Unclefester Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I've not been posting here much, partly due to the sad fact that I sold the only Cateringvan which was actually operational last summer. The others are currently 1) The SV .....waiting for me to fit the new engine (long story, too boring) and 2) The Crossflow....NEARLY mobile again, just got to get the sump back on after having had to cut the chassis diagonal out in order to remove the F3 Holbay DS pump as it was leaking. Meanwhile....I've been having fun with S1 Elises. "The Seven for the 21st century" (or at least the part of it that still has some oil available to have fun with) that's the Elise. I have to say I find the Caterham is easier to use in motorsport though....it's somehow better to be able to see the wheels properly, I find. Anyway, here's a videoclip I managed to upload to YouTube yesterday, showing the conditions at our local slalom circuit in Limoges. What the vid doesn't mention is the interesting fact that, on the 180° right hander just after the blind crest, where you will see 3 large haybales on the left of the track (right side of the screen) on the grass verge, if you managed to slide between the bales, theres a 50 foot near vertical drop onto a railway track. Last year someone nearly managed this having got it badly wrong on the crest.....he slid 7 m up the grass, another couple of metres and he'd have dropped onto the Paris express! All most amusing. Here's the clip sorry about the quality, I dunno how to make YouTube accept MiniDVCam footage so this is lower quality..... Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..ooooh hooo hooo!!... 😬 😬Abbey Road Time-Machine *eek* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offspring Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Uncle, You don't mention the Davrian have you still got the little car? 😳 Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclefester Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 I do indeed still have the Davrian, and it has raced at this same circuit! It is in running order, but needs me to finish some body moulds and make up some new lightweight panels for various bits, after which it needs repainting. I also have a Mk 7 Davrian, very rare in that it is road registered with a proper logbook AND MSA/RAC competition Passport. It only weighjs 490kg.....great sprint car, it's won a Scottish Hillclimb series. It may be for sale....open to offers! I have a barn, this is the big problem......things get put in it, and it becomes a sort of timewarp where projects gather dust..... Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..ooooh hooo hooo!!... 😬 😬Abbey Road Time-Machine *eek* Edited by - Unclefester on 8 Apr 2009 11:09:39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offspring Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 oooh, a Mk7 - does the Mk7 still have the molded seats and adjustable pedals? I'm not sure my 6',3" frame will fit too well. I would dearly love one, I'm not sure i'll get it under SWMBO's radar - I fear it's going to be a little while before I'm allowed though, I can hear the 'finish the house renovation first' discussion already 😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclefester Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 I think the Dragon/Mk 8 were the only ones with any concession to people being of varying sizes! The 7 is identical to the 4 inside, in fact it's less spacious as there's zero baggage space behind the seats....the boot is only reachable from under the engine cover. You need to set these cars up for one driver, though I thought about fitting a sliding pedal box myself....Mark Grinnall does an excellent one for his cars. The 4 and the 7 have one piece GRP seats with minimalist upholstery, and the seat shell simply sits in a similar shaped recess in the monocoque. Crude but loveable, are Davrians, and of course, they held over 90% of lap records in class n the 1970s! The french spectators were amazed by my Mk4's cornering antics, apparently it had the inner front wheel waggling high in the air on the slalom circuit! Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..ooooh hooo hooo!!... 😬 😬Abbey Road Time-Machine *eek* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offspring Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I remember seeing some of the old floor pan and other moulds lying about at Adrian Evans', even Adrian admitted that every car was a little different - instead of making a standardised marque he did treat them as development projects, fueled as you say by the fantastic number of lap records and successes. I did ask Adrian a long time ago, which would be the best MK for myself - he did suggest the MK 7 (at a squeeze) with a modified pedal box. I'll continue to work on SWMBO, /sigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclefester Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Do you live near where Adrian lived? I have a feeling Tim Duffee is actually based very near where Adrian lived himself....I seem to recall talking to local people who recounted tales of Adrian some time when I went to see Tim. It's possible the Mk 7a has a bit more headroom, I'll check in the Book of Words. My Mk4 is so tight I developed a nice looking double-bubble Zagato style roof panel for competition use, which can be blended into any Davrian roof. I think Darrians are designed a bit more 'sensibly' and don't have head-interference fit woes. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..ooooh hooo hooo!!... 😬 😬Abbey Road Time-Machine *eek* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offspring Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I live about 3 miles from where Adrians was based, I used to cycle over there as a kid as i was and still am good friends with Adrian's son. A little later on I worked with Adrian on a number of equestrian projects - horse draw vehicles, glass fibre leaf springs etc. Tim's place is about 3 miles further away. Yep, there are plenty of tales 😬 I'll have to venture over to Tim's at some point. A work colleague campained a T90 very successfully back in 1990 - I'll have to ask him how spacious he found he found it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclefester Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 I never met Adrian, but Tim's a great bloke. You should give him a ring, I'm sure he'd be delighted for you to drop in for a trial fit in the new Darrian. Highly recommended. If your SWMBO decides she can't live without a Mk 7, I reckon with the double-bubble panel in the roof you'd be fine in the thing I have have here, now I think about it, it's set up for Paul Dick and one look at him has you thinking "I recognise this guy.....FFS....IT'S OBELIX!!!!!!" He's ENORMOUS.....must weigh 17 stone, and about 6' 3" or more, so don't worry, the cars will take tall people, there's a lot of footroom, it's just a question of setting the pedals far enough forward. If you can get in a standard chassis Seven, you will be OK. I'm about 5' 9.5", and I have actually had to fit blocks to the pedals, after ramming the box as far back as I could, so you could probably jump in the Mk 4, without the blocks, and be fine. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..ooooh hooo hooo!!... 😬 😬Abbey Road Time-Machine *eek* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offspring Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Just had a read of Martyn Morgan Jones book, Davrian to Darrian. *thumbup* Arrgh, I'm going to have to save up 😬 ssssh Nobody tell SWMBO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offspring Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Sorry Uncle, I've kind of diverted your thread my apologies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclefester Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 's'all right! Any excuse to talk about Davrians... Here's a shot of the Mk4 just before its first appearance in the French Maxi Mille series. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..ooooh hooo hooo!!... 😬 😬Abbey Road Time-Machine *eek* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offspring Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 😬 let us continue chatting then - all this non 7 chat might get us into trouble Cars looking good how do you find engine access with the fixed rear panel? How light weight do you recon your going to make the little car - which panels are you making lighter, you going to be using some carbon/kevlar or three layer glass fibre? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclefester Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 The Mk4 weighs about 600kg fuelled on one tank (5 gallons). The rear panel was part of the body, one piece, so access was hopeless and shifting the engine a major operation, so I made the tail panel removeable. The car now has proper ducted airflow to a new oilcooler in the left side of the engine compartment, and a new stainless repackable crossover tuned exhaust. It needs to be 42" long for an Imp engine, according to Ian Carter's research. On the Mk7 the entire rear body is removeable very quickly, and the engine is supported on an A frame. The Mk 7 is 4" longer, 4" wider, and only weighs 490kg, admittedly without a rollbar, which the Mk4 has. They obviously learned something about composite layup between 1970 and 1975.....unless the Mk4 was a rally shell. I am doing the removeable bits in light layup GRP, though I have a load of CF here I was reserving it for something else.....now you mention it, maybe I will use some to lighten it when I do these bits! I also need to make a new mould for the entire front panel, which is heavily modified from the rather ugly original. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..ooooh hooo hooo!!... 😬 😬Abbey Road Time-Machine *eek* Edited by - Unclefester on 15 Apr 2009 12:51:51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now