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For those that don't know me, I am James / Blown_Imp / The_Rote_Engineer. I have a reasonable amount of engineering experience, mostly automotive in OEM car and motorbike design, calibration, and data analysis; also motorsport at all levels, from Shell Eco Marathon to classic formula cars right up to F1.
I have been wanting to take on something really big, something all consuming, for some time. All prior projects have been engine / electronics / suspension based. The bit that has always been a limiting factor, causing consternation and compromised solutions is the chassis.
I built my imp up to the point where the chassis was the limiting factor, and my Celica where the chassis is always the road block.
Because of this, I have always wanted to build my own car, something unique, but also familiar to many of you reading this. I am a child of the 1980's, growing up on VHS tapes that I used to watch at my grandads house; Murray Walker commentating on rally cross at Brands, Group C cars and into World Sports Cars, turbo F1 and into the 3.5 era, Group B, and on and on. This was the era of exploration, new technologies, and pushing the boundaries.
The one thing that tied it all together was the revelation that was composites. They have fascinated me as they have developed from folded sheet monocoques, to the early pre-preg tubs up to productionised mass market solutions like the BMW i3; one of which resides on our driveway.
Getting to the point, I am going to build my own car. To those close to me, they know this has been brewing for a long long time, the boundaries and envelope has been ebbing and flowing however. The problem is that without any fixed limits, the car could be anything; a saloon, a coupe, a speedster, front engine, rear engine, mid engine, 600hp V6, 100hp i4, literally anything.
Skipping back a bit, I think we need to acknowledge what is required to build a car; a space to do so. We moved into a house during lock down that had been abandoned for four years, and neglected for ten.
This is what the garden looked like when I viewed it. I say I, because it was just me, my wife didn't see the house in person until the day we moved. Have I mentioned she is rather brave?
There was a garage, two bay in the middle of the garden, odd position. It was also wetter on the inside than out, with water coming through the roof, the walls and also up through the floor. This was due to a cracked slab, no foundations to speak of and single skin walls. It was dangerous at best. Long and short, we knocked it down.
There was also four walls of a very odd building next to the garage. No windows, one entrance which was garage door width, but only 1m high and had a 50cm drop into the building. This one did however have foundations. We chose to use this extending to a three bay size from two, and build a timber frame garage on the space.
I will say that we are not well off, we are careful with the money we do have and are very resourceful. So I chose to build it all myself, for better or for worse.
Our location means that we cannot get things delivered, no materials, no concrete, nothing; we cannot even get concrete pumped up to us due to the access road. So I sold my V12 7 Series BMW and bought a 3.5t Cabstar tipper truck, something I have completely fallen for, it is such a little work horse!
Anyway, we dug extended foundations, mixed 18,000kg of concrete with a spade and little barrel mixer, poured foundations, poured slabs, built block walls, set the frame and roofed it.
We clad it, put in windows, insulated it, and even built a bridge to get things into the loft. The floor of the main space was a point on contention, as I chose to tile it. It is finished in high grip porcelain tiles, and it was one of the best decisions. Incredibly they were also the cheapest finish too, cheaper than epoxy, click together plastic etc.
The result is a warm, dry, hard wearing space that I can stretch my creative legs. Still not totally finished, it need the walls sanding and painting, and workbenches putting in. But functionally it is there.
I am going to do the next instalment in a weeks time, hopefully keeping up the pace as we move through the project.
Laters taters.
J
I have been wanting to take on something really big, something all consuming, for some time. All prior projects have been engine / electronics / suspension based. The bit that has always been a limiting factor, causing consternation and compromised solutions is the chassis.
I built my imp up to the point where the chassis was the limiting factor, and my Celica where the chassis is always the road block.
Because of this, I have always wanted to build my own car, something unique, but also familiar to many of you reading this. I am a child of the 1980's, growing up on VHS tapes that I used to watch at my grandads house; Murray Walker commentating on rally cross at Brands, Group C cars and into World Sports Cars, turbo F1 and into the 3.5 era, Group B, and on and on. This was the era of exploration, new technologies, and pushing the boundaries.
The one thing that tied it all together was the revelation that was composites. They have fascinated me as they have developed from folded sheet monocoques, to the early pre-preg tubs up to productionised mass market solutions like the BMW i3; one of which resides on our driveway.
Getting to the point, I am going to build my own car. To those close to me, they know this has been brewing for a long long time, the boundaries and envelope has been ebbing and flowing however. The problem is that without any fixed limits, the car could be anything; a saloon, a coupe, a speedster, front engine, rear engine, mid engine, 600hp V6, 100hp i4, literally anything.
Skipping back a bit, I think we need to acknowledge what is required to build a car; a space to do so. We moved into a house during lock down that had been abandoned for four years, and neglected for ten.
This is what the garden looked like when I viewed it. I say I, because it was just me, my wife didn't see the house in person until the day we moved. Have I mentioned she is rather brave?
There was a garage, two bay in the middle of the garden, odd position. It was also wetter on the inside than out, with water coming through the roof, the walls and also up through the floor. This was due to a cracked slab, no foundations to speak of and single skin walls. It was dangerous at best. Long and short, we knocked it down.
There was also four walls of a very odd building next to the garage. No windows, one entrance which was garage door width, but only 1m high and had a 50cm drop into the building. This one did however have foundations. We chose to use this extending to a three bay size from two, and build a timber frame garage on the space.
I will say that we are not well off, we are careful with the money we do have and are very resourceful. So I chose to build it all myself, for better or for worse.
Our location means that we cannot get things delivered, no materials, no concrete, nothing; we cannot even get concrete pumped up to us due to the access road. So I sold my V12 7 Series BMW and bought a 3.5t Cabstar tipper truck, something I have completely fallen for, it is such a little work horse!
Anyway, we dug extended foundations, mixed 18,000kg of concrete with a spade and little barrel mixer, poured foundations, poured slabs, built block walls, set the frame and roofed it.
We clad it, put in windows, insulated it, and even built a bridge to get things into the loft. The floor of the main space was a point on contention, as I chose to tile it. It is finished in high grip porcelain tiles, and it was one of the best decisions. Incredibly they were also the cheapest finish too, cheaper than epoxy, click together plastic etc.
The result is a warm, dry, hard wearing space that I can stretch my creative legs. Still not totally finished, it need the walls sanding and painting, and workbenches putting in. But functionally it is there.
I am going to do the next instalment in a weeks time, hopefully keeping up the pace as we move through the project.
Laters taters.
J
Ax GTi Turbo
