C.A.T build thread.

[chris2abel]

Looking good Chris, Why Radflow?

If you have the space I'd go for something closer to 160 liters or even 200.

SB.

I spent a far bit of time talking to diffrent manufactures for coilover & bypass shocks for the new truck and i found that Radflo were very helpful and knowledgeable. I wanted a shock that was built to my specification out of the box. They positioned the bypass tubes on the shocks where i wanted them so it was compatible with my ride height and in my preferred locations on the circumference of the shock tube.
 
As for the fuel cell ATL do have a 170l but i was concerned that its a fair bit of extra fuel weight on UK events. Another option is,  I could have an auxiliary fuel tank that i could fit for longer events.

[Lara]

Hi Chris,

Could you make an auxiliary tank or two under the floor similar to Ced's to use when you needed it?

Lara

[AlanK]

Just have a big tank but dont fill it.

[Lara]

Problem with that is fuel "slosh" unless you have a tall deep tank.

Lara

[chris2abel]

Problem with that is fuel "slosh" unless you have a tall deep tank.

Lara

I'm going to go for the 120L ATL tank, i want to have at least half a tank of fuel in challenge to avoid fuel starvation on extreme angles.
 When we do Dresden Breslau the rear winch will be coming off and we can put a smaller auxiliary fuel cell to go in its place which will hold the additional capacity that we may need.

[chris2abel]

Its a shame about the rust! When i took it down to Dieters last weekend the roads were covered in salt! Its not a problem though because it will be gritblasted and acid etched before it gets powder coated.
 The engine and gearbox will go in next week, for those of you that have not been to Dieters workshop, he's got a CNC plasma cutter. The majority of the brackets have already been designed from other projects and are on the computer and its simply a case of pusing the button, so its will save alot of fabrication time.

[boss]

looks good chris.
you going to be using portals this time round?

[Ced]

Dieter will make a nice Taurus out of it !!!!
Give him some time, and Chris will get a nice machine !

[chris2abel]

looks good chris.
you going to be using portals this time round?

Not this time, the truck is being designed for events with more speed in mind like the XTC, Dresden Breslau, Croatia trophy, 90 degree etc. I'm hoping that it will be very stable with an overall width of 2100mm, which is the same as my old Range Rover.
 
The front Axle will use Radius Arms with a slight bend in then so they mount on the inside of the chassis rails (In the same place as the lower links do on the 4 link buggies dieters built), this will allow for almost 50 degrees of steering lock with 40" tyres using the Spidertrax pro series 60 knuckles. On an event like manby were the sections are tight, this will make a massive difference compared to your standard landrover setup. Out of interest how many degrees of lock can your typical landrover challenge truck get with 35" simex?

[Ced]

never enough 

[will_warne]

Chris, sounds like you're making good progress.

Fuel cells was a big thing for me to decide and, in the end, I went for a 32 gallon (just over 120l) fuel cell from Fuelsafe supplied by a company called Classic World Racing (I'd very much reccomend them). There were several reasons for this:

1) This was the biggest volume that appeared to be generally available unless I went for an all out, FIA spec, rally raid tank. The problem is all of these are massively over spec for a car that isn't built to FIA regs and, as a result, you pay a big premium!
2) Fuelsafe's Enduro range are built to FIA spec but without the certificate - they are very good quality but well priced. That does not mean they are cheap: the cell, fill plate, neck, probe, back up dipstick and a couple of collectors will set you back £1500.
3) Anything bigger than 32 gallons would also be mostly empty in this coutry meaning I'd have had all sorts of starvation issues.
4) A cell bigger than the one I've got would be just too big - it is 'king HUGE as it is!
5) Fuelsafe also do their 32 Gallon cell in 2 differant shapes. One is quite flat, the other is square in cross section and fits neatly above the chassis rails.
6) I thought that if 120l is not enough it would only become an issue on long, very fast, events and then I could do like you planned: remove the centre winch and have a secondary tank.

Are you having tubular radius arms made? Rover items won't go over a 3.5" tube unless you fettle them. 

BTW, are you keeping a Rover stud pattern? If so, let me know as I may be doing something that interests you 

[chris2abel]

Hi Will,

I'm waiting for Dieter to let me know the dimensions of the trayback so i can select the correct size 120l cell, I'm going to get a price from ATL, Fuelsafe and JAZ.
I want an internal collector with trapdoors, internal low pressure scavenging pump and an internal Hi pressure pump, regulator built into tank so only one fuel line will be needed from fuel cell to engine. along with foam, fuel level sender and standard filler cap.
 
Some of you may be wondering why our no just going to fab one out of some alloy sheet to cut costs? I hate the thought of being upside down after a high speed crash with a ruptured fuel cell, with petrol pooring over sparking electrics and hot manifolds, then burning to death!

The front radius arms will be made from tube then plated with box section to improve the rigidity. Ill probably get Protection and performance bend a pair up when we know the exact angle required.
http://www.pp cages.com/index.php?Rollcage=radiusarm
Do you think i should use Disco 2 bushes or Defender bushes on the axle end of the Radius arm? Does a Disco 2 bush flex more?

Ive got the Six bolt paturn the same as Stefan's using with the Staun TX-1 17" rims.

[will_warne]

I totally understand your sentiment regarding fuel cells - it may seem expensive but, then again, if you're going to build a car with 'a lot' of horse power it would be stupid not to think about safety! Oh, and make sure you route the breather properly as roll over valves do leak a little. Google "3 sides and down" and you'll get the idea....

A word of warning - the price for internal collectors varies HUGELY. I'm using collectors with 3 ball check valves and it was significantly cheaper to get 2 of these than one with trapdoors! I'm still not 100% sure how I'll run my fuel system but I think 2 pumps (either high or low pressure) is worthwhile as it gives dual redundancy plus less likelihood of starvation.

Not sure about bushes on the axle end however I have heard talk from racers that DII bushes don't last. I may be talking crap, though 

Fair enough with the bolt pattern - it has caused me all sorts of trouble as I have insisted on keeping the Rover stud pattern.

[Lara]

Hi Chris,

Why not use something like a Johny Joint instead of bushes?

Lara

[chris2abel]

Hi Chris,

Why not use something like a Johny Joint instead of bushes?

Lara

I will be using heim joints on the chassis ends of the radius arms, obviously you cant use a johnny joint for the two bushes at the axle end. it would result in very little articulation on the front axle.