Swift 014(???) on Ebay...

[P.W. LeCain]

This is new to me. According to this seller, this car is an 014 upgraded from a 008. Is that really possible? Maybe somebody knows more than me about this. It looks like a bunch of "tom foolery" to me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Swift...QQcmdZViewItem

[Rennie Clayton]

Paul,

Swift did produce an update kit for the 008 which included the new 014 aerodynamic treatment. Please note in this picture the presence of both the 014 headrest and the tub stiffening panel just ahead of the radiator intake. A "real" 014 does not have the tub panel. This is, indeed, a 008 with the 014 aero update kit.




For comparison purposes, here is a 008a with the tub stiffening panel, but the original helmet surround structure:




Cheers,
Rennie

[Paddy O'Brien]

A fellow Cen/Div Atlantic racer told me that he had just bought a Swift014 that was updated from a 008, I didn't say anything to him but it didn't sound right to me either. I think some 014 bodywork will fit on the older car but isn't the gearbox and tub different? Maybe we are hearing about this because the 014s are selling for twice the price of an 008 in the open market and if I was selling a 008 I would claim it was really an 014 too! On a related note, why are so many Ralt 41 owners switching to the Swift 014? I drove a Swift 014(in 04 pro spec) and wasn't very impressed, I have to believe that a good Ralt 41 is still faster,no?

[P.W. LeCain]

When the 008's came out, they were at a clear disadvantage to the Ralts. However, after years of testing and racing (and literally tens of millions of dollars), many felt that the 008's were developed to the point of being equal to or better than the Ralts. Having never driven any of the 008's during this time, I have no idea.

From what I've seen and have been told, the 014's are quicker than any of its predecessors. Rennie and Stan, or anyone else closer to the Pro scene over the past few years, would be better suited to address this.

I'll bet a Ralt driven in its original Pro configuration (under 1200 lbs) would be very close to an 014 at 1305 lbs. Also, the Ralt never had the same tire development. The radial 13" tires at the time of the Ralt were terrible compared to what is available now in 15" radials for the Swifts. Being the Ralts were originally designed and tested on 13" tires, this may be a factor as well.

[Stan Clayton]

IMO, a Swift 008 with the 014 body kit is no more an 014 than a Fiero with a body kit is a Lumber-gini...

That said, the eBay auction does admit that the car is actually an 008, so I guess the ad isn't exactly fraudulent, but the seller must be hoping to snare a really naive Atlantic buyer, because this car is NOT an 014. The body kit does clean up the 008's underperforming aero package, but it can't do anything to overcome the lack of tub stiffness nor the "flexi-flyer" rear end and overworked NST gearbox.


That said, for the economy-minded FA buyer, I still think that the 008 is the best buy in FA, and this car might be very compeitive in the right hands. OTOH, any of them demands a lot of maintenance and specialist knowledge if they are to to be fast and reliable. Cheap is out of the question...

Stan

[Maddox Motorsports]

Here is a link to a good article by Swift on the development of the 014.


http://www.swiftengineering.com/02Mo...002MSEC-87.pdf

[R. Pare]

When the 008's came out, they were at a clear disadvantage to the Ralts. However, after years of testing and racing (and literally tens of millions of dollars), many felt that the 008's were developed to the point of being equal to or better than the Ralts.

In reality, the 008 is a POS that was never competitive with the Ralt, and had ZERO hope of ever being competitive until the Ralts were severely handicapped. The 014 is hardly any better, and still no match for an unhandicapped Ralt.

[TSpeed]

yes there are 008s turned into 014s. There was a body update which as I recall was required so all of the cars would look the same on the track and have the safety updates. Most teams bought a new car and kept the old as a spare. I've been told that the fastest swift combination would be a 014 body and tunnels( better aero and stiffness) combined with the 008 gearbox ( lighter but less durable). When the 008s came out the ralts were much faster but the rules were much more liberal for them. I saw lots of fabbed susp. ( wheelbase changes by 3") pieces that would never have been allowed on a swift, but oddly the pro atlantic lap records are now all held by swifts.
Tim

[bill gillespie]

I believe Villeneuve still holds the Mid-Ohio pro atlantic lap record by a wide margin in a Rt40.....I think it was 1993 with Barry Green.

My opinion is that the RT41 with a pro-team budget, tires, motor, driver package would still see the Ralt a leg up on a fully developed swift 014a....sequential no-lift shift is also adaptable to the Ralt.

The Swifts are doing very well in club racing currently, but they are filtering down with mega-budget data info.........I'm sure there are more experienced opinions out there, this is just mine.......swimming upstream in a Ralt.

Regards,
Bill

[Graham Rankin]

While we are on the topic of what's an 014 and whats not, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of hybrid/converted cars here on the west coast. First is Rick Lee's 014 based CSR with Loyning's Viking body kit, and second is our 008/014 hybrid with a 2.2 Litre Vauxhall /Opel motor. Anyone else out their with 008/014 projects??

[D.T. Benner]

Graham,your car is sure nice! Will we see you anytime soon? Oh,change your Profile as it still shows you living in Fremont.

[Graham Rankin]

Darryl,
We will be at Infineon in a couple of weeks for sure.We ran there a few weeks back and everything ran really well, Looking forward to seeing everyone !

Graham

[Jonathan Speed]

The installation looks great! I think Graham is known for unusual power plants in his cars, but what is the reason for the motor in this installation??? Just curious.

[D.T. Benner]

Graham wants to GO FAST. (In formula "S") and beat my sorry old a**! If he dosen't do anything dumb that should not be to difficult! The only unanswered question is how the gearbox will hold up to that much grunt? It should be OK as the new Swift 016/2.3 Cosworth uses the same gearbox. If I had the $$$'s I would build an F3000 car with a BIG engine but my Social Security checks don't seem to be in that price range.

[Graham Rankin]

As Stan had previously pointed out, running an Atlantic car is not cheap, period.My goal was simple. Find a more cost effective engine solution.The Vauxhall C20XE is highly developed, and with a reliable, 260+ horses, with 1200-1500 miles between rebuilds,it can make an attractive proposition for the budget oriented Atlantic Club Racer.
However, this kind of project isn't for eveyone.Dont under-estimate the engineering that goes into this kind of creation ! If you are like me though, the challenges and inevitable frustrations will be forgotten when your project comes to fruition. Ask me next year if it was worth it!

[D.T. Benner]

Graham not only finished his first race with his "new" car he won FS and was 3rd. overall. Not bad for his first race in more than a year and in a highly modified car!