It's been a busy time since the rocket test last October. I'm starting to get into the swing of making regular films (and juggling it with all the other photo work etc). We've brought out a book which explains all the many processes involved in designing a record car. Most importantly though, big chunks of the car are finally arriving - and being assembled in the workshop! It's very exciting to hear people welding, hammering and grinding downstairs - and to look over the balcony and see the lower chassis taking form. This photo was taken during the test fit/rivet hole drilling stage and the completed assembly has now been taken apart again for painting. Any day now it'll be back and the final glueing and riveting can start...
btc-0052 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
It's all done with the utmost precision - here's Viv marking out the positions of the rivets with a jewellers eye-glass...
BTC-8385 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
From this end you can see the hole for the rocket. It's probably worth pointing out that the car can be split into two halves - with the top half housing the EJ200 jet and the lower half the rocket assembly...
btc-8428 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
We've also built and tested the gearbox which connects the Cosworth engine to the pump for the rocket...
btc-8426 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
Here it is on the test rig at X-Trac - sprouting all sorts of sensors and observation tubes. We successfully spun it up to 18,200rpm. First on a level surface, then tilted at 64ยบ to simulate what would happen to the oil under acceleration...
xtrac-9602 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
We used a rough cockpit to set out Andy's seating position and the position of all the switches etc...
btc-8028 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
... and that's now been replaced with the beautiful monocoque itself...
mono-9721 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
In January we travelled up to Castle Engineering in Glasgow to assemble the runway test wheels. Castle will also be making the solid aluminium desert wheels. The tyres for the runway wheels are from a Lightning jet! (original stock - tested fine)...
Castle-7925 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
The show car has been touring the country - hopefully getting youngsters excited about the project. I thought it looked particularly good under Concorde's wing at the Fleet Air Arm museum...
FAA-8964 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
Suddenly it doesn't look so big any more...
FAA-8944 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr
I'll leave you with a quick sketch of the Cosworth CA2010. Hope you enjoy the photos - now that things are in full swing there should be lots more to follow. All the best, Stefan...
Cosworth CA2010 by
Stefan Marjoram, on Flickr