RX-7 Racing - Hodgkinson Engineering

[raceralexuk]

Appart from lots of stuff I missed out like removing all the interior, exhaust and neons (crazy Japs!) that brings this thread up to today\'s work. And that\'s been...
 
Trying to work out how to fit the seat -
 

 
Looks really wide, but it was the smallest one I could find anywhere on the net of this type. Only 460mm wide at the bottom! We\'re planning on doing some national series racing in France in the future, and the governing body over there, the FFSA, are drafting in some regs for next year about seats having to have protection to stop the driver\'s head lashing around in a side impact. So, we\'ve got to use a seat like this.
 
We definately won\'t be able to use runners with it. The biggest problem seems to be stopping the head \'wing\' from poking out of the window. More on the seat situation in the near future.

Today something did get finished - got the mirrors on. Just using some cheap things off the net as they\'re bound to get knocked off at some point. As the mirror mounting face on the FD doors is at about 45degrees to horizontal, so were the mirrors, which looked naff.
Bending the tube which the mirrors mount on with was out of the question, so had to cut a notch in the cup where the ball sits, so they could swing further down.
 
Also turned down the outside of the mounting cup so that we could locate it in a recess on the mounting plates we made up and use the same bolt which pushes the spring against the ball to hold them on.
 

 
Oh yes - also turned down the outside of the bolt to take some of the weight off them.


 
Look smart mounted, especially happy as they\'re home made
 
Right, now it\'s time for me to carry on with squeezing an elephant in a mini.. I mean fitting the seat :2Rolleyes

[fil_auto]

very smart bud - some great work going on there..... #;o)

[Bobfish]

That seat is exactly the same as my Suzuka S seat by the looks of things, except for the wings at the top - it really does look like my seat with a bit stuck on the top!

[rx7boy]

Looks like an amazing project !! Are you selling any of the parts that you are stripping out?? am interested in Drivers side window mechanism os you have it ?? thanks

[AtomicRex]

Hey Alex,
 
Go careful with that seat, as we bought a load of the Corbeau seats of a similar design.....and they didnt fit!  Not wishing to put a dampener on the situation....but with the cage in, even without seat mounts....just didnt fit.  Not to mention we bought 3 of the XL versions so that if we had larger passengers they could come for laps....they wouldnt even fit in the car!

[raceralexuk]

Oh man, I had some major brain fade after the seat arrived! I threw away the packaging just after quickly seeing if it\'d fit, thinking that I wouldn\'t have to return it. Then realised that it didn\'t have the brackets attached..!
 
Anyway after a bit of "oh borrocks what have you done" from dad we set about and got it in...after two days! It\'s a squeeze, but the cage will fit around it for sure. It\'s just getting in and out that\'ll be the problem :HammerLooks the bizzle in though. We had to really take a lot of material off the side mounts (good job that\'s permitted!) It now means that the seat is uber-low. Headroom is about double what it was with the standard seat in. Also we\'re not going to use the standard seat padding. With the driver change thing in Britcar we\'ll use different fitted padding for each nut behind the wheel. That also lowers the driving position a tad.
 
The power assisted steering column is now nearly in. It\'s taken a lot of engineering to ensure it\'s safety & fittiment. The last thing that anybody wants is a broken steering column... Ayrton Senna, anybody?
Anyway I\'ll post some pictures of it up later. You will like it muchly
 
rx7boy, I do have that window mechanism yes. It\'s in top nick, however the plug has been severed off in error. There\'s still plenty of lead left so you could easily splice the existant plug you have to it. It\'s yours for £15.

[rx7boy]

yeah if its drivers side then I will take it, how do you want to do payment ??

[raceralexuk]

Paypal works with me: go4it.alex@btinternet.com. Add a 3 quid for p&p and I\'ll get it off to you by the end of the day if I receive payment.

[rx7boy]

Paypal sent, delivery address is attached to it. thanks

[Kieron]

Interesting project. Good luckw ith it

[nikp]

Great Project! Like it.

And while we\'re at it....since people have started asking for parts.......don\'t suppose you have an ENTIRE lock set for it? With key? With key that operates all 4 locks?

[Archbish]

Good luck dude!!  Sounds like it\'s a very very cool project, and I hope you get what you want from it, and enjoy the learning curve that goes with it!!!

[raceralexuk]

Rx7 boy, posted your window winder today. Let me know when it arrives so I can tick it off my postal list.
 
Nikp, sorry I don\'t have a lock set I can let go..yet. I will have them available eventually though. The keys are a bit tatty though, infact one\'s split.
 
I\'m happy several of you are asking for parts anyway, because there\'s still a bit of stuff to clear out. I have some original side windows if anybody wants them?

[nikp]

Well, keep me in mind when they do become available. I don\'t mind about the key: can always get one  cut!

[Bobfish]

Oh man, I had some major brain fade after the seat arrived! I threw away the packaging just after quickly seeing if it\'d fit, thinking that I wouldn\'t have to return it. Then realised that it didn\'t have the brackets attached..!
 
Anyway after a bit of "oh borrocks what have you done" from dad we set about and got it in...after two days! It\'s a squeeze, but the cage will fit around it for sure. It\'s just getting in and out that\'ll be the problem :HammerLooks the bizzle in though. We had to really take a lot of material off the side mounts (good job that\'s permitted!) It now means that the seat is uber-low. Headroom is about double what it was with the standard seat in. Also we\'re not going to use the standard seat padding. With the driver change thing in Britcar we\'ll use different fitted padding for each nut behind the wheel. That also lowers the driving position a tad.
 
The power assisted steering column is now nearly in. It\'s taken a lot of engineering to ensure it\'s safety & fittiment. The last thing that anybody wants is a broken steering column... Ayrton Senna, anybody?
Anyway I\'ll post some pictures of it up later. You will like it muchly
 
rx7boy, I do have that window mechanism yes. It\'s in top nick, however the plug has been severed off in error. There\'s still plenty of lead left so you could easily splice the existant plug you have to it. It\'s yours for £15.

Tell me about it. To get my Suzuka S in my car (Which are actually smaller seats than yours!) i had to cut up the side mounts i had to lower them, drill out the spot welds on the standard rear seat mounts (where the bolt goes in)  and remove that plate. Panel beat the floor flat, drill holes in the right places, remove the fuel lines (so i could weld the stress plates on for the 6 point harnesses) and then the seat would finally fit!

Even still, its so low that you have to bolt the side mounts in, then bolt the seat to the sidemount - you cant do it the other way around because once the seat is in, the bottom of it sits on the carpet lol so you cant get to the bolts of the side mounts to hold them in!