Time Attack/Circuit Racer Mitsubishi Evo V

Holy crap! This is insane

Awesome!!! I'm having serious machine envy... Fun to watch. Thanks for posting

Nice to see you back in machining mode Mike - tis a joy to behold! :)

this makes me speechless....

o... MY GOD

incredible, It looks much bigger in the pics, what camera do you use Mike?

Finally I have time to post an update. The engine block is finally nearing completion. I added the ribbing to the side of the block using .010" brass sheet.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4078/img9040.jpg
I added the brass strips into the slits I cut earlier to help hold the ribbing in place.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2764/img9049s.jpg
After all 9 pieces were fit, I soldered everything together and sanded the edges.

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/6536/img9073r.jpg
In this picture you can see I also added the small bosses on the side of the block for accessories and engine mounts.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/3405/img9109.jpg

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2904/img9104l.jpg

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1218/img9112s.jpg

incredible, It looks much bigger in the pics, what camera do you use Mike?

Thanks for the comment. I shoot with a Canon 350D with a NL5 B+W macro filter.

:runaround:

The mock-up pictures make the Evo look downright evil.

Cant wait to see you fill it with oil!!!! Amazing

Nothing says accurate like real metal... funny thing is I don't use .010 brass because it's too thin for my stuff in 1/8th. You're using it for strengthening ribbing on your block... that's nuts, Mike! Way too cool...

Garey

Simply fantastic! This is totally awesome. Add ignition and oil, the engine looks like it will fire right up. :)

holy smokes! Respect there!

DAMMN! THAT'S CAR :eek2:MODELING GOLD!!

Kudos to your machining skills!

I'm speechless!

Awesome, insane...

Hello Mike,

I really admire your work and skills, but I think you made it yourself
a little to difficult.
At leatst that's my opinion.

Maurits

Hello Mike,

I really admire your work and skills, but I think you made it yourself
a little to difficult.
At leatst that's my opinion.

Maurits

Hi Maurits,

I really enjoy this kind of work, as a mechanical engineer by trade I enjoy the enoneering aspect of modelling more than building using existing parts. Designing my own parts and figuring out how they will work together is extremely fun to me. In fact, designing the engine to make sure the crank shaft will rotate correctly was most enjoyable.

Thanks for the admiration though, it's most humbling.

Regards,
Mike

Mike, seriously impressive work............ I hate you, in a good way :evillol:

any updates?

I bet you guys thought this project was buried in the grave. I decided to get back into it after tossing and turning the idea of what to do with the chassis. I've designed a new chassis, that I will soon begin working on. For the mean time, I thought I'd grab one of my spare bodies and start roughing out some body work. I started working on the wide front fender and raised wheel arch.

First thing I did was cut off the stock side skirts and front lip to eventually be replaced (which is why it looks like a monster truck currently). Tell you what though, this thing is a pain to photograph to show the modified wheel arches that lead into the hood area.

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/3784/img3031js.jpg

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/6844/img3032fs.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4897/img3043cd.jpg

While I was out of town on business this week I managed to get some design work done in the hotel room for the front uprights. Hope to start machining these before the Southern NNL in November.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5219/frontuprightrender.jpg

Thanks for looking guys!

Nice update, and good it has been resurrected :-)
The upright looks very promising. How are you gonna machine it? Especially that wheel nut!? I'd be interested in that. In 1:24 that's pretty damn small....

Impresionante, verdadero modelismo a escala hasta el ultimo detalle. Felicitaciones

That thing's going to look great when it's finished. Oh...wait...:uhoh::rofl:

Glad to see this project is back, i often wondered what had become of it

Glad to see this one back on track... love the body mods! Going for a SuperGT (JGTC) look?

Thanks guys!

Joachim - The wheel nut and spindle will be a challenge. I've designed the wheel nut so that instead of using a slitting saw to cut the "teeth", I will use a .25mm drill and drill around the nut, and then turn the nut down to expose the teeth. After which I will follow up with a .25mm end mill and clean it all up. Looking quite forward to the challenge. :)

Moving on!

Thanks to the long weekend, I've had a chance to get a little bit done. I wish I'd been further along at this point, especially with the front suspension which seems to be the biggest road block. As I left off, I was working on the body work, so I continued on taking inspiration from some of my aerodynamics experience and Super GT and DTM cars. Both front fenders are close to completion, so I began working on the rears which have a long ways to go still. I've also started drawing out the ducts for the hood.

Keep in mind, this is only a master/prototype for the brass work so all of the body work is fairly high level and not very detailed. All the body panels will either be vacuum formed or made out of brass to achieve the appropriate scale thickness.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/9507/img3060vu.jpg

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/2521/img3062d.jpg

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8474/img3064z.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/2581/img3069t.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/6923/img3077m.jpg

I also started working on the mockup prototype of the flat bottom, monocoque, rollcage, and chassis. Just as with the body work, this is only a prototype to be made with much more level detail out of brass. It's a lot easier to fix mistakes in styrene than brass, so I'm doing all my test fitting with these prototypes.

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7470/img3070vl.jpg

Thanks for looking!

That's absolutely mental... :eek2:

That is looking great Mike.
But may I suggest you ditch the .25mm Drill and just use a .25mm End Mill? If you "Drill" with a ball end End Mill, then follow up with a flat End Mill as you describe, I think you might have an easier time making cleaner parts. Just a thought...

Love the bodywork so far!!! Looks awesome without a spoiler! Cant wait to see what happens next

Great work! ill keep the proto for you anyday! :)

Okay, you have my attention!! :runaround::smokin:

awesome stuff, love it!

Well, I was finally able to get into the shop and get some work done this weekend. I decided I would start on the front center-lock spindles. I started with a 3/8" diameter chunk of 304 Stainless Steel. I tried several materials, including 7075 Aluminum; 303 Stainless; and 6AL-4V Titanium, before settling on 304SS. I needed something that I could take light passes on (.0025") for threading without galling.

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/5800/img3224kc.jpg
I started roughing out the overall shape of the spindle first. Flooding coolant really helps avoid chatter and a nicer finish.

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5198/img3230n.jpg
Threads for the wheel nuts! I was really worried the threads wouldn't turn out very well, but I was quite impressed. I had to grind a carbide tool to a perfect razor sharp point to cut the threads since they are only .0025" (.01mm) deep. The thread pitch is .2mm on a diameter of .080" (2.03mm).

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/3402/img3237t.jpg
After drilling the holes for the drive pins, I started machining out the slots between the bearing races. These slots serve no real purpose other than cooling the ceramic bearings. But of course, that would be if this were a real car!

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/3958/img3240n.jpg
US $0.01 Coin for comparison.

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3024/img3246b.jpg
This is why this spindle has earned the title of "The 9-Hour Fuck-Up". During the very last operation, closing in on 9 hours of machining and tool grinding, I was drilling out the spindle. The drill caught one of the slots and twisted the spindle and destroyed the slots.

However, I did learn a lot on the way I want to machine the spindles. I did figure out some good techniques for cutting so I am sure the new ones will be better and take a lot less time since I wont have to regrind my custom tools. This just goes to show, two things.

1. I am far from a professional machinist.
2. There are no failures in modeling, only lessons of what not to do!

ugh...I know how that feels.

pretty awesome even though its broken :banghead:

I have been wanting to get a lathe. I cant afford one right now, but eventually. I can only imagine the frustration...but I bet you wont do that again :lol:

Uh, Mike...that part looks perfectly normal for a Mitsubishi :lol:

GTmike400 - you are insane with the detail of this build - John - insane in a good way - John

Mike :runaround:

Very impressive though!

Hi Mike, you work is beyond my English skill, I have to only curse if I may. I'm recently considering about getting myself a lathe, but you're sort of keeping me away from that, those works just seemed impossible for me. Good luck on this build, please, finish it!

Amazing! Simply amazing.


1. I am far from a professional machinist.


Yeah, right... :screwy: Nobody is going to believe that for sure :D

Have I missed something? Why are you doing a new chassis?
Rob

A few weeks ago I finally started designing the cylinder head in my hotel room. I had been putting it off for months because of the tremendous detail and little nuances involved. Since I was out of town (in Clay's ol' childhood town) I figured I'd spend some time designing. After about 40 hours of design, I'd finished the overly complicated and detailed cylinder head.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/130/cylinderhead2.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5923/cylinderhead3.jpg

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8228/cylinderhead4.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5585/cylinderhead5.jpg

I wasnt quite sure how I was going to make it after designing it since it was so detailed. One of the great things about my job is having access to 3D printers. I sent the work off to the 3D printer with .1mm resolution, and soon enough I had a few cylinder heads. The prints are translucent, so I shot them with some white primer laying around. I need to get some gray primer since it's pretty hard to see the detail in white.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8654/img6053c.jpg

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4813/img6055h.jpg

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/4233/img6056m.jpg

Thanks for looking!

Hi Mike, you work is beyond my English skill, I have to only curse if I may. I'm recently considering about getting myself a lathe, but you're sort of keeping me away from that, those works just seemed impossible for me. Good luck on this build, please, finish it!

Glad I can provide some inspiration! If you have any questions, please ask!

Have I missed something? Why are you doing a new chassis?
Rob

Hi Rob, when I first started this project I had no intentions of completing it. I never designed anything since it was a test to see how difficult it was to build a brass chassis. In short, the suspension wasn't ever going to fit the way I wanted it to since I want to do a pushrod style suspension. Therefore, I'm designing a new chassis in 3D first, before I spend all the time building a new one so I know everything fits!

Fantastic, the only thing I could say...

Bravo Mike !

R :)

Mike.... it is fantastic!!!!

I liked the bidykit also, a lot.
Great style, man: perfect balance between race and design.

The cylinder head looks great. What model of 3D printer did you use? I have worked with Dimension in the past.

:jerking: nothing else :jerking:
daniel

Your work is great, is this the way modelling is going.

Martin

Fantastic work! Very impressed with the fine thread on the spindle. Don't know ho to do that with my lathe... How are you going to do the threads in the nuts then?

Work has been insane this week, and with the race last week, I haven't had time to do any modeling. I did have time to start cleaning up the cylinder head and prime it in gray so the details have more contrast. Tonight, I mounted it on the engine block with the cylinder head studs to see what it would look like. I am pretty happy with the way it is starting to look!

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/6671/img6071w.jpg

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/607/img6075l.jpg

http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/2132/img6089q.jpg

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/3697/img6094w.jpg

Still a bit of clean up to do on the cylinder head, but things are progressing. I also started cleaning up the calipers. Not sure if I'll be using these or not. The calipers were also printed on the same 3D printer as the cylinder head. I would much rather machine them out of brass since I think they would look much better in metal and nickel plating.

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/3531/img6106s.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3990/img6110h.jpg

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/6367/img6111ju.jpg

Hopefully I can build up some motivation to start getting a lot more work done on this!


The cylinder head looks great. What model of 3D printer did you use? I have worked with Dimension in the past.

Thanks for the compliments! I'm not sure what printer is being used. I'm using a vendor through the company I work for to do my printing, I would have to ask and find out!

Fantastic work! Very impressed with the fine thread on the spindle. Don't know ho to do that with my lathe... How are you going to do the threads in the nuts then?

Thanks buddy! I will be grinding an internal threading tool (just like a boring bar) and cut the threads on the lathe the same way I did as the threads on the spindle. At least that is the plan for now, hopefully! Cutting threads on a lathe uses a powerfeed based on the RPM to get a correct thread pitch.

Thanks for the compliments! I'm not sure what printer is being used. I'm using a vendor through the company I work for to do my printing, I would have to ask and find out!

No problem, I was just curious so if you do happen to find out, I'll check this thread for the update. The work itself is unique enough that I am definitely checking this closely anyway. I am fascinated by small scale machining operations as I have only worked with larger mills and lathes before.

When I did rapid prototyping, I usually operated the printer myself, but I can't recall the model number of the printer (again, a Dimension brand item). All I can say is, the resolution on that thing was TERRIBLE compared to the one you are using! That cylinder head would have come out as a blob-like lump. I did a 1/10 scale model of a wind tunnel force plate structure and even that had some detail issues with the printer. That's awesome that you have access to such a high-precision tool.

Again, excellent work and I am very interested by what you are doing here.

Alex

Been back at the bench recently. Starting to get really frustrated with building the prototype out of styrene. I'm building it very low level with no detail, and my build style is quite the opposite. I've been working on the proto chassis quite a bit now that I have a mockup gearbox in place. The gearbox was a very low detail 3D print, the real one will be machined out of brass most likely to achieve a very high level of detail. However, I have learned the hard way that building a prototype out of plastic to make sure everything fits is far easier than building one out of brass and trying to change it.

I apologize for the slightly over-exposed pics, forgot to turn down my strobe and I'm too lazy to reshoot.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7859/img6958a.jpg
I put a seat in out of one of my Super GT kits just to get an idea of how it will look.

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/5995/img6962p.jpg

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/5216/img6967o.jpg

I've also been working on the conceptual body work to both vacuum-form and form out of brass sheet. The rear still needs a bit of work, but its getting there. I also grabbed a wing out of another kit just to get an idea of how it will look. That is not the wing I will be using, but gives a decent idea of the stance!

http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/9352/img6936x.jpg

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9909/img6942z.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8173/img6946n.jpg

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7865/img6952t.jpg

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/3369/img6954n.jpg

Thanks for looking. Hopefully I can get out of this rut I am in tonight and get back to the bench this weekend and get a lot knocked out!

Love it!!!! Go spoilerless!!!

Love it! Often see a field of evos racing at my local track and with around 800hp they're quite a site. Look forward to seeing more.

Cheers,
Lee.

Mike,

Beautiful job so far. I really like your attention to the details.

I realize this is a conceptually based project, correct? In other words you are not trying to duplicate an existing car in scale, right?

I have no idea of this type of car, (comp. series) in real life, only what I have seen in your pictures so please excuse me if I'm out of place but I have a question.

Having 25 plus years in fabrication of 1-1 race cars the A-pillar seems extremely wide and would seriously impair the vision of the driver. Is this how other cars of this type (comp. series) are? Typically in cars I have built we would put a small bend in the down tube of the A-pillar just below the windshield so that the tube follows the A-pillar closer and does not give the driver such a blind spot. The A-pillar tube would land on top of the sheet metal / carbon fiber structure at the same point. This bend would then be triangulated with a tube that runs under the dash from one side to the other as well as with the door bars and any other tubes that would extend forward into the engine compartment.

Maybe something like the right side of this--

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/dtcollins/img6962p.jpg

It would be cool to see you use flanged holes in the sheet metal that joins the cage tube to the body of the A-pillar. Do you plan to do that when you get to the brass stage??

Thanks, Derek

Mike,

Beautiful job so far. I really like your attention to the details.

I realize this is a conceptually based project, correct? In other words you are not trying to duplicate an existing car in scale, right?

Hi Derek, thanks for your kind words. I greatly appreciate your following remarks and constructive critique. I too build 1:1 racecars, but your experience far surpasses mine, so it is great to hear another minds thoughts.

I have no idea of this type of car, (comp. series) in real life, only what I have seen in your pictures so please excuse me if I'm out of place but I have a question.

Having 25 plus years in fabrication of 1-1 race cars the A-pillar seems extremely wide and would seriously impair the vision of the driver. Is this how other cars of this type (comp. series) are?

The cage/monocoque is based of a DTM-esque chassis. Using a carbon fiber monocoque that is quite narrow at the front (for aero), with a steel rollcage. They typically have the a-pillar tubes set in quite far, then use a dimple-died carbon fiber panel to connect the cage to the body's a-pillar.

I was definitely concerned about the issue of drive visibilty, but did not see a great solution of how to fix it while being structurally sound

Typically in cars I have built we would put a small bend in the down tube of the A-pillar just below the windshield so that the tube follows the A-pillar closer and does not give the driver such a blind spot. The A-pillar tube would land on top of the sheet metal / carbon fiber structure at the same point. This bend would then be triangulated with a tube that runs under the dash from one side to the other as well as with the door bars and any other tubes that would extend forward into the engine compartment.

Maybe something like the right side of this--

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt97/dtcollins/img6962p.jpg

I really like this idea you have for pushing the bottom of the a-pillar tube outward by using a support tube at the bend from the original anchor point. It is something I will definitely look at doing after the show coming up in two weeks, before I do the brass cage. I believe your idea proposes and elegant solution to the drivers blindspot.

It would be cool to see you use flanged holes in the sheet metal that joins the cage tube to the body of the A-pillar. Do you plan to do that when you get to the brass stage??

Thanks, Derek

I definitely plan on making a dimple-die to flange out the holes for the brass. Should look pretty cool in scale!

Thanks again for constructive critique, it is well appreciated!

Killer! Finished by the show?

:lol2:

Hi Derek, thanks for your kind words. I greatly appreciate your following remarks and constructive critique.

Glad to offer any support and suggestions Mike. Keep up the great work!!

Love the build and the approach you are taking Mike. I've seen time attack cars in action and whilst they're not exactly pretty, there's something incredibly purposeful about them that makes their aesthetics appealing to me.

Regarding Derek's comments about the A-pillars, there are some photos here which might be helpful http://www.dominationchassis.com/cargallery/time_attack_evo.html

That's obviously just one car and they're all different, but gives an idea of how the cage can be formed to more closely follow the A-pillar as Derek suggests.

Look forward to seeing this develop,
Simon

edit: This pic shows it well: http://www.dominationchassis.com/cargallery/images/time_attack_evo/time_attack_evo18.JPG

I've been away for some time, so its good to see you working on this again! I'm still waiting for the day that the scratch built hot rod re-appears! I haven't had time to read back and get the details on the 3-D printing stuff, however, could you print those brake calipers in 1:12th scale?

great stuff!!

I swear 3d printers are the way of the future for this hobby(once the price goes way,way dowN)...

instead of selling kits, Tamiya will be selling us .STL files for us to print on our desktop rapid prototyping machines9once the price goes way, WAY DOWN)...

Completely mental. I love every bit of this thread!