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Sun May 13, 2018 2:28 am

yes should've written jiggle, not giggle! I expect there will be a bit of giggling when it comes off for the first time!

I forgot to mention the car's debut will be at Chateau Impney Hillclimb, 7-8 July, Droitwich Spa (just near Birmingham England). We'll only be running the original Okrasa engine and standard gearbox, so don't expect anything quick, but it will be nice to have the car out, and putting the 48th mile on as a race mile!

Obviously you're all more than welcome to come and see it and say hello....

Tue May 29, 2018 12:46 pm

So we're now into the final stretch. The big push. The last furlong. In what has been an epic journey. So let's start with the easy bit first! The rear window is 4mm perspex as per FIA requirements, but because it's pressurised (the air is being drawn in via the side windows) we need to ensure it doesn't get blown out and deposited on the track. So ten Dzus fasteners (the same as used for the rear window and front 'bonnet') are used to hold it in place for relatively quick access to the engine. Notice how all the fastener heads line up with the line of the window (much admired obsessive attention to detail)...

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Next up is the exhaust. We wanted something period, made from mild steel and while absolutely functional, also a work of art - Gary volunteered. The specification proved to be a bit of a nightmare as Gary had to maintain equal length primaries, bring them into the collector in firing order, and weave it around the gearbox, chassis, and roll bar. Gary made it to Ian's design, but with a bit of his own magic, making it along the lines of the Ferrari Sharknose one he did last time....

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I thought I would dive right into the build of the housing for the rear lights just to give an insight into how much work has gone into this car. I found a set of amazing period Bosch lamps at the Heissech swap meet last year and decided they would be perfect for the rear of the car. Here's a sequence just to show the fabrication work on the housing, something that won't ever be seen as the liner that fits into the rear wing will completely obscure it...

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Next up are the doors. Anyone who has tried to fit a set of doors during a restoration will know that along with fitting the headliner, this is one of the most tricky things to get right. And it has to be absolutely right; from the line of the panel looking down the car, to the shut lines, to the door mechanism working seamlessly and without ever being a problem. Here's a sequence showing Jefferey doing his magic...

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The next photos of the car will be taken in my workshop - we pick up the car this Friday....

Tue May 29, 2018 2:48 pm

Great work team Special! That exhaust and the science behind it are impressive!

Looking forward to seeing it at home again! Then out racing!!!!!!?

Dave

Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:29 am

Well it was a pretty momentous day yesterday. After 15 months and some 2,000 hours of innovation, craftsmanship and experience, the Okrasa Special rolled out into the English sunshine for the first time as a finished car. To say I was pleased would be a huge understatement. A massive thanks must go to the team at Mouland & Yates who have pulled off a small miracle frankly. They 'got' the car from the first day and have brought something special to the Special. I'm indebted to them for making the car a reality - thanks guys. Just one shot of the car (and team) outside their workshop, before the car was whisked away by Ian to get it up and running for it's first competitive outing at Chateau Impney in four weeks time....

Sun Jun 03, 2018 9:37 am

Beautiful.

=D> =D> =D>

Sun Jun 03, 2018 1:47 pm

Amazing!

Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:50 pm

very cool, congratulations

Mon Jun 04, 2018 5:27 am

Congratulations, your car tuned out spectacular.

Mon Jun 04, 2018 2:08 pm

Amazing build.

Mon Jun 04, 2018 2:11 pm

I also add my congratulations. This car is really stunning and a piece of rolling art in my opinion. I'm involved with aerodynamics and aluminum in my line of work and find this so fulfilling to watch come to fruition!

Mon Jun 04, 2018 6:52 pm

Great looking, you should be proud of the result. What is he weight?

Mon Jun 04, 2018 11:01 pm

Marvellous! Well done all! - Looking forward to pre and post race reports now Steve.

Tue Jun 05, 2018 1:21 am

Thanks for the kind words everyone. You never quite know how things will turn out but I’m relieved that it turned out how i hoped it would look. We’ll know the dry weight shortly, but aim is for 575kgs. Not expecting anything spectacular for this years racing as it still has the original 1,300cc Okrasa engine, but it will be fascinating to get this as a reference point, especially terminal velocity.... do come and say hello if you see the car at an event. Regards Steve

Wed Jun 06, 2018 9:04 am

It's perfect!

Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:59 pm

Well we debuted the car at the Chateau Impney hillclimb this weekend just gone by. What a fabulous event it is - if you haven't been I highly recommend it because it's a rare combination of great location and venue, relaxed atmosphere, lovely crowd and fabulous cars. And we made it there!

It was quite a journey to get there! Although the car looked 'finished' when it left Mouland & Yates there was still a myriad of things to finish. The car went straight to Ian's at WPS for long list of things. Because it's not a production car everything Ian fitted or sorted had to be a custom job. He and Andy (a lovely chap who helps Ian out) did 12 and sometimes 14 hour days straight to get the car finished. Here's a few arty shots doing no justice to the sweat and toil, but they look good as Ian has an eye for taking a pic...

Basically they had to dismantle the car and build it up again, this time with wiring, plumbing and a host of things attached...

Two of the key jobs were the harness install...

And the fire extinguisher fitment....

Just as important to make it go round and round was getting the chassis dialled in and the corner weighting done. Sean McClurg, who races a Chevron and ultra fast Lotus, and who specialises in this stuff came and did his magic.... 588kg's is with 35 litres of fuel, so we know actual weight is 565kg's. Not bad considering it has a full rollcage and fire extinguisher system installed. Not to mention that steel roof!

I also knew that if we didn't get Neil Melliard to do his magic I'd be forever trotting out the same lines, so Neil painted up the beautifully made M&Y display board. Watching this boy is poetry in motion...

Neil also painted up a couple of chassis tags, first for M&Y so they could join Ian's WPS as major partners, and then one I did off the cuff, just a simple badge with 'Okrasa Special' in the centre, and my name and David Small's in each corner. It felt appropriate he was acknowledged.

And then it was off to Impney! We arrived late on the Friday night, so the first time I got to sit in the car was rolling it off the trailer onto the grass. Before we did that we had the first of many celebrations that weekend!

The next morning I drove it (in first gear I hasten to add) across the campsite to the paddock where we set up for the weekend, all proudly wearing Okrasa Special' t-shirts Tom of threefiftysix had sorted for me... The lads from M&Y came over too as they seldom get to see their handy work being raced hard. They were chuffed to see it and it was brilliant they made the trip up from Portsmouth. Unfortunately they're not in this shot...

And then it was race time. In the assembly area just before the start line I must admit to having an 'oh shit' moment, realising that my first drive of the car was going to be up the hillclimb in front of a large crowd and with camera's and commentators rolling, but by then it was too late.

I had no idea how the car was going to handle or feel, let alone whether it was going to perform well, so it was very much a case of suck and see. Fortunately it launched straight and without drama, although it did take me by surprise how quickly it shot forward. Although only 1,300cc (it's still got the original Okrasa engine from 1958 with just 46 miles on it remember), the lack of weight meant it felt like it was being fired out a cannon. You sit much further forward than in a rear engined Porsche and the noise is just just shattering as the engine is just two inches behind your left shoulder. What I hadn't really appreciated either until I drove the car was that the drivers seat and steering wheel are located further into the centre line of the car to put the weight closer to the centre of the car. The passenger sits further outboard if you're carrying one, in a more conventional position. Anyway the car really didn't like being driven like a 356. After two runs I realised it required a much different style, so drove it with a lot more aggression, hustling it hard through the corners and carrying much more speed than I'd dare in the 356 or a 911. It responded well and I immediately knocked 3 seconds off the qualifying times...

And for me this is the money shot - just a fabulous photo I think encapsulating the essence of the car beautifully...

There's a bit of in-car footage on Instagram that I've posted if you want to get a sense of what it's like in the cockpit. Just look up kiwisteveinuk or Okrasaspecial.

To show the versatility and to put another marker in the history of the car, we did the school run in the car the next morning for my youngest son's last day at primary school (this gives you a real sense of how small the car is given he's 11...)

Next up is a circuit race, hopefully at Brands Hatch as part of the Porsche celebrations on 2 September if my entry is accepted, and then we're going to do a speed event somewhere and see how fast she will run when given a long stretch of tarmac with the foot buried to the floor...

Thanks to all of you for your support over the last ten (yes 10!) years. We've finally completed the first chapter in this story and are now writing the next. Until next time...

Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:53 pm

Awesome Steve - it's so good to see everyone's vision eventually making it to the track - what a first drive!! Congratulations to all involved; they must be absolutely stoked.

Good luck on the track.

Cheers, Dave

Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:58 pm

=D> =D> =D> =D>

Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:01 pm

The roof says Ghia, but the rest 356. Very nice!! I am sure if you want to go in the T shirt business you could sell a bunch here.

Fri Jul 13, 2018 1:18 am

Wow!!!! Congratulations and thanks for giving us all a chance to see this!

Car is so cool and sounds amazing! Neil is damn cool too!!

Fri Jul 13, 2018 5:19 am

Fantastic - hope to see it at Brands.