Bandit 1 - The making Of A GT

[dvv]

Bandit 1 ¢‚¬Å“ Birth Of A GT

2003 or how it started

It all started way back in 1967. At the time, I was living in Somerset, just by the Quantock hills, and the local rally scene was very much alive. At 14, I was quite taken by it, and soon enough, there I was, learning to drive. At the time, I didn¢ž¢t know it, but looking back now, I see I was in fact learning far more than rally driving.

The focal point was the car used for training. It was a Ford Escort Cosworth, and even then, it had a 1,598 cc, DOHC engine, with two Weber 45 DCOE carbs, delivering 122 very tangible horsepower. Since the car weighed in at just 790 kilos (or 1,740 lbs), its power to weight ratio was an impressive 6,47 kg/HP, or 14.26 lbs/HP. That¢ž¢s very good even by today¢ž¢s standards, and bear in mind that was the street legal version of the car. The actual rally model had, if memory serves, some 165 HP, while the track version had all of 185 HP.

Imagine yourself sitting in a car like that today ¢‚¬Å“ now imagine how that must look to a 14 year old kid, still smelling of milk. …œNirvana‚ is an exercise in understatement. Throw in an archetypal English person, tall, lanky, with RAF moustache and RAF Spitfire nerve, an easy yet authoritative manner, and you have the picture.

When you start out like that, it¢ž¢s easy to understand that after such a vehicle, the production run car looks ¢‚¬Å“ bland, dead and disappointing.

Now wind fast forward from 1970, when I left England, to 2003, cool 33 years. In 2003, I was an even 50 year old kid, fully understanding that the only difference between boys and men was in the price of their toys. My time was ripe. I bought a new station wagon, a 2 liter 16V DOHC engine (GM/Opel/Vauxhall 2XE), packaged into a Daewoo Nubira, which is one of the most comfortable cars I ever sat in. So comfortable it sometimes gets on my nerves.

My trusty old partner, a cop blue Yugo 55 Koral, was still in great shape. Despite the many horror stories and bad jokes you¢ž¢ll hear about it, many of which are unfortunately true, this one had served me faultlessly for nine years. The Yugo is made by Zastava, a Serbian company building Fiat licensed cars since 1953. At the peak of its operation, and while the old Yugoslavia was still intact, it made 227.000 cars a year. Now, after NATO bombing in 1999, it hardly manages 14.000 per annum.

But, the Yugo project was completed by Fiat in Turin, in 1979/1980. It was one of several alternatives to the venerable old Fiat 127, using a transversely mounted 128 block based engine in two versions. One, mine, offered an 8 valve, SOHC 80x55,5 mm 1,116 cc engine, delivering 55 HP at 6,000 rpm and very modest 77 Nm (101 lb.ft); another version offered a version of the engine, 86.4x55.5 mm, 1,301 ccm, delivering 67 HP at 5,800 rpm and 95 Nm (125 lb.ft) at 3,600 rpm. Both with carbs, EFI versions sometimes available, but hard to come by.

Because it draws its roots from Fiat, many parts can be shared, meaning exchanged and upgraded. So, off I was, sitting down and planning. I started out by clearly defining what I wanted the car to be like in the end ¢‚¬Å“ a classic early 70-ies GT, midway between stock and out-and-out racing car. This would imply an engine with a specific output of 65-75 HP per liter of displacement, or in my specific case, since I planned to upgrade the engine to 1.3 liters by extending its stroke, a power output at the flywheel of 84-98 HP. Assuming typical losses of 20%, this would mean 70-82 HP on the actual wheels. Given the car¢ž¢s curb weight of 790 kilos (1,738 lbs), plus my own 115 kilos (253 lbs, I am 189 cm/6¢ž¢3‚ and have worked hard to gain those kilos for many, many years) would give me a power to weight ratio of [(790+115):70] 12.9...11 kg/HP (28.4...24.2 lb/HP).

So, off to work. The first thing I did was to put together a team, because I was only too aware of the fact that by myself, I¢ž¢d never do it because I¢ž¢d have to learn so much that it was simply out of the question. By freak luck, I stumbled on the Internet on one Uros Piperski (also a member here), then a 24 year old fellow with amazing experience for his age and a natural gift for things mechanical. It turned out he was working with one Nikola Radenkovic, then with a B.Sc in electrical engineering.

Anyway, they set out and three weeks later, there it was. My Yugo, yet not my Yugo any more. Its stroke was taken from 55.5 to 63.9 mm, with all that implies, its compression ratio was raised from 9.2:1 to 11.5:1, its single carb was exchanged for a Weber/Abarth 34/34 carb (actually, this is a Weber carb which Carlo Abarth first takes apart, then changes most parts for his own and puts it back together again) with its associated intake manifold and a square SF air filter. The engine was newly bored from 80.0 to 80.4 mm and Fiat Uno Turbo pistons were installed. The output manifold, originally 4-1, was exchanged for a larger 4-2-1 by Cobra (at not at all a small price, I might add, but it is a top quality item), and the rest of the exhaust system was a decent 42 mm (1.65‚) effective diameter, 1.5 mm (0.06‚) stainless steel exhaust pipe, as straight as was possible, terminated by a hand made, custom exhaust pot of my own design, also in stainless steel.

Front brakes, originally standard 220 mm (8.7‚) full discs were exchanged for Ferodo 240 mm (9.5‚) ventilated discs, TRW-Girling calipers (same as used on the Fiat Uno Turbo) and TRW-Lockheed pads. Rear drums were opened, cleaned up, properly serviced and left there. Inside, standard instruments were exchanged for Veglia-Borletti instruments as used by everybody from Fiat to Ferrari. And a steering wheel, much in the mould of the seventies, wood and aluminium.

Lastly, the 4.5J steel wheels were exchanged for AEZ (German) light alloy 5.5J wheels, series 145/80 R 13 tires where exchanged for 175/60 R 13 Cooper-Avon tires.

The whole shebang cost some 2.700 euros (app. 1,800 pounds), quite a sum when you can have a brand new Yugo on the road for 4,000 euros (app. 2,700 pounds). But it was worth it, as many unsuspecting victims, believing the car to be a pimped standard ride, found out at their expense. Quite a few in smaller BMW and Audi models. I felt great ¢‚¬Å“ this brought back some sweet memories.

But, man has been cursed in that he is never truly satisfied, because power does corrupt, so ...

[dvv]

2004 and Albion arrives ...

By 2004, I was not fully satisfied any more. I had a great engine, but the road holding was not up to the job. Italians will make an outstanding engine, but in my view, never could compete with the old Austin-Healey/TVR/Cosworth/etc school of road holding. For that matter, nobody ever could, including the otherwise excellent Germans, with the exception of Porsche (but they are not from this planet).

Thank the Good Lord for Internet, and the fact that a good friend is a provider, meaning I never paid a penny for his services, limitless time. We looked hard and found much.

So, the Yugo¢ž¢s rear suspension, in form of a transversally mounted two leaf spring, was exchanged for a custom made, rolled (NOT FORGED!) four leaf spring. This enabled the entire car to be lowered 45 mm (1.8‚) symmetrically front and rear, improving road holding no end. Standard oil shock absorbers were exchanged for Monroe SensaTrac gas shocks. Springs were shortened by about an inch and a half.

The front wheels were given a general overhaul, using newly acquired Italian racing parts. They pushed the front wheels some 15 mm (0.6‚) outside, made the front steering and drive wheels much stiffer, with great feedback, and also practically glued them to the road.

The entire clutch assembly was replaced by a new one from Sachs of Germany. Standard ball bearings were replaced by high quality SKF of Sweden ball bearings.

The net result is best described as follows. There¢ž¢s a particularly nasty S curve which I use on a daily basis. It¢ž¢s evil because it doesn¢ž¢t seem to be bad, but is in fact much longer than it appears to be when entering it. A stock Yugo will start to roll at 60-65 km/h (36-39 mph), a BMW Series 3 can do it at 80-95 km/h (48-58 mph) and now, I can do it at 120 km/h (89 mph) without leaving the lane I entered it in. If I¢ž¢m willing to move on to the next lane, giving myself a wider exit arc, I can do it at 135 km/h (92 mph), much to the shock of just about everybody. A Yugo? Kid me not, man!

And 135 km/h is rather near to Yugo¢ž¢s factory specification max speed, said to be 150 km/h (91 mph), but mine did 185 km/h (112 mph). Sure, I had to wait for the last 5 km/h, but it did do it.

Power windows were installed, the alarm, central lock, Pioneer loudspeakers and an old Daewoo radio/cassette deck provided the sound. Never mind how much hard earned cash. Good enough for a perky city car. For a while, that is ...

[dvv]

2005 ¢‚¬Å“ Italians and British are joined by some unacceptable Serbs

By 2005, I got the itch again. It had been a terrible year for me, one cousin, one brother-in-law and both my parents had passed away January 9 to July 12, I was somewhat depressed and need a vent, I suppose. But deep down, while I knew the Yugo was a funky little car to drive and own, I also knew it was not up to the Ford Escort Cosworth standards. And I would have no less. Times had moved on, electronics were the order of the day.

In March, as a reward for outstanding grades in his elementary school and his grammar school, at his request, I bought a brand new Yugo for my son. Unlike mine, his was a 1.3 liter straight off, much newer and actually decent looking, much improved seats and general comfort, etc.

Don¢ž¢t be hoodwinked, he¢ž¢s nobody¢ž¢s fool, that one. He figured that the premium parts taken out of my Yugo could and should end up in his Yugo; do you wonder why he studies economics? So be it, I said, and so it was. As opposed to my car, I avoided some mistakes I made on mine by installing quite a bit in his car in brand new condition, but that¢ž¢s the story of Bandit 2.

Off to work again. Out goes the Weber/Abarth carb, intake manifold and sport filter (and are promptly dropped into my son¢ž¢s Yugo) and in goes a highly modified, pure racing electronic fuel injection (EFI) system. This is the handiwork of one Nikola Radenkovic, who has built much of his outstanding knowledge into my car. After he had started selling his EFI system, somehow, Bosch, the world¢ž¢s largest EFI system manufacturer heard of him. He worked for them for several months on invitation, but now, he has a several years long contract and works in their Advanced Electronic Fuel Injection Systems department.

In essence, the EFI system is a Weber/Marelli model, which has been extensively rebuilt by Nik. For example, series installed 10W power transistors, used for switching, were exchanged for 30W types by Motorola/ON Semiconductor; they don¢ž¢t come much more underrated and more reliable than those, believe me. And much more along those lines. But the key benefit is in the driving software; in a nutshell, it lets you do things no other similar software does as of this writing (September 2006). The end result is that his products have been adopted as recommended Cosworth tuning systems when the requirements are of the highest order.

So, Nik¢ž¢s EFI system went in, intake manifold by Fiat from Uno Turbo, intake valve taken from 36 to 37.4 mm, exhaust valve from 31 to 33 mm, injectors by Bosch Motor Sport, oil radiator by Valeo of France (same as used in Lancia turbo models), spark plugs by Bosch, high flow air filter by Raid of Germany.

Underneath, Cooper-Avon 175 tires were exchanged for Tigar (local manufacturer, also known as Rotax abroad, part of the Michelin empire) TG 635 185/60 R 13 tires, with beneficial results, these being softer rubber tires, with better road grip, but also higher wear factor (an unavoidable trade-off, often forgotten).

And the rear drums were swapped for discs. Since they effectively do no more than 20% of the entire braking, we used standard Yugo disks, calipers by Fiat, as used in their Tipo 2000 model, pads by TRW-Lucas. Front brake pads exchanged for Pagid blue series. At the initial power level, this was not really necessary, but by then it had dawned on me that I was unlikely to stop. Uros Piperski did that, and I must say, did an outstanding job of it ¢‚¬Å“ no slip, no skid, ideal braking power matching front to back, the car¢ž¢s back stays in line without any noticeable swing or sway.

That S curve I mentioned ¢‚¬Å“ well, now 130 km/h was the norm. 10 km/h faster with no ill side effects.

This time, I had the car measured on a rolling road or dynamometer. It showed I had 84.9 HP at the wheels, meaning I had something like 98-102 HP at the flywheel, say 100. Not bad at all, for an 8V, SOHC, 1.3 liter engine (scan available on request).

But it was still using a stock camshaft, hardly appropriate for its capabilities, and its CR was reduced to the factory 9.2:1 level again, because upon opening the engine, we found about an inch of the rim of one piston missing. Gone! Local fuel is pure horror, nominally 95 octane lead free, it showed up as 91,8 octane on a random test, and I know quite a few additives are missing. Unfortunately, we¢ž¢ll have to wait for somebody to buy that state monopoly in the process of privatization before we get nice things like Shell V Power Racing Plus fuel. That¢ž¢s 102 octanes for you, and no additive is missing.

More shocked drivers on local streets, more BMWs and Audis in my rear view mirror, tremendous fun ...

[dvv]

2006 ¢‚¬Å“ Time to complete the saga

However we looked at it, we figured we could get 120 Hp from that 1.3 liter engine. But pure economics thwarted that otherwise excellent plan, as we found a Fiat 159A engine for the princely sum of 160 euros, or 100 pounds. That¢ž¢s a 1,580 cc engine, 86.4x63.9 mm, has forged pistons and was the first engine to use FIAT¢ž¢s system of extra oiling the pistons. At that price, I couldn¢ž¢t say no, all the more so since the vast majority of parts was the same and could be carried over, engine mounting was identical to mine so zero hassle there. Upon initial inspection, we were shocked and extremely pleased to discover that while the engine was in fact 16 years old, in terms of work, it was practically brand new. I doubt it worked for more than 5,000 km (3,000 miles) all told, far too many signs of a factory new engine were still evident in many places. In short, outstanding luck!

Anyway, it was brought back to life in full. In the meanwhile, I managed to get hold of a good camshaft from Croatia. Nominally, 288 angle, but at 0.1 mm, and since mine would be sitting at 0.25 mm distance, the actual angle would be, at a guess, around 275 degrees. But the lift is a good 10.58 mm, and the intake valves had just been promoted from 37 to full 40 mm. We were congratulating ourselves on the Cobra exhaust manifold, how smart we were to buy the model good for tuned 1.6 engines, as it was just coming into its own now.

But now the four butterflies by Bing of Germany, at 34 mm diameter, were if not too small, then at the very least critical. They were good for about 100 HP, with a 20 HP margin, or 120 HP with zero margin (i.e. in peaks only and if lucky). The solution was proposed once again by Uros; he would take Dellorto¢ž¢s 36 mm butterflies, adapt them for our use in this project and install them. And he did. So, my intake manifold is now a Bing/Dellorto/Piperski job. He had to shear off 0.3 mm from them to be able to fit them in, so I suppose I could say I have lightened butterflies? Anyone else?

The BMW plenum turned out to be too short to fit. So it was cut in half, given the proper size, and joined again by plastics, courtesy of Sale (here Yugo_Turbo) and Uros. And it works just fine.

New injectors had to be purchased, of course. And I decided to exchange the ECU I had, an older model, for Nik¢ž¢s latest and meanest version, just out. Why not, if I have the author himself doing the mapping? Who better?

Today, September 10, 2006, the car is with Nik in his native city of Nis, some 243 km (147 miles) south of Belgrade. He will keep it for as long as is necessary and until such time that Nik says it¢ž¢s mapped well. Be it 2, 5 or 10 days, I don¢ž¢t care, I¢ž¢ve come such a long way over the last three years, dished out so much money, a few days are nothing.

Especially when you know that at the end of the line, your little, cop blue Yugo, affectionately dubbed as Bandit 1, is expected to do 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in less than 7 seconds. thank you!


The Team

Nikola Radenkovic, B.Sc, (electronics), 30, a most capable young man who will go far, very far. If you need a racing EFI system, you are not likely to do better than Nik¢ž¢s, but be prepared for racing class prices. I can¢ž¢t thank him enough.

Uros Piperski (member here), 27, a natural born mechanic, has inborn feel for things mechanical, but was smart enough to augment this gift with hard knowledge. Rightfully shares first place with Nik in the making of this car.

Aleksandar Kostic, 36, professional mechanic with his own business, who helped do a lot work.

Dusan Veselinovic, my son, now 20 years old, who was our …œrunner‚. When we needed something, he went and got it for us, in addition to helping out in the garage.

My humble self, 53, who dreamt up the project and bankrolled it. Just because I wanted a re-edition of something like that Ford Escort Cosworth. I wanted a GT, but I think I got more than I bargained for. Oh well, life¢ž¢s not all bad ...


What I did wrong and what I did right

Looking back, I see relatively clearly the mistakes I made and the things I hit spot on. Here¢ž¢s a short list, in hope you will avoid my mistakes and improve upon my hits.

In effect, I made only one serious mistake, but that one had far reaching consequences, both materially, temporally and in terms of costs. I changed the goal posts half way through the game.

That¢ž¢s a very complex and expensive mistake to make. Thus, the entire first stage was practically wasted in terms of the engine. That time and those resources would, and therefore should have been used much more efficiently. I failed to decide to go the EFI way in proper time, simple as that.

Lesson: think hard and think well before you buy even one screw. If you move the goal posts, there¢ž¢s no telling what losses you might have, if you find you need bigger this and better that. Above all, consult with a professional if you want to avoid mistakes like that.

What I did right was to choose just the right kind of vehicle for both my desires and actual requirements. Yugo is small, and is thus a great city car. But because it¢ž¢s small, just 3.5 m (10.5 ft) in length, and despite its old standards in bodywork metal thickness, it¢ž¢s very, very light. This allows you to use the late Colin Chapman of Lotus philosophy ¢‚¬Å“ performance through low mass rather than monstrous V16s and such. That was the Colin Chapman way, that is the TVR way (at least, for the time being), that is the Lotus, Catherham and so forth way, and it works.

Another thing I got right, initial mistake notwithstanding, was to keep both my ears wide open to the advice of the professionals from various fields. You can¢ž¢t know it all, so don¢ž¢t waste time trying. I think of myself as an unusually intelligent man, not because I know so much more than everybody else, but because I know who to ask when I need to and because I am not shy to say I don¢ž¢t know when I don¢ž¢t. Heeding advice helped me make some outstanding purchases, get hold of some custom parts I never knew existed, make some great deals, and so forth.

Regarding parts, never limit yourself to any one market ¢‚¬Å“ you don¢ž¢t have to, so you shouldn¢ž¢t. For example, Britain is known to have an excellent supply of standard and custom camshafts (Kent, Piper, etc), but if you need one, do look at your local supply, but also look elsewhere. In Belgium for example, you have CatCams, another first class supplier. I don¢ž¢t think they are actually better than say British manufacturers, but you might find a model or two which are better suited to your needs or are unavailable in the UK. Though I admit a slight bias for Kent cams, I must say. A class act.

Lastly, I did well by not hurrying. I heeded the old Roman saying ¢‚¬Å“ hurry slowly. Many potential mistakes, mishaps and pitfalls were avoided because I took the time to think it out, to consult, to ask around. Definitely sleep on it, if nothing else.

And yes, I was lucky indeed to have such a team. The two key people, Nik and Uros, I did not know before this project. Now, my gain is double, I have the car, but much more than that, I have them. Without them, this project would probably never have gotten off the ground.

Lesson: First think long and hard what do you want your car to be at the very end. Then list all the requirements. Add up the costs. If your costs are more than you can afford at one time, break the work to be done into logical stages and proceed with what you can afford, make the foundation for future work a good one. Savor the work, the result will be all the sweeter for it.

[Guy Croft]

MODEL POST!

Full of interesting background, technical detail and beautifully written, well done and thank you for sharing your experience and advice with us!

I know form experience how much effort goes into writing a feature like that, I wish more members would take the trouble.

GC

[dvv]

MODEL POST!

Full of interesting background, technical detail and beautifully written, well done and thank you for sharing your experience and advice with us!

I know form experience how much effort goes into writing a feature like that, I wish more members would take the trouble.

GC

Thank you very much, Guy. Two thing you should know:

1. I have 19 years of professional editing in magazines (albeit PC orientated), three years of TV authoring and three years of radio behind me. Published 326 texts, one book (sold out in reprint as well, the war of 1991 cut its life short). Thus, I have the experience. It should be obvious I am deeply in love with that car, so writing about it is sheer pleasure, and

2. I daresay you do know about the effort because to you, it's a chore, something you don't actually do except when you have to, while to me, it's second nature.

A short note: if there's a Bandit 1, it stands to reason there's a Bandit 2. And there is, that's my son's Yugo. I'll do some chores just now, and then I'll post his car as well. It's a bit different to mine, but then, we've only just started on it ...

Some things, like high octanes, run in the family ... :-)))

Anyway, any suggestions anyone has are welcome.

thank you,
DVV

[dvv]

Sad news!

Bandit 1 is no more, he's gone to the Spirit In Th Sky.

The car was returned on Sunday, September 17, around 8 PM. It had been thoroughly mapped over a distance of some 1,100 miles, including some breakneck driving.

Initial results were almost incredible. It did 40...150 km/h (25...94 mph) in third gear in 17 seconds. It did 0-62 mph in just 6.3 seconds - that's better than an Alfa 147 GTA, for example. Faster than a Ford Focus ST, Golf 5 GTI, Renault Megane Sport, etc. Living proof Colin Chapman had it exactly right!

Perhaps I can best explain as follows. From a full stop at a traffic light, with three people inside (myself, my son and a friend), loaded at approximately 275 kg (app. 605 lbs), which is 73.3% of its maximum payload capacity, it hit 140 km/h (87 mph) in just over 14 seconds. Awesome!

Up to around 3.500 rpm, nothing much happens, it pulls about as you'd expect a reasonable 1.6 litre engine to pull, no big deal. But at 4.000 rpm, the door to the realm of the Lord's opposite opens and if you put the pedal to the metal, you are amazed at the sheer brute power propelling you all the way to the soft limiting point at 7,900 rpm (hard limiting at 8,200 rpm).

So, we drive the friend home, and we decide to go to a secondary road just behind the Belgrade airport. It's in excellent condition, rather wide, straight and mostly deserted, especially at night. Visibility all of its 1.5 mile stretch.

We got there, and I had just passed a curve I know well. It was beginning to drizzle, and although in dry and warm weather I take that curve at 130 kph (81 mph) no problemo, just to be on the safe side, I let the car naturally decelarate to just under 70 kph (44 mph). I pass through the curve as if on rails, no problem whatsoever.

Then, just after I got on the straight stretch, the car wrenches control from me and starts to spin. My only though was to get off the tarmac onto to the grass banking, because if I should turn over, metal on tarmac produces wonderful sparks, which could, in conjuction with spilled fuel, make a very pretty bonfire. I manage that, but at the cost of the car spinning, and we end up in a 4 foot deep ditch.

The good news are many. They say any accident you walk away from on your own two feet is a great accident - we both walked away on our two feet, I somewhat bent because the B column patted me on the back not too gently.

Next, we call for road assitence from the Automobile Association of Serbia, and they arrive in about half an hour. In the meanwhile, no cops. If any cops came along, we'd be in trouble, because at that moment, I could not explain the origins of the engine in the car, much less the accident. I was going to get the papers right after the car was delivered, because to legalize it, I have to have the car tested (classic case of the law tripping over its own toes, but there you go).

The AAS guy was really very kind and very helpful, way over his equipment capabilities. Inside of one hour, the car was on his lorry and delivered to the garage where it's still sitting today. As reason for transportation, he cited "engine malfunction", so even if the cops do look it over, nothing there warranting investigation.

The bad news is that Bandit 1 is no more. The bodywork is extremely damaged, no repairs there. Unfortunately, the brunt of the stopping power was taken by the rear driver corner, which literally twisted the entire car body, including the roof.

The damage is extensive. Not to bore everyone with details, the point is that this particular version is gone, finished, finito, kaputt.

But, Bandit 1 will rise from the ashes. I will redo it all over again, because those 45 minutes of driving convinced me completely that not doing it would be the greatest mistake of my life. The sheer thrill of hitting the gas pedal is unbelievable. I'll wager my other car that thing has more than 150 bhp, and for the first time, I can safely say it beat the Ford-Cosworth Escort of my youth on sheer thrill of driving (and power).

The next day, I went over to the place to look it over, and sure enough, I saw a NICE puddle of half dried engine oil. I suspected as much, because however I looked at it, that's the only thing that can explain this kind of car behavior. Nothing else could explain such sudden loss of control on a straight road, under still quite reasonable speed, since the steering works even after the accident.

The next incarnation of Bandit 1 will be built - quite literally - from the ground up. It will use the body from Zastava Sports division, which is additionally stiffened and made stronger. It will use 15" wheels, it will use LEDs instead of light bulbs, and in short, many if not most of the original car shortcominhs will be eliminated right from the start.

Thank unacceptable the engine is untouched. It'll take about a year, but they, this one took 38 months ...

No pictures - you don't want to see that misery and sadness.

thank you,

DVV

[Guy Croft]

I'm very sorry to hear that, seems to be the month for crashes. Thank you for taking the trouble to outline what happened in such interesting detail.

GC

[dvv]

I'm very sorry to hear that, seems to be the month for crashes. Thank you for taking the trouble to outline what happened in such interesting detail.

GC

Thank you, Guy. Down here as well, there seems to be an awful lot of accidents, but thankfully, no injuries to speak of.

I believe we fall only to learn how to get up again, fighting harder.

In all probability, I will make another Bandit 1. This time round, I'll begin by planning out all the mistakes I made the first time. We (the whole team) hybernate over the winter, but spend time gathering all the bits and pieces, and manufacturing some really cute bits and pieces we thought up. Then, in April, we get down to it.

All of us, and that's a lot of people, because I'm pleased to say I have a total of 9 volunteers, both local and from the neighboring countries (all parts of ex-Yugoslavia).

That in addition to completing Bandit 2.

thank you,
DVV

[Guy Croft]

I think I can speak for all GCRE.com members when I say 'well done' to you and your team!

Well done guys!

I do look forward to the sequel.

GC

[dvv]

To complete the first part of the saga, I enclose four graphs/tables for the technically minded. Just two things I'd like to say.

One, the power depicted as 88.72 kW @ 6,610 rpm and 140.16 Nm @ 5,213 rpm is the ACTUAL POWER FROM ACTUAL WHEELS, AS DRIVEN ON ACTUAL ROADS, not on rolling roads, dynos, etc. This is made possible by the RP Tuning technology used, since about a year ago, we installed several non-standard issue probes and sensors precisely to be able to obtain such graphs. We are not interested in approximations, which rolling roads cannot help being, we are interested in real world driving, what the driver actually has at his disposal.

Having 88.72 kW, or 121 HP on the wheels, in a car weighing in at 980 kilos (2,156 lbs) with two people inside is - believe me! - a big deal. Working backwards, if we assume a loss of just 10% in the gearbox (an optimistic assumption, I think, the Yugo's gearbox is notoriously poorly made), and another 10 HP for everything else (clitch slip, drift, etc), we can say our engine has 142 HP on the flywheel. Hence, our design goal, a power output (on the flywheel) of 140-150 HP was met. However, with some fine tweaking still left to be done, we will get to the full 150 HP mark.

Also, I remind one and all that the cam I have is declared at 288 degrees, valve lift 10,2 mm, which would pleace its natural peak power in the 7,300-7,500 rpm range, and here, power peaks out at 6,610 rpm. This is no mishap, it's an attempt to make the car easier to drive on a daily city basis, but with different mapping, the power output would most probably hit all of 160 HP. It would also move everything to the right in the graph, and the car would be all but useless on a daily basis, because it would start to show signs of life above 4,000 rpm.

MOST IMPORTANT, the graphs you see are not idealized curves as shown by manufacturers, these are actual data points measured at every 10 rpm on a straight stretch of motorway, some 25 km (15.5 miles) long, thankfully not used much out of tourist season, and the cops tend to be very tolerant if they see you're working on the car, not just gunning it for the fun of it. We sure burnt a lot of fuel, but never paid a single speeding ticket, even when hitting 215 km/h (134 mph).

The rest of the graphs simply illustrate the point that our claims are not wishful thinking and/or wild guesses, but statements based on hard, verifiable and repeatable measurements.

I would advise Guy and other hard core tuners to look them over carefully and try to remember when was the last time they even saw graphs/tables like that, and which other hardware on this planet allows you to put a notebook PC on the seat beside you, gun the car and make these measurements. Then take a look at the options, and you will understand why and how it was possible to obtain such wonderful power and torque curves, so smooth and without notable deviations anywhere.

Please understand, this is NOT a roundabout advertisement, this is an attempt to complete the data spoken of here. What use are our experiences to anybody here, if we don't tell you how we did it? And, while I do make my living by designing, manufacturing and exporting electronic products, they are in no way whatsoever connected to the automotive industry.

Well, that concludes the first chapter of the Bandit 1 saga.

"Bandit 1 Reloaded" will start to materialize no sooner than April next year, but I hope we complete Bandit 2 in the meanwhile. A much simpler, much more classic, carburrated engine of decent performance.

thank you,
DVV