F1000 RF94 Conversion

[RussMcB]

*** SOLD *** SOLD *** SOLD ***


Van Diemen RF94 (former 2 liter pro car converted to F1000). 2007 Kawasaki ZX-10R with Power Commander. Well sorted (finally). All systems (oil, cooling, shift, clutch, drivetrain, brakes, etc.) work very well. 1:30 lap times at recent Road Atlanta National (with old tires, no diffuser and pathetic driving). Car has gone (and will go much) faster.

• Frame up rebuild before F1000 conversion (frame stripped, painted w/ 2 part epoxy, new floor pan)
• New Eagle fuel cell this year
• New Willans FIA belts (good till 2015)
• Power Commander PCIII USB with Ignition Module
• AIM Mychron XGLog with extra sensors (oil temp before and after cooler, air fuel ratio via integrated Innovate LC-1).
• GIPro Gear Indicator with Timing Retard Eliminator
• Penske shocks (serviced recently by Arms Up).
• New Gyrodydamics diffuser (ordered, to replace damaged diffuser from last race)
• Momo steering wheel
• Hard wired AMB transponder
• Honda-based open differential from HRP (easily convertible to LSD)
• Robust skid plates, rub blocks, engine oil pan access panel
• One weekend on new sprockets, chain

Many spares available, including engine, 2000 Pace Shadow 24' trailer.

Car only: $12,900

[JohnPaul]

wow, seems like alot of car for the price, someone will be a happy camper! Russ, are you getting out of racing or getting another car? (maybe a BMW project?)

[RussMcB]

It's a low price because I don't think there is much of a market for a car like mine. I'm hoping there are people wanting to go F1000 racing but don't have $20,000 - $50,000+ to spend.

My wallet and I need to take a break from racing. Knowing me it will be a short break. Hard to stay away. It's an addiction. Although F1000 is incredibly cool, it's a little too much for me now. I underestimated the costs. I spent $3000 this winter and that drained the checking account. For several years now I've had nice formula cars, but never enough money to race them regularly. That has really hurt my driving and fun factor. I might need to go back to IT racing.

If this car doesn't sell, I might do hill climbs with it. I've always wanted to try that, and the sound of a 1000cc engine screaming up a mountain road would be cool.

[Stan Clayton]

For several years now I've had nice formula cars, but never enough money to race them regularly. That has really hurt my driving and fun factor. I might need to go back to IT racing.

If this car doesn't sell, I might do hill climbs with it. I've always wanted to try that, and the sound of a 1000cc engine screaming up a mountain road would be cool.

I reverted to IT racing once in a, IMO, misplaced effort to save money and still race. After just two races I decided that was the wrong decision for me, and started looking for another proper racing car. I enjoyed racing sedans on ovals, but don't care for them on road courses. Now when I can't afford to do proper National racing I revert to Regionals at lower RPMs and old tires, or just park the car for a year.

For me an RF94 with an '07 ZX-10R would be a HUGE step up, but you may be looking to upgrade. As it is I spent this year's budget on a new Loyning 4age, so it will be '11 before Hoopty is back on track. The ole nag is getting a new dress, new shoes and an infusion of oats...yee haw!

[RussMcB]

<snip> ... but you may be looking to upgrade.

Nah, just need to step back for a while because it bugs me to own a nice race car but hot have the money to race it often.

I've always been on the lookout for the 'perfect' race car and class (for my budget). Of course, there isn't one that meets all the criteria (fast, fun, reliable, sexy, inexpensive). F1000 is dang close, but doesn't allow me to go racing on a regular basis. I miss racing seasons of 6-10 races. I had some fun in IT, so, even though it's far from perfect, it has some attraction. Here in the southeast, there are tons of events for IT type cars, including endurance and Pro-IT (run on national weekends), NASA, track trials, and hill climbs.

The biggest disadvantage to IT is I am so use to pushing formula cars and having them take up a small amount of room in my trailer and garage. I would definitely miss changing lightweight, centerlock wheels with a quick jack. :-).

I'm proud of the work done on this car. Someone is going to get an incredible amount of performance and fun for a very low price.

[JohnPaul]

I wish this car was up for sale a week ago, I would of bought it! that's always the case!

[Stan Clayton]

Thanks for the great reply, Russ!







Psst...Formula First.

[ReynardF1000]

I understand your point Russ. Having a car that sucks an uncomfortable number of $'s from your pocket every time you start it is not that fun. I want to race much more often and am just too sensitive to the $'s vs fun quotient of the F1000.
The new F600 option in F500 is attractive for its small physical size and less costly build and maintenance, not to mention the size of the class. I'm looking for the right personal balance in the $'s vs fun...

[RussMcB]

I know it sounds like I'm contradicting myself, but I actually spent very little money to attend my last race. Without going into all the details, the weekend's cost (not counting the diffuser damage) was about $100. Two biggest factors were I did the car shows for Atl Region in exchange for the entry fee, and the tow was less than an hour. The truck (poor man's RV) already had diesel fuel in it. :-).

FFirst, F600 - They all sound inviting, but taking a break does, too. Right now my car is great. I'd hate to crash it or something. Then I'd be behind the eight ball with no easy quick way out. Now is the best time for me to sell (even though it's not great from a supply/demand standpoint).

This car is ready to go (once new diffuser is mounted). Everything on the car is fresh or good. This past winter we made two complete new jackshaft assemblies. One is on the car with one weekend. The other is included in the sale price. Our plan was to swap jackshafts occasionally while determining their maintenance schedule. This past winter I also made changes to the subframe so jackshaft R&R and other maintenance tasks would be easier.

The $3,000+ spent in the last few months were: fuel cell, new jackshafts, belts, seat, chains, sprocket, diff inspection. I also bought a spare '07 ZX-10 engine.

[RussMcB]

I'm getting emails asking for detailed pics, so I think I'll see how many I can post here before I run out of allotted space.

These show the clutch linkage. I tried to show the "slider" adjuster near the clutch pedal end, but it's probably not very clear. There are adjustments at the back (engine end) and with both rod end threads, but the slider is easier, and accessible from outside the car under the front A arms. Just loosen the allen bolts, slide the cable bracket forward or backward and retighten.

[RussMcB]

Shift linkage with two cables and (again), lots of adjustability. At both ends there are various holes to adjust the throw. The bump shifter uses Delrin bushing.

A few other things I can point out in these pictures:

Picture 1:

• I masked off a 1" strip before painting the interior body panels so the kevlar layers were easily seen by inspectors.
• Lower aluminum panels helped seal radiator airway, plus a little added safety over original fiberglass.
• Convenient plug for Battery Tender (tho not really needed for these bike engined cars).
• Aluminum battery cover extends up on each side for thigh comfort (was just vertical bars - ugh).
• Cockpit outlet for Lifeline halon extinguisher.

Picture 2:

• Remote oil filter housing is the stock Kawasaki unit with coolant routed through it.
• Scavenge oil screen to keep crap from going to oil cooler.
• The gold anodized housing is a remote oil pressure bypass. It dumps excess oil back into the remote oil tank. Better than dumping it into the bottom of the engine where the scavenge pump will need to pump it out.
• One of the oil temp senders visible. During early days it was useful to monitor the efficiency of the oil cooling system by logging the temps before and after the cooler. Oil temps (and water, oil pressure, etc.) are logged in the AIM Mychron3 XGLog.
• New RK 530GBW X-ring chain

[RussMcB]

Dash pic.

The two switches under the AIM dash are for small fans attached to the oil cooler. The fans aren't really needed. I've been meaning to remove them to save weight. My car is about 30 lb. over minimum.

On the right side is the neutral light (bright white LED) and the button to recalibrate the lambda signal for the Innovate LC-1 AFR sensor.