Thread: PHOENIX: Reborn! Build Progress (FFTec)

When I said the Dirty Birdie was dead in my old build thread, it was only right that it be reborn far beyond its current state and I felt it should be pulled to the very extremes of its design. With the bird them following the Eagle Talon moniker it was only fitting to call the build the PHOENIX. It gets no higher than that, and thats exactly where I have my sights set with this build as it gets underway.

Without further adieu lets get some pics of progress.

If you bring in anything closely resembling a vehicle and lay down the gauntlet to challenge the crew at FFTec your mind will be blown.

Something that can start off as simple and innocent as a plain green 1g:


Can be transformed into the most ridiculous of rides:



In building race cars we all know a huge goal is weight reduction, but many of us go over board in our weight reduction leaving our cars horrifically unbalanced (which it comes from factory bad enough) Eventually we get rid of rear seats, bracing, gas tanks, etc and lighten the hell out of it and at the same to has an adverse affect on performance no matter how minimal. the solution:

MegaMan Drag wing/spoiler:




Hopefully this can help account for all the weight removed from the rear and at the same time giving us a lot more pull off the line and traction down the track without being squirly like every single high powered DSM you have ever seen in a video doing the 1-2 shift.

Also too note the chute as well which is of course built in according to regulations for all cars exceeding 150mph.

I've seen a lot of cages, a lot of which would not pass the stringent rule required by many of our reps to acquire a proper certifications. Of course thats not a problem, or even a challenge for the crew at FFTec:

This "million point" cage is designed for optimum chassis rigidity and being full chromoly it remains light.

Have you ever swatted a fly with a hammer? These guys use AK rounds..



A.D.D. much?



Signature FFTec "MegaMan X" center brace:



View from front:



"ICE Box" tank mount:



Purdy TIG action:




(Notice lower frame rail brace (missing from most peoples cages *wont pass out here without it*)

And that does it for the back end of the car. Front end will be a little bit later. (don't want to over load everyone and post every little thing at once :freak:)
There are more specifics of the cage that are rather unique (extends through fire wall into the engine bay) As well as the custom dash and a few other trick items I'll be posting up soon.

Thanks for your time so far guys to come check out the my newest build along with the boys at FFTec. Hopefully it'll draw even more interest than my previous build thread as this one continues.

Its a good.. No... Its a GREAT year for DSMs.

I don't even remember your old car other than when someone else owned it or someone else was working on it. What did it end up doing? 1/4 time? dyno numbers? road course time?

Edit: can you link your last build and results? All I found was your dirty birdy rebuild thread which had like 4 posts and pictures of parts in packages...

Originally Posted by 98spydert

I don't even remember your old car other than when someone else owned it or someone else was working on it. What did it end up doing? 1/4 time? dyno numbers? road course time?

Edit: can you link your last build and results? All I found was your dirty birdy rebuild thread which had like 4 posts and pictures of parts in packages...

This is the entire build page from DTalk: http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180560

The car was never dynod and the fastest it ever went was an 10.8 (pump) highest MPG was 134. As far as track times go, it was never entered into any sort of major event at say thunder hill or willow springs (although the car has been driven on both) so I can't really give you any times to gauge it.

No one else worked on my car besides Jon doing my bone stock rebuild.

A few people were asking me about the lexan windows (If you couldn't tell from previous post, the entire car has been fully polycarb'd) They are a little dusty in the pictures but it takes a special solvent to clean them because they shouldn't be wiped or else they will scratch over time. To avoid needing the clean them, the windows stay wrapped under plastic but being in the shop it'll naturally get dusty. Visibility is pretty close to glass and the "wow" factor is definitely evident.

When you walk up on a car with polycarb windows, you definitely know it means business... The only thing left now is to paint the body boarders around the edges to clean it up, but that will all be done during paint.

Wing windows:



Side windows:



Back hatch:



Front:



This picture gives a better glimpse of the rest of the cage, and kind of the first view of the aluminum dash/switches.

More of the dash:





Haven't quite figured out exactly which gauges we will run, but they will most likely be digital when its all said and done, but these will work for now. First up will be a Tach that reads higher than 10K :evillaugh:

The next step is to go Carbon Fiber, but for now, we lightened the doors the good ol way:



That's as gutted as it can possibly get. The doors stil operate as factory (they can also be locked) There is a small latch on the inside you can use to get out that will be more visible once the doors are skinned.

Drivers side:



HORRIBLE lighting, but this is where the cage extends back through into the engine bay:

Sneak peak:



"I'm ready for my close up Mr. Deviiiiile....":D

More to come. :twisted: