Owners' Cars 8

(Chassis 31) This car is owned by Trevor Walker and was built in eleven months and hit the road in 2000. Unusually, it's powered by a later 2-litre Ecotec Vauxhall engine, running the original injection and producing in the region of 140bhp. The car has recently been repainted and had new wheels. It was also featured in Which Kit? magazine in 2003.

(Chassis 32) Owner Roger Fish tells me, "I started to build the car in October 1999 and got it through its SVA in July 2000. I always intended to compete in Speed Events and in my first year, 2001, I won the Best Novice Award in the LDMC Northern Sprint Champioship. The car was at that time fitted with a standard 2-litre red top and the running gear was as per Car Craft's recommendations. I intended to use the car on the road as well, but eventually it become impractical to drive it on the road.

Gradually I upgraded the engine and transmission. By 2003 it had an engine by QED giving 230bhp and reving to 8250rpm, as well as close ratio Quaife gearbox internals and a Quaife LSD and low ratio final drive all straight cut, so quite noisy! Since then I have removed as much weight as I can. As you can see from the images, the car no longer has a windscreen. Terry made me a new bonnet. The engine cover is aluminium. There is an undertray extending the floor beyond the rear valance and a front splitter. the dashboard has gone and there is only one seat, which weighs 2kg. The car now weighs 580kg in total. I have lightweight 4-pot calipers front and rear, brake discs and bells are drilled. The engine is currently being rebuilt and the head modified with big valves and the ports are being seriously improved. I will be disappointed if I do not see 270bhp when I go to pick it up at the end of January 2010. Thats about 500bhp/tonne!
 
I compete in the Longton & District Northern Speed Championship and the Chester & Liverpool MCs Speed Championships. Venues include Three Sisters, Wigan, Aintree, Harewood hillclimb, Anglesey race circuit and Barbon hillclimb among others. I started competing in the roadgoing class, but I am now in Modsports which means I can use slicks which really adds to the excitement. I have numerous class awards, to the extent that I have had to thin them out to maintain domestic peace!

(Chassis 33) This car is owned by Ian Warhurst. He bought the kit 1999, before taking two years to build it. The engine is a Vauxhall 2-litre XE twin-cam rebuilt to new standard spec using an F20 gearbox. It has had a hi-flow alloy airbox fitted. The front brakes have been uprated using Hi-Spec calipers, rotors and bells. The rears will follow suit soon. It was sprayed by Car Craft using Volkswagon colours... silver, black with red markings.

The wheels are TSWs with Yokos all round. Inside it is red and black with Cobra seats and a Sony CD radio. The speedo etc are analog not digital. It has done 1600 miles to date and is only used on sunny days.