Ultima RS - Name to be Determined…
It all begins with an idea. At some point the Ultima GTR became a dream car of mine, stored away in passing thoughts. Until recently I found an owner local to the SF Bay Area and had to meet Humble and Blunicorn. Unfortunate timing meant he was in a state of rebuild due a catastrophic fire.
photo courtesy of https://www.ultimasports.co.uk/Models/UltimaRS
Details about my build, to serve as a helpful reminder for myself and anyone curious. Lots is still being decided.
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GM Performance LS7 - 7.0l (Rated 570 hp)
Dailey Engineering Drysump - LS Production Left
Radium Multiport FPR
Walboro Hellcat Fuel Pump (x2)
ICT LS Corvette Alternator Bracket Kit (551750-1)
ICT LS Corvette - Low Mount 4-Rib A/C Compressor Bracket (551137-LS74-1)
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Porsche G96.50
1st gear: 3.82
2nd gear: 2.05
3rd gear: 1.41
4th gear: 1.12
5th gear: 0.92
6th gear: 0.75
Ring and pinion: 3.44
Flywheel - Custom Ultima
Clutch - TBD
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Haltech Nexus R5
Haltech PD16
Raptor GP
Haltech TPMS
Aim MXS 1.3 Strada
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Front
Caliper - AP Racing xxxxx
Disc - CP3580-1048RD (right-hand) / CP3580-1049RD (left-hand)
Bell - CP2494-932
Pads -
Rear
Caliper - AP Racing xxxxx
Disc - CP3580-1048RD (right-hand) / CP3580-1049RD (left-hand)
Bell - CP2494-933
Pads -
Parking Caliper - AP Racing xxxx
Pads -
Master Cylinder
Front - xxxx
Rear - xxxx
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Oil - TBD [TBD]
Coolant - TBD
xx % water / yy% antifreeze + zz oz waterwetter
Transaxle - TBD
Brake Fluid - Motul 660 RBF
HVAC Refrigerant - TBD
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Seats - Tillet B4 or B6 TBD [currently B4 awaiting new production]
Harnesses - Schroth Enduro 2x2
Steering Wheel - TBD
Pedals - Ultima OEM w/Detmers Design brake mod
Diary of Blog Posts
Keep up to date on the latest status of the car and its progress.
Always a good day when racecar parts arrive and allow you to sit in the car finally making vroom vroom noises! The Tillett seat is great.
Blue shell of wiring hit me…. Adventure of limitless options to configure the chassis and engine electron controls.
Just waiting for my mind to be destroyed by the looming wiring job. For now enjoying little successes. Running big cables and hoses.
Brakes only slow you down!
Let’s make them stop ya better. Improving design.
Sharpie mounted suspension & miles of wires to start sorting out. The suspension lift kit eats up a bit of travel, making me want to understand the geometry.
Pondering part placements, drilling holes in chassis, investigating various factory parts to find improvements. Overall some solid satisfying progress.
Wiring fun. Reinventing the entire chassis and engine harness to fit the project goals. Quite tedious, but worth it for final product… I assume I won’t go insane.
Attaching hardware and sorting out things. Keeping the incremental progress going. Big items, radiator mounted, header mocked up, hubs and rotors investigated for wheel speed sensors.
Buckets and Pedals. The path to a cozy home of speed. Carbon fiber makes everything nicer…. or maybe that is lighter. Either way I’ve been working on stuff inside the cockpit.
Wiring, plumbing and luggage pods. Stage of build that is starting to get into many mocked up parts. Exciting time.
Making sure those on the inside are nice and cozy. Well as cozy as can be expected within this car. Cozy like Eliana in her bag sandwich
Insulation in a racecar??? Blasphemy or something like that. It is a streetcar people and I will be driving to the track and want to not go crazy.
Almost to the finish line on panels. Should be no more drilling or fitting. Only removal of tape then insert rivets.
Putting in some hardware and mocking up new brake pedal to improve pedal ratios. We shall see how this works out, so far it is promising.
From 3.3 to 4.5 (goal of 5.0)
Small progress on floor pan and getting ready for last of the riveting.
Sealing the panels and affixing them to the chassis for the rest of their days. Very happy with the final fitment and accuracy of rivets.
Yep more drilling panels and measuring stuff twice before cutting once. But big news the chassis is in a new position!!!
Making those panels fit perfectly. I do enjoy the methodic nature of this work, but am eager to get into some other stuff like suspension and wiring. Things with more margin for error…
Making those first cuts and fitments. The start of a long slow road of measure twice, think about it, measure again, think about it and finally cut a little. Eventually I’ll get comfortable.
With a bit of help from friends I’ve unlocked the chassis and let’s me start thinking about making actual progress.
Drilling holes and removing body panels. Early stages of the build.
Lightweight engine blocks are sweet. Hoping this $300 purchase saves me some serious time and headaches.
When you need some extra hands to move your latest project car…invite friends over for a BBQ. More Ultima progress.
One step closer…out of the shop and onto a lorry. Next up the boat and soon to my local port!
Embracing new technology to get this build accomplished. 3D printing is a wonderful way to make imagination into reality. Using all the gizmos and gadgets.