Bens Garage - Work safe edition!

[Chavtastic]

Okay I'll start from October 2014 and a new track car build. Since selling my Type-R and 911 I've been dying to build something very track focused! My goals are a sub 1min 45 lap of Cadwell Park and an 8 minute lap of the Nurburgring, both of which I expect to be very difficult and require multiple attempts!

The shortlist for a car was:

BMW E46 M3
Honda Civic EG with a K20 swap
Honda Integra Type-R DC2
Calibra B204
Porsche 911 Carrera 4 / 4s

After a lot of soul searching and research I decided to take another trip out to the Nurburgring last month to evaluate a few options and decide. The result is I've chosen to do an E46 M3 and a Calibra B204.

So, the initial requirements for a Calibra shell were:
- As rust free as possible
- As new as possible
- Sensible mileage
- Non-sunroof model (rare, but saves weight and reduces risk of rust)
- Reasonably cheap

I met all of those requirements with this absolutely delightful "Ripspeed edition" Calibra SE8. Look at that bodykit... wow!



Lexus lights were removed shortly after this picture was taken, as was the rear bumper!



No complaints underneath


Bodywork and arches all straight and clean


Even the rear panel was tidy (they are commonly starting to go here!).

I'd go so far as to say it's one of the cleanest Calibras I've ever seen (and I've seen a few lol). It's by no means perfect. A nasty stainless door sill cover trapped enough water to cause surface rust, and there are a few little bits where seams are starting to discolour. But overall it's 95% as good as when it left the factory. Probably won't matter when it's wrapped around an armco somewhere on the Nurburgring!

Powering this beast is the X20XEV, soon to be removed


The car with full interior, spare wheel and 60 litres of fuel weighed 1300kg on the nose. That makes 1256kg with an empty tank.


I'm aiming for around 1000kg, with some serious dieting! Plans are fully stripped interior, plastic windows, cut down wiring loom, fibreglass bonnet, lightweight wishbones and aluminium plated spare wheel well. If I'm still well over 1000kg I'll look at casting the doors in fibreglass and possibly the tailgate.

So, onwards... time to get rid of the chav bumper!


Stage 2 race bumper, featuring no metal support and aerodynamic holes! Reason for the holes being rear bumpers act as parachutes behind cars, trapping a pocket of high pressure air. These holes relieve that pressure. It's proven on the drag strip to add a few MPH to terminal speeds... speeds I will be reaching on the Nurburgring. It's also cool as F***.


Colour wise I have bought some Nato matt black military paint which will be put on with a roller, and topped with vinyl decals. Why? Well because a proper paintjob costs money I'd sooner spend on stuff to make it go quicker.

Next up came this lovely piece of real BTCC heritage, the actual Recaro seat from James Thompson's race winning Vectra from the 1996 season!




This will be bolted in using the supplied alloy mounts, saving probably 20kg off the weight of the standard drivers seat that uses a bulky steel subframe/slider. I'm on the lookout for a "milder" passenger seat by Recaro and of course a pair of 3 or 4 point harnesses. I've already stripped the rear of the car out.

The car failed it's MOT only on trivial stuff - no rear numberplate light, battery insecure, a missing wheel bolt and a blow in the exhaust. It'll be MOT'd shortly so I can then begin ripping it apart for the serious stuff!

More soon

[Chavtastic]

Yesterday I managed to pick up a bargain of a fibreglass bonnet!


It is by no means finished, it needs bracing to stop it flexing and some form of fixings to hold it in place, but I'm sure it can save me around 20kg.


I also got hold of some Gaz coilovers which I will be running with adjustable topmounts to give camber and caster adjustment for the track.



It's MOT re-test is booked for Tuesday so the major work can begin next week! Can't wait!!

[v6 steve]

is there really any need for this thread ? its the same as your other one

[Callyman]

is there really any need for this thread ? its the same as your other one

The other one has females in it.

[v6 steve]

is there really any need for this thread ? its the same as your other one

The other one has females in it.

as i said is there really any need for this thread ?

[Chavtastic]

Some people aren't interested in slutty women, which is fair enough, so this is the place for them.

[Chavtastic]

New arrivals for today, a front mount intercooler and aluminium hard pipes. They are off a Calibra Turbo, so when used on my B204 the turbo and intake will be slightly different, but that shouldn't be hard to adjust for


I've also got a Calibra in here with Monster 4-pots. They are currently on 4x100 284mm discs. I'm going to mock up a 321mm disc (Astra VXR) behind a wheel and see if they fit. If not then I'll try a 308mm. I'll also be looking to upgrade the pads (currently EBC greenstuff).


For the rears, I'm told the Omega discs and calipers will fit. Can anyone confirm?

[Tkeenan2107]

An absolute waste in my opinion but goodluck

[Chavtastic]

An absolute waste in my opinion but goodluck

An absolute waste of what exactly?

An ecotec Calibra with a chavvy bodykit? Nobody is going to miss that

[tosh1985]

nowt wrong with that chavvy calibra mate it represented lol id rather see the women tho lol

[Robs-se]

You got it back ok then

[tosh1985]

im quite clear how google works thank ya smart arse,
anyways good luck with her ben i hope you enjoy..

[KERR_SE9]

That's my plans for Saturday scrapped then , was meant to be collecting that se2

[Chavtastic]

The heart has arrived! One B204 with all ancillaries



I also have a complete Saab B205 here, which I plan on using parts off to assist the build such as mounts, pipework, radiator, APC... plus the aluminium suspension arms. I will also be keeping the cylinder head off the B205 as it's allegedly better flowing and more suited to big power.

More soon

[Tkeenan2107]

Waste as your not shedding a lot of weight really, for a starter the integra type R would have been a better choice to start, the holes in the rear bumper you talk about a 1/4 mile drag strip your going to 2 possible tracks so not really needed, personally the car as it was wasn't to my taste as tosh knows if it was standard and with leather seats it would have been a nice car, minus the exhaust blowin, but hey dude your money and time good luck to you, I can think of many more that would have been a better option