Anteater

Wow, another triumph!

I managed to miss this RFI too, despite checking in on the build. It's got a good stance and nice details such as the sliding windows. For me, the standout is the LED light bar as I've never seen that done before. Great job.

A great example of problem solving in 3 dimensions. Love it.

Liking this, especially with the base and speaker stack. The original car disappeared a long time ago but there was a rumour it was stashed and a new V5 logbook was issued for that registration in March 2022. Ford Timelord may yet stage a comeback!

@keefr22 Nowt wrong with the clubman approach, bolt on your part-worns and send it in 😁 And to bring it back on topic to @seanrx's original question, there's the root of the problem. Overall competition licence numbers are down in the UK because much of the sport has become very specialised and therefore expensive. Gone are the days when a clubman car could be used for anything you could shake a stick at. I don't even mean used competitively for many disciplines as regs often prevent cross-usage. Put yourself in the position of a kid with a hot-hatch. Consider the very strict definition of what constitutes a purely standard car for hillclimbing versus what is allowed at an autosolo, and it's not just a case of slotting into a different class either. It can't be encouraging for for a newcomer to find they can't take "the next step" without major investment potentially requiring another car. So from that perspective, the golden years aren't now!

Looks the part, nice build.

@Sabrejet I can't run to the likes of a Sport Quattro so I'll put it down to snobbery 😀 Hillclimbs amuse me as driving 3/4 mile of road is treated with the scientific reverence of building a rocket to the moon. For the people who are at the very sharp end, I entirely get that, but for the also-rans...? It's a shame the Yorkshire Motorsport festival failed as the Wolfstones closed road hillclimb was top fun with much more to hit than at a permanent venue. It should have been promoted as a rally-sprint though, apparently many rose joints were eaten by the serious uphill racers. My attitude is to do anything anywhere, I'm a motorsport tart.

Last time I did a hillclimb the commentator was openly rude about my car. Still, I don't suppose they see many cars up their hill that are set up for gravel... 😛

It's a generational thing but I have nostalgia for the late 80s into the 90s when it comes to both rallying and roundy-roundy. As a competitor, yes the best days may be gone but we can only play the hand we're dealt. Road rallying is moribund and UK club level stage rallying may be a shadow of its former self, but whereas single venues may be on the wane we at least gained the closed road legislation. Winning a national stage event has always been a money game (talent assumed) but people forget there's nothing stopping you going out for a lash in a fairly standard car as long as it's logbooked. We also have a world of autosolos and whatnot if the faff and expense of stage rallies are out of reach. Making your own fun is a state of mind more than anything else.

Love it, full of character and it looks at home in the yard. It's a well executed build and the conversion looks very much home made in a convincing Eastern Bloc way. The disconnected stripes are brilliant, like a proper budget attempt to jazz it up a bit. What did you make the window porthole out of?

After a last minute panic with a windscreen wiper that split when coming off the sprue, it's done:

From the WIP here: This build was a much needed palette cleanser and it served the role well. Here it is. And on the basis its origins are obvious... ANTEATER OUT.

Good subject, I always preferred these to the Impreza. On the subject of roll cages, cross diagonals and A pillar bars etc didn't really exist 30 years ago when these things were new. Was it that long ago??!! (yes)

@Spiny: ref the glass, the windscreen and rear window fit well, shame the side windows aren't 100% positive. Meanwhile: Looks like a Sportsbeetle to me. At the risk of self-congratulation, I'm glad I went for the gold wheels, they really suit the burgundy paintwork. Front and rear bumpers are now on. The chassis isn't entirely square yet, see the floating nearside front wheel. Not far off though and I think it's settling. Overall the fit has been really good and there's evidence of intelligence in the engineering. Just the front and rear windows to do, plus a bit of decal work. I've been window shopping on the usual classifieds sites. Values are definitely softening along with everything else. If I emptied all my various piggy banks, sold some stuff and lived on beans for a decade, I might just stretch... (who am I kidding...)

Yesterday evening's work saw some detail applied to the shell. It's amazing the difference adding black trim makes, even when the contrast with the burgundy is subtle. Adding signal lights makes a highly visible difference though, at the rear in particular. Managed to glue the door handles and mirrors (so far un-pictured) in place without any glue mishaps. When looking at the decal sheet it dawned on me that I hadn't used the centre console decoration. The car now has a stack of those groovy sprung cassette tape drawers. C30 C60 C90 Go! And finally for this time, I stuck the rear view mirror to the windscreen - high stakes stuff. Revell Contacta didn't work, that stuff just isn't sticky. Gem-Tac seems better. Don't anyone breathe... As you read this I'm sticking the side windows in. There's a good chance that will still be the case if you read this in a few days' time. There's a tiny contact patch and they're refusing to stay in place so far. Why we can't have a single piece glass unit with a nice bit contact area on the headlining I don't know.

And now it has a face. Shame about the sprue tabs for the lenses being at the top where it's ever so tricky to cut them seamlessly. Not the end of the world though. I'm going for a black headlining, which can be painted right up to the edges as the windows go in from the outside. The windows need careful painting in order to pick out the seals. They seem to be a good fit into the body but the contact surface area is extremely limited. I think I'll use my recently purchased bottle of Gem Tec that I tried out on the infamous Italeri Range Rover. You see the little indentation on the windscreen? That's where the rear view mirror goes, and I'm very much not looking forward to gluing that! ANTEATER

Looking great. I suppose the RFI is next? I actually borrowed one an early CRX many years ago, not the wide arch Mugen version mind. A mate lent it to me as my car was mechanically inconvenienced at the time, however he didn't realise it had a fairly major petrol leak straight onto the near side rear wheel. This led to a spectacular oversteer moment on a roundabout in the centre of Basildon one wet evening. Being Basildon, the other drivers seemed to consider this to be nothing out of the ordinary.

Boom! Better with centre caps and a coat of Halfords lacquer. The interior is together. Engine wise, I almost always add HT leads but on this occasion I will not. Routing the leads over the fan housing is too tricky and I think the dizzy is low enough down once the body goes on. Unusually, I haven't done anything more to the body than paint it. Lots to be done there in preparation for fitting up.

Such a cool car, love the side exit exhaust and the nonsense words on the rear panel.

Anyone who likes a Skyline could look in the For Sale part of the forum. Just saying.

Looks familiar...

Really special work, the braided line makes all the difference. Can't hide it away after all that effort!

Yeah, I'm convinced about the wheels now. They'll look better with the centre cap decals and lacquered. Those tiny centre badges are fiddly but worth the effort.

Right so, I now have hubs at each corner. They located nicely so all should be straight when the wheels go on. Talking of wheels, the classic Porsche Fuchs alloy is hard to beat. Showroom spec would be charcoal/black with a wide polished lip but I thought this one could benefit from a bit of colour. Something of an experiment but burgundy and gold is a good 1980s combo. It's actually brass enamel but who's checking. I do seem to be jumping around a bit as I've also been looking at the dash. Satin black for this one, plus many instrument decals to apply. The speedometer didn't want to stick, even with Decal Fix, but PVA glue won the day. Notice the small sink mark in the steering wheel centre, but filling it would mean losing the embossed PORSCHE script. It'll be all but invisible when the body goes on anyway. The radio/tape player decal is a nice feature. Meanwhile, I've been window shopping. Auction values are definitely struggling recently and this one went for less than I would have expected. Supercool colour too. https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2023-09-23/cars/ref-147-1982-porsche-911-targa-sb/

Yeah, be brave and get the saw out!!! (for absolute clarity I mean your engine quandary and not your forthcoming medical procedure...)