My 818R Project has arrived

[Mitch Wright]

The must have first start video
https://www.facebook.com/mitch.wrigh...=video_comment
Consul photo's
IMG_2016.JPGIMG_2017.JPGIMG_2018.JPG

Started on roughing in the alignment today, on the scales to finish it up tomorrow. I am excited to drive the thing for the first time.

[Hindsight]

Nice work, big congrats!

[Mitch Wright]

Drove the car for the first time today, did 3 laps around the neighborhood. She feels like she wants to go, 38 degrees temps it will spin the old tires I have on it at will in 3rd. It also didn't take much to lock up the fronts on the brakes.
When I get back in town I will take the car out to the track for some more shake down miles before the body starts to go on.
My scales decided to go on the fritz, they wouldn't zero out. So knowing what it weighs will have to wait for the scales to come back from repairs.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great job Mitch,
Getting the front to lock up is the easy part.
This was my go kart weights with about 5 gallons in the front tank..

Corner weights 20141007.jpg

I'd love to have you take out my car for some laps. Any setup advice would be fantastic.
Bob

[Mitch Wright]

Thanks Bob
I have been shooting for 1500lbs as a gokart, or a little less. I think I have done a lot of work to eliminate some weight, the scales will tell.
I have a lot of bias to front right now if the weather is agrreable next weekend I will take the car to the track and play around on the skid pad then log some easy miles on the track.
Not sure how much help I can be at this point but I look forward to you guys coming down to play.

Happy New Year.

[Mitch Wright]

Put 30 miles on the go kart today at the track. I few minor issues, 2 of my vacuum caps came off started running badly. Rear calipers and brake hose at the banjo bolt were seeping just little. Other than those minor things the car ran well, tracks straight, brakes straight, got the brake bias close.
Something that needs attention is the rear steer/rear bump steer (haven't bump steered the car yet) but the rear feels nervous.
Other than alignment and spending some time on the bump steer I need to get a set of tires on the car that are not from the stone age.
Anyway a great day now spend some more time on the basic set up and start on the body.
I will post a video clip shortly.

[FFRSpec72]

Put 30 miles on the go kart today at the track. I few minor issues, 2 of my vacuum caps came off started running badly. Rear calipers and brake hose at the banjo bolt were seeping just little. Other than those minor things the car ran well, tracks straight, brakes straight, got the brake bias close.
Something that needs attention is the rear steer/rear bump steer (haven't bump steered the car yet) but the rear feels nervous.
Other than alignment and spending some time on the bump steer I need to get a set of tires on the car that are not from the stone age.
Anyway a great day now spend some more time on the basic set up and start on the body.
I will post a video clip shortly.

Great to hear about another trouble free R, congrats

[David Hodgkins]

Put 30 miles on the go kart today at the track. I few minor issues, 2 of my vacuum caps came off started running badly. Rear calipers and brake hose at the banjo bolt were seeping just little. Other than those minor things the car ran well, tracks straight, brakes straight, got the brake bias close.
Something that needs attention is the rear steer/rear bump steer (haven't bump steered the car yet) but the rear feels nervous.
Other than alignment and spending some time on the bump steer I need to get a set of tires on the car that are not from the stone age.
Anyway a great day now spend some more time on the basic set up and start on the body.
I will post a video clip shortly.

Excellent! Can't wait for the video. Congrats!!

[Pearldrummer7]

Great to hear indeed! Go kart stages were a lot of fun and good to work out the kinks before the big track.


I had a lot of issues with blowing off vacuum lines. I ended up buying small hose clamps for all of them. Though some people swear by hair spray and a lighter to seal it.

[Hindsight]

Congrats! Very good to hear you are off to a promising start. Looking forward to more track stories.

I buy silicone vac caps online. They last forever and work great. Also use spring hose-clamps on them (order from ebay or Amazon).

I've heard others talk about what you are describing in the rear and in their cases, it ended up being the upper trailing arm adjustment (the one that controls the twist of the spindle). If you haven't already, you need to adjust it so the two lower lateral links are parallel. Also, rear toe will affect back end stability too, of course.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Put 30 miles on the go kart today at the track. I few minor issues, 2 of my vacuum caps came off started running badly. Rear calipers and brake hose at the banjo bolt were seeping just little. Other than those minor things the car ran well, tracks straight, brakes straight, got the brake bias close.
Something that needs attention is the rear steer/rear bump steer (haven't bump steered the car yet) but the rear feels nervous.
Other than alignment and spending some time on the bump steer I need to get a set of tires on the car that are not from the stone age.
Anyway a great day now spend some more time on the basic set up and start on the body.
I will post a video clip shortly.

Hi Mitch,Michael drove the 818s to high school this morning. 28F this morning when he left. The roads where wet and patched of ice. We switched from235, 255 r compound to 225 all seasons tires. He said the car handling was very loose.

He might be the first on to get an 818 stuck. His parking space had a lot of ice. He had trouble getting out of it this afternoon.

I don't how much handling value you get from a cold track testing.
Bob

[Mitch Wright]

Bob, very true and absolutely agree.
I was driving very tamely on tires that are old, I am sure the 50* track temp and 4 hockey pucks has a lot to do with the nervousness.

[Mitch Wright]

Yesterday wasn't a track test, it was a shake down. I wanted to get some miles on the car, my goal was to find issues/problems to be able to correct them prior to the installing the body. Which I did, in all it was a successful day. Just taking it easy and really not trying the car had no problem seeing 120mph (couldn't help myself)according to the AIM GPS.

[Mitch Wright]

Shake down video at NCM Motorsports Park running both the 3.2 mile track and 2.9 mile circuit https://youtu.be/Jw11Yq3Vm3k
https://youtu.be/I68icJXoNvc

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Nice Mitch.
I wish my office sat in the middle of a race track.
Track looks great.
Bob

[Tamra]

I was admiring your driving skills... then saw your affiliation with NCM and your decorated driving history. No wonder your driving looked so smooth! Also, so jealous of your office!!

Glad to see the 818 shakedown went well!

[iWire]

Looking good Mitch!

[Mitch Wright]

Bob,
Good days and PITA days like most jobs. (More good than bad though) Moving into our new building next month, it will be nice to get out of the trailer.

Tamra,
Thank you for the kind words and from a National Champ no less.

Thank you Brian, still need some tweaking but I am very pleased.

Started on the body today, need to do some reading tonight for some install tips and tricks of others as I move to the front.

[Mitch Wright]

Spent the weekend on the body install, and I can really appreciate the comments from others about taking your time and the helpful hints. Making progress but can see another 2 weekends to be happy with the install.
rear deck install.JPG3-4 front BW install.JPG

[David Hodgkins]

Wow, getting closer!

[RetroRacing]

All of our hours were in the rear of the car, closing up the gap under the roll cage, closing the gap at the top rear of the door, and making the rear trunk and deck lid one piece that lifts straight up and off the car. The front is a dream compared, only fitting the lights kinda sucks. We have another after market set on the way, that have more adjustment.

[Mitch Wright]

IMG_2033.JPG
Finshed up and happy with the way the rear fits and moved to the front fascia, headlights, and fenders. After a few hours of working on the fender headlight fit, getting frustrated I had to move on to something else.
Back to the front fenders/headlight tomorrow after reading some threads to get advice form others.

[DSR-3]

Nice build!
Can you give some info on that 3-up reservoir? I need a solution, and have not seen that one yet.

[Mitch Wright]

it is a Tilton reservoir that I bought from Summit.

[07FIREBLADE]

Can you pressure bleed that reservoir?

[Mitch Wright]

Yes, I did no issues.

[07FIREBLADE]

Tempted to get it than. Looks nicer than the remote reservoir kit from replica parts. Only asked because I bought the fitting to pressure bleed that reservoir already.

[Mitch Wright]

IMG_2034.JPGIMG_2035.JPGIMG_2036.JPG

Ok after 14 hours I am finally happy with the headlight fit. Which for me was the most frustrating part of the build.
I think I really would have gone nuts with out my buddy Kerry's help.

[Hindsight]

Looks good! I'm not looking forward to that part!

[Pearldrummer7]

It was a pain to do headlight fitment. I hope you used Bob's method. I also mounted the front bottom of the bumper to the radiator mounting (black angled piece provided by FFR) with angled brackets instead of directly there (I don't even know if they recommend any mounting or not), but I recommend you secure it somehow. Mine moved around a lot on track without it and it was a little concerning structurally. I'm sure a splitter would help stiffen it up

[Mitch Wright]

I did used Bob's method to get started which is really helpful. I was not concerned with being able to adjust the lights which allowed some freedom. I made aluminum mounts for the front end , I don't recall seeing the FFR brackets.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I did used Bob's method to get started. I made aluminum mounts for the front end , I don't recall seeing the FFR brackets.

Hey Mitch,
Looks like a good fit.
Just so you know, my headlights are aimed to low and angled.
I'm going to retrofit some projectors so I can point the projectors level.
Bob

[FFRSpec72]

Agree on the headlights, a real pain, I added some trim this weekend to avoid the headlight rubbing against the fiberglass bumper, this also evens out the gap

[Mitch Wright]

Thanks Bob,
My priority was the fit and very small even gaps and being able to adjust the lights was at the bottom of my list. I ended up cutting off the tap on top of the light and adding my own L bracket which gave a bunch a freedom to put the light were it fit best. I did have to do just a little bit of messaging on the fender and fascia for nice even gaps.

Tony, are back in the States?

[Adam Boca]

The car was fun to see and hear running around the track!

[FFRSpec72]

I hear Mitch is going to have a track day for all 818Rs !

[Mitch Wright]

I have suggested to Dave Smith that we should look at doing a FFR Day at the track, Set up a Autocross in the paddock, a Trackcross or HPDE on track and car show.

Just something to think about.

[Kurk818]

Thanks Bob,
My priority was the fit and very small even gaps and being able to adjust the lights was at the bottom of my list. I ended up cutting off the tap on top of the light and adding my own L bracket which gave a bunch a freedom to put the light were it fit best. I did have to do just a little bit of messaging on the fender and fascia for nice even gaps.

Tony, are back in the States?

I cut those same top L brackets and made my own. It was a total pain with the molded brackets.

[Mitch Wright]

Finished up the front body work and finally happy with the results, even had it off and on a few times and went back on with the same end results.
IMG_2068.JPG
Next up radiator intake and exhust duct, front splitter and struts and belly pans and make the rear wing mount. And I am sure about 30 more 1o minute jobs that will need to be added to my work list.
Still toying around with how I want to fasten both rear decks, I am not using the hinges on the on the back deck. I have a few ideas i need to sleep on.
The project has gotten that much more fun now that I am getting so close.

[Scargo]

Looks nice. More holes in the front!