Hi all,
I thought I might share my progress on building my Coupe into a dedicated 3J circuit racing car.

Some specs of the final car.

CA18DET, E85, Restricted (36mm), forged and a lot of engine work
Motec M84 ECU, CDL3 dash
Standard CA 5 speed
Hilux 3.5 LSD diff
Custom Bilsteins all round.
S4 RX7 front callipers on 294mm disc
Starion ventilated rears
Velo apex II racing seat
Wilwood pedal box with brake bias adjustment
Flares, bobtail and splitter (As you know I am getting moulds made of all these parts).
Colour will be BRE style, white lower half, interior and engine bay (whould make repairs easier). Ford blueprint top.

The body was no show body when I started to strip it. I have replaced both LH and RH sills (Spliced in ute sill's), passenger side rear quarter has had a tough life and has previously been replaced (poorly). I have done my best to straighten it and there is a little skim of bog to get it reasonable smooth. The front driver side inner front wheel guard was smashed in, which I have repaired and replaced the radiator support panel. Firewall has most of the holes closed in (quite poorly by me I must add). I have cut and welded both rear wheel arches to accommodate the lowered, wider track. The seat was a bugger to fit and you can see the mods I have done to get it to sit nice and low in the car. trans tunnel was repaired and "Massaged" to give more room for the CA gearbox.

I like to attempt to do the work myself. So far the car has only left the garage to have the roll cage installed (I won't compromise on safety, after all it is my neck on the line).

Anyway here are a few pics.

Body kit



Back from the cage builder



More stripping



Looking back at the cage and seat



A bit of work on the drivers sill



Stone guard inner wheel arches and under car






Now for some paint. There is no clear on it yet, I am expecting the paint job to be a 20/20 paint job. i.e look good from 20mtrs @ 20km/h. This is a bit better then a 50/50 paint job :)

The cage rules have changed for IPRA for 2012 you can now take the cage to the strut towers :)

I hear what your saying about clear but I think I will use it, It should allow for more protection then straight colour.
If I am really keen to keep weight down, I can always loose 10kg :)

Well done Bryan - didn't actually believe you were going to work on it!!!
Good progress, can't wait to drive with you when it is finished.
Keep up the good work!!
Cheers.

Paint is paint- if your not going for a show car the 20/20 rule is fine IMHO lol.

Same with welds, as long as strong who cares you did yourself. Good stuff
Should be nice finished

unwanted advice removed.

Mate,
I'm not going to argue the point with you. I have it cleared with the state eligibility officer already, it is all above board.

Hmmm,would'nt normally jump in on this,but as it may save you some grief down the road and as a fellow datto racer/CAMS scrutineer i feel i should.
What L18_B110 has said is correct and your catergory tech officer has his/her wires crossed or has misunderstood your efforts.The exception may be a state only rule change exclusive to NSW that i am not aware,however that would seem strange as would mean the vehicle could not be deemed legal in other states of Oz for fear of exclusion also making the national log book a mockery.Do yourself a favour and ring one of the many scrutineers on the log book register and have them take a peek before you get too far down the track and it's all too hard.
Cheers