Todd's TTB Evo 8 for 2013 by My Shop Assist and Evolution Dynamics
Dec 28, 2012, 03:07 PM
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Todd's TTB Evo 8 for 2013 by My Shop Assist and Evolution Dynamics
I'll be using this thread as a continuation of my previous thread from 2012.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...ttc-build.html
2012 was a great season for me, Evolution Dynamics, and my little TTC car. I got more track time in this year than I could have ever expected. I think we built an amazing TTC car, but it just isn’t competitive in NASA because it is impossible to run a competitive tire. Nothing but Hoosiers will cut it here in Texas. That being said, I intended for 2012 to be used to showcase how fast a stock(ish) Evo could be. I proved this time and time again simply by counting how many times I answered questions with “Nope, it is stock.”
Even with the noncompetitive car, I was able to take 1st place in TTC in the Texas region! I can attribute this feat to Norman Willhelm and the busted transmission in his WRX. Thanks Norman!
Now that the 2012 season has come to an end, it is time to start making changes for 2013.
After placing 3rd at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, we realized that it was time to make the car look pretty. This poor girl has had a rough life (mismatched panel colors, peeling hood, mangled fenders, bent core support, bent front sub frame, etc.) and it is time to fresher her up a bit.
Only days after the Optima event, we had the car back in the shop for a complete disassemble. Marc and Virgil made quick work getting everything out of the car and onto racks.
We then had Dart Auto Glass remove the front and rear windshields. Luckily, he was able to save both pieces! This was nice because I plan on using the OEM glass in the front and the lexan in the rear.
I then removed all the vinyl stickers and the hood wrap. The gray was used as filler under the vinyl where the clear was peeling. Then I took a bunch more off when I took the vinyl off. Haha.
Then off came the doors, bumper, and wing. I left the hood and fenders on there for now just because I have already exceeded my space allotment on the mezzanine storage area.
Then we loaded it up onto the trailer to take it to Lorenzo’s Paint and Body to have the steel roof removed. I hacked off the aluminum roof from a wrecked MR I parted out a few months ago. I plan on polishing this bad boy instead of painting it.
While the car was at the body shop, I went ahead and tackled the task of gutting the doors. The front doors weighed in at 45lbs in their race attire for TTC. I had kept the front electric windows functional so I could leave the car outside and still be able to easily roll them down for track days.
I decided to remove all the window mechanisms from the front doors and then I fabricated lexan windows for all 4 doors. This is very easy to do and I recommend it to anybody looking for an evening project for their car. The original glass (side windows and back glass) came in at just over 39lbs. The lexan windows weighed in at 6lb 5oz. That is a savings of ~33lbs in glass for 1 hour of work and $115 in lexan! Pretty good bang for the buck if you ask me.
And after much discussion, we decided to not cut out the inner door skin and leave the crash beams in the doors. KevinD and I are actually worried that removing this weight would make the car too light for the points-based NASA classes. You are limited to a maximum of 250lbs of ballast, and I already had 120lbs of steel in the floor.
I went to go pick up the Evo. It looks really funny without the roof on it.
Then we took all the remaining panels and sub frames off. Next thing was to get the car up on the rotisserie. I am doing this for several reasons:
We had the guys from ProBlasTexas come out and blast the underside of the Evo using glass beads. It only took about 2 hours and was some of the best money I have spent so far. Night and day difference under the car.
Before:
After:
Now we can begin to weld up some of the weak/vulnerable seams and then go forward with adding more triangulation to the cage.
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...ttc-build.html
2012 was a great season for me, Evolution Dynamics, and my little TTC car. I got more track time in this year than I could have ever expected. I think we built an amazing TTC car, but it just isn’t competitive in NASA because it is impossible to run a competitive tire. Nothing but Hoosiers will cut it here in Texas. That being said, I intended for 2012 to be used to showcase how fast a stock(ish) Evo could be. I proved this time and time again simply by counting how many times I answered questions with “Nope, it is stock.”
Even with the noncompetitive car, I was able to take 1st place in TTC in the Texas region! I can attribute this feat to Norman Willhelm and the busted transmission in his WRX. Thanks Norman!
Now that the 2012 season has come to an end, it is time to start making changes for 2013.
After placing 3rd at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, we realized that it was time to make the car look pretty. This poor girl has had a rough life (mismatched panel colors, peeling hood, mangled fenders, bent core support, bent front sub frame, etc.) and it is time to fresher her up a bit.
Only days after the Optima event, we had the car back in the shop for a complete disassemble. Marc and Virgil made quick work getting everything out of the car and onto racks.
We then had Dart Auto Glass remove the front and rear windshields. Luckily, he was able to save both pieces! This was nice because I plan on using the OEM glass in the front and the lexan in the rear.
I then removed all the vinyl stickers and the hood wrap. The gray was used as filler under the vinyl where the clear was peeling. Then I took a bunch more off when I took the vinyl off. Haha.
Then off came the doors, bumper, and wing. I left the hood and fenders on there for now just because I have already exceeded my space allotment on the mezzanine storage area.
Then we loaded it up onto the trailer to take it to Lorenzo’s Paint and Body to have the steel roof removed. I hacked off the aluminum roof from a wrecked MR I parted out a few months ago. I plan on polishing this bad boy instead of painting it.
While the car was at the body shop, I went ahead and tackled the task of gutting the doors. The front doors weighed in at 45lbs in their race attire for TTC. I had kept the front electric windows functional so I could leave the car outside and still be able to easily roll them down for track days.
I decided to remove all the window mechanisms from the front doors and then I fabricated lexan windows for all 4 doors. This is very easy to do and I recommend it to anybody looking for an evening project for their car. The original glass (side windows and back glass) came in at just over 39lbs. The lexan windows weighed in at 6lb 5oz. That is a savings of ~33lbs in glass for 1 hour of work and $115 in lexan! Pretty good bang for the buck if you ask me.
And after much discussion, we decided to not cut out the inner door skin and leave the crash beams in the doors. KevinD and I are actually worried that removing this weight would make the car too light for the points-based NASA classes. You are limited to a maximum of 250lbs of ballast, and I already had 120lbs of steel in the floor.
I went to go pick up the Evo. It looks really funny without the roof on it.
Then we took all the remaining panels and sub frames off. Next thing was to get the car up on the rotisserie. I am doing this for several reasons:
- I build this car to be able to run in any race I ever wanted to compete in. As it currently sits, it is not legal for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. So, we are adding all the necessary braces and tubes while the roof is off the car.
- We are going to clean up the underside and have it painted. Also, we are going to seam weld the floor after what happened to our Pikes Peak car in 2012.
- I want to repaint the car because she was looking pretty sad last year. This will make it much easier to paint the underside.
We had the guys from ProBlasTexas come out and blast the underside of the Evo using glass beads. It only took about 2 hours and was some of the best money I have spent so far. Night and day difference under the car.
Before:
After:
Now we can begin to weld up some of the weak/vulnerable seams and then go forward with adding more triangulation to the cage.
Dec 30, 2012, 07:55 AM
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As far as known weak points: The floor of the Pikes Peak car separated from the frame rails. Once I removed the seam sealer, light was visible through the seam. This is a big one for us to reinforce.
I am planning on integrating the seat mounts into the cage, but I would still like to strengthen the floor joints
I would love to run nationals this year! But I'll have to see if money and schedule permit.
Last edited by Todd06MR; Dec 30, 2012 at 10:06 AM.
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Dec 30, 2012, 04:09 PM
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My buddy Kenny got a lot of the seam welding done yesterday. Here are some pictures of the progress.
And the results. Some of them still need some cleaning up, but this was just the first round.
And here is a picture of the spot welds that rusted through. This triangulation structure isn't even attached the body anymore. This is definitely getting welded over.
And the results. Some of them still need some cleaning up, but this was just the first round.
And here is a picture of the spot welds that rusted through. This triangulation structure isn't even attached the body anymore. This is definitely getting welded over.
Last edited by Todd06MR; Dec 30, 2012 at 04:13 PM.
Dec 30, 2012, 06:00 PM
#9
I get ya, just wanted you to point out what people should weld up for those that can't get their cars fully welded, like the frame/floor you mentioned. The front fenders have been talked about being weak flex wise (not really discussed safety wise), may want to ADD material in there as well as welding it up to aid in turn in over bolt in solutions like most of us have.
Last edited by Balrok; Dec 30, 2012 at 09:32 PM.
Jan 12, 2013, 08:24 PM
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I'm very sad to report that I will not be making the first NASA event in Houston next weekend. 
There was just too much to do on my car, as well as other race cars that were closer to completion.
But, we have made some progress. Got the seam welding all finished and just working on adding extra bars into the cage. Here are some pictures of her belly.
Rear suspension
Floor area
Front suspension
There was just too much to do on my car, as well as other race cars that were closer to completion. But, we have made some progress. Got the seam welding all finished and just working on adding extra bars into the cage. Here are some pictures of her belly.
Rear suspension
Floor area
Front suspension
