Bushy Park’s First Official Trackday…
Last Sunday Bushy Park Circuit Inc. held their first official trackday. The complex hasn’t reached completion as yet but the circuit has been finished for some time and the organizers thought it would be a great idea to let car enthusiasts have a go on the newly renovated circuit. I managed to take some time out and headed up to the circuit to take in some of the action. When I got there it was way more than I initially expected, it was definitely a vast improvement from the previous circuit. I was fortunate enough to make my way into the pits to check out some of the cars that came out to give it a go. There were a host of cars on hand, ranging from street to weekend cars, drag cars, rally cars and circuit cars. There was also a section of the day that was specifically dedicated to bikes and karts.
The general feedback from the guys that hit the track was positive. The circuit has a host of well designed corners and straights to match and can potentially be a very fast track which should not only make the racing quite entertaining but also very competitive.
From the perspective of watching the action from up against the pitwall it was quite entertaining, especially when compared to the previous circuit. Due to the new layout of the circuit in comparison to the old one, the cars seem to be approaching the pits with significantly more speed than before. Another thing makes watching from the pitwall even more thrilling than before is how close to the action you are.
All in all the event had a good turnout and today I have some shots that I took while strolling around the pits.
AE86 belonging to Ryan Harrison that is always very well kept…
Michael Carter was on hand to see what the track had to offer…
Neil Armstrong piloted this turbocharged Suzuki Swift Sport…
Rally driver Dane Skeete brought out his Peugeot 306 Maxi and did a few laps…
Paul Bourne brought out his WRC Ford Focus to get a feel for the track as well…
Toyota Cressida that you guys would have seen in B.A.D.D’s The Rematch coverage from a few days ago…
Another AE86 that also was in very good condition…
Circuit prepared Nissan Datsun…
Circuit prepared Audi of Doug Maloney…
Rally prepared Daihatsu Charmant…
Jamal Brathwaite brought out his rally prepared Honda Civic Type R…
Seasoned circuit racer Andre Waite took out Carlos Edwards’ Toyota Starlet for a few laps…
Kurt Thompson making his way through the pits in his Honda CRX…
David Brewster’s rally prepared Peugeot 205 GTi…
Brian Gill had some fun around the new track with his rally prepared BMW M3…
Mark Thompson’s Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX…
Mitsubishi Mirage RS belonging to Trevor Mapp…
The Mayers brothers brought out their WR Toyota Starlet…
A closer look at Kurt Thompson’s Honda CRX…
A few of the karts that were on hand to hit the track…
Drag prepared Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III…
Anthony-Ramon Archer was out with his Nissan Pulsar GTI-R…
Barry Gilkes’ Mitsubishi Lancer GSR…
Mazda RX3 of Mark Maloney who had an unfortunate incident earlier in the day when his driver door caught fire. Thanks to the marshals on hand, the fire was put out before it could spread to the rest of the car.
Cockpit view of Mazda RX3…
Maloney’s Mazda RX3 and Michael Carter’s Honda…
Corey Stanford’s 3SGTE swapped AE86…
Varying views of the pits and some of the cars…
Some aerial footage thanks to Above Barbados
After having the experience I did of being in the pits I can only imagine what the feel would be like when the Top Gear Festival comes around later this month. That’s it for today’s post, thanks for taking a look…
Dominic’s KP61 Build…Part 3
I have quite an exciting post for you guys today, Dominic finally got the car back from Corbin’s Garage and the guys did a great job on the restoration. I also have an update on the engine build along with some shots of the car during the re-assembly process. Without wasting any time, let’s get right into it…
For those of you that would like a recap of the progress of the build thus far, I’ve provided link below…
Some shots of the engine as it was being assembled on the stand… The gold Toda cam gears combined with the gloss black cam covers and the custom made aluminum coil plug cover is an indication of the quality of this build…
Techno Toy aluminum crank, water pump and alternator pulleys were used to help shed some weight…
The complete motor with the ITB’s and header fitted…
The engine was primarily built around reliability, the block was stripped, cleaned and rebuilt with a new oil pump, water pump and starter with just a few extra add-ons…
– ARP bolts and studs
– Toda adjustable cam gears
– Toda timing belt
– Toda flywheel
– TWM ITBs
– OBX Header
Meanwhile at Corbin’s Garage… The guys were busy laying down some paint…
When I first saw the underbody I was at a complete lost for words…
View of the engine bay…
A few more of the underbody… the attention to detail was simply amazing…
Varying angles of the shell still sitting at Corbin’s Garage…
The door, tailgate, hood and other pieces as they arrived at home…
While browsing Techno Toy Tuning’s site Dominic got a little carried away and this was the result… Dominic had the Techno Toy coilovers rebuilt with the AE86 strut casing with custom spring rates that would be more suitable for this build. This upgrade would allow him to utilize the AE86 brakes as an upgrade from the stock KP61 units. Dominic also had Techno Toy fit their adjustable camber plates and upper hats to the struts. As we’re on the topic of brakes Dominic will be using cross drilled and slotted brake rotors with the AE86 calipers and Mintex performance pads.
Another notable change is the upgrade to Techno Toy front suspension conversion and sway bar. This includes adjustable lower control arms, adjustable TC rods, rose jointed adjustable end links, modular racing adjustable swaybar and front chassis brace.
While on Techno Toy Tuning’s website, Dominic also decided to pick up their strut tower brace. When it arrived, he sent it to be powdercoated in black to go with the black and red theme of the build.
While Dominic was at it he had the subframe powerdercoated…
Tom’s Igeta wheels fitted and you guys get a better look at the Techno Toy front sway bar setup…
Les Hunter Racing mounting bracket along with the Wilwood reverse mount pedals…
The recently modified Carina rear end finally made its way onto the car along with some additional goodies. In addition to rebuilt coilovers, Dominic purchased Techno Toy’s rear 4 link. These will help with traction while eliminating wheel hop and also improve driver feedback.
A closer look at front subframe with the Techno Toy front suspension and swaybar setup…
Things starting to come together… While the car was off to be painted, Dominic had the dash disassembled and sent to get a fresh coat of paint in the original brown.
The Dynamat being installed which should eliminate a significant amount of road noise…
At the front and rear…
The downside or upside of having the Wilwood reverse mount pedal assembly is that you have to find a location to place the reservoirs. With the Starlet already being cramped for space and wanting to keep the engine bay as free as possible; Dominic had a great idea to mount them next to the wiper motor. It was quite a challenge but it all worked out in the end as it looks as if the location was built to house them.
A full side view so you guys can get an idea of how things are coming along…
Onto the next phase of the sound deadening as the Dynaliner is being laid down…
Wrapping up today with a shot of the progress being made in the engine bay… The wire harness is partially installed along with the steering rack and column. Thanks for taking a look and be on the lookout for the next update…
TDSAutoMag 