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Newbie Tiger Avon Track Car
J90rdn - 26/10/15 at 11:33 AM

Hi. Thought I would introduce myself before asking a barrage of questions. Purchased an ex-race Tiger Avon last weekend minus engine and gearbox. Is well tatty, but has some nice bits like full cage, hi-spec front calipers, 13" TD 1.2 with R888, Gaz shocks. Came with Zetec engine mounts & full exhaust, so thats the plan for the new engine. Not IVA'ed, but that doesn't bother me as going to be a pure track car.

Currently in strip down mode so I'm sure there will be plenty of questions

Ugg10 - 26/10/15 at 12:01 PM

Sounds like you have a plan !

What gearbox is it running and are you looking to stick with the Zetec, did it come with an ECU or wiring for one ?

Please keep us update and pictures are always appreciated :-)

J90rdn - 26/10/15 at 12:04 PM

Unfortunately no ECU. Plan is for 2.0 blacktop, type9, Jenvey TB's with something like Omex or Emerald (or perhaps even megasquirt).

Pics to follow, although she is far from a beauty queen.

russtik - 26/10/15 at 04:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by J90rdn
...Came with Zetec engine mounts...

If they're the ones originally supplied by Tiger you may wish to consider replacing them something more capable Also take a look at the nearside engine mounting plate welded to the chassis rail - it just overhangs and really needs strengthening.

I've previously owned an Avon and my experience was that in standard set up the car had an inherent bias towards understeer. If you Google something like 'tiger avon understeer' you should find various people talking about it and the mention of wide-track front wishbones. While I'm pretty sure the wide bones alone won't cure understeer I'd say they're worth looking into as there's a marked difference between the front and rear track of an Avon in standard trim.

Other than that congratulations, I hope you have fun building the car up

Russ

J90rdn - 26/10/15 at 08:31 PM

Yes, I had noticed the overhanging platform for the engine mount. A bit of bracing may be in order.

The under steering statement concerns me. Having come from a 210bhp mk1 mx5 turbo under steer is not something I'm used to, so will have to work at dialing that out if its present. Hopefully some sticky rubber in the shape of the r888's, some decent shocks, geo setup and corner weighting will help eliminate a certain amount.

J90rdn - 17/11/15 at 11:04 AM

So car is about stripped as much as I want. Going to rerun new brake lines.

Question - is there a specific reason for this looping of the front left brake line? I assume not

MsD - 17/11/15 at 04:29 PM

Ahh, this must be the car I nearly bought on eBay!

The loops in the brake pipe have no purpose other than potentially causing trapped air when bleeding!! The builder must have made the pipes off the car and realised he had too much pipe...!

Mark.

J90rdn - 17/11/15 at 04:44 PM

quote:
Originally posted by MsD
Ahh, this must be the car I nearly bought on eBay!

The loops in the brake pipe have no purpose other than potentially causing trapped air when bleeding!! The builder must have made the pipes off the car and realised he had too much pipe...!

Mark.


Mark - you had a lucky escape - the car did not do the pictures justice!!!!! Wish I had of waited, as there is a Ginetta on eBay know I would much rather have, and already built up.

[Edited on 17/11/15 by J90rdn]

MsD - 17/11/15 at 05:25 PM



Mark - you had a lucky escape - the car did not do the pictures justice!!!!! Wish I had of waited, as there is a Ginetta on eBay know I would much rather have, and already built up.

[Edited on 17/11/15 by J90rdn]


I had my suspicions at the time, but the car went for a bit more then I thought it would. Ill not show you what I bought for less money instead!

I think I know the one. Looks smart.

Is it worth selling it on and starting with a good base?

Mark.

J90rdn - 17/11/15 at 06:00 PM

Nah, you can show me not a problem.

Have stripped it down and chucked a lot of stuff away, so probably doesn't now look as good as it did in the original photos, hence wouldn't get anywhere near as much :-(

J90rdn - 17/11/15 at 11:23 PM

So couple more questions

Firstly, thinking of putting an RX8 gearbox in. I can see from simply looking that the Avon tunnel is quite narrow. Does anyone know the measurements of the RX8 box, and has anyone tried to fit on in an Avon?

Secondly, some brackets above the pedals have been ground off by previous owner. Can be seen in below photo where they have been (poorly) ground and not painted. Anyone have an idea as to what these were?



Thanks

DJT - 18/11/15 at 01:26 PM

Those brackets are (were) for mounting the Sierra (pendulum) pedal box. I cut mine off as I have floor mounted pedals. You'd think a lick of paint wouldn't have been too much to ask.

I'd fit the OBP floor mounted pedal box if starting again. I've got the Tiger ones at the moment.

Anyway, good luck with the project and don't hesitate to ask if any more Avon specific questions.

DJT - 18/11/15 at 01:30 PM

I'll second Russ's comments re: engine mounts:

http://tigeravonbuilddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/upgraded-engine-mounts.html

J90rdn - 18/11/15 at 01:40 PM

Ah great, that's a relief. Thanks. Will be grinding down properly and applying paint.

Yes, engine mounts are to be beefed up ;-)

J90rdn - 24/11/15 at 11:48 PM

So I know this mod I carried out last week will probably be to no-ones taste, but I wanted to be able to remove the scuttle easily, and also wanted to easily remove the nasty aluminium panel under the scuttle, so angle-grinder at the ready and 20 mins later was removed. Idea is to secure it directly to the upper chassis rail.

As a track car this is never going to win any beauty competitions. It needs to be functional rather than beautiful.

J90rdn - 7/12/15 at 01:02 AM

RX8 6 speed gearbox sourced and fetched this afternoon. Offered up and although some fabrication will be required it's not as much as first thought. Hopefully getting a Zetec block in the week so can accurately see what needs to be cut and re-welded and strengthened. Will get some pics of progress.