RF passes emmissions

[Robert Logan]

It is with great plesure that I can inform ALL that we have finally passed the emmissions requirements here in Australia.

The tests were carried out at the EPA test facility here in Melbourn after extensive work with the help of Toyota and inparticular with the staff of MoTeC and my engineers. I would also very much like to thank the owner of the first 4.6 lt. car for his help and I hope the laps of the Grand Prix course during the Melbourne Grand Prix will in some way compensate for the wait. The results for CO were slightly less than 10% required while the combined gasses (HC and NOX) and the evaporative contaminates were both below 50% of the requirements. To say the least I am very happy and I contacted "Tim Oz 40", the owner of the first car first thing this morning. This has been a long and very hard road (and a very expensive road) but at least now my Australian customers can be assured that their cars can be FULLY registered in all states and teretories in Australia.

Australia is a very difficult place to register this type of car (ICV's - Individually Construced Vehicles). The ICV route is for exactly that cars constructed by individual people and not by companies. The correct way to register a turn key car is to register as a "limited volume manufacturer" and to complete the full set of Australian Design Requirements (ADR's). This is what Roaring Forties are doing and now the final test is FINISHED and PASSED.

There have been many different ways that ICV's have been registered in Australia and the easiest thing to say is that a liberal ammount of latitudehas been used by many involved in the manufacturing, building and registering processes. This latitude is and will be removed over a short period of time (a year I would have thought) and the level that manufacturers can take an ICV to will be more closely defined. What I mean by this is that the typical 8 hours to fit an engine to a "kit car" will not allow that car to be registered as an ICV because the INDIVIDUAL did not build the car the manufacturing company will be deamed to have constructed the car. If however the company is a "low volume manufacturer" than that company can build the car up from a "rolling chassis" to a completed car or to any stage from a "rolling chassis" to a "turn key" car. Saying all this the major problem has been at what point to define a "rolling chassis - kit" stops and the "turn key" car starts and this is the first place that the Department of Transport in Canberra are starting from and I have meetings with that department next month in Canberra and in my factory in Dromana. The SVA in the UK in my opinion is a great framework for the future of the specialist car manufacturers in Australia.

I believe that all manufacturers will be compelled to become "low volume manufacturers" if they wish to supply more than a basic kit. Further I believe that the requirements to FULLY comply with ALL the ADR's and not just do comparrison tests will also soon be compulsary for all Australian manufacturers to be able to register their cars in Australia.

This work that my company is not ground breaking and although relitavely expensive it is in the grasp of all true manufacturers of specialist cars here in Australia. I firmly believe that the Department are driving it in the correct direction and this is why I am very happy to help. I also believe that the new methodology that the DoT choose will be more clearly defined as it will have the assistance of the manufacturers to define these rules and how to examine / prove them.

Again I am very happy to anounce the completion of this milestone in the future of Roaring Forties.

Best wishes,

Robert

[TimOz40]

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] WOOO [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/censored.gif[/img]HOOO!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img]
Glad that's over with. So too are RF no doubt. I sincerely hope for Roaring Forties that it all pays off, and that all you Aussie GT40 lurkers that have been sitting on the fence waiting to see how all this saga pans out, will flood RF with orders for 4.6 cars.
Now, if we can just slap a coat of paint on it, i can drive off into the sunset......... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif[/img]

[Bill Hara]

Well done Robert and congratulations Tim!
This is a champagne day for both of you and for your future Australian customers.

Cheers

Bill.

[Peter D]

Robert - Congratulations ! Anyone with your level of persistance (and ability to bite their tongue) when dealing with the bureacrats deserves a medal ! As Tim says, there must be a heap of potential customers here in Oz, just waiting for the dust to settle on this whole issue.

Tim - Congratulations ! Its been a long time coming, but the end result will be well worth the wait - a stunning car that the RTA can't fault, now or in the future !

Now you are going to be torn between your 2 new toys - Lotus or GT40 - what a nice problem to have ! Do you reckon you will get paint on in time for Robert's promised run at the AGP ?

All the best

Peter D.

[Brett James-McCall]

Tim,
A big congratulations to you [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] Can I persuade you to put pen to paper maybe???

Brett

[TimOz40]

Thanks for the kind words guys.
Peter,
Ah yes the new toy. I have already sourced my Honda Type S engine, and await a whopping big box of parts from the UK to turn the Elise into the car it should be. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img] I'm getting stuck right into it, just in case the GT40 is not ready to take to Tassie at Easter. (which it bloody well better be or i'll get oliver to start annoying Robert)
Brett,
I WILL certainly do a Fortification article once the car is finished and i can include some photos.

[TimOz40]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you reckon you will get paint on in time for Robert's promised run at the AGP ?
Peter D.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well Peter, it's all up to the painter. I'm hoping he will be my "Knight" (very bad pun there, sorry Allan [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]) in shining armour, and have the car painted in record time, without rushing it in any way of course.... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nono.gif[/img]

To take Robert's offer of some laps at the AGP would certainly top off the deal, bring it on! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif[/img]

[Howard Jones]

Peter, could you post a series of pictures of the car. Mainly the engine room and all the special stuff this car has on it. If you would,nt mind adding some comments along with the pictures. Go ahead be shameless!!!!! I think we would all like to see this car up close but most of us never will.

This is a real achievement. You and your company should be proud.

[Peter D]

Howard, I wish that I could a bow as the manufacturer or the owner, but alas, I am neither !

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

[Robert Logan]

Howard,

I will get some shots of the car when she gets back from the spray shop in a few weeks time. We are having the car professionally photograped for our new brouchers.

Best wishes,

Robert

[Howard Jones]

Well done Robert! Sorry I mixed you up with Peter. I'll be looking forward to seeing how you guys did it.

I really think this is the future for Ford powered GT40's.
The days gonna come that the old SBF's won't get by the goverments and you guys will really be in the cat birds seat.

What about the new 3 valve motor? Can it be put in the same place as the 2V 4.6? Will the emmisions work you have done apply to the new 3V motor?

[Robert Logan]

Howard,

The engine would fit in the hole, no problems, and all the work with ancilliries would also work as would the adaptor plates. I believe the 3 valve motor has coil packs rather than individual coils with each plug so we would need to do some work there. The engine and ignition maps would have to be changed and because of this the whole emissions and evaporative tests would have to be repeated. I would not think that this would be to difficult as Roaring Forties have already done all the hard work getting the first car through. We have now gained the experience of what to do and hopefully how to do it.

Best wishes,

Robert

[Pete.]

Belated congratulations Robert and Tim. I was out of the country for most of January so have only now caught up with your success. Robert having negotiated all the bureaucratic Bulls*&t and red tape that you have I can see that blokes like Oliver would be a walk in the park for you. Once again congratulations. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif[/img]

[JackW]

Hi Robert

Congratulations on passing the tests. What are the RF performance figures like with the 4.6L Mustang engine? O-100 and top speed etc. I have read the 302 engined cars could really fly and was wondering how different they would be.

Regards

jack

[Robert Logan]

Jack,

The car is MUCH faster with the 4.6 lt. engine. There is only 10 kgs. difference but the technology of the engine delivers the power much, much better.

We have not done any speed tests etc. but when mapping the engine we had to travel at over 160 kph in THIRD to get the top fuel sites checked for correct callibration. The car drives much more cleanly and is more civilised but it definately packs a real punch.

I have driven the car only for a SHORT time and I will leave my detailed comments to when I have given her a full test after the paint and trim have been completed.

Best wishes,

Robert

[TimOz40]

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banana.gif[/img] Ooohh, now i'm REALLY excited. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif[/img]

[Ron Earp]

Hmmm, me thinks some soft 302s and other small blocks have been fitted to some cars as benchmarks....

[TimOz40]

Yes Ron. How long is a piece of string. But, let's compare "standard" SB with 8-barrel vs 4.6Cobra with 8-barrel. We'll see in a month or so. It also has to have a crack at my 280hp Lotus Elise...... that WILL be a challenge...

[JackW]

That is awesome. TimOz will be chuffed when it arrives. I read the article in the Ford Magazine that went through the process of building an RF and they mentioned that the full 8 Barrel motec was not emissions compliant, and that if you wanted a road car you would have to use a 4 barrel instead. Is the 4.6L engine with full 8 barrel motec compliant now?

please forgive me if I am making no sense what so ever. Since I have begun reading the forums my knowledge of the GT40's has improved profoundly, but I am still very naive as to a lot of the more technical stuff.

Regards

Jack

[TimOz40]

Jack,
The 4.6 has passed emmissions tests with the original single throttle body in place. An 8-barrel (ie 8 trumpets) IS available for the 4.6 engine as an aftermarket item.