jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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[quote=Richard-G]Hi All
got something here which i thought i would share with my fellow ph'ers!
as some of you might have seen the episode of top gear where clarkson was talking about the reliant robin. Reliant (based in tamworth) made more than just the robin, kitten and the (nice)Scimitar! Due to the long history of working with composite bodies and the skill of the work and engineer force, Ford motorsport charged them with the task of building their planned Group B monstarr, The RS 200. 200 homoglation specials of the car they planned to blitz the grp B scene with, had to be built to meet the regulations of the time.
due to the fact i live in tamworth and the sheer time i spend out cleaning my car, i got chatting to my next door neighbour who i happened to know worked for reliant, turns out he was a line engineer on the full production run of (road) RS200's and he happened to have a camera to hand! the following pictures were all taken over the production run from the start to the very end and show some, frankly disgusting car porn!
the chassis ready to start production
|http://thumbsnap.com/VwygqzaT" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/VwygqzaT
Bare chassis, the chassis was apparantly the same material that concorde was constructed from, at the time these were worth £11,000 and had no weight at all
|http://thumbsnap.com/Z9TNFPFK" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/Z9TNFPFK
detail underneath, note the way the chassis is held, to allow it to be rolled over during the production process
|http://thumbsnap.com/aFKOv33h" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/aFKOv33h
engine install
|http://thumbsnap.com/WyYK7YYH" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/WyYK7YYH
final engine install
|http://thumbsnap.com/zZvjnHXj" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/zZvjnHXj
heat shield install
|http://thumbsnap.com/VVKSVVhv" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/VVKSVVhv
exhast arrangement, look at all that car porn
|http://thumbsnap.com/KjxBd56a" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/KjxBd56a
chassis again, from a different angle
|http://thumbsnap.com/Z9TNFPFK" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/Z9TNFPFK
underneath with engine and gearbox installed
|http://thumbsnap.com/aFKOv33h" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/aFKOv33h
fuel tank installation
|http://thumbsnap.com/CTEBoQ68" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/CTEBoQ68
fitting suspension and brakes
|http://thumbsnap.com/UIk6UJv6" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/UIk6UJv6
finished rolling chassis
|http://thumbsnap.com/A4U9ddVZ" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/A4U9ddVZ
awaiting shells
|http://thumbsnap.com/Oe7VwZBg" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/Oe7VwZBg
fitting front brakes, im guessing the blue tube is loctite
|http://thumbsnap.com/RFLp4JM4" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/RFLp4JM4
fitting of the shell and interior
|http://thumbsnap.com/xLsqVKZS" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/xLsqVKZS
ones they made earier! SPAFF :wobble:
|http://thumbsnap.com/uVYM4Qve" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/uVYM4Qve
ready for Quality control checks. double spaff
|http://thumbsnap.com/EIFfZRpQ" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/EIFfZRpQ
from the front
|http://thumbsnap.com/RJcHRTii" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/RJcHRTii
being addressed by the boss of ford motorsport! look at all those rs's!
|http://thumbsnap.com/YR9KrXqY" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/YR9KrXqY
last one to leave the factory, note the 200 on the bonnet to denote the last one made, must be worth a pretty penny now
|http://thumbsnap.com/SPovXUky" target="_blank">|http://thumbsnap.com/SPovXUky
some of the tales from production he told me boggle the mmind, the torque settings for the engine mounts were different for each chassis and it was VERY easy to strip the threads. Apparently the fuel tanks cost about £1000 each and were in two or three parts, to fit them needed some arm contortion so a lot got damaged and were simply thrown away! All the time, engineers from ford would pop down and test drive the production cars often taking out engineers from BL and oddly lancia! On a final note, some of the cars were sold with non production legal parts fitted, like the brake bias, which was fitted under the carpet next to the transmission tunnel, all you had to do was cut out a section of the carpet and you had brake bias :lick:
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DannyB
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Registered: 6th Feb 08
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CORSA NUT
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Registered: 3rd Aug 01
Location: Wirral
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Awesome
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Nath
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Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: MK
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Ugly as sin though
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mattk
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Registered: 27th Feb 06
Location: St. Helens
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love the sierra back lights on them me, they look great
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Ojc
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Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
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Saw that this morning, loved it
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whitter45
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Registered: 15th Nov 02
Location: Norton
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just like the noble with mondeo lights
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Ojc
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Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
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Would a job like that ever get boring?
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chrex
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Registered: 26th Aug 07
Location: Brawdy/Wirral
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cracking cars! and some great pics
i'm loving the hidden brake bias controller thing though, thats genius!
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ianofbhills
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Registered: 10th Feb 01
Location: newcastle
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That is some pretty cool history and very interesting to look at.
I've not really looked at an rs200 in detail before but obviously i know what one is.
Can somebody explain the reasoning behind the fitting of the dual shock absorbers front and rear?
Its a competition derived car so is it to do with heat build up and how come not all of the cars have the dual set up?
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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wow, amazing pics, i never knew they were designed/built in such a way
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am4nf
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Registered: 27th Jul 08
Location: South Ayrshire Drives: Corsa Sport
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I would love one
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Ricky352
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Registered: 6th Apr 07
Location: Lisburn, N.I.
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Thats cool, have always loved these cars. Am I right in thinking that Ford first designed it for rallying, and then in order to have a rally car there had to be so many road cars designed also?
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am4nf
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Registered: 27th Jul 08
Location: South Ayrshire Drives: Corsa Sport
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quote: Originally posted by Ricky352
Thats cool, have always loved these cars. Am I right in thinking that Ford first designed it for rallying, and then in order to have a rally car there had to be so many road cars designed also?
I think thats always the case mate
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Ricky352
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Registered: 6th Apr 07
Location: Lisburn, N.I.
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quote: Originally posted by am4nf
quote: Originally posted by Ricky352
Thats cool, have always loved these cars. Am I right in thinking that Ford first designed it for rallying, and then in order to have a rally car there had to be so many road cars designed also?
I think thats always the case mate
Yeah but I thought the road car was normally designed first, then adapted for rallying, and I was under the impression it was the other way round in the case of the RS200?
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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quote: Originally posted by Ojc
Would a job like that ever get boring?
Yes. The guys at Dagenham were known to go absolutely mental after a while because of how mind numbing it is assembling cars.
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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quote: Originally posted by Ricky352
quote: Originally posted by am4nf
quote: Originally posted by Ricky352
Thats cool, have always loved these cars. Am I right in thinking that Ford first designed it for rallying, and then in order to have a rally car there had to be so many road cars designed also?
I think thats always the case mate
Yeah but I thought the road car was normally designed first, then adapted for rallying, and I was under the impression it was the other way round in the case of the RS200?
it was like almost all group b rally cars
mainly because the FIA relaxed the rules, meaning manufactures only had to build 200 raod going cars to homologate the race car, hence cars like the RS, Audi S1, 6R4, 205, 034B etc etc got built, because it was actully viable cost wise to do it, unlike having to build 1000-5000 examples before etc
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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quote: Originally posted by chrex
cracking cars! and some great pics
i'm loving the hidden brake bias controller thing though, thats genius!
clever yes, but read up on the conspriacy theory about wht lancia built roll cages that just happend to be gas tight (nitros) and the fire extingishers which didnt have any foam in etc
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Tomnova16
Premium Member
Registered: 21st Jan 06
Location: Gerrards Cross Drives: Porsche 911
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pretty strange how modern the suspension and brakes look
http://www.lemass.co.uk/ for all your automotive/bodyshop needs
Located in Chalfont st Peter
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Ricky352
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Registered: 6th Apr 07
Location: Lisburn, N.I.
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it was like almost all group b rally cars
mainly because the FIA relaxed the rules, meaning manufactures only had to build 200 raod going cars to homologate the race car, hence cars like the RS, Audi S1, 6R4, 205, 034B etc etc got built, because it was actully viable cost wise to do it, unlike having to build 1000-5000 examples before etc
Right, nice one
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MarkSport
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Registered: 22nd May 09
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Awesome
didnt know they made that many though
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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quote: Originally posted by MarkSport
Awesome
didnt know they made that many though
its in the name
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Whittie
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Registered: 11th Aug 06
Location: North Wales Drives: BMW, Corsa & Fiat
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Mega Cool.
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Ben G
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Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
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quote: Originally posted by ed
quote: Originally posted by Ojc
Would a job like that ever get boring?
Yes. The guys at Dagenham were known to go absolutely mental after a while because of how mind numbing it is assembling cars.
are you calling me mental then
rs200 in the heritage centre here. oh my it's beautiful.
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Chris C
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Registered: 2nd Jan 05
Location: Hemel Hempstead
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This would be my first purchase if I ever came into some money, always loved them
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