Every
now and then pays to stop and look back to see where you are going. Playboy magazine
Publisher Hugh Hefner once said "life is a train journey, the destination is death so
stop and walk around a little ! It would be nice to stay a while at some of the junctions
to fully consider all the options, "Dak to the Future" can now be finished in
its present form or I can go back to the last junction.
Ease and speed of construction is the reason for changing things at this point. Apart from some possible weight savings the design of the mechanicals and layout will remain unchanged to ensure that I don't have to go so far back.
A second body is being prepared for the alternative three piece modular chassis. Composite aluminium sandwich sheet 12mm thick and ultra light in weight will remain the central floorpan and stressed component thus providing diagonal strength.
A seat was made from an existing race seat which basically necessitated narrowing it for a close fit and to fit in the car. A two piece mould will be made to allow seats to be made to any width. A car like this can't have the driver flopping around in the cabin..
An unsatisfactory front tyre-to-guard clearance is forcing another arch chop. If you want to know how those European touring cars get away with having their front tyres right up inside the arch then imagine negative scrub radius geometry coupled with a guard that is loose in the middle so it moves with the tyre! A quick look at Porsche racing fenders told me the answer: flare it out at the top.
Looking back to the beginning it seems so far and then so close. The project is exceeding expectations and the possibilities are greater than first imagined. It has hastened the development of T4 engine components and produced some new ideas on making fuel injection cheaper and simpler. By the way, my next installment will deal with engine and gearbox assembly.
It's not hard to believe but the DTTF project has been seen all over the world. From England to Asia, Scandinavia to Canada and of course the United States it has brought me into contact with some dedicated hard core VW people. Soon, export from Australia of the "Aero" design will be complete and we'll see some tough Type 4 powered L" Bugs overseas with Aussie designed components. Remember the adage; Racing improves the breed. As I have said before, it's now a journey rather than a destination. Production of components and cars will commence once the prototype is a goer.
The V-Force cylinder head has had yet another design change to allow commonly available valve springs to be used. This involved moving the inlet ports upward slightly to allow more depth and diameter of the spring seat area. This will now involve special manifolds. A custom grind on a Scat crank of 80mm provides a capacity of 2798cc with Chevy 400c.i. plus 30 thou' Manley forged pistons. That should get the pulse racing of the Vee eight lads!
The Sydney Shoot-Out (see VW Action #1) late in '95 was the car's first airing as a semi complete car, that is one that at least looked a completed car. I must take this valuable space to thank Dave Butler and Terry Borg (who painted the chassis at 2.30am three days before the Shoot Out). Enthusiasts Unlimited is what they are and it shows in their cars.
Also, if it wasn't for magazines, and car shows some projects would never be completed. While I'm dishing out the accolades I omitted to thank Sydney Automotive Paints in the last installment. They have been a big help in catering to my needs of Glasarit paint.