1976 Hawke DL17 Formula Ford
Conversion to Kawasaki ZX10 bike engine with chain drive differentialThe target for completion of the Hawke DL17 conversion was the Boyndie sprint on 5th & 6th July 2003 - little more than two months from cutting off the Mini rear end.
The time available was also reduced because my co-driver bought a Hawke DL22 converted to Suzuki GSXR 1100 power, this necessitated a trip to Bristol to collect and a couple of weeks to sort out the car prior to going to the Golspie sprint on 31st May & 1st June.
Angus's Hawke DL22 at Boyndie
The DL17 was just a bare chassis on the Wednesday before Boyndie, as everything had been taken off for painting.
When the car was loaded onto the trailer to go to the sprint, the car was still not complete.
The brakes still had to be bled, the clutch had to be freed (stuck after sitting for the best part of a year) and the timing strut still had to be fitted.
To cut a long story short - the car got to Boyndie and ran very well, achieving 5th fastest time of the day on the Sunday and picked up the first in class awards for up to 1400cc racing cars on both days.
The Hawke DL17 complete & ready to race.
Handling appeared to be excellent (compared to the Mini based version which was always a bit tail happy).
Traction was a bit of a problem, especially when accelerating out of corners, when the inside wheel would spin up. Perhaps an LSD is required?
The second event entered was the Alford sprint on 20th July 2003.
For Alford I had the chance to check/reset all the suspension geometry, corner weights and ride heights. I also softened the rear anti-roll bar.
The car had very good cornering grip and turn-in on the hairpins and also was not too tail happy on the crossovers.
I also had the chance to drive the car in the wet as it rained for the first timed run.
As expected the car had little traction in the wet but did handle fine on the corners (was still running slicks).
When it dried out for the second timed run, I managed to improve my best time by some 4 seconds, compared to my times with the Mini engine.
I got 4th fastest time of the day and was again awarded the first in class trophy.
When I set up the ride heights of the car, I was unsure if the original 275Lb 6" long front springs would cope with reduced ground clearance and a degree of downforce from the front aerofoil.
So far there does not appear to be a problem, but I have obtained a set of 325Lb 5" long front springs, which I could fit if the front bottoms out.
I am running Hoosier R25A compound slicks mounted on the Superlight split rim wheels which were originally intended for the Royale.
The tyres seem to be wearing very evenly with no sign of overheating or scrub/ build-up on the inside edges.
The car is running about 1/2 degree negative camber at the front and vertical at the rear.
Toe in is about 1/24" per wheel at the front and 1/32" per wheel at the rear.
The Hawke DL17 is now fitted with the correct needle nose, rather than the broader DL15 nose which was used when the Mini engine was installed.
For my next project I will have to see what I can make from a pair of Royale front uprights, top wishbones, steering rack, half a chassis and a Suzuki GSXR 1100? - "watch this space" as they say.
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