During 2011 the “RAF – Typhoon Rally Team” approached the Chesterfield based Subaru specialist “ScoobyClinic” to see if they could get to the bottom of a few problems they were having with their Impreza rally car.




Up until that point, the team had been unable to realise the full potential of the Subaru, which had been running at mid-table in its class.

Following a thorough inspection by the “ScoobyClinic” and the addition of a new Syvecs ECU, the car promptly romped home to victory on the team’s next event by over a minute and a half; with that, a new partnership was born.

With much improved performance over the remainder of the season, the team secured 2nd place overall in the “Group N 4wd class” of the "2011 MSA Asphalt Rally Championship" against some stiff opposition.

Fast forward to the end of last year, and the team were back talking to Kev and the team at “ScoobyClinic” to draw up a plan of action for their 2012 season.

For 2012 they had decided that they wanted to go faster, and would be looking for success in the B13 class of the championship. This meant that a new car would be required in order to stand a chance against the ex-WRC cars that littered their new class.

In addition to creating an all new rally car, it was agreed that that the bodywork would predominantly feature the charity “Help for Heroes” in order to provide great exposure and support for the cause.




Part of team driver Sgt Chris Daykin’s role within the rally team is to help raise money and awareness for the charity which goes some way to repaying his debt to the “Help for Heroes” centre at Headley Court. As an active service member, as are the majority of the team, Sgt Daykin has recently been discharged from Headley, where money raised by public donations has enabled him to recover from an injury sustained whilst serving his squadron. This is one of the reasons behind the team’s desire to do well in order to benefit those that have sustained even worse injuries than Chris did.

Going back to the car; as luck would have it tucked away in a corner of the ScoobyClinic workshop stood a seam welded, wide bodied 2dr shell, which had sat unloved and coated in dust for 7 years, waiting for its moment to shine.






Company patriarch Kevin Knight saw the potential in the shell, and suggested using it as the basis for the 2012 car.

As the previous car had been built and maintained by mechanics from the team’s base at RAF Marham, they were understandably keen to be involved with the new bare shell build; which would also help keep the build costs at an acceptable level. With some additional guidance on offer from the regular mechanics at the “ScoobyClinic” the RAF team jumped at the chance to get stuck in.

In order to assist with the process, Kev also provided a donor car, which would be used for as many major parts as possible, as well as providing the hundreds of clips and fastenings that would go into the new shell.

Time to break out the tools and cue the music………………

Using the “Mica Green” 4dr as a donor, the job to get the car prepared got underway, and within 48 hours the road car was stripped to little more than a bare shell.




Filling the engine bay will be a relatively standard engine, as regulations insist on a sub 2 litre capacity. In addition to the restrictions imposed on Mark and Andy (ScoobyClinic’s engine gods!) by the capacity limit, there will be the required 34mm restrictor in the air inlet which will limit the car’s power to around 300bhp.




The rest of the car’s running gear will also be prepared to meet the demands of the flat out sections of tarmac as well as the regular jumps that are littered throughout the rally stages that lie ahead.








With a project like this, the team are heavily reliant on sponsorship to see the car through to completion, and to make it from event to event along with carrying out any repairs along the way. (It is a rally car after all!)

Already there are several national companies supporting the build:-

ScoobyClinic – Providing the car and expertise for the build.
Adrian Flux – Providing the car’s insurance.
Tarox Brakes – Provided all the brake components for the car.
Life Line – Providing safety equipment.

More details on new sponsors and the project build will be added as the team counts down to their first event. If you would like to help support the project in any way, please drop me a line.

The team are entering the 2012 “MSA Asphalt Rally Championship” which encompasses 9 rounds from around the country.


Round Event
Tour of Epynt 11th March
Isle of Man11th May
Jim Clarke National 1st June
Rally of the Midlands 22nd June
ALMC Stages 15th July
Tyneside Stages 12th August
MEWLA National Rally 26th August
Patriot Stages Rally 30th September
Cheviot Rally 4th November

This high profile rally championship will be televised by “Motors TV” throughout the year, so look out for the car on your screens in the months to come.

 

Brilliant write up and even better cause. As an airman myself, and having recently deployed, I know how often guys and girls are flown back to the UK in an awful state. Primarily, the surgeons and medics keep them alive, then Headley Court gets them into a position to get every little bit out of life possible, and the funding H4H raises for Headley Court is vital to the ongiong level of care provided.

Good luck in the champs this year, I may even be able to get along to one or two!

 

Great cause and helped a load of my mates after getting brought home.using mine to promote the rifles care for casualties charity as well as h4h.good luck lads

 

Fantastic write up and a true cause to follow .after going through Headley myself I showed my car car trying to raise money for h4h .some good people on here donated on line for me ,good luck for the 2012 season

 

Great build, great charity. I will be going along to some of the events to see this one and donate some money to a great cause too

 

a good cause and sounds like a good patnership... but just looking at the 1st picture I would of thought that the main problem with the car was that the wheels don't reach the ground... LOL maybe the suspension need lowering LOL

windyboy

 

Great cause wishing the team all the best in 2012, i would love to see pics of the finished car.

 

is there a sponsorship sheet/thread? id be willing to give a few quid and I'm sure others would to

 

There isn't currently.

I'll talk to the team and see how to set something up.

Cheers


J

 

You could just donate direct to help for heroes

http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/

 

just an idea...ask them what it would cost to put a small Scoobynet sticker on the car.Get a figure put it on here and see how we get on.

"Scoobynet helps the heroes"

 

Rob Day is the man to speak to, he does the SNET stickers iirc

 

I meant we all donate to have a scoobynet sticker on the rally car.Nothing too big but big enough to be seen.

 

It's been great fun watching this car progress the lads have been working flat out to make sure it's coming along nicely, It's in the oven as we speak after a nice lick of paint.

 

Fantastic work well done and a great cause too
Top stuff

 

Things have been moving on a pace over the past couple of weeks at “ScoobyClinic”.

The shell has now been given a lick of “WRC Blue” in readiness for the final graphics.





In order to meet the 2012 corporate guidelines of the charity “Help for Heroes”, the graphic layout of the car needed to be changed.


The team of mechanics from ScoobyClinic, ably assisted by Neil from the RAF have been working hard to get the car to its current state.





In addition to being painted, the car has now been fitted with the 22B front wings, a bonnet, lights and a number of other pieces.




Like a grown up climbing frame!

A carbon fibre roof scoop will direct air into the cabin, and keep both driver and co-driver cool under pressure.



The interior is starting to take shape with a dashboard installed.




The engine is currently away at an engineering works, where it is being prepared in readiness for the rebuild.
More updates will follow in the coming days.

 

Update on the “Help for Heroes”/”Scooby Clinic” rally car.



Work is progressing at a pace up at the farm, and despite the recent wintery conditions that have seen the temperatures plummet; the teamare busy fitting the parts that will see this Impreza become formidable opposition for others in the B13 class.

A beautifully crafted bracket now provides a home for the hydraulic handbrake, which will allow driver Chris to spin the car on the spot. To remain MOT compliant, the standard handbrake remains.





The steering column has been extended in order to bring it closer to the driver, as the seat is positioned as far back as possible to create better weight distribution.





A custom built sump guard has been created in order to protect the underside of the engine, which is secured to a custom subframe as well asthe underside of the engine cross member



The rear brakes have been installed, with a mixture of 2 pot calipers and Tarox supplied discs and pads. All fixtures and fittings have been gratefully supplied by “Hose Technik”, and all brake lines and fuel lines will be fitted in the near future.





Whilst “Forge” are currently building a custom radiator for the project, as well as a number of other components, a trick turbo installation has been fitted.



Designed to reduce lag, the turbo will sit directly behind the radiator and the resulting pipework will flow with the minimum of bends, which will allow the gases to escape more efficiently.





Stay tuned for more details.

 

Wow! Look forward to updates.

 

Talking of MOT compliant, looking at the new regs how are you getting around the airbag and adjustable seat issue?

Coming together nicely BTW

 

brilliant thread

 

Subscribed

 

An awesome car for an awesome cause.

Subscribed

 

magnificent work and for a great cause too! certainly wishing the team the best of luck and hopefully I'll see it in action at the Cheviot rally in November

 

All sticker'd up.

Engine due in next week.

First race in 3 weeks!

 

Looking good, it's coming together nicely

 

Looking great and such a good cause. Best of luck to everyone involved.

 

Control panel ready!

 

Aircraft style toggle switched, the linkage is great the panel looks

 

Can you buy these panels off the shelf? They look great, i'm thinking one of the these in my tracked classic would finish it off nicely.

 

Bespoked to each car I'm afraid but I'm sure we could make one up for you.