New member - Bought an RA107

[supertec]

awesome purchase, good luck with it. looks like one hell of a toy!

[Northernsky]

Thanks for the pics, Slipstream. Very interesting shots. You are quite right, I have got my work cut out, but thanks to members of this forum, I feel quite confident about it all.

Here's the first addition to the livery!

Great stuff, Snake. Now, in your spare time maybe you can make decals of everyone's username in the thread as well.

Hi there! I've been a long time reader of this forum but just registered to say thanks for posting this. I'm the Marc Long at the top of the second row. What a coincidence. I remember donating some money and promising I wouldn't iron things. I was a student at the time so it's not like I was ironing things anyway...


Also, congratulations to F1snake, you're realising a dream I'm sure almost all of us here share; I wish you every success with your project.

[wrcsti]

snip...
Personally I see this 500 miles between rebuilds as a turn off. I would recomend you reconsider a lower revving higher L engine, maybe some force induction. m sure an LS3 with a top mount supercharger would fit in nicely and give you those 700bhp youre looking for.
snip...

LS-series of engines are WAYY too big to fit.

You would be surprised, I was just under the hood of a LS7 Z06 and most of the engine bay is radiator and fans, it is quite a small block for 7 liters. Especially with a dry sump oil system it can be mounted better.

[F1snake]

Hi there wrcsti, afg1, ralt12, supertec & Nothernsky,

Many thanks for the kind and encouraging comments. I have been amazed by the interest in this project and this before we've even started properly with it.

Regarding the LS engines, I agree that they are very good engines indeed, but not for the F1. I'll have one in a GT car any day, but at 208 kilo, it is more than twice the weight of the engine that I have now finally ordered from John Hartley. I dont know the dimentions of the LS engine, but I doubt it will fit within the 47 cm I have available. The H1V8 ticks all the boxes for me. It's only 95 kilo and will fit without having to extend the wheel base, and body panels will still fit. Engine will produce 500 bhp, which will give me a car fast enough to get me into trouble. Just have to get around the transmission issue now, but Hewland seems very positive that they will come up with a solution. I shall find out at the end of the month. I have plenty of time to sort other issues, as there's a 6 month build/delivery time on the H1!

[Tim.Wright]

...I have now finally ordered from John Hartley.

Yea baby!

Tim

[marcush.]

good choice.
do they provide CAD data of the engine?
Supertec do for their version (which is longer and has a smaller V-angle..)
Did you already specify a shallower sump ...with what i have seen yet all installations are far from what you need...

[mep]

I have now finally ordered from John Hartley.

Ok good step.

I have plenty of time to sort other issues, as there's a 6 month build/delivery time on the H1!

Huuu, thats a long time. You should aks them for all they can give in the meantime. CAD datas would be very good.

[ESPImperium]

Nice to see things coming along so fast.

Is there any customisations on the H1???

If you can get some CAD data or some blueprints in sure that will help Hewland will come up with a good transmission for you.

What are you doing suspension wise??? As that will probably be the last remaining challenge to go thru.

[F1snake]

We are having a very shallow sump, John H says he can loose about 20mm of the original design, which will certainly help us a lot. He has already provided some CAD data, which Tim Wright has kindly worked on whilst slaving away in Italy!

Suspension is another important thing we're working on. We have a meeting with Alastair Gibson this week, and I'm sure he will shed some light on various issues.

BTW does anyone know what power the original RA807E produced @ 10.000 rpm? The H1 delivers ca. 500 bhp at those revs and would be quite interesting to compare.

[Aldrich]

Wow, congratulations on the buy! Although one of the worst F1 cars of the decade, still much cooler than any road car, at least in my view. =D>

Hi Paul,
Yeah right said that still better than any other car on the road.
I like it too and impressed to see the pics.
Thanks

[mep]

I think its ok when you just copy the original suspension.
I don't think you can do anything better than the Honda guys already did.

[marcush.]

Suspension is a long shot things are not sorted.passo per passo as the italiens say .cool I´m slaving away in Italy as well..

so what´s the crank height you will be able to achieve in the car ? Will it match the Honda box in its original position?

[Tim.Wright]

I think its ok when you just copy the original suspension.
I don't think you can do anything better than the Honda guys already did.

Might not be so easy if the gearbox has to be substituted. The most important thing would be to keep the same characteristics in terms of the kinematics and compliance (if you can't keep the exact same mounting points). Without putting the car on a KnC rig, the best bet would be to pick Alastairs brain for that information.

Tim

[bettonracing]

... I have plenty of time to sort other issues, as there's a 6 month build/delivery time on the H1!

F1snake,

You may consider taking the CAD files to a local composites shop to machine a dummy (foam) engine for fit up & assembly purposes in the mean time. You can adjust the level of detail as necessary to help reduce costs or increase functionality.

Example dummy engines

Be sure to consult John (Hartley) before doing so (if You decide to), and he may (or may not) want You to have the composites shop sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Regards,

H. Kurt Betton

[F1snake]

We had a brilliant meeting with Alastair Gibson the other day. We could not have wished to have met a kinder and more helpful person. He will be an invaluable source of help and knowledge in getting this car up and running, and has already come up with solutions to steering, brakes and dampers.

We are also going to go with steel wishbones, and Alastair put us on to an engineering company that knows the car inside out. They will fabricate the steel wishbones small enough for them to fit inside(splitting the carbon WB's and using them as skins) the excisting carbon ones. The car will retain its original look, and also convenient for hiding brake lines within.

Hi Kurt, thanks for the link. A dummy engine is a good idea, might well do that at some point. I'm sure John H. would be cool with that, as he's a cool kinda guy, but I will of course make sure to get his permission first.