Jump to content
Click here if you are having website access problems ×

The Richard Lee (RiF) V6 project. An update.


Guest

Recommended Posts

So, I bought this car in January of this year. I was in the middle of building an SV version of the 620 R when I saw Paul Richard's advert for the project car, I dismissed the idea, but after reading about it and realising that I never do things by halves, I made up my mind to acquire it and abandon my original project.

 

I'd originally planned for it to have been finished already. It's debut was meant to be the Silvertone GP trackday on bank holiday May 26th, but annoying an unexpected 2.5 month delay at Pro Alloy has somewhat ruined all my plans. I took the car straight to Russell Savory for him to complete, it made sense to me as he supplied the car in the first place and has all the drawings and knowledge to finish it to the standard it deserves.

 

It'll be registered soon as a Caterham Levante Superlight. Hopefully it'll be appearing in Low Flying in a few months time as a sort of closure to the long running project along with everyone who's been involved with it, including Henrietta Lee.

 

Anyway, it's just about to leave Pro Alloy and they've kindly supplied some pictures of the build which I thought I'd share with anyone that's interested. There's also pics I took when I saw t for the first time.

 

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/83d68bc26b6fdd2787d21e5b8fc870ec.jpg

 

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/61079509b72a20df81ed13ce256a3616.jpg

 

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/b1400a7625fc5b3705e501a80e142b68.jpg

 

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/9168443c5466650088bcc4b0afbab31b.jpg

 

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/93293a6ac6bff279ff4e3c4b7832196b.jpg

 

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/d31106f3f9cab7127681e7428cbbf132.jpg

 

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/a91fe76e701f4a77878a4babbe23518d.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by - Peter De la mare on 21 Jun 2014 10:02:16

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 133
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

*thumbup*

 

Fantastic stuff Peter. A lot of us have RiF stuff on our cars (mine being an aeroscreen) and Richard was known to be an absolutely top bloke in the 7 community, so it's good that you're getting the car finished.

 

I hope that once it's up and running you can make it to the monthly N.O.B.B. meeting, I'm sure we'd all like a proper look at the car.

 

Ben

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great news Peter, I was talking to Paul Richards about it last year, and there seemed a real prospect of it never being finished, it will be fantastic to see it on the road, but I suspect no-one will be able to keep up! I look forward to seeing it around the area soon.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you chaps *smile*

 

My next target date is July 26th for a trackday at Bedford Autodrome. I aim to be terrorising everyone, and myself, all day with it. 😬

 

Edited by - Peter De La Mare on 21 Jun 2014 09:54:23

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once the mechanical and electrical stuff has been sorted, there'll still be some bodywork left to do.

 

The nose cone is of a totally different CF to the rest of the car, which is a bit of a shame, and the CF on one side has faded a bit like it's been stored with one side facing the sun. I didn't get any wings with it either. So it may not look that pretty at first, but I may chuck some matt black wrap over the non-RiF bits until I can get some matching CF fabricated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quoting ECR: 
Glad it's going to be finished, Richard would have been pleased ....

 

Will it be quiet enough for the Bedford noise police ?

 

It had better be, I asked this very question of Russell before I even paid for it. He assures me that it passes the strictest noise tests. *cool*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quoting Mike Biddle: 
Well done Peter, its going to be an awesome car, you WIIL scare yourself in it.

 

Since mine has a "half sister" engine it, (RST V8) perhaps we should meet up at some point to compare notes?

 

 

I hope so about scaring myself. I'm used to turbocharged Hayabusas and road racing Superbikes so I don't scare that easy. Never had a car with this power to weight ratio however, almost 1200hp per ton is enough to be getting on with I think. 😬

 

Yup, a good idea about meeting *smile*

 

Presumably your car isn't actually in Dubai? 😬

 

Edited by - Peter De La Mare on 21 Jun 2014 18:24:45

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quoting andy couchman: 
Lovely work Peter and a timely reminder of a great bloke who we wish was still around.

 

Andy

 

Thanks *thumbup*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

More progress!   It's very close to being completed now, it even has bodywork!   My original timescale for completing this car has been shot to hell, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and this time it's not a bloke with a torch bring me more problems and delays *banghead*

I've actually driven it 40ft at speeds up to 5mph! *driving*  I was unable to go faster due to the lack of front brakes and airfilter.  It would be just my luck for a small pebble to be flicked up into the open supercharger inlet.  But, I could immediatly tell that it pulls away from standstill on tickover (1,500rpm) and the clutch isn't as harsh as I imagined.

There's an airfilter now, the best solution for the space available but not quite as slick as I'd imagined.  Still nothing that a shallow bonnet scoop can't sort out.  The brakes are all sorted as well as 100 other little outstanding jobs.

There's a couple of days dashboard & miscellanious wiring scheduled for next week before a power check on the dyno.  I'm then planning on the first tests and shakedown session at Castle Combe on the 21st.

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/frontwithbodywork.jpg

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Caterham/Reararches.jpg

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-02/3174A918-34DE-481D-9BF7-C4C113DCF1B4.jpg

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-02/B97EE4EA-5FDC-4AD7-85EB-3964E9EBEC18.jpg

http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af235/peterdelamare/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-02/A0AF626F-226C-481B-9D35-09E4B1AA1E54.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...