How's the Celica going, Dave?

[Rob]

My front seat time is limited to gliding but like you, I ran outta funds. Who knew something without a fuel tank could suck so much money! I'd take it up again in a heartbeat if I won lotto. Going up in an aircraft without an engine is a lttle surreal the first time or two and very funny when you find out the point on the ground that appears to be the origin of your thermal is Camden sewerage plant

So, how's the Celica pics Dave? How can we be expected to properly ridicule you without visual cues?

Cheers,
Rob

[David Leikvold]

On one of those nav runs we went from Archerfield to Chinchilla to Wondai and back to Archerfield. It was interesting but it wasn't terribly exciting. We were cruising at about 7,000 ft so the landscape was passing very slowly. As we approached Archerfield we flew past the TV towers on Mt Coot-tha. Suddenly the instructor pulled back hard and we climbed a couple of hundred feet. It seems one must stay above things one might run into.
I need more excitement than that. I remember reading a story about Spitfire pilots chasing V1 buzz bombs over England. The V1's were faster than the Spitfires so they had to see them coming and then dive down onto them from behind, then try to tip the wings over so the V1 crashed before it made it to London. One photo had a pilot laughing about the lack of canvas on the rear of his aircraft, the bomb had gone off too close to him and shredded most of his control surfaces. Now that's flying!! I reckon the nearest thing to that these days is the fabulous Red Bull Air Race series.
The Celica photos will need to be taken before I post them. Maybe in the next few days if I get time.

[Rob]

I reckon I know what's going on here Dave,

You've been BSing all this time and now you've had a 7 day thrash before you take photos right?

Cheers,
Rob

[David Leikvold]

Ya got me! I've just got to head out for a minute and buy a bomb Celica, see ya soon. Seriously, I haven't done a thing this week, maybe I'll take some photos and figure out how to post them so you can all feel sorry for me.

[David Leikvold]

Top photo is my fabulous workshop and a view of the engine. Notice how it is way too big for the hole. Also notice the engine hoist mostly held together by F clamps. There are some bolts in critical positions.
Second photo is the immaculate interior. Every green painted panel was once covered with a 5mm thick tar sound deadener panel.
Bottom photo is the profile shot. The wheels and tyres are off the Camry and won't be used, they're just handy now. They are jammed up into the wheel arches as far as they can go and I can't turn the front wheels at all. I will need to tub all four corners to get it down to the desired ride height. I might even need to open up the front mudguards a bit. I guess I'll be learning panel beating as I go.

[Lynchy]

Dave

The shape looks good! The interior is missing all the spaghetti.....

Lynchy

[Dr Goggles]

Dave

The shape looks good! The interior is missing all the spaghetti.....

Lynchy

second that....

[David Leikvold]

Paul, what's all this about spaghetti? Doc, did you notice the car has two shifters, just like yours!

[Rob]

Good stuff Dave,

Ebay all that junk you don't need mate.

BTW, I see the pondering chair but....where's the bed?

Cheers,
Rob

[Dr Goggles]

Paul, what's all this about spaghetti? Doc, did you notice the car has two shifters, just like yours!

In a bizarre twist I did AND i was going to make a joke about it ....but I forgot....

Was ist mit der auto?

[David Leikvold]

Why the auto trans? Because that's what it had and 5 speeds are very rare in Camrys. And beggars can't be choosers either. As luck would have it the diff ratio is slightly better so if the torque converter is a lockup jobbie it might go faster with an auto than a stick (for our American readers). I have both shifters in there because I haven't decided which one makes the most sense, the cable ends look the same so I'll probably stay with the standard unit if the throws are the right length and keep the other cable for a proper push/pull throttle pedal setup.

[Lynchy]

Paul, what's all this about spaghetti?

The rollcage. You see an interior with no cage and it looks so roomy and then you build it and you wonder where all the room went.

Lynchy

[David Leikvold]

Ah yes, the spaghetti! While I'm still messing around getting the suspension and brakes worked out I sometimes stop to look at the roofline and tease myself with thoughts of chopping the roof so it looks as kool as Bob's.
Three or four inches would make a big difference to the frontal area especially if I didn't expand the roof and just curved the pillars in more. I think I would drive myself mad with the work involved, maybe I'll feel more like it when I've done all the tub work. None of the glass would fit if I did it, then I'd have to buy lots of Lexan and perspex. Then I'd have to bend it all to make it fit the curved shape of the car and make window frames for the doors. The glass is already almost a flush fit so the aero advantage of perfectly flush Lexan would be minimal. Then I'd have trouble seeing out of it and my brother is as tall as you so he wouldn't fit unless he sat on the floor.
And worst of all, the time and effort would guarantee I'd be a no-show for 2009 so I'm on a hiding to nothing if I commit to it. Plus I was relying on the glass breaking if I ever rolled it so I had more escape options. So the final decision will be made when I have the engine in and the car has finished suspension and brakes. Then and only then, I'll start on the cage.

[Rob]

Dave,

You could simplify the front and rear somewhat by trimming out the complete glass frame and shortening the mid section of the roof so both would lay down more. Stock glass and good vision retained.

The other trick I have seen for front screens is to recess the bottom of the front screen into the cowl area so tha once again stock glass is used.

For side glass when/if you chop, start looking laterally at other vehicles for donor glass that's the correct height/shape. Failing that you could move the mechanism/glass forward and thicken up the "B" pillar to fill the resulting gap.

I have heard of sandblasting being used to trim toughened glass but have not tried it to date. Race tape is built up to protect the glass edge you wish to "cut" to and the glass outside that edge is blasted away.

Cheers,
Rob

[David Leikvold]

Apart from the tremendous amount of work involved the next problem is that the standard roof height is not that generous. This is not a big car (it is 6" narrower than the Camry and already has a lower roof line) and with a standard seat there is only 2 or 3 inches head room for most people. I just sat on the floor to measure the headroom. At best I could get 8" (as the actress said to the bishop) but I couldn't see out of it. I needed to be about 3" higher to barely see straight ahead but even then I couldn't see over the inlet manifold which may even go a bit higher yet. (look at the photos, you'll see the V6 isn't sitting flat yet) Add an inch or so for a helmet and about 2" for the rollcage cross bars that will be above my head and not touching the roof and I'm out of room already. I think I've made up my mind.
Rob, thanks for the ideas anyway.