project dreadnaught

[RobMatthews]

Welcome to project Dreadnaught, named after the worlds first purpose built battlecruiser here in Britian

This one has been going on since about nov 2009 and is a very slow build inbetween working, life and now sickness

i have been bounding the odd few pics about so thought i may need some ideas and help along the way so getting it all in one place:thumbsup:

The car is a registered 1995 and was mostly stripped when i bought it back in sept 2009  as a doner for a gearbox on my then track car with the intention to sell all the other bits and the shell.

The shell was mint, with only one small piece of rust an inch square, so after a bit of thought on the old track car which was starting to get on a bit i set about building a new and improved machine:cool:

old track car,at its best now recycled and who knows part of my old car could be in the can that holds your baked beens for tea... RIP















previous look more or less as i bought it...







Engine bay of the old track car, i will be reusing the old engine built by knightsports, i dont know the specs but it has been a reliable(touch wood) engine, but there are some changes such as electric water pump, alternator relocated and other bits and bobs




Onto the new shell which i originally just bought to use the gearbox out of and install on the car above which got done and then dismantled the car befor using again in anger lol

Nice straight example.







One of the main reasons i decided to build the new car was safety-mine and passengers of coarse i was getting quick and more confident in the old car and with a rear half cage in there only need me or another car to make a mistake into the side of me at high speed and it may become serious very quickly.

[RobMatthews]

shell is back from atomicrex, i made the mistake of not painting it quicker, which left surface rust on her what a ball ache and lot of time to remove it all!















Whilst the car was at atomicrex\'s they seem welded certain parts such as around the front and rear turrets as well as inside in certain places.





New to me, fron jons old car carbon reverie steering wheel from rotaryart and wheel mounted dash test fited:D weighes feck all.

[RobMatthews]

Anyway thats how dreadnaught stood for a while, whilst i worked all hours and collected parts ready for the build.

Sept 2010 so long ago yet feels only like yesterday! and i\'ve got myself a local barn work can begin again in a large dry space-what we all want! lol

Car is placed up on axel stands to be stripped completly to be repainted inside/ouside/underneath.

Wire brushed all underneath the back end(still got to finish the center section at some point) and stonechipped and painted white with the arches all painted black - I\'ve done this so if there is a fluid leak, ie diff, fuel, gearbox leak its gonna be easier to see or trace.

rear subframe off

[RobMatthews]

Out in the main part of the barn and a temp cover made up as its nesting time for the birds and you know what its like, something shinny and they will :censored::censored::censored::censored: on it lol

Old concrete roof sheets means on a nice day the whole barn acts like an oven- perfect for spraying

[RobMatthews]

Now it get interesting
Subframes i originaly was gonna do orange



but after seeing it done i decided it needed to be something different and to keep the arms natural alloy colour

I changed my mind on the subframe colour and went white instead, which stayed longer than the orange did but still not 100% liked for practicality was perfect easy to spot any leaks onto etc

here is a pic of everything cleaned ready to go back on



You can see how far i\'ve gone with this- so far as to clean, re-zinc and gold passivate all the nuts and bolts etc. A step to far, bordering obsessive?

You can see i\'ve also got new bushes etc again thanks to jon at atomicrex for supplying those.

Pillowballs were all ok so left them just cleaned out as much of the old grease(which was clean) and refilled with new, checked the dustcaps for any damage on them and refitted.

[RobMatthews]

I had a standard ppf sitting around so had it shot blasted and stitch welded up and for something quirky had a mate who sprayed the car suprise me with a colour of his choice as long as it wasn\'t red like the mazdaspeed item.

Came back vw green, i\'ve not taken a pic of the ppf yet but liked it so much i\'ve done the subframes and also my re-amemya triangular front turret brace to to \'pull\' the colour up through the engine bay a little..

Rear sub in the sun, and difficult to get the colour in the pic correct as its a bit darker in the flesh





Fitted







I made a mistake as i was in a rush that day and there is a difference between the subframes in the last two pics so this one came down and off again.....anyone spot my fduk up?:rolleyes:

front sub done, i\'ve not fitted it yet because i want to raise the engine and gearbox in from below so there is less chance of sctatching the paintwork going in from above- just waiting on danny/dale from dm motorsport to sort me an oil pan brace and that can all go in

Front sub and arms

[RobMatthews]

more later............

[Prof]

Nice work ! :Thumbs-up
 
Wish I had a barn to work in

[a.tapos]

you have the patiance of a saint,if i dont get something done in a week i get the hump and leave it,good luck mate a top class job

[RobMatthews]

barn is costing a small fortune tbh but worth it

patience is something i\'ve not normally got but i picture the final product in my head and know i cant rush cause it wont work out the way i want it if i start rushing!

[RobMatthews]

Top coat in 2 pac.

Ford commercial diamond white

some people weld up all the holes etc not being used, i felt this does add weight negligible i know but hey its my car:p although i did f/g over a few holes such as the heater matrix holes as i know i wont use them.

[turbotoaster]

looks awesome mate, looks like ours will be built similar sort of time, have to get us and thomas_mk6 for a track battle!!

Love the colour of the subframes, very different, you could do the wheels, suspension and calipers in the same colour to tie it all together.

you going for sub 1000kg like me aswell?

are you running power steering?

i think after mines built and ive got used to it again i might go down the electric water pump route, just need to get jon to put me in an extra 12v feed in my loom for it.


Is yours going to be for track only or thinking of racing it?

[RobMatthews]

as she sits tonight.....



picked this lot up this afternoon from the powdercoater



All the brakes are done in a gunmetal,fronts are kad 6 pot 356mm rears are rz314mm
I\'ve got the rebuild kit for the rz callipers,so they will prob be rebuilt this weekend meaning that end should almost be finished by the end of the weekend

Never got my ass in gear and ordered the kad seals etc untill today lol will have them tuesday.

The two front uprights are black.
hopefully have some refitted pics by end of sunday

question time...

With the rear hubs how do they detach from the upright? i\'ve got the driveshafts out, but i dont wanna damage anything so are the hubs pressed on on do they just pop off with a bit of ebow grease?
I want to dismantle it so i can remove the disk dust guard so i can clean it all  up properly:wiggle

A pic to help show what i mean

[Mir]

Nice work mate.

Loving it

Mir

[RobMatthews]

looks awesome mate, looks like ours will be built similar sort of time, have to get us and thomas_mk6 for a track battle!!
Nothing will give more pleasure than to show you more of the back of the car :chat
Love the colour of the subframes, very different, you could do the wheels, suspension and calipers in the same colour to tie it all together.

Not my cup of tea, thought it would be a bit chavvy lol(thats not ment to offend anyone and if thats what you like go for it

you going for sub 1000kg like me aswell?
im going as light as possible but am a tight ass so no carbon doors or boot etc yet, i personally think between us there will be no more than 30kg difference, i will have plastic windows rear screen and the electric heated front to help save weight that way

are you running power steering?
yes but standard with the saxo electric pump, i had this fitted on the old car so know it works and think it\'ll do for now

i think after mines built and ive got used to it again i might go down the electric water pump route, just need to get jon to put me in an extra 12v feed in my loom for it.


Is yours going to be for track only or thinking of racing it?

one or the other cant afford both or will be allowed the time off work to do both!-A logistical nighmare being so far down in the country lol
would like to get into something at coombe if not maybe some southern hill climbs or sprints and then do shows with trackdays the day befor to make it worth while