Furze Platt Greenpower Racing

The plywood was purchased and we managed to get the CAD drawings plotted full size which helped the team cut out the shapes accurately.  The plots were stuck down carefully onto the plywood and the team all got stuck in with jig saws, drills and hole saws.

After 2 sessions work by the whole team all the bits were cut out.  Next they were drilled along the edges that required stitching with copper wire, the stitching took about one session. Once the stitching was done the glass fibre tape was laid along the joins and stuck down with resin.  This job is a bit messy but if done correctly makes for an very strong simple join. In the next session the last few joins were finished off and then the copper wire twists  were trimmed off when the resin had set. The bare bones of the car had now appeared which then could start having the running gear bolted to it.

In an attempt to keep weight down all the parts have to perform their own job and be part of the cars chassis as well. As the items were made and then bolted to the chassis the whole got gradually stiffer.   

The picture left shows the basic plywood sheets ready for cutting to shape. 

The lay shaft, motor and wheels were fitted and the batteries were connected for the first time with the car on the workbench. Everyone stood back as the battery was connected. The wheels spun round and to every ones relief the chain stayed on.  The gears were then tried and the back wheels span up to 44 MPH, very exciting for everyone. 

The following week the roll bars were fitted, and the car was tried for size in the workshop, brakes were connected and the gear changer was moved around to try and find a good position. The wiring now started to be fitted and we finally opted for the simple power ON/OFF system advocated by Greenpower. 

The following week the car was taken outside to the  tennis courts. This was to prove the most vital test of all as it showed up a problem with the ‘sprag’ clutches fitted in the rear axle, they did not freewheel correctly when the car was loaded with a driver this resulted in the chain being thrown off several times, much to the gloom of the team. Although it did drive round for a few laps slowly. (Sprag Clutches are used to give a simple differential effect to the 2 rear driving wheels without the weight of a real differential gear box) 

The lay shaft had to have a free wheel fitted to it to prevent this problem and by the following week this had been done and again with much trepidation the batteries were fitted and the driver got in. This time all went well apart from it raining so everything/one got wet but nobody cared because it went beautifully. We all had ago in it even the adults.. It handled very well even in the wet. 

The rear floor of the car was also stiffened after this test as it was decided that it was flexing to much around the motor, and people were likely to pick the car up at the rear rather than between the wheels.

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Last modified: 08/06/09