Taupo1000K Race

Sootys Taupo Project Update

Kiaora Gents, just thought I’d share the latest news.... She still looks the same on the outside as it has for many years, but there has been a lot of internal changes!

Thanks to Motorsport Services the roll cage has been installed and it is a stunning job, I took it straight to the Off Road Association chief scrutineer and he passed it with flying colours – and was very impressed with the safety shown towards the rear dummy seat – I still pity the passengers that are keen enough to sit in the back do a lap with me! I have now painted the cage with a nice black primer and it will get the full treatment when the machine goes to the spraypainters. The beast has been based at Stag4x4 this week – and I’ve had to put overalls on and actually do some work (watch Speedmachine this Sunday on PrimeTV for latest).  Upon stripping the thing down, it was clear to find my intense years of careful maintenance.....ummmm not! But the good news is that the engine has been removed today and after a good steam clean the bay is ready to receive the new implant – and that awful looking radiator has gone to the specialists for a well deserved birthday...... The implant engine will be steam cleaned tomorrow and a set of nice Genie extractors will be fitted thanks to Chase Auto/Pit Stop – I mean I can’t go and put the 3.9 in there without bolting something cool on (and a supercharger is out of the running....). And some very welcoming news, the lads from Race Brakes have confirmed today that they are coming on board with the project and a set of sport rotors and pads on the front will be fitted to help me stop – nice..very nice....we will be using a set of Range Rover Calipers that will allow for the wider Rotor and Fat pads rather than bolting on a specialised calliper. The reason for that is to keep it on the budget racing format but still showing people that you can make a difference without having to spend thousands. Hella NZ still love me (I can picture Ian shaking his head right now....), and have sorted me with all the bits and pieces I need to make sure the machine is up to spec for race weekend. I’ll be going over all the electrics with a fine tooth comb to make sure there are no wires going to rub and catch fire to ruin our day - that won’t do any of us any good! Keep an eye out for the new LED glowing things that will appear both inside and outside the machine in the weeks to come – in particular the front day running lights and rear dust lamps that we have to run, gone are the days of ugly housings and filament bulbs! There is still a lot of work to do but as the race is not till September I can take my time and make sure it’s right – we want to finish after all.... Anyway, more updates as they happen and keep an eye on Speedmachine for the progression! www.taupo1000.co.nz chur boys!