The Flying Cat

[HJ2]

[Monty]

That dash is looks great, like the intake on the front too but you could do with a better boost gauge

Will she see any Black stuff next year?

[surfboardfiller]

Yes should be on the road soon (although I keep saying that), I'm waiting for the Piper down pipe and a few fasteners before it can be started.

I have 'Phantom 20psi (1.37 bar) Turbo gauge' on my shopping list, is this the one you have?

[F1 LOTUS]

Great to see the progress on this project. What did you end up doing at the back for the diffuser? It'll be very interesting to see how it goes once it's all together

[surfboardfiller]

The back needs a custom exhaust before I can cut the rest of the boot off, It has a new piper 2.5" system which is standard and is right in the way. Getting the car on the road is the priority but I dare say I'll finish the splitter before I get the down pipe. Diffuser is subject to more research but I have the basic equation, I can work on the curvature of the ducts when the new exhaust is in place.

I am aiming for an MOT pass so I can move the car about and get the suspension replaced, test the engine etc.

[Monty]

I have 'Phantom 20psi (1.37 bar) Turbo gauge' on my shopping list, is this the one you have?

To tell you the truth i can`t rememeber but the name sounds familiar lol

[hatters]

A hell of a lot of work ,its going to look great when its finished I admire you for having the balls to take it on in the first place, It would be nice if you could show those Elise boys from SELOC how to get around a track when its finished

[surfboardfiller]

A hell of a lot of work ,its going to look great when its finished I admire you for having the balls to take it on in the first place, It would be nice if you could show those Elise boys from SELOC how to get around a track when its finished

It should pass the 10 feet test; if it looks all right from 10 feet..
Yes, that's the plan. My be it will be good in the wet.

I don't think the boost gauge is staying, the fuel level sender in the race tank isn't compatible with the standard Delco fuel gauge, it says the empty tank is half full. So a new VDO fuel gauge can go where the turbo is.
The Blitz Boost controller has an LED screen which should do a better job than the standard gauge.

[F1 LOTUS]

The back needs a custom exhaust before I can cut the rest of the boot off, It has a new piper 2.5" system ...

In your quest for power have you considered cam's? Especially now that LEC has some previous with Piper's, I'm sure they could give you a pretty good estimate of what could be achieved - probably all they would need is to borrow a spare pair of bump sticks, check the profiles, see if a regrind is possible etc? Just a thought

[surfboardfiller]

You'll have me convert it to direct inject next.
I don't think Piper are ready for any more of my requests after the last one.

[dapinky]

In your quest for power have you considered cam's? Especially now that LEC has some previous with Piper's, I'm sure they could give you a pretty good estimate of what could be achieved - probably all they would need is to borrow a spare pair of bump sticks, check the profiles, see if a regrind is possible etc? Just a thought

I have had a small batch of cams made by them for the dolomites - all-new profiles on a steel billet to keep the original shim range.....

....they could have re-profiled old ones for me a lot cheaper, but the adjustment shims would need to be machined individually, making set-up a lot more time consuming....

...bearing in mind that the Triumph engine is a single cam 16v unit, the shafts were quite complex, but they have got my power output up from ~220bhp to ~240bhp - and i dont think any more is available from the NA 2 litre unit

With the hydraulic lifters in the Isuzu engine, the valve clearances are probably not so much of an issue, so a re-grind MAY be beneficial - obviously changing 'lift' is easier than changing 'duration' (from the grinding point of view), and changing 'overlap' is more work again, so a totally new cam may be the only way forward, and may be expensive.

That said, they do 'one-offs' on a regular basis, so nothing is beyond possibility (maybe beyond economically viable though), bearing in mind that conventional wisdom acknowledges the fact that on a forced induction/fuel injected/electronically controlled engine there are cheaper/easier ways to increase the oomph than cam profiling.

Obviously, everything has a limit to where it can be exploited, so maybe cams are worthy of a look in due course.

Should that become the case, I still have a brand new exhaust cam in original wrapping, purchased from the original aftersales event for the princely sum of £2 which i would be happy for them to have a go at without any worries of it getting destroyed in the process (at least it will give accurate measurements for them to work from as opposed to a slightly worn used item......)

[surfboardfiller]

I think cam profiling is a lot less beneficial in a turbocharged engine compared to a Naturally Aspirated engine.
The Piper down pipe should remove the last major bottle neck of the Elan gas flow and then the ECU/Turbo tune may have more of an impact.

I'd like to get 220 BHP from the engine, the rest of the performance improvement to come from:
Better throttle response
Quicker gear shift
Better braking
Quicker turbo spool up time

Which in my opinion are more important than just throwing more horse in front of the coach, hwoever all these expensive toys play very limited roles compared to the improvement in every aspect from weight reduction and aerodynamics.

[F1 LOTUS]

All good points Pinkers - that's why it would be interesting to pose the question to Piper's. When I worked there during the '70's, one of things I did was making valve shims out of 'silver steel' on an old 'Capstan' lathe, then heat treating and grinding them to thickness - happy days
Besides straight regrinds, if they needed more material for a broader profile, they would build-up the lobes with Stellite hard-facing by TIG welding. Just ask them all the questions posted here and what you're looking to achieve - Turbo engines definitely respond to conventional tuning practices, especially cam's - just not as much bang for the buck as an MBC or Mountain Chip

[racerstev]

Be careful not to add much overlap on the cams. A turbo this small will have alot
of back pressure.

One of the guys on Isuzone fitted a pair of adjustable cam gears off of a Miata.
They eemed to fit nicly with a small spacer. These would allow any overlap to be adjusted
out.

Steve

[surfboardfiller]

And without further a do... I shall do nothing further. Before the onset of terminal man flu I managed to finish the basic electrical stuff and get the car started. This was no mean feat and I was instantly overcome by a massive sense of achievement and relief, it was a Hell yeh! moment (in a deep southern Louisiana type way).

Next is to get this thing rolling and an MOT Certificate glued somewhere to the interior bodywork. All the Aero comes after.

I have learned that when you take 6 things apart and redesign them at the same time, its difficult to figure out which one went back wrong and why. Mostly the hazard switch which is really about 8 switches in 1.

I also learned to solder properly and now know how to wire up a car and why. So never again was the cry on that front! (I don't even want the T shirt)

It's pretty obvious that I need some tighter shocks and springs now the 'Cat has lost x00 kilos.

[Paul.P]

Havn't looked at this thread for a long time now, but must say Phil, i think you've done an amazing job !

[Monty]

Fantastic

[muley]

That looks really stunning. Well done..

[Elanlover]

You're going to have to update that pic of the car that's in your signature line!

[hatters]

It certainly looks the business
All you have to do now is to get it to go as good as it looks
Great job so far keep the pictures coming please