hey guys,

i asked todd if we could make a thread here, and he gave us the go-ahead.


here are the details of the build. Todd wanted to start anew with a full fledged race car, but start simple so he could learn the car and the lines rather then covering the mistakes with raw power and sticky (his evo 9 is high 300's on R comps).

Todd Picked up a ragged 2003 evo 8 with a salvage title for an excellent price. the car was running and was a complete car, so was a perfect starting point to building a TT car.

we started by checking on the rules for an evo 8 in NASA TTC. pretty easy, the car starts with 19 points in TTC, and if he goes to 20 points it becomes a TTB car therefor, the car by rules, has to be completely stock save for the "Free" mods the classes allow. also, because the evo comes with 235 tires, and TTC is allowed TTC tires, he picked up 4 points for mods by running a smaller tire. it was decided that 2 points were worth putting into some 235 hankook RS-3 tires, and 2 points in the lowering springs to stiffen the car up a bit.

with the car+driver most certainly able to hit the minimum weight of 3263, the power/weight limit for the car is 12:1, and the appendix C power/weight modifiers means the evo has a -.5 for AWD, +.4 for 4 door, and +.8 for <245 tires.

doing the math: 260whp *1.1 (mustang modifier) = 286bhp 3263/286 = 11.4 -.5 +.4 +.8 = 12.1:1 with a small margin of error.


now onto the build!!

Drivetrain:
the rules allow free interchange between model year cars as long as they are classified in the same points. in this case, the 2005 evos have a LSD in the transfercase. so we had shep put one in as well as servicing the transfercase for Todd.

The Transmission was service locally with all new syncros, and we will be using an ACT 6 puck clutch with a lightweight flywheel.


Engine:
Second, Todd wanted to make the engine bulletproof, so we sent the engine to buschur for a 2.0L build with custom 9.0:1 CR pistons to stay within the allowable limit. the engine being built with ARP head studs:




third, the head was cleaned, and new stem seals were installed. we also put new FP beehive valve springs which are allowed as a free mod.


most of the engine was assembled last night, just missing a new timing belt tensioner and a gasket for the oil filter housing.






Chassis
a bulk of the work we are doing is gutting the car, and fabricating the 6 point NASA spec roll cage.




with the interior all out and the sound deadening out, we bent the main roll hoop and made the pads it sits on:




next, we bent the forward hoops:


pads for the forward hoops were quite a bit different then my race car because we are going to be putting the dash back in so the forward hoops are shorter and tighter to the body line.





next, we will be welding those pipes all in, and then finishing the door bars and back half once the cage is raised back up from welding the top sections of the tubes.


new wheel bearings and changing out brake components are on the list, including Hawk Blue brake pads and two piece front rotors. engine should be going back in the car this week!

stay tuned for more updates!

 

more updates:


Todd Brough his turbo hotside, manifold, o2 housing, and downpipe (all stock parts), to Specialized Performance Coatings and has it ceramic coated:




with the turbo reassembled, we are currently cleaning the engine bay as much as possible so the car can look better when its all back together

 

Kevin, can he swap in the 2005 MR turbo with the larger hotside for no points as well?

 

yes, but being limited to 260whp on the dyno means we need a quicker spool turbo for more torque. the 10.5 HS would be nice if we needed more top end.

 

more stuff done. Virgil cleaned out the engine bay as much as possible without dismantling everything or using a power washer. still looks much better then it did:



next i finished assembling the motor:


even used some stainless steel exhaust manifold studs which help prevent the nuts from backing off:



tomorrow the ACT clutch and flywheel go on, tranny goes on, and the assembly goes into the car!

 

Awesome build. I can't wait to see the end results.

 

Cool project! Love to see that cage.

 

I know nothing about racing so excuss the nub question Kevin. Why does NASA have what appears to be all these lame rules? Why not just have a simple HP to weight ratio defined and stick with it? It seems like they make more rules then our government.

 

Looks really nice!!! I love that coating.

 

the NASA rules definately aren't perfect its not hard to understand them really though, but their math for calculating HP/weight ratios is a little hard to understand.


the basics:

TTF-TTA -> use a point system. you accumulate points based on what mods you have. for example, running a set of cams costs 6 points. intake and intercooler pipes are 2 points, etc... you add up your points, and for every 20 points you have, you move up a class. it helps balance out the lower rungs of cars so you can be competitive even if your not spending the big bucks. these classes do also have HP/weight limits so you can't throw all your points in engine mods and use the straights as a drag race compared to others in your class.

for TTS-TTU-TTR _> its a hp/weight ratio. so in these classes you can do unlimited aero, suspension, and engine mods, and as long as your within the power/weight ratio, your good to go. MUCH higher cost to be competitive in these classes because aero stuff is expensive, as well as the ultra high end shocks people run.



big mods like engine builds/swaps, big turbos, etc get reclassified because they don't have a "set" point scale for them. if you were to class your car, your 450whp and 3550lb (minumum weight for the X in the TTF-TTA classes) would put you around 7.2/1 lb/hp. which is way above the limits. therefor it would get bumped into TTU class where your allowed up to a 5.5:1 lb/hp ratio. so another 100ish whp, or cut a bunch of weight out to maximize for the class. you would also be allowed to do basically anything you want to do to the car as long as th epower/weight stays in that range.


autocross is equally hard to understand, if not worse. because there is no clear progression of classes as you modify more.

 

more updates: virgil got the tranny on the engine ready to go into the car:



with the motor hanging in the car he got the turbo installed:




and the shep built transfercase with the mitsu helical LSD from an '05 evo 8:

and into the car:

 

Man that's purty.

 

Looks beautiful. I spent about 3 hours trying to understand the rules of classes with NASA, i think I got the basics down for now lol. Too much damn detail in it for me but I like the point system needless to say. You gotta spend your points just right to have the "beast" of that class.

The plan is to stay in TTC or perhaps go TTB later on?

 

correct, todds plan is to start in TTC and get comfortable and familiar with the car. then building the car to be a TTB car and so on. we built the motor so that it can run all the way up to TTU and not have an issue.

 

That's awesome, great planing. Start off at TTC and work your way up as the driver goes up. +1 for being smart. Especially since it is really easy to earn points (just talk about $$$) to get to the next class so having an engine being able to support it all is an awesome call. Looking forward for more pics