Wizbang Fabrication - News

New Rally Car build for 2017

1/18/2017

For 2017 we are making a start on an Opel Manta A rally car build. You can follow the build in the Preparation section HERE.
It will be a 1600cc historic rally car when finished but the first job is going to be getting the shell repaired and reinforced. This week I have made a start on designing the bespoke roll cage for the car using 45mm cds.

Hillman Hunter tackles rally of the tests

11/1/2016

The Hillman Hunter that we have been building over the past couple of years is entered on this years’ Rally of the Tests starting in Bournemouth on the 3rd November.
The shell has been fitted with a full roll cage designed and manufactured in-house to MSA specification as we now have pipe bending facilities. All the chassis rails have been seam welded and gussets fitted between the front bulkhead and the chassis rails. Suspension points have been reinforced and skidded.

The standard fuel tank has been replaced by a centrally mounted unit in the boot. All the glass in the doors is being replaced by polycarbonate as this was one of the modifications that Rootes did to the London to Sydney Marathon cars in an effort to reduce the overall weight of the car.
Re-assembly of the car started in the Spring. The rear suspension has been uprated with stiffer leaf springs and Bilstein dampers. At the front the McPherson struts have been modified by Cornering Force, a company in Harrogate who specialise in design and building race and rally suspension. The struts have been re-tubed, Bilstein inserts installed, uprated front springs and heavy duty top mounts fitted. The front cross member has been reinforced and extra mountings fitted for the sump guard.
The engine is the 1725 cc Holbay unit from the Hunter GLS. It differs from the standard engine with revised combustion chambers, gas flowed inlet and exhaust ports and a high lift camshaft. It runs on a pair of Weber 40 DCOE carbs and has a four branch tubular exhaust manifold. The engine has been fully rebuilt by Richard Guy who built the engine for the original London to Sydney Marathon car.

The gearbox has been rebuilt with a closer ratio first gear and the overdrive unit removed. The clutch comes from the Hunter GLS and uses a roller thrust bearing rather than the graphite standard item.
The braking system has been converted to dual circuit with the servo only working on the front discs. All brake and fuel lines are routed through the car and aircraft style brake hose pipes installed all round.
The car has been built for Historic Road

Rallying so the interior trim has to remain in the car and some ‘comfortable’ seats for driver and navigator fitted. Full harnesses seat belts and fire extinguishers have been installed along with navigational equipment which includes a Brantz Tripmeter, Brantz Clock and map light.
The car runs on 6x13 Minilite Style wheels with Vredestein Quadtrac Winter Tyres for dealing with both tarmac and loose surface tests.
Last weekend the car was entered on the Stocktonian Targa Rally at the weekend as a shakedown for the Rally of the Tests and for Simon and new navigator Nick Pullan for the Rally of the Tests. After a steady run throughout the day they finished the 16 test event without any major problems.
The car is now on it’s way down to the start on Thursday in Bournemouth, keep your eyes on our facebook page for daily reports on the 4 day event which finishes in Chester on Sunday.

AGBO stages rally report

4/2/2016

So here we are at the start of another historic rally season. This year Simon Malins and Colin Tombs will be contesting the HRCR Old Stager Asphalt Championship. There are 6 events and 7 rounds with the Manx counting as 2 rounds. The Championship kicked off with the AGBO Stages on the 20th March.

During the winter the Firenza has undergone a fairly significant engine upgrade to improve the power delivery. The Dave Brooks engine is now delivering just over 200 bhp and 174 lbs ft torque. A new propshaft has eliminated the transmission vibration and on the braking side we have disposed of the twin servos and for the AGBO fitted some softer M1144 Mintex pads to get them warmed up quickly on the short stages.

Skip ahead to 10:29 for Simon and Colin

After 10 months out of the car Simon & Colin were a little rusty so the morning stages were taken at a steady pace. However on the first stage in the afternoon, stage 5 the Firenza ran wide on a right hand hairpin and the front nearside wheel dropped into a large hole resulting in bent steering. With nothing apparently broken we managed to re-track the steering to something like straight ahead and it performed well for the rest of the event.
Simon & Colin finished the event 54th overall and in the HRCR championship were 3rd Category 2 car home and first in the C4 class (over 2000 cc) putting them in 3rd position in the Championship.

See below for the Championship standings after the first round. The next event is the Dixies Historic Challenge on Epynt which will be held over the May Day weekend.

Racing Puma for sale

10/29/2015

Ford Racing Puma No.434. In original condition and on the road. Has some

cosmetic marks to both the body and wheels, the interior is in very good condition

and the steering wheel has been recovered in the past with the correct

material. The radio has been replaced it an aftermarket one but the original one is still with the car.

£5695.00

Mk2 escort rally car coming together

6/22/2015

Now back from paint and all stickered up its time to start getting the MK2 put together. We are expecting it to be completed towards the end of summer or early autmn, with the Hunter not far behind, now that the roll cage has been completed.

Msa provides details leading to event seeding CONTROVERSY.

5/14/2015

msa_05-15.pdf
File Size:	6083 kb
File Type:	pdf

The news letter can be downloaded above. Why not let us know what you think by filling in our spot poll or leave a comment at the bottom of the page. The full 27 page document covering these new rules can also be downloaded below.

safety_req.pdf
File Size:	2332 kb
File Type:	pdf

The MSA has released its May newsletter which among other things covers the findings of the MESR. These findings have led to the recent shake up of event seeding which have met with mixed feelings from competitors and organisers especially amongst the historic field.

local duo battle through ignition gremlins

5/11/2015

Pete Williams and Jim Goodman returned to Melbourne airfield for the John Overend stages on Sunday, hoping to repeat the success from their previous visit. Things were looking good by the lunch halt (after 4 stages) as the crew had managed to pull out a 6 second lead on class rivals Lorraine Leeming and Karen Fitz-Simons in their MK1 escort despite a loose HT lead on stage 2, causing the crew to loose 4 minutes. However the afternoon stages were plagued by intermittent missfire and ignition problems forcing them to give up their class lead and settle for a hard fought 2nd in class and 21st overall. The crew now take an 18 point class lead in the Melbourne Challenge championship into the final round the Vale of York stages on September 13th and are tied for overall honors with fellow York motor club cometitiors Alan Kitson and John Roberts in their Hillman Avenger.

Class win for Firenza pairing

5/5/2015

Despite the wet and cold weather of the Welsh ranges, the crew of Simon Malins and Colin Tombs brought their Vauxhall Firenza home in 38th place securing 1st in class C5. The 10 grueling stages gave the duo little trouble on their first outing over the Epynt stages in over 15 years.

Unfortunately we have no pictures or video of the car on stage but if anyone has any, the crew would be very keen to see them.

SUCCESSFUL test for firenza duo .....

4/17/2015

Simon and Colin have had a very rewarding shakedown test today at the Blyton Park circuit in preparation for their assault on the tarmac rounds of the HRCR historic championship later this year.

After struggling to get tyres up to temperature on the Manx rally last September we have been playing with compounds and suspension settings today to get a better overall package. The changes made through the winter have also been put through their paces and the crew are very happy with the new gearing.

the first event will be the mini epynt stages on the 3rd of may

All set for pre season test

4/16/2015

Friday will find us down at Blyton Park for a pre season test with Simon Malins and his Vauxhall Firenza. After his first outing in the car last September on the Isle of Man he is keen to give it another go. You can Catch Simon in his striking yellow Martin Group Firenza on the Historic Mini Epynt (3rd May), The Red Dragon IT Stages at Down Ampney (23rd May) and back on the Island for the double scoring round in September.