Metro modprod hillclimb/sprint VVC/6R4-ish thing...

[Divetrucker]

Just thought I'd let you know about a slightly unusual Metro project that I am building.

It all started when I decided to get back into motorsports after a few years off. My last creation (a Scimitar with not-a-lot of Scimitar left in it and usung a Cosworth engine) won its class everywhere it went despite many people saying it was a daft idea.

A friend was selling a VVC MGTF that he had been driving in the road car classes, so I bought it and enjoyed myself for a season. It was, however, not a slick-shod modified production car so I had to make some changes. No use running it as a modified sports car because of Westfields, etc., so what to do?

The answer, of course, was a Metro Modified Production Saloon, using the VVC engine and transmission in a full ground-effect, 6R4 body-kitted, largely space-framed, very lightweight, highly modified chassis, sort of a thing!

I bought a little blue Metro from a bloke in the Midlands and pedalled it back to Scotland. It sat in the drive for a while until I got my thinking straight.

It needed to be stripped down to a bare shell and sand blasted.... and that revealed a collection of horror stories involving the tin worm.

[DotMatrix]

sound like a big task. the result will end up being really cool though
if you are making it 6r4 wide you will need new suspension arms I would think.
please post pictures

[Divetrucker]

You are not wrong about the suspension arms! Everything else was going to have to be specially made too!!

I would like to add a bunch of photos but don't see how to do it, unless I have to post them onto some other site and just put in links?

[Divetrucker]

The strip down of the shell revealed a great deal of tin worm that needed to be cut out...basically the whole of the floor and most of the cills. My intention is to create a full ground effect flat floor, so that became the challenge! The 6R4 body kit is much wider than a std Metro, so that would improve the ground effects by increasing the floor area.

Calculations of likely down-force showed that the ground effects could be considerably more powerful than the wings if done properly. The design of the chassis rake and the crucially-important rear diffuser showed up as being essentials to making this work. Given that hillclimb/sprint cars are generally travelling well below 100mph, I decided to optimise the design for 60mph which would require a very long, shallow diffuser.

[Pickford]

seems interesting this thing would love to see some photos. intrigued by the 60 mph ground effect sounds perfect for a road car

[Divetrucker]

Ground effect on a road car... Only if you can live with 40mm ground clearance!

[DotMatrix]

I would like to add a bunch of photos but don't see how to do it, unless I have to post them onto some other site and just put in links?

Yes. Put the photos somewhere and link to them in your posts

[Divetrucker]

This is the poor little Metro that got chosen to be modified to the extreme.

[Divetrucker]

Strip down underway...the dog seems to like the seating!

[Divetrucker]

Once we had cut out the rustiest bits...