Firehawk's N2 racecar project

[firehawk]

Managed to fight off the temptation to play some more Forza Motorsport 3 for a while and went over to the garage to work on real race cars instead of virtual ones.

I'd already started on the fuel tank enclosure and got the framework mostly done. The top of the tank now sits at about floor level in the boot;



The welds are just tacks for now - I still need to double- and triplecheck that the frame is true and straight. The frame will be cladded with aluminium sheet after the body has been repainted.

Since the RCI tank has an integrated sump under the tank itself, it needs to be somewhat raised from the mounting level with two support beams.



The beams are just 0.8mm mild steel folded into a C-section. The top has been perforated and flared using a tool my brother made in a lathe.



I liked the flaring tool so much that I made a strut brace as well.



The steel sheet was welded on the tubes while tensioned, so once off the car the brace is actually slightly bowed. It straightens out when the mounting nuts are fastened.

The welds need a bit more grinding and some paint, though.



Radiator mounting was another thing I started working on. The Mk2 Golf radiator now rests at a slight angle. Most of the airflow from the radiator will be ducted out of the engine bay through a vented bonned. This should somewhat reduce front-end lift at speed.



The front end brace I made a looong time ago had to be modifed to accommodate for the inlet ducting from the bumper to the radiator.



On another note, I received this quite rare part from a fellow Toyota enthusiast - an actual, unused TRD water pump pulley! Won't run the standard belt, though.