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hill climb regulations
Paul (Notts) - 1/2/09 at 06:38 PM

Having spent the last 6 months researching and planning my next build, which will be a single seater based on Allan Staniforth’s Terrapin, I have reached the point when I must decide if I intend it for..

Road + Track use ( require IVA )

Just Track use….

Am I right in thinking that most hill climb and sprint events do not require a car to be road registered?

If I decide its just for track use then I recon I can avoid over a £1000 of cost just related to IVA reg fees , tax and insurance. That does not include the savings on lights and IVA requirements.

What do people think.?


Paul


Steve Hignett - 1/2/09 at 06:42 PM

Driving a fast car fast on the roads nowadays is nigh on impossible. (And I do mean fast for enjoyments sake and not dangerous)

It's either to much traffic, speed cameras, bad weather, poor road conditions and a host of other reasons...

I would build and run it as a non-road car and look forward to each track day and hill climb if I were you!

ATB


zilspeed - 1/2/09 at 06:48 PM

What he said.

I live about 15 miles from the local hillclimb track.

Most of those miles are either speed restricted or are much too rough for a light RWD car to be much use.
If I go via the smooth roads, that means dual carriageway followed by a route through a town then five miles of 30mph limits.

Although my car is road registered, I honestly doubt it will see much road driving once it goes back on the road. I see the log book as more of a selling point rather than a genuine benefit for me. If the next owner genuinely believes they will use the car on the road, that will be their decision.

Buy a trailer and enjoy the car every single time you drive it.


minitici - 1/2/09 at 06:52 PM

Hi Paul,
I saw your post on the Terrapin Forum.
There are a couple of versions of the Terrapin, the single seater and the two seater (Mk5).
The two seater is as much a 'two seater' as most sports racers such as Radical Clubsports - that is very little room for the second seat.
I certainly would not want to run a Terrapin on the road (appealing as it may sound at first). The essence of the Terrapin is to build light.
For hillclimbing the Terrapin would have to run in the single seater category or Sports Libre for the two seater. In both classes you really need a modern bike engine to be competitive.
I did run a Formula Ford with a Mini engine for a while - it was fun but was totally outclassed by the bike engined cars.
My own midi project is going to use Terrapin derived suspension, a bike engine and a spaceframed Mini......


chrism - 1/2/09 at 07:15 PM

If its not road registered I think it has to be inspected by a someone from the MSA and given a logbook. Its something Ive been thinking about for a while but havent fully researched what you need to do in terms of making car eligable.
I assume youve got a copy of the blue book.


Paul (Notts) - 1/2/09 at 07:19 PM

quote:

For hillclimbing the Terrapin would have to run in the single seater category or Sports Libre for the two seater. In both classes you really need a modern bike engine to be competitive.



Not that bothered about being competative, just looking forward to buildin and taking part.


minitici - 1/2/09 at 07:23 PM

quote:

Not that bothered about being competative, just looking forward to buildin and taking part.


That's what they all say
Next post will be asking about how many turbochargers you can fit


Paul (Notts) - 1/2/09 at 07:33 PM

The car will have a ford sigma 1.7 engine fitted out a puma. Only because I have one already and its in excellent condition, light, compact and good for 150+Bhp with just a change of cams and megatune.+ any other bits I can adapt from the puma .

The turbo is already under consideration.

This will mean I have to widen the rear chassis a small amout.


The main aim is to have fun building and keep the total cost under £ 1000 includind metal and new welder.


zilspeed - 1/2/09 at 07:44 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Paul (Notts)

The main aim is to have fun building and keep the total cost under £ 1000 includind metal and new welder.


Now that's what I call a budget !!

Go for it !


minitici - 1/2/09 at 07:45 PM

Hi Paul, Sounds like it could be fun.
Keep us posted.
£1000 all in - I spent 1.5x that on wheels & slicks for the single seater


Paul (Notts) - 1/2/09 at 07:58 PM

The wheels on my Viento cost about the same

Paul


procomp - 2/2/09 at 08:35 AM

Hi

With it being a single seater. I would do some research on the subject with the MSA. Especially regarding the procedures that are now applied to testing single seater chassis. I am not sure how far they go with Sprint / Hillclimb regulations but for circuit racing it is getting nigh on impossible to build a new chassis with the testing that is required.

Cheers Matt


Paul (Notts) - 2/2/09 at 09:14 PM

Had looked into this a little and decided circuit racing would be almost impossible, just looking at local hill climb and srpints which are a lot more relaxed.

Paul


andyps - 2/2/09 at 09:43 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Paul (Notts)
quote:

For hillclimbing the Terrapin would have to run in the single seater category or Sports Libre for the two seater. In both classes you really need a modern bike engine to be competitive.



Not that bothered about being competative, just looking forward to buildin and taking part.


To be honest, if you aren't bothered about being competitive you would be much better building something just for track days, they provide much better value for money than hillclimbs. Taking Harewood as an example, an entry is about £90 for which on a good day you get five runs, each being less than a mile (and Harewood is the longest hillclimb in the UK). Take the cost of a track day and figure the cost per mile!

If you are entering a hillclimb you have a minute or so to do your stuff, and even if not competing against others you will be competing against yourself and the clock. If you aren't, it makes them really bad value. Add in that you will almost certainly end up in a class with purpose built race car single seaters and unfortunately you will be relatively very slow.

It sounds like a fun project, just may be worth making some small changes and getting more fun for your money.