Formula SCCA Car

[Dennis McCarthy]

Scott,

Are you talking about the forward piece of glass under your calves, or the section under the seat/motor?

I don't think either is sacrificial, certainly not the foward one. The rear piece looks more like some sort of a a high quality piece of plywood.

[Phulkrum]

Dennis,

I'm referring to the plywood looking sheet.

[Justin_H]

Originally posted by Phulkrum:

This may sound dumb but, I have two small white plastic pieces that were shipped loose in the car. They're about 5/8" in diameter by 5/8" long. What do these go to?

These replace the 1/2" long pieces in the rear hubs. The rear hubs come apart by removing 6 bolts & 10mm nuts, then you can tap the old spacers out, tap the new spacers in, and reassemble. The longer pieces improve the CV joint engagement at the trans.

Justin Huffman

[Phulkrum]

Next real dumb question. Are the driveshafts full floating driveshafts (i.e. not bolted in). Looks like they just slide in both hubs, the spring loaded plunger holds it in there. Just not used installing shafts without bolting in the cv's and letting the cv's slide on the shafts. Again, thanks for the help in advance.

Scott Brickey

[Justin_H]

Yes, they are full floating. Nothing to bolt on except the a-arms. I was told to thread the rod ends on the bottom all the way in to minimize the chance of the axles ejecting. Seems that the specs were setup around a radial tire that requires more camber, so with the bias ply hoosiers either the axle needs to get a little longer or the a-arms need to get a little shorter. Once I threaded the lower rod ends in all the way, I had to lengthen the upper a-arms 6 turns on each side to make everything fit together right.

Justin Huffman

[Dennis McCarthy]

Scott,

A bit of rub strip may be in order on that rear section.

[Phulkrum]

Thanks guys!

I think I'm gonna leave the lower hiems at the dimension on the map sheet that got sent with the car since it seems VD sent me replacement spacers to set in the center of the axle stubs (and the map sheet had a notation that said updated).I'll make the decision tomorrow when I actually fit the axles in. All this rain on a long holiday weekend has really enabled me to get some work done.

[Lee Shumosic]

Finally was able to work on the car this weekend (rains not so bad....)Installed engine, plumbed cooling sys and started to route brake / wire lines. Need some help w/ throttle cable to pedel. It looks like I'm missing parts. No bracket to secure cable jacket or spring return. Similar issue w/ reverse lock out. Is the cable just brazed onto the fitting and the jacket not supported? Anyone with similar issues? Pics would be great! Rub rails sound like a good idea. Can someone reccomend size and location? Has anyone considered battery booster cables and location? FYI - it appears the lap belts are not the correct width (at least mine arn't 2.5" vs. 3") per Jim D.
Overall assembley was clean (Thanks Jeremy T. for the pics) car is definetly sweet!

Thanks for the help

[Marc Miller]

Scott Asked-
"I'd like to hear more of your opinions on the handling aspects of the car. I understand the car has a ton of understeer, does it?, how effective are those monster brakes??

Scott-

The car was pretty well balanced. The rear wing that was on the car in test trim was of low donforce variety, and a higher downforce wing will go on it. The car handles quite well... of course it will lack the grip and smoothness of the FC and Zetecs due to lack of diffuser and perfected locations for wings...as well as it being a spec wing. It should however be more efficient than an FM aero package... well..definitely actually.

While it has more umph then an FC... you can't underestimate the abilities of good aero... though the spec car has some awesome and solid brakes..a lot of the braking advantage initially in a F2000/FC/Zetec is aero..and the ability to really stand on the brakes without lock-up at least initially.

The Spec car lacks that same level of aero and the added weight and spec suspension makes the use of those big brakes really nice - but not better... those of you that automatically think you should be able to outbrake an FC should probably re-evaluate [img]smile.gif[/img] BUT - they should do really well Vs/ the FM.

This car is going to be ALOT of fun to every guy like me who doesn't want to bring an engineer, deal with shock valving and spring rates, bum and rebound settings and various aero/wing packages to be able to be competitive.

The top guys will most likely have sorted cars with a good amount of seat time and a knack for driving... which is what it is designed for in my opinion.

Let me know if you have any more questions... I hope to drive the car again soon.

Marc Miller

[Jim Christian]

Lee,
Thanks for the info on filling with gear lube.
Will we be getting repair parts from your company or from Enterprises?
One of my gear boxes was shipped with a damaged "o" ring at the bearing carrier.
JIM

[Jim Christian]

The nuetral / reverse cable is secured under the pickup point for the left upper a arm, rear heim. Two screws, an angle bracket and a housing for the end of the cable housing are in a small ziplock bag shipped with the car. Install the angle bracket, install the housing, insert the cable through the housing. Make sure the cable handle is fully forward. Mark the cable at approx 1/2 inch into the threaded piece that goes into the rod end. Tape the cable (to prevent freying) cut with 4" grinder and braze into threaded end.
Test the trasnmission for proper operation.
JIM

[Kubly]

For all you folks out there building Van Diemen Formula Scca, do you have any ROUGH idea of the total build time? 100 hrs reasonable or more?

Part 2 of my question. Would anyone out there consider building one for me?

[SteveG]

Kubly,

I can't answer #1, but I may be able to help with #2. Contact me off line and I'll set you up with a local who's putting one together.

Steve Gomas

[Phulkrum]

Kubly,

I believe the Enterprise Customer Service Reps (CSR)will be assembling and selling the cars. There's a directory of them on the Enterprises website.

Scott Brickey

[Justin_H]

The cars do exist. Here's a short video: http://members.cox.net/500hpchicken/Testday3.MPG

Build time for me was probably close to 100 hours. I would expect build time to reduce dramatically with the later cars, since my car was on the first boat and all the parts and logistics hadn't been figured out yet.
Hagerman has a car, and has posted rental pricing on his website: http://www.hagermanracengineering.com

The car drives great. Easy to handle, turns well, stops well, goes like he..!

Justin Huffman

[BrooksHall]

OK short was a little bit of an understatement

[MJM]

The link to Hagerman does not seem to work.

[Justin_H]

Originally posted by BrooksHall:
OK short was a little bit of an understatement

Heh heh, yeah, that's from a friend's digital camera- it does video, but only a few seconds at a time. It's much better for still shots.

Now that the intakes are here, there will be cars at VIR this coming weekend. If you can get there, I'll be in the blue #7.

Looks like there are internet issues at the moment- the link to Hagerman is good and worked last night, but I can't get there now or to SCCA Pro Racing this morning.

Justin Huffman

[pete98m3]

hey wasup guys... I was just reading the first page of conversation and thought i'd chime in a little bit because i am a karter moving up into this spec scca class. I run a 125 shifter out here in utah (no i'm not mormon!)...

But, i've some experiance in cars, from my dads porsche club cup cars to vintage formula cars...

I'm reaaaaaly looking forward to this class, SCCA hit what i need right on the head, as far as i can tell. I looked into running a zetec FC a year ago, but the problem was, to be competitive required so much testing and time, that as far as i could tell i just couldn't do it while staying in school. (i'm 20, and in mechanical engineering btw) This car, looks like something that requires LESS work then my 125 shifter, something that i can bring out on the weekend with limited testing (once past the initial setup of course) and be at least resonably competitive, then tow home sunday night, and go to class monday.

my car won't be here until... uh, november or something, a longggg time off, its still in england right now i believe, but already i can't wait. to be honest, i don't really care if its faster or slower then a FC, or an FM, i just want it to be fast enough to be exciting to drive... REAAAAALY slow stuff drives me nuts, its like driving a damn briggs!

anyways you'll probably see me around a bit on the site i'm tryin to learn from you guys as much as i can before my car even arrives, then next spring probably i'll bump into some of you west coast guys in person.

[Jim Christian]

Pete,
I talked to your dad today. Welcome to the Formula SCCA family! I promise you will love the car!!
JIM

[J Mabee]

Just mailed my application and down payment to SCCA Enterprises! Same price still but changing Oct. 1st. Heather at Enterprises stated @ $5,000 jump in price. How long did it take for you guys to get the car once ordered? Hope to be racing soon. If anyone lives near Kansas City gimmi a holler.
Jason