 2022Ben Lipman25 
  ClosedClosed: New threads not accepted on this page      

Author Message
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4147
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, December 20, 2022 - 10:06 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have got my hands on some Dura-Tec primer. It was not the one I wanted specifically, but the local guy says it is the one he supplies to his regular mould makers. I also wanted it in black, but he reckons his regulars always want white or grey. I ended up with white.

I finished the body work on the top side and shot a coat of the dura-tec. I struggled to get it to spray well, through any of my guns, including the ‘putty gun’. I have not been able to get the appropriate thinner, so I brushed on a second coat thinking I would just sand it back flat.

This seemed to work, and it sanded flat pretty quickly. I switched to a wet sand and pretty soon I was at a point where I could see it would polish up nicely. If I had more patience, I may have done another coat and goat a perfectly uniform white finish (not the couple of light patches I have now). I think it will mould just fine. Will see in a couple of days.


Upload

Upload

Upload
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4148
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, December 23, 2022 - 02:51 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Flange time! Things are moving quickly now I am in familiar territory. I have used a number of materials for flanges over they years, and this time I have decided to try some aluminium flashing from the hardware store. It was cheap, is malleable, and with a little wax will part easily from the gel coat.

Once the flange was formed, it was onto the waxing phase. The bonnet will get at least 7 coats of wax, with at least 30 minutes between waxes. This is my night if I want to do the mould lay up tomorrow.




Upload

Upload

Upload

Upload
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4149
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Monday, December 26, 2022 - 05:20 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Lay up day!

Man what a big day, with a the other things going on getting ready for Christmas and all that. Can honestly say I was pretty shattered by the end of it. I have laid up some big moulds before, but I think this was the most significant had lay up I have done in ages. As has become our way, Kim came out and pitched in to get it done. It would not have happened without her. Or, it would have gone to crap and taken me hours.

Feeling pretty good about this one, and we have flipped it over to do the other side.



Upload

Upload

Upload

Upload



Wax on, wax off.

Wax on, wax off.

wax on...
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4150
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, December 30, 2022 - 10:48 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I laid up the underside yesterday. We ended up spraying PVA just to be sure I have no issues parting the mould. The finish is never as perfect when I use PVA compared to straight wax, but I have never had a PVA coated part bind to the mould. Given it is the underside of the bonnet, I am certain this is worth it.

All went quite smoothly, using vinylester tooling gel coat, followed by a couple layers of chopped strand mat and polyester resin. Once this lot has cured, I will need to build a frame to hold the mould rigid. This will most likely go on the back of the top skin mould.


Upload

Upload

Upload
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4151
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, January 08, 2023 - 06:09 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A fair bit has happened - update time!

Last week I flipped the moulds over to start work on the frame. In the process we heard a delightful ‘crack’ as one of the moulds released. I couldn’t help myself so we split the moulds to have a look. The top mould came away pretty nicely, just very tight around the chimney section. The underside is partly released just from trying to work the top mould. we closed the moulds back on the part a bit longer to ensure a good cure.

A couple of days later I realised I couldn’t wait any longer if I want to get this bonnet made for the Tailem Bend open track day on the 13th. We split the moulds again to get a look at the underside. There are a couple small areas that needed attention: one piece of gelcoat stuck to the bonnet which I was able to recover and epoxy back into the mould; and one crack needed filling with epoxy and sand/polishing back to gloss. The rest of the mould is useable as is. Top side (where I used the duratec) is good to go. Two thumbs up for the VE primer/surfacer.

I then waxed the Underside mould all night last night so it was ready to lay up yesterday. I did a vacuum resin infusion, so had to put the carbon and Kevlar cloth as well as the peel ply and infusion mesh in the mould in the layup schedule before making the vacuum bag.

The mould is so big I actually had to join two pieces of bagging plastic together to cover the entire mould. I used some butyl rubber sealing tape from the hardware for this and got a good seal. We will see how it worked when I pull it all apart.

In hindsight, a vac infusion is probably overkill for the underside – but I am not sure if I want to laminate the top and bottom together later (so I have two shiny surfaces), or simply bond the skeleton to the top skin like the last bonnet I did using Andrews Sports Sedan moulds (which has some shiny skeleton sections, and some matt sections from the bonnet skin underside).

Today I prepped, polished and waxed the top mould is ready to be laid up. I will likely do the lay up tomorrow, and all things going well pull a vacuum and then infuse the part tomorrow/tomorrow night.

The underside is still post curing in the mould – not looking forward to stripping the infusion mesh and peel ply off as it looks to be very resin heavy. I am going back to my old peel ply and infusion mesh for the top side and will see if it is any better.

I am in the hunt for a tow car, but only want to spend 10 grand (or less). Had a look at some Land Rover Discovery’s based on some recommendations and the 3.5tonne tow rating, but am concerned at the long list of expensive things that seem to plague them.

Now leaning towards a PK Ranger – again. I had bought a PJ Ranger for Odin, but he managed to have it written off. It towed great and was bloody reliable. Funny thing with covid, they are more expensive now then when I bought the last one 4 years ago. Hoping to have a look at a couple this weekend. I hate white cars, and every single Ranger for sale at the moment is white. Laundry appliances are white, cars should have some character.

We had a look at a couple of Rangers this weekend, but nothing has really grabbed my fancy. Looking at another tomorrow hopefully.


Upload

Upload

Upload
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4152
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Wednesday, January 11, 2023 - 09:37 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Did the final prep on the bonnet and laid up the carbon and Kevlar reinforcement. I am using the new peel ply and infusion mesh, which is the old stuff I was using back when I first started. I set up a main resin feed line and two secondaries, just to make sure I get the whole part wet out without any panic attacks.
Pulled a good vacuum so it is infused and curing in our extremely warm evening temperatures.

As I feared, the peel ply and infusion mesh on the underside part held a lot of resin, meaning the peel ply didn’t peel. This meant wedging chisels and plastic wedges between the carbon part and the peel ply to get it off. For. The first third of the bonnet it was coming off in little pieces until we worked out a system of hammering a wedge through the peel ply using a mallet and some lengths of dowel. This got things going quickly, but left scrape marks on the back of the carbon. Desperately hoping this is better on the top skin with the different mesh and peel ply.

After some effort, we got the underside out of the mould and trimmed up. Need to install the captive nuts in the underside frame so it is ready to bond to the topside.

The top skin looks good. I’d love to leave it in the mould for a week, but came out of the mould last night.

This morning I fitted up the underside to the car and got it located on the hinges. Once this was done, I installed the bolts and some castellated nuts, which I then epoxied in with some carbon fibre reinforcement. I put some wax over the end of the bolts so they would come out again leaving the nuts permanently epoxied into the bonnet.
I also drilled holes for the bonnet pins so everything is ready for the top skin to be bonded. I decided I don’t have time to mess around with trying to epoxy the top skin to the underside, and will bond the two pieces using Sikaflex 252. I used this to bond the doors together and it has lasted at least 5 years.

I put the underside on the scales and it is a hair over 2kg. Totally forgot to weigh the topside in my rush to get it all done. I also forgot to take pictures of pulling the vac bag and peel ply off the top skin, but it all came away the way it was supposed to. I did throw the top skin onto the car just to see what it looks like. Still needs to be trimmed, but I will do all that once bonded to the underside.

Concurrently, I have been prepping the car for the track day – checking off all the little jobs that needed doing after last outing. This included repairing the leading edges of the rear diffuser that have copped a beating from rocks and curbs etc over the years.



Upload

Upload

Upload

Upload
Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

Posts: 13009
Reg: 11-2004

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, January 13, 2023 - 07:07 pm, by:  Peter Nitschke (Pen) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Looking at the pics, I am glad that you know what you are doing!
Andrew McKellar
DieHard
NSW
Mustang GT

Posts: 941
Reg: 06-2008

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Tuesday, March 07, 2023 - 02:55 am, by:  Andrew McKellar (Toymax) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Far out Ben, great work as usual. Good to hear the old molds are still going!
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4153
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, March 17, 2023 - 03:16 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I let this thread get horribly out of date again. :-(

I actually finished the bonnet and had the car on track in January. Let me catch you up:

The two halves were bonded together and trimmed up to fit. By being in a rush to get the bonnet on the car for a track day in January, I pulled the top skin out of the mould after only a day or so in the mould. This has caused me to mark up the skin a little…a bit more time and patience (like a week) and it would have cured nice and hard and probably popped right out of the mould. It looks pretty nice, but is not ‘perfect’.

This is the first time I have sprayed epoxy into the mould prior to laying up the carbon etc. Essentially this means I painted the bonnet with epoxy, before the bonnet was even made. I think I’ll do this again in the future as the part looks really nice straight out of the mould. No carbon cloth imprinting. I may have ruined my paint gun though.

Doing the final trimming around the vents and edges took quite a while, and there is still some work to get the two pieces to match up seamlessly. Despite my best efforts in making the original steel bonnet, the difference in material thickness around the vertical edges on the vents means there is a gap in places between the two skins when made in carbon. I’ll run it like it is and put some though into this later.

Fitting the genuine Aerocatches up also took a fair bit of time. I really did not want to cut more out of that nice new bonnet skin than I had to.

All in all, I have created a custom carbon bonnet (and a steel one) from scratch.


Upload

Upload

Upload

Upload
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4154
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, March 17, 2023 - 03:30 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Well, I got the car to the track in one piece. Any day at the track when you can drive the car back on the trailer is a successful one. The bonnet performed without issue – in 40-degree heat mind you. Let’s just say it has seen a few heat cycles that saw it too hot to hold you hand on. It’s a form of post curing, but not sure it is any manual.

I did find an issue with the car. It has been four years since I have been to the Bend and run the international circuit. There is a lot of time on wide open throttle – I was burning through 25L plus in five fast laps, out and in lap. About lap 4 or 5 of each of the last three sessions the car would begin to cough and splutter and make absolutely no power after every heavy braking point. It would do this for 3-5 seconds and then pull like a freight train at 22 psi boost all the way to redline. This would be accompanied by the associated pops and farts from the exhaust.

Troubleshooting lead me to believe that:
1. Some part of the fuel system is clogged; or
2. The lift pump (Holley Red) can no longer keep up with the demands; or
3. The lack of surge foam in the fuel cell is allowing the fuel to move away from the pickup (bottom rear of the fuel cell) for long enough that the car is starved of fuel.

Back in the shed I checked the lines and filters - no signs of clogging. I then jury rigged power to the lift pump and measured its flow into an open container (ie no pressure). I was somewhat surprised to find my 360L/min pump only flowed 180 L/min. The theory evolved into the surge tank being emptied by the healthy main pump, and the sick lift pump could not keep up, especially under heavy braking where the pickup was sometimes sucking air.

I purchased a new lift pump (Raceworks 530L/min e85 compatible) and some Raceworks E85 surge tank foam and installed them.


Upload
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4155
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, March 17, 2023 - 03:39 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Last weekend I took the car out to Mallala for a passenger ride day run by SA Supra. This gave me a chance to run the car and check I have sorted the fuel surge issue, and to share the car with some other enthusiasts.

Whilst Mallala is in no way comparable with the Ben international circuit in terms of WOT and braking loads, I do think we have cured the fuel surge. What we did uncover though was a return of the misfire under heavy load. It eases if you only apply about 70% throttle. Pulling the plugs I seem to be arcing through the porcelain on at least two of them.

Uprated plugs are on order, based on an NGK reps advice. Hopefully next time we have an issue free day!

Got some good pics sent to me though:


Upload

Upload

Upload

Upload
Tai Johnsen
Goo Roo
QLD
JZZ30 Pov Manual LSD & black! + 96 JZA80

Posts: 1926
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, March 17, 2023 - 08:45 pm, by:  Tai Johnsen (Privatejohnsen) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Looks amazing mate, well done..

I'll be taking my old girl out to lakeside in a few weeks for some happy laps. I think i'll give the old tires a viking send off hahaha
Roland Elliott
TryHard
New South Wales
uzz32 1uz-fe

Posts: 460
Reg: 08-2014

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Friday, March 17, 2023 - 11:32 pm, by:  Roland Elliott (Aussie2013) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

All looks good, nice work, what Plugs did NGK suggest?
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4156
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, March 18, 2023 - 12:38 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Roland Elliott wrote on Friday, March 17, 2023 - 11:32 pm:

what Plugs did NGK suggest?




BK7EIX. They are what the tuner and I thought were in the engine after chasing a miss a year or so ago. We were swapping coils and everything and went through quite a few plugs but the misfire was inconsistent, but always came back. NGK rep suggested we were pushing plugs outside their comfort zone and suggested the "EIX", We were certain a set was in the car, but they were a lower spec BK7- they did cope for a couple track days without failing.

Hoping this new set cures it once and for all.
Roland Elliott
TryHard
New South Wales
uzz32 1uz-fe

Posts: 461
Reg: 08-2014

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, March 18, 2023 - 04:31 pm, by:  Roland Elliott (Aussie2013) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks Ben I will look at getting some
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4157
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, April 15, 2023 - 05:52 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

So, good news is the plugs fixed the issue and the car *had* full power again. No misses or surging or anything else.
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4158
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, April 15, 2023 - 05:58 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

the bad news is....

Last night I had the biggest shunt in the Soarer I have ever experienced on track. Heading into the braking zone for turn 7 (before the ‘esses’) at Mallala at 179kph the brake pedal went to the floor and the car rotated to the left and hit the wall. Both myself and Odin (passenger) are OK. The car is pretty messed up.

I spent today cutting damaged parts off it and having a good look over the car. The good news is it looks like almost everything between the front and rear axle is intact, less the gear box cross member and passenger side skirt. There are some aero bits in the wheel wells and underneath, but they are relatively easy to repair.

On the other hand, almost everything in front of the front strut tower and rear of the diff needs to be replaced. There was not enough of the front bar left to bother with recovering home. Daylight revealed several pieces of it were still attached to the car – I am fairly impressed with those dzus clips! The new bonnet is all twisted – likely because it got all bent up whilst hot and then cooled like it overnight. It may be salvageable with some heat back in the mould. All the radiator shrouding and both the radiator and intercooler were annihilated. The oil cooler and power steering coolers seem to be straight and holding fluids, but the ducting is toast.

Somehow the wing itself missed the wall, but the diffuser and rear panels are gone. The only part of the electrical system still working is the rear tail lights and start circuit. Unfortunately, whilst only a few wires remained in the front loom, and only a few components in the fuse box, they were significant. The fuse box no longer exists, and the bits that were inside are now outside. The ECU, dash, and rest of the car are not getting power.

I’d like to thank all the people involved, but especially those I shared a pit with. My youngest son was trackside watching the accident unfold, and could hear the comments about roll-overs, hospital, ambulances and all the other speculation that occurs in a crowd when there is no real information. Despite having only met that day, the people in my pit shed went and found Hunter and put him in my ute to go along with the recovery effort (the crash site was ‘safe’ at this point.) Odin and I were in the track med centre being seen by the paramedic (G’day Daniel – thanks!), and they steered him across to find us. This little act of thoughtfulness went a long way to calming a worried young man.

Between my pit buddies, the event organisers, and the Mallala track crew, by the time I got out of the med centre what was left of the Soarer was loaded up on my trailer and secured as best they could ready to be taken home. I really appreciated the extra effort they all put in to make the best of a pretty situation for me.

Unfortunately, the hit was so significant it corrupted the Gopro file, and because the first hit cut all power to the ECU and dash I didn’t even get a log of the impact – the data cut just as the lateral G reading spiked from zero to 2G in about half a second. We only managed to scrub about 40kph off hitting the wall at 133kph, judging by where the data cut out. I would have loved to see the data through the crash, but it doesn’t exist.

If anyone has any video I would love to see it. I have been told the rear wheels were locked up but the fronts were rotating freely. The crash guys told me the brake pedal was still on the floor when they recovered it, but they were able to free it up by hand and the pedal returned to a good firm feel. Very strange. I am also told the car looked pretty good going around at night - It don’t look so flash now…


Aaron Casey - dont suppose you still have those moulds lying around?






Upload

Upload

Upload
Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

Posts: 13011
Reg: 11-2004

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, April 15, 2023 - 08:07 pm, by:  Peter Nitschke (Pen) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Oh sheet!

The walls are unforgiving at Mallalla as a friend found out in hos Soarer many years ago.
Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

Posts: 13012
Reg: 11-2004

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Saturday, April 15, 2023 - 09:10 pm, by:  Peter Nitschke (Pen) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I have a new 91 left hand tail light that you can have if it helps?
Roland Elliott
TryHard
New South Wales
uzz32 1uz-fe

Posts: 462
Reg: 08-2014

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, April 16, 2023 - 02:10 pm, by:  Roland Elliott (Aussie2013) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Glad you are both okay, what caused the brake fail?
hope it all comes back together for you.
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car, plus a spare shell

Posts: 4159
Reg: 04-2006

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Sunday, April 30, 2023 - 12:05 pm, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

We are fine. I think something went wrong with the master cylinder, but I dont know yet for sure.

I am waiting for a new shell to become available before I can start tackling the big structural problems at the front and rear of the car. Once I get hold of a straight car, I can start taking measurements, hang my vented bonnet and front bar off it and make up a jig to build a tube frame to then support the panels, and all the coolers etc.

In the mean time, I did a simple wet carbon layup in the radiator ducting mould I straightened last weekend. The piece is made up of 3 layers of 200gsm 3k twill carbon fibre. The leading edges were a little weak in the last version, so in the spirit of rebuilding better, this time I used 5mm balsa wood wrapped in carbon on the leading edges. I made sure they were well and truly incorporated in the layup by overlapping the leading edge back over the balsa so there is actually 6 layers of carbon for the first 5cm of the throat. Each of the corners also has 6 layers where each panel overlaps.

It was 13 deg C in the shed, so I made up an oven using old black out curtains, a bathroom heater and a meat thermometer. This allowed me to 'bake' the part at 50 deg C for an hour to ensure a good cure overnight.

The result is a much stiffer duct. It is not as nice as an infused part, and a little porky at 1.6kg. If I infused it, I reckon it would be well under 1kg.



Upload

Upload

Upload

Upload
Roland Elliott
TryHard
New South Wales
uzz32 1uz-fe

Posts: 464
Reg: 08-2014

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message

Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!)

Monday, May 01, 2023 - 09:40 pm, by:  Roland Elliott (Aussie2013) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The fail of the master cylinder on both circuits is a very uncommon thing, I hope you can resume the master cylinder and have a look and see why it failed.

Add Your Message Here
Eye Candy
Click for full size
Bold text Italics Underline Center Text Upload photo from your hard drive Make a List Make a Table Make an Image Thumbnail Create a hyperlink Insert a clipart image Formatting Help
         

Username: Important Posting Information:
If asking a question, have you done a search to see if your question has already been answered?
Be aware that the use of SMS-speak eg "u" instead of "you" etc, will get your post deleted.
Password:
Enable HTML code in message
Automatically activate URLs in message

  Administration Administration      Log Out Log Out Previous Previous      Next Next