| Author | Message | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Advanced Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 4759 Registered: 5-2001 |
rainy season buddy. Not the best time to be down here.  July 12th is the big So Cal festival. Marion and I will be flying down to meet with the California Boys that weekend. You will probably be in Lime Rock that weekend. There are no scheduled track events in Summer. My garage is finally complete. Minor details to finish but overall ready. Tiled and usable.  | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2620 Registered: 2-2001 |
Martin, I will be back in Miami July 14, starting law school. Whats going on in July , August? How are you two doing ? | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Advanced Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 4749 Registered: 5-2001 |
nice, can't wait to see her this winter in So FLA. | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2593 Registered: 2-2001 |
Ive seen Alan's car on the net. I hear he is a pretty awesome driver as he won the UK Championship beating an F50 in his 512M. The big difference between the original TR & the 512TR is not the suspension, its the chassis as the TR chassis is 2 piece with an engine/suspension cradle that unbolts & drops down. In the 512TR this part of the chassis was welded in which makes maintenance more difficult but makes the chassis far stiffer & thus makes the car handle much better Getting down under 2500# may never happen. She's never going to be a Lotus LOL | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 694 Registered: 8-2001 |
Will, I am not sure how much different the 512 suspension is over the older TR suspension but I would seriously consider Matt's advice about revalving the shocks and choosing different springs or keeping the horsepower reasonable until you get the Penskes. My 88 TR's suspension was downright horrible when pushed hard at the track. Granted the TR (at least the pre-512) was a GT crusier and not a Challenge car, it seemed fine until pushed past 8/10's. Also, don't forget to get F40 LM performance you would need to get the weight down to 2390 and HP in the 700-740 range. Don't forget the GTE version made nerly 600 pound feet of torque (587) while the Lm version made 520. Lexan windows might save you 50 pounds, and the Kenisis wheels will save you 10 pounds per corner (even more importantly is that it's unsprung weight) and the interior might be another 100-150. Other areas I am sure you have looked at deleting is the head lights, all AC/heater stuff, wiring harnesses, anything emmissions related, adding a fuel cell, and a bunch of other stuff. But to get down to 2300-2500 would require all the panels to be made in carbon fiber. Quite pricey. Did you ever get a chance to talk with Allan Cosby (picture below) in the UK about his mods on his 512M race car? Last I heard he had that car up to 580 hp and about 2800 pounds with some carbon fiber stuff. Look forward to seeing the car at the Glen or Lime Rock! Regards, Jon P. Kofod 1995 F355 Challenge FLATOUT RACING Website: http://neverlift.homestead.com/flatout.html  | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 4484 Registered: 8-2002 |
William - had to come back to this thread, i just had a great idea...! Charge a fee and give people riDES in the car, around a track in your black TR...! That should help pay for the silver one...! Damn, i'm a genius...! (& a potential customer, too...) | ||
| Glen C Winters (Wildwarrior)
New member Username: Wildwarrior Post Number: 20 Registered: 3-2003 |
William, The car looks great,i'm sure she will be awsome on the track. Glass replacment will shave a considerable amount of weight, it's crystal clear and is also hard to scratch. On our race cars we use 3/16" Polycarbonate sheets for windshield and 1/8" on sides and rear.Our cost from Ain Plastics Inc in My Vernon NY is $2.80 per sq ft 3/16" and $1.95 for the 1/8th".I am looking at a 03 invoice on approx the same sq ft needed ,and it was $160.00.Again she looks sweet.Enjoy! | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2591 Registered: 2-2001 |
Jordan, I bought it wrecked but it has a clear title. My road 512TR is already a beast on the track this thing looks like it could come close to F40LM performance once its done & the hp is cranked up a bit more. | ||
| Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
Intermediate Member Username: Jordan747_400 Post Number: 1169 Registered: 12-2002 |
Man that thing is going to be a beast on the track. You must be really excited about it! Are you converting it from a salvaged car? | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2587 Registered: 2-2001 |
the Penske's cost $1,000 each, I might be able to get away with 4 instead of the 512TRs normal 6, then I'll redo the springs, custom sway bars, metal bushings. On the engine we will use a motronic ignition system, headers, no muffler except for Lime Rock, but I want to keep the engine relatively tame to keep it reasonably reliable. Hopefully I can have some more pics of the car running by July 12 | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2582 Registered: 2-2001 |
I'm still gueesing on the weight, you can reduce it considerably by replacing the glass with lexan including the windshield but u have to buy the special scratch resistant stuff that nascar uses or you wont be able to see out. Also the Kinesis wheels are about 1/2 the weight of stock Matt thanks for the suspension ideas. Hudson historics has the car now & they will help me dial it in. Gordon is my crew chief & he has the final decision, I just pay the bills & drive the car Davis auto body in upstate NY did the body & fab & paint work, I have their # if anybody wants it | ||
| neal (95spiderneal)
Junior Member Username: 95spiderneal Post Number: 151 Registered: 3-2002 |
nice but how did you cut 1000+ lbs out of it? even with gutting interior the cage must add back some of it. im interested cause i was thinking of doing similar to my spider and was told even 500 lbs would be difficult. thanks | ||
| peter brinzey (Ferraripete)
Junior Member Username: Ferraripete Post Number: 63 Registered: 11-2002 |
wow! first class fabrication!!! this will be the car to watch at any track event. keep it silver...it just looks so sanitary...killer car!!! | ||
| peter james moran (Pjm)
Junior Member Username: Pjm Post Number: 56 Registered: 3-2002 |
William, Penske for the suspension? And at $10K, what does that include? 4,6 or 8 coil-over shocks? And have you considered Ohlins. If not, you might want to look there. I've used both. The Penke's hi-speed/low-speed dampening is pretty trick, but I always found the Ohlins stuff easier to dial in. .02 Peter | ||
| Paul Bianco (Paulie_b)
Junior Member Username: Paulie_b Post Number: 225 Registered: 1-2003 |
William, I have seen you drive your black 512 here in Florida. I can only imagine how the silver one will fly. Good luck with the project. | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member Username: Ross Post Number: 1253 Registered: 3-2002 |
beauty ! would love to see it race sometime.... | ||
| Matt Karson (Squidracing)
Member Username: Squidracing Post Number: 499 Registered: 3-2001 |
I hear you about the $$ pal....I wasn't aware that you still had the original suspension. I'd figure you could do really well with what you have now if you put in the right springs and bushings. That has to be the biggest return on your investment. You can have your shocks re-valved, which costs around $350 per shock. They can build them to the specs you like. I certainly can understand not wanting to buy new shocks right out of the box. Also, look into springs and bushings. DO NOT BUY FERRARI SPRINGS AND BUSHINGS!! Out source the parts....springs should cost you no more than $200 per spring. Complete bushing kit should be less than $1,000. Just as a function of age,I'd presume that the original bushings in the car have to be loose and cracked which would pose a big safety issue for you on the track. I remember when I changed the springs and bushings on my old 348 Challenge. Springs, bushings, corner balanced, ride hight adjusted, rake set, etc....$1,800. Best money I ever spent. I can hook you up with my suspension guru if you like. Anything I can do to help.....let me know. | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2580 Registered: 2-2001 |
DES, it was red, it is silver now. I hate cliches like red Ferraris $10k will go a long way in getting a nice suspension. I will probably limit the engine to maybe 600hp max so I dont have to rebuild it after every race | ||
| William Huber (Solipsist)
Intermediate Member Username: Solipsist Post Number: 1013 Registered: 9-2001 |
Wow, I'm impressed William H. I know this has been a very tedious project. Congrats. So when will it be ready for the track? Remember that you can always sell ad space to cover the cost of your remaining parts needed. | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Advanced Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 4449 Registered: 8-2002 |
William, i have some shiney pennies at home and you're more than welcome to have them, but with all due respect, i think shocks and a proper race suspension are going to cost a lot more than just a some shiney pennies... Seriously, these pictures are awesome... Will it be red or black like in your profile...? Will it have decals or a number...? | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2578 Registered: 2-2001 |
Matt, send me $10k and I'll start working on the Penske shocks tomorrow Going to run her stock till I get some more shiney pennies in July then we'll do the penske shocks & proper race suspension. Also will be adding the titanium trans shaft, motronic system & rebuilding the engine to race spec maybe after next summer | ||
| Jens Haller (Jh280774)
Member Username: Jh280774 Post Number: 747 Registered: 9-2001 |
William, Very, very nice! Keep us posted about the progress! Silver looks good with the 512TR BTW! Con saluti cordialissimi, Jens Haller | ||
| Matt Karson (Squidracing)
Member Username: Squidracing Post Number: 497 Registered: 3-2001 |
Bill...why are you going with the stock suspension after doing all that work? You're going to have to convert it over either way...why not start out with it? | ||
| Ernesto (T88power)
Intermediate Member Username: T88power Post Number: 1520 Registered: 2-2001 |
I dont see the cheese graters! Ernesto | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2577 Registered: 2-2001 |
they tell me she will be running by late June, just in time for Belle Macchine down at pocono then later I'll be at Lime Rock on July 10 for the FNA thing. She will weigh around 2800# with close to 500hp. for now with stock suspension & engine, headers, no muffler but F50 brakes | ||
| Robin Overcash (Robin)
Junior Member Username: Robin Post Number: 101 Registered: 1-2003 |
Will is your boss??? doh! Car looks fantastic. Suppose I should register on your site to check out the other pictures... -R | ||
| James Glickenhaus (Napolis)
Intermediate Member Username: Napolis Post Number: 1506 Registered: 10-2002 |
Looks Great!!!!!!!!!!! | ||
| Taek-Ho Kwon (Stickanddice)
Member Username: Stickanddice Post Number: 742 Registered: 11-2002 |
YYEESSSS!! Nice one! Cheers | ||
| Kenny Herman (Kennyh)
Member Username: Kennyh Post Number: 951 Registered: 8-2001 |
Just got back from Hudson Historics in Ossining, NY- Will and I went to check out his 512tr Racer, and boy does it look good! My camera decided to eat alot of my shots so here are the survivors:     For more pictures of the other cars there: http://www.exoticcarforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7354 |