Carbon effect headlights

After a moment of weakness I purchased these new headlight units at Stoneleigh this year, what more can I say!

 

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Shift advisory lights

Decided to fit another box of electronics made by a company called DRE (Digital Race Electronics). It is a computer that works out when to change up gears called an SDL5 Sequential Shift Light. The box measures 58mm x 16mm x 35mm and the idea is you are to mount it in your direct line of sight. This should avoid the potentially detrimental dependence of the rev limiter. It also wastes track seconds going into the rev limiter. I spotted this shift light box on a car at Doune this year.

The box worked well when directly connected to the Hayabusa ECU rev counter drive cct but refused to work with ETB rev counter connected to the same wire. I scratched my head and went back to basics with my electronics knowledge and made a cct that allows both to co-reside. The ETB rev counter appears to put a 5V offset in the ECU circuit when connected. I basically removed that offset with a capacitor resistor and diode to protect the DRE unit. The values of the capacitor and resistor are not that critical being 33uF and 2.2Kohm. If you require more details mail me, I doubt this is a common problem.

10/06/14: The signal to the unit was correct as designed above, however the setting for "Cylinders" should have been 2 to match the ECU signal of one pulse per rev. Now working fine.

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Tonneau

There are no dependable people around central Scotland to get a Tonneau made. I pondered the issue for some time and came across some favourable references to a company called Soft Bits for Sevens. As they reside in West Sussex then a template was the obvious answer. I made an accurate template from Toolstation tarpaulin. After several months the finished product arrived from Softbits. I made some time ago a special tool for riveting the buttons in place while the tonneau is in process of being fitted. This is a much more accurate way of fitting a tonneau as you can drill each stud position one at a time and fit both half's of the stud fastener without removing the Tonneau from the car. The tool is made in part by a Rolson crimping tool with alternative stakes and anvil on each side.

I used the spare seat belt attachments to locate the Tonneau with brass eyelets.

I also took the opportunity of fitting a Longacre racing (rear view) mirror saved me thinking too much about the mounting brackets. It gives a 14" panoramic view a good safety feature for the track.

 

Soft bits logo and attachment eyes

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Summary spring 2014

Recent trip round Dukes Pass, Trossachs, Scotland

The car was a good one when bought in September 2013 it is an even better car now. I have driven it recently and it performs well and may of the niggles in the driving experience have now gone. Here is a list of improvements over the last 6 months.

* Front mud flaps
* Bodywork repairs (paint and GRP)
* Extra front wing stays
* New shock absorbers
* Improved aero screen
* Front and rear lighting improvements
* Moved battery to better position and plugged up holes in bulkhead
* Rear wing stone guards
* Paddle shift gear change
* Improved exhaust and fitted CAT
* MSA towing hoops
* Boot box for tool storage
* Improved oil catch tank
* Full roll cage
* Half doors
* Gear selected indicator
* ARB's front and back
* Uprated cooling fan

Total cost...... don't ask the wife might be listening!

The plan is to enter a few hill climb events and a few track days, hopefully not making too big an idiot of myself.

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Cooling fan

I was going to update the cooling fan, possibly next year but the purchase of the Playskool ARB made that upgrade a necessity. The ARB install wanted to share the same space as the Sierra cooling fan location. The Ford cooling fan is big and heavy beast by modern standards at I doubt it is very efficient.

I purchased a 10" low profile suck part from Rally Design. It is spec'd at only 52mm in height. I had to make a new mounting plate and brackets. The brackets are the originals Westfield chassis bits elongated by 30mm.

Bolted it up, connected wiring and pipes all works well, job done. Water temperature gauge is reading wrong, needs investigating (sensor faulty?).

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New alloy mounting bracket

Clearance to ARB now adequate

Old Ford part

ARB (Anti Roll Bar)

I was happy enough with the road holding on my Megabusa but when I spoke to Simon at Sitec Racing he advised me to get some ARB(s). Simon's advice is that the roadholding can be made even better on the track with ARB's. As he is going to be employed to set up my suspension soon, then I guess, I need to take his advice.

I thought about purchasing s/h parts but decided a new set would have all the bits and pieces supplied and be a straightforward fit (wrong!).

I purchased the front and rear ARB kit for a Westfield from Playskool Motorsport. Like all aftermarket products for my model of Westfield (apparently) it did not fit out of the box. The main problem was at the rear bar:

1) The instructions were unclear about the position of the plates to attach the drop arms at the rear to the lower wishbones.

2) The rear upper pivot points requires removing the fuel tank as the bolts cannot be removed and inserted otherwise.

The first problem was easy enough I just posted a thread on the Westfield technical forum and that matter was put to bed almost instantly. There are lots and lots of people who have fitted that kit.

The second problem resulted in me refabricating the rear pivot point brackets by putting an offset into the pivot point. I then mounted them on the rear wishbone mounts instead of the front. I did not want to remove the tank at this stage as the roll cage would have to be removed. I cannot see why this will affect the roll bar performance in any way.

The biggest problem with the front ARB was that the site for the front ARB was obstructed by the radiator,  the bottom hose and the cooling fan.

Nearside front

Offside front

Offside rear

Welded plate

Mod to rear pivot

It is now essential to upgrade the cooling fan as the front ARB occupies the space for the existing one.

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Decals, competition number, the prisioner

Time has come to fit a place to put a competition number (assuming I am to hill climb/sprint this car).  The requirement is for three sites one viewable from the front and one either side below the aero screen. The numbers have to be 9" high so that more or less dictates the size of the white background. You are not allowed to display the numbers on the public highway. I took the view that driving around with blank number sites was a bit bland so I added my own decal design of "the prisoner".

 I can always cover the logo with white background when needed or rip of the decal by applying a little heat.

For those viewing this and don't understand the decal. The prisoner was a cult 60's TV series staring Patrick McGoohan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhnTMxHOWlY

I designed the logo using Painshop pro:

* He drives a Lotus 7 , I drive a 7esk Westfield
* His prisoner number is 6, I do have a 6 in my Q plate (stretching the theme a bit far I guess!)
* The organisation's logo that keeps him detained is a penny farthing with a surrey top. And the Westfield symbol looks something like the spokes of a wheel.
* And my identity on to the forums is "the prisoner".

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