STM Phasar 750

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hcd
Posts: 21
Joined: June 23rd, 2006, 12:25 pm
Location: Hertford, UK
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STM Phasar 750

Post by hcd »

Hi All,

I've now given up on my old racecar (viewtopic.php?t=357) as the chassis is far too old and... well bendy! After some post season analysis, I¢ž¢ve found that the suspension pickup points have more movement than the shocks and the chassis is also showing some rather alarming signs of stress.

My first thought was to build a car from scratch, but in all honesty I'm no chassis designer and would probably end up with a white elephant!

So, after much research, I've just put a deposit down on a Stuart Taylor Motorsport Phasar package. The reason I went for the STM is first and foremost because it's the only car of this type that uses a laser cut chassis, the torsional strength is apparent from it's (and it's sister's 'The Pheonix') success in the 750MC RGB series.

Other lesson's learned from the previous car are...

1. Use a proper gearbox. The old Reliant unit although very light just couldn't cope with the torque of the Fiat engine. A Ford Rocket gearbox with Quaife main case and TranX gear set is going in the new car. More info here http://www.racingaspirations.com/galler ... ketgearbox.

2. Use components that are still available! A lot of the components were BMC based and very hard to source nowadays. The new car will be using Ford (based) front uprights, rear axle, prop shaft, steering rack etc.

3. Less weight = more speed! Because the old car was an evolution of an evolution, parts kept being added, without (too much) thought for the consequences. Not so with this car - use the shortest route for oil/water hoses, no panelling that will then be covered by another panel, don't use so many fibreglass layers for bodywork.

4. Make components as accessible as possible.

On a good note though, the ground-effects worked a treat, the high speed stability was awesome. I'll definitely be refining this area on the new car.

I've attached some pictures of the standard car, but, expect the finished product to sit a little lower with some (maybe) different cooling architecture + a rear wing of course.

I'll keep updating as the build progresses.

Thanks for looking,
Huw
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Guy Croft
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Post by Guy Croft »

Model Post!

You're doing everything right Huw - well done and good luck with the new car.

GC
hcd
Posts: 21
Joined: June 23rd, 2006, 12:25 pm
Location: Hertford, UK
Contact:

Post by hcd »

Hi All,

Just a quick update on how my little project is progressing...

First off, the engine and gearbox. The chassis was originally designed to accept bike engines, so trying to fit a great big Ford Rocket gearbox in the transmission tunnel was a real challenge. It has worked out quite nicely though, with just a few modifications still required to the tunnel. I think the engine looks great in the chassis and there's so much space around it, It should be easy to work on, even once the ancillaries have been added.

Image

Another modification required was converting the chassis to accept a live axle. The factory helped me out by not adding the rear sub frame; all I had to do was work out the best mounting points.

I've opted for a panhard rod for lateral location rather than a Watts / Mumford link as this design offers good roll centre location and with the amount of suspension travel, the lateral movement between full bump and droop inherent in the panhard rod design will be kept to a minimum.

Image

The front suspension is complete. I've opted for Ford Cortina uprights as opposed to the "standard" chopped up Escort struts so many kit car manufacturers seem to go for (including this one as standard). I'll be replacing the rust covered uprights pictured with some nice aluminium pattern items before the end of the build.

Image

Here you can see the two intakes that will feed the twin radiators. The radiators will be mounted aft of the front wheels. The second picture shows the intakes in full.

There will be a second set of intakes connected to the radiators... So the primary intakes will feed the secondary intakes, which will in turn feed the radiators with maybe vortex inducing strakes (if required) in between.

It will be a great achievement if it actually works!

Image

Image

And finally, an early mock-up. The bodywork is now attached to the chassis, so no need for the gas bottles any more.

Image

The build is progressing week by week and I am hoping to complete it by January 2008 in time for next season. Keep an eye on http://www.racingaspirations.com/ for updates.

I'll update this site again, once a few more milestones have been reached.

Thanks for looking,
Huw
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