My RF-94 F1000 Project

[Tom Sprecher]

As the fit is incredible and the price unbelievable. For $110 the guy got a box of bent tubing and the collector and managed to squeeze it all into some tough confines. Nice job!

[sidney]

Hey Russ. That looks great. What muffler are you planning on running, or for that metter, what muffler is anyone planning on running. I'm making the assumption that a straight pipe will be illegal via the decibel restrictions.

[RussMcB]

I haven't decided yet (reason in last paragraph).

Sean suggests Coast Fabrication, because they are very light and rebuildable. I like them a lot, but maybe too pricey.

Scott (Formula Super) said he was below sound limit with a straight pipe at a few tracks, but not all tracks. That makes me think you cannot run without a muffler (with confidence), but maybe you can get by with something that only decreases the sound a little.

I got my subframe back from the tig welder today (woo hoo!). I need to get the car all together before I will know how much room I'll have for a muffler. It will be a tight fit between the diffuser and lower wishbones.

[Mike Devins]

http://www.burnsstainless.com/Ultral...temuffler.html

http://www.burnsstainless.com/cgi-bi...=SM-225-450-14

Russ, I know a couple of folks who are using the 14" burns stainless muffler and they can make sound anywhere.

233 may still be a little pricey though I don't know how it compares to the Coast Fabricators price.

[RussMcB]

Mike, the Burns mufflers look nice, too. About the same price as the Coast mufflers.

My sub frame is finally done (although I still need to make a rear wing mount, but there are several attachment points available).

This picture shows a few pieces mounted onto it. Before I started mounting things the
weight was 23 lb.

Earl's oil cooler (with side fittings) arrived. I've been making decent progress lately with things like radiator plumbing. Life is good.

[carnut169]

The McBride conversion kit?

[RussMcB]

The McBride conversion kit?

Yes, I will offer it as a kit. But first, I'm going to dominate FB for a year, win the Runoffs, etc., and then I'll be able to charge more for the kit. :-).

[neildrake]

Looks real good Russ.

Looking forward to seeing more pics of the progress.

There's people who don't think that this class is going to last but with enough of us showing that conversions can be readily done at a home shop and on a budget and still be competitive, hopefully the car counts will steadily increase.

Neil

[Matt Conrad]

Russ,

I don't know what size pipe you've used for your exhaust, but I have a new 2.25" x 2.25" Coast Fab muffler (14") that we can't use....

Matt Conrad
Phoenix Race Works, LLC

[RussMcB]

Cool. Thanks for the heads up. I'll send you a PM.

My collector is 3". I haven't made a decision about exhaust/tailpipe size yet. Is 2.25" what I want?

[RussMcB]

Well, dang. Had a set back yesterday. My fantastic plan for creating an inexpensive custom header using the stock Kawasaki flanges isn't going to work. It turns out they are titanium and cannot be welded to the mild steel primary pipes I made.

I should have known that was going too well...

[carnut169]

You can make the flanges also. On the Suzuki we did use the "bolt ring" thingies.. or whatever they are called- they simply slide over the flange. Then a ring slightly wider than the header goes on... if you can't flange it then just weld the ring to the header, then the bolt ring will slide up into the welded ring and attach the whole deal to the block. Make sense?

[RussMcB]

Yep. Thanks. That's "Plan B". One not so good thing about that is the original Kawasaki flanges had a decent amount of material to provide good sealing and strength. It will be a challenge to duplicate the ID & OD. But, everything's a compromise...

Plan C is to contact Peter D Motorsports about one of his $240 headers.

Related topic: I'm nearly ready to start my engine for the first time. What damage might I do if I run the engine in my garage for a couple of seconds without any exhaust bolted to it?

[Joefisherff]

They have some nice collectors (mild steel and stainless) and header making items like Sean mentions above.

[Mike B]

Russ,
Peter D (or S & S) might sell you just the flanged ends that you need. Basically, they're a copy of the titanium version but in mild. Worth a try.

[RussMcB]

They have some nice collectors (mild steel and stainless) and header making items like Sean mentions above.

Thanks. Yes, they've got nice stuff, but I'm not willing to pay that much. Look at these prices: http://www.burnsstainless.com/MergeC...into1base.html

I've gotten a considerate offer via private email, so I think I've got a new plan of attack. As I've mentioned several times before, there are some great people in this Apexspeed community and their assistance has truly made this project possible.

Thanks to all.

[Jay N]

Call Peter D at Peter D Motosports. He has headers for a VERY low price. I purchased one for our kit & it was nearly perfect.

Thanks ... Jay Novak

[RussMcB]

Just a couple of pictures of recent progress.

First picture shows chain guards (plural for my weirdo car).

Second picture shows panel I made to provide a place for mounting electrical components.

I'm expecting accusations that I'm impersonating Purple Frog. I'm not sure why I chose to paint some components purple. I think that color paint can must've been closest when I reached for one.

[Tom Sprecher]

I'm expecting accusations that I'm impersonating Purple Frog. I'm not sure why I chose to paint some components purple.

Just don't ask everyone to start refering to you by some lame amphibian derived nick name.

[RussMcB]

Just don't ask everyone to start refering to you by some lame amphibian derived nick name.

Okay. How about, "Plum Crazy"? :-).

Truth be told, part of the reason for the purple color is because I've been a very happy user of Hoosier tires and Appalachian Race Tire's great service.

Some day, the exterior paint scheme will be mostly green (Kawasaki-inspired), hopefully done before the ARRC, but may need to wait for the wintertime.

[Purple Frog]

I thought Russ chose a splendid touch of lavender in order to get good visual seperation of the varied components to aid others in actually discerning the intricate detail required in the design of such an efficient and compact assembly. Purple would have been too dark a color against the black structures to achieve such visual clarity. His intelligent choices of color on individual components is just one more reflection of the high level of attention to detail and craftsmanship that has become the signature of this project that has caught the attention of a world-wide audience.

[RussMcB]

PF,

Wild guess: Are you by chance taking an art appreciation class at your local community college during the evenings this summer?

[Tom Sprecher]

Okay. How about, "Plum Crazy"? :-).

Let's keep it to one class or order per nickname. Since we have Amphibia Puniceus I guess a fruit would be OK and in your case fitting as well.

[glenn cooper]

to let the cat out of the bag - We all know you are a huge fan of the Big "O" (Oprah).
Snicker, snicker, hence The Color Purple. D'OH!!
GC

[RussMcB]

I'm the lucky recipient of another of Clark Lincoln's beautiful race car potential paint scheme renderings.

I've been impressed with everything I've seen done by him in the past few years, so I finally got the nerve to ask him if he could help me come up with a Kawasaki Green theme. I hesitated to ask because I assume he's as busy as we all are, but he graciously accepted my request as long as I wasn't in a rush. No Problem!, I said.

Without further a-doo, here it is.

[carnut169]

If I was a Kawasaki VP, I'd sponser you with a car that looks like that. Clark- you do amazing work.

[Joshua Held]

If I was a Kawasaki VP, I'd sponser you with a car that looks like that. Clark- you do amazing work.

Very nice. I've been thinking for some time... Does anyone know if the sportbike manufactures have any clue about DSR or F1000? I would love to hear what the reactions would be from this group. In my normal run-ins with the motorcycle community they are completely shocked to hear the lap times we are doing with these little engines not to mention the look of the cars. I explain all the grip and the aero we have but still just 1000cc's. Amazing. At some point I would think the sportbike manufactures would see this as a publicity opportunity not directly pointed at their market but intresting anyway. What do you guys think?

Sorry for the slight diversion of the thread.

Josh

[D.T. Benner]

The only reaction the factory guys would have is Huh?? They are into 2 wheel stuff and any questions about the secondary use of their designs would probably make them wonder why they should care if THEY don't make a lot of $$$ from it! Remember they may have LOST a customer when the Super Bike your power plant came from was totaled!

[Purple Frog]

Russ,
Looks just like your bike... just two more wheels.

And has just enough purple to be a real race car.

[Joshua Held]

Just thinking a paint job like that on a car that looks like that would draw one hell of a crowd into a Kawasaki booth. It’s presence alone would be confusing to most but before the know it they would find them self in the middle of the booth checking it out. Gotcha! Later they would find out the connection is the power plant. Hmm, I guess hot chicks work the same way for me... Wait... I’m onto something... A hot chick and a hot car how can they lose?

[RussMcB]

Here's a picture of my fuel can. The green circle highlights the boss that I cut off from the bottom of a Kawasaki gas tank so I had a great mounting surface for the stock fuel pump. This can is fed by a low pressure Facet pump. Any extra gas goes back to the fuel cell.

[Purple Frog]

Russ,
Think about insulating that thing to keep the fuel cool.

[formulasuper]

Russ,
Think about insulating that thing to keep the fuel cool.

I would think with the fuel flow continuously circulating back to the cell there shouldn't be a heat problem. I don't know where the exhaust pipe is relative to this canister but a simple sheet aluminum heat shield between the two should be adequate. (IMVHO)

[glenn cooper]

THAT car looks f'ing brilliant (It's OK to say that, Bono said so).
Team Green indeed!
Clark, beautiful. Absolutely stunning.
I was planning on keeping my traditional Flo Orange and black, perhaps even copying the old Arrows F1, but now???
Damn You R McB!!!!

GC

[carnut169]

Hey Coop- what happened to that bright orange helmet of yours? It was always easy to see who was in the car!

[RussMcB]

Hey! I'm Coop's arch nemesis! That sounds like a compliment. I'm moving up in the world. :-).

I agree with Sean. Bring back the Orange Helmet. That was a definite clue about who was driving (plus the T1 dive-bombs and tail-out attitude).

Once I get my engine running and car all put together, I will need to put a lot of thinking into heat shielding. That's about two-thirds down on my list of things to do.

[RussMcB]

My engine ran for the first time today. Nothing bad happened. All systems go (fuel, oiling, cooling, electrical, AIM dash), with only a minor problem here and there. I used a temp "shorty" header just to divert exhaust out of the engine bay.

Still lots to do. Very glad to have reached this milestone. It's nice to no longer wonder if the engine bought off ebay last Fall was any good.

[carnut169]

Congrats Russ. I know you've been looking forward to that!

[jerry freeman]

Russ,

Where did you put your electronics to keep them out of the rain and heat and are the in some kind of sealed box?

Sean, If you want to chime in that would be ok to.

Jerry

[Purple Frog]

One cool place I have seen ECUs mounted this year is in the area of the seat behind the small of the driver's back, ahead of the fule cell. Then the foam seat is poured around it. It has to be one of the coolest and driest places in a race car.