Listed below are a list of Billy's cars, as much as I have figured out so far. And also included is a brief spec on some of the cars.
PORSCHE
911 SC RS :
Group B-Rally Car The Rothmans Rally Team Porsche
911 SC RS was the latest in a long and famous line of competition versions of the
German manufacturer's rear engined sports car.
The Rothmans Porsche of today
still looks very much the same as the first 911 which appeared as far back as
1965, but underneath it's a very different animal. Power, braking, road holding and
handling have all developed over the years.
Today's car was the ultimate rallying 911, but at the same time it's still very
much a road car. With the ending of the three
litre 911SC's production run in mid 1983 and its replacement by the 3.2 litre
Carrera models, the way was open for Porsche to produce a 911 'special' for
competitors. On January 1st, 1984, the 911SC RS received it's Group B
homologation paper, number 207, from the Federation International du Sport
Automobile - the world-wide governing body of motor sport. The three litre, 'flat six,
engine which has only two valves per cylinder delivers 255 bhp at 7000 rpm on
Bosch electronic injection and drive was through a five speed gearbox with
limited slip di f f erenti a] . The braking system was more than adequate for the
job -with front and rear ventilated discs and four pot calipers of the same
specification as the 917 sports racing car of a few years ago. The RS's
suspension follows normal 911 practice with front struts and rear trailing arms,
both with torsion bar springing. The rear system was developed from the 911
Turbo, something easily spotted by the extra-wide flair to the rear wheel
fenders. The transition f rom 'basic'
911SC RS to full rally car i s surprisingly simple. In the engine, an extra 30
bhp (to bring the total to a very respectable 285 horses) was found by removing
the air filter element, changing the rev limiting device on the distributor and
changing the road exhaust muffler for a less restrictive rally system. Closer
ratios are fitted to the gear box and, depending on team requirements, the final
drive gearing was lowered to allow maximum of either 214 kph or 199 kph at the
new engine peak of 8000 rpm. A sintered metal clutch disc was also fitted. Suspension modification are, like
the engine, simple. Shock absorber settings and ride height are varied depending
upon the type of rally (tarmac or forest) while the choice of tyre pattern also
depends on the conditions that fact the driver, whether they be the scrub and
sands of the Middle East, the tarmac of the Circuit of Ireland or the gravel of
Mille Pistes. Suspension and engine mounts are also, of course, strengthened to
meet the stresses of International rallying. Next there's the safety
equipment: fire extinguishers, seat belts and a full roll cage that in fact
fixes to mounts already built into the body of the car. Finally, additions are
made to the electrics: extra lights, a spare petrol pump, reading lamps and
navigational distance recorder. From then on the Rothmans Porsche was ready for
the road - and special stage. Engine - Six cylinder, air
cooled, horizontally opposed, mounted at rear driving the rear wheels. 95mm bore
X 70.4mm stroke. 2996cc. Compression ratio: 10.3 to 1. Light alloy cylinder
heads with two valves per cylinder operated by one chain driven overhead
camshaft per head. Bosch fuel injection. Dry sump lubrication. Power: 285 bhp at
7,500 rpm. Transmission - Five speed fully synchronized
gearbox with oil cooling and limited slip differential. Gear
ratios: 1st 3.182; 2nd - 2.187; 3rd - 1.600; 4th - 1.260; 5th - 1.000; Rev -
3.325. Single plate clutch with sintered metal disc. Final drive ratios:
4.375/4.174. Suspension - Front: Bilstein
struts with torsion bars. Rear: Trailing arms with torsion bars. Bilstein shock
absorbers. Braking - Twin circuit, no servo.
Four pot caliper ventilated discs. Front dia: 304mm; Rear: 309mm. Steering/Wheels - Rack and pinion
steering. Wheels 16ins diameter light alloy in widths to inches. Competition
tyres according to conditions. Body - Steel body with front
bumper, luggage and engine compartment, doors and front fenders in aluminum.
Rear bumper Kevlar. Thin glass to windows. Additional equipment - Full
safety roll cage, competition seat belts, fire extinguishing system, additional
lighting, navigational aids, duplicate fuel pump and ignition units. Dimensions - Length: 429lmm;
Width: 1750mm; Height: 131Omm; Wheelbase: 2272mm; Front track:
1432mm; Rear track: 150lmm. Weight - Dry: 1020k9s. April 1984 BMW M3 GROUP 'A'
RALLY CAR SPECIFICATIONS Chassis BMW '3 Series' two door
saloon. Fitted chrome Molybdenum safety cage. Engine 4 cy], 2332 cc with 16
valve alloy cylinder head, fully March 1987, The Engine The RS1800 engine was a BDA Cosworth 1800cc in-line four cylinder four stroke 16-valve unit. This was mounted longitudinally, with the gearbox attached to the rear of the engine. Power was then fed via a prop shaft to the rear differential and then onto the rear wheels. This unit was almost identical to the one fitted in the Mk1 RS1600 but using increased cylinder bores. Carburetion was via a single Weber 32/46 down draft unit fed via a paper based air filter. The use of Four Star leaded petrol was recommended since the engine ran a compression ratio of 9:1. The engine was noted for having problem oil leaks that were never really cured during the vehicles production years. However we all know that the BDA formed a most successful engine here even today although the 2.0 Opel engine is today's more preferred choice for power for pound.The ignition system was a standard pre-electronic system using a conventional ignition coil and distributor feeding the four spark plugs. Spark generation was via conventional contract breakers (points) and capacitor. Power in those days was probally around the 250 bhp mark. Gearbox and Transmission A strengthened MK2 Escort RS2000 manual five speed gearbox was fitted, which was mounted at the rear of the engine. A cable operated 8.5 inch clutch was used. Suspension and Chassis Front suspension was via independent McPherson struts with anti-roll bar using coil springs. Rear suspension used leaf springs with telescopic dampers. Not sure if the 5 linked back axle was on the works cars at that time Steering was non power-assisted and used a rack and pinion. Braking was via front mounted ventilated 4 pots solid disks and rear 2 pot disks. Body Work The Escort RS1800 featured wide wheel arch extensions front and rear needed to span the wheels. These are known to you better as Group 4 arches Ford Escort MKI RS1600 The Escort Mark I RS1600 was developed after the success of the Escort Mark I Twin Cam with its Lotus twin overhead cam engine. It was obvious Ford needed to develop their own branded engine rather than use a Lotus purchased one. This engine had to meet the challenges from Ford's rally competitors. This engine was the Cosworth-designed 'BDA' engine (for Belt-Driven type A). Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, founders of Cosworth, had been contracted by Ford to produce the BDA. It was proposed in 1969 to mate the BDA to the Escort in place of the Lotus Twin Cam engine in the MK1 Escort shell. The Engine The new car became the RS1600, with the more powerful 16-valve twin-cam crossflow engine, but otherwise was virtually the same as the Twin Cam. In rally trim the RS1600 produced about 190bhp at 7500rpm.The BDA engine had a nominal capacity of 1599cc, but by utilizing the maximum throw of the crankshaft, this was increased to 1601cc in standard form, putting the BDA up into the 2-litre class, homologation rules allowing enlargement in competition trim to a full 2-litres. Capacity was raised progressively from 1601cc to 1975cc in the original iron block engine, before it was replaced with the alloy block 2-litre in 1972. The BDA engine was mounted longitudinally, with the gearbox attached to the rear of the engine. Power was then fed via a prop shaft to the rear differential and then onto the rear wheels. The ignition system was a standard pre-electronic system using a conventional ignition coil and distributor feeding the four spark plugs. Spark generation was via conventional contract breakers (points) and capacitor. Due to the dimensions of the new BDA engine the battery had to be located in the boot of the MK1 Escort shell. This BDA Cosworth engine was later over bored and used in the MK2 Escort RS1800. In 1967 the Boreham competition department came up with the idea of putting the Lotus Cortina engine, gearbox and brakes into the new Escort shell instead of the next generation Cortina, the Mark II. This was prior to the Escort being manufactured which caused a few problems with the transplant of the Lotus engine from the Cortina. The transplant was not easy and the battery had to be moved to the boot. The Lotus engine with its twin cams and side draught carburator was a tight squeeze and had to be mounted at a slight angle. The first 25 Twin Cams were produced from Boreham's competition depatment before being moved to Halewood, where the mass produced Mark I Escort was produced from. The Twin Cam was a great success and Roger Clark won the first International Rally with the Twin Cam on the Circuit of Ireland in the Summer of 1968.
Specifications The Lancia Stratos was designed by Bertone in the early seventies. It was orginally a concept car at a Motor Show. Lancia decided that they would like a car to be designed and built specifically for rallying. The show-car Stratos was then developed to be the first homologation special and was powered by the 2.4 litre V6 engine from a Ferrari Dino. It was made with a monocoque central section to which were mounted substantial front and rear sub-frames, plus fibreglass doors and tip-up front and rear body sections. The suspension design consisted of wishbones at the front and Chapman struts at the rear, these being located by reversed wishbones and a long trailing arm. The wedge-shaped body style still looks modern today, so you can imagine how unusual it appeared in the mid Seventies! This car went on to win many World Championship events and titles, until company politics within the Fiat group decided that it would be preferred to have a rally car that at least looked like something in their range of road cars. So, after years of success the Stratos was withdrawn from the factory rally team to be replaced by a Fiat 131 derivative. This didn't stop the car winning further top events for a number of years in private hands. |