Hmmmm, Can i enter a lorry in the £999...

[fha772]

Had a thought while in the bath, would i be allowed to enter an artic tractor unit in the £999?

I was thinking, 14 litre turbo diesel, MASSIVE torque, weld up the reduction hubs(which will give a potential top speed of 170mph!!).

I know of 1 i can buy for £600...

[dazzler]

I think the rules are something like

"if it has 4 wheels, no bikes"

Does this unit have 4 wheels?

[fha772]

Weell, it is a 2-axle tractor unit, yes it has 4 wheels.
(unless you count the twin wheels on each rear hub, then it has 6 wheels)

My thinking is fairly sensible, a fully loaded artic weighs 44tons, and will accelerate to 56mph in about 30 seconds.
So a unit on it's own weighs approx 4 tons, with the 3:1 Reduction hubs welded, in theory it should accelerate to 150mph in approx 25 secs!!! With no engine work.
But seeing as you can tweak the boost and injector pump, and swap in bigger injectors, this will take the 350bhp engine to about 550bhp and approx double the torque(to around 2500 ft/lbs!!). It should be VERY rapid, with only about £200-300 spent on it...

[Relentless Rob]

Only four wheels? I was going to make a 70's F1 style six wheel drive Alfa V6 powered streached Panda.

Front and rear wheel steering with a live centre axle. Should do the handling course without lifting off and with six wheel drive get an excellent hole shot on the quarter mile.



Can't see why you can't enter a tractor unit in the £999 even on April 1st.

[fha772]

This is no April fools, thing, this is serious.

[Relentless Rob]

Just says M.O.T'd Doesn't say anything about internal combustion engined. There's a Pratt and Witney Jet Turbine from a helicopter on Ebay. Hmmmmm bolted on in the back of a P100 with Mondeo ST24 brakes?

[fha772]

For less than a grand?!?!?!?

I know i can build the tractor unit for about £700-900, total.

Also, do you know that NOS is more effective on diesel engines, than petrols(apparently upto 80% more effective)

[OilyFingers]

Its a nice idea but....
A Unit weighs about 7 tons and has the aerodynamic qualities of a bungalow. Without the reduction hubs you'll need to go down to about 1st low to get it moving and with the fact that it will only rev to 2k, 150mph is a little optimistic. The other factor is the clutch; its air operated and they don't do quick changes, period. You're looking at 1.5-2 seconds per change, and there could be 15 of them.

[havinalaff]

STOP TRYING TO DISUADE HIM!!!!

DO IT!!!!!!! It'd be awesome

[fha772]

Thank Havinalaff.

I have thought about this for several years TBH.

To answer your reply Oilyfingers,

The B-Series day-cab ERF i'm thinking of using, is an 8-speed Eaton(4-over-4, for those that know), so will only be 6 changes(you won't use crawler gear), also the Eaton is a clutchless gear change, the change is about 1 second or less, and the clutch is hydraulic(like a standard car/van), so doesn't suffer from the delay of modern air clutches.

The unladen weight of the unit is 4460kg, before any weight saving(remove twin 100gallon diesel tanks, strip interior, remove fifth wheel coupling, fit single wheels on rear, etc...), that should save 750+kg.

With the power the engine can produce, i don't think aerodynamics are really that major of an issue, seeing as it's got the power to haul 44+tons. So like i said, removing the 3:1 reduction, still means that it is capable of hauling 15+tons. So a 3.5-4 ton unit should be easy work. And by removing that reduction i've tripled the final gearing which means a theoretical top speed of 270mph(i've had 90mph out of this unit, it's pre-speed limiters), but i think 150mph is more realistic.

[simini22]

who says it has to have body work just a frame a aero screen
itll be a 4 ton atom!!!

[dazzler]

I think its a cool idea

You will get murdered in the handelling, but still would love to see you have a go... (and i will be there to see)

[fha772]

...You will get murdered in the handelling, but still would love to see you have a go...

You haven't seen me drive a lorry
(I've handbrake turned a 45ft artic )

[Floyd]

Screw any rules - go for it

[fha772]

I think i might start, but i've a feeling it'll be next year's entrant

I'll give my mate a call in the morning and get the lorry bought(i'll see if he'll take £400).