Post by PeterEllis on Oct 8, 2005 20:32:20 GMT
Around a month or so ago I just managed to be in the right place at the right time. I found a carbon tub Predator on ebay, firstly I was interested in the car as it had perfect condition first generation front and rear wings and decals AND the original 'Neon Orange' wheels. It was a really well laid out ad by the seller, then as I read further, the chassis nuber was listed at 31019 which seemed to ring a bell with me. When I checked up, sure enough I found this was the original car from the first Tenth Technology manual. To cut a long story short I put in a crazy bid and won the car. There was no buggy shell, prop shaft, motor mount or front diff or driveshafts but the rest was mint.
... here's what the seller e-mailed me ....
I acquired the predator about 12 or 13 years ago. I was at university studying mechanical engineering, my final year project was to take over the testing of the Tenth Tech cars. I say take over because I think the cars had already spent a some time being tested in the university wind tunnels. Myself and another student had to carry out wind tunnel testing on body shells for the car. We were working for a client. I can’t be 100% sure if it was Tenth Technology or a company manufacturing body shells for them but I always thought we were working for tenth tech themselves. Our university lecturer corresponded with the client and probably took all the credit for our work! We tested the buggy shell and two touring car shells. The touring car shells were an Alfa Romeo and a Vauxhall Calibra shell. During testing the Calibra shell was much better aerodynamically than the Alfa shell. We went on to set the rear wing on the Calibra to its optimum height and angle. Although I no longer have the test data (this went to the client) I do still have the Calibra shell you are welcome to that too if you would like it. It’s not in the best condition because we had to glue hundreds of tiny pipes and other things to it but it does have a lovely paint job. Let me know if you would like it. I don’t think it will affect the postage cost as the hardly weighs a thing! I had many questions about the cars past during the auction so you may be on to something. I had no idea it would attract so much interest, I thought it may be a useful source of spares to someone. I am quite sure that the car is an early prototype we had a couple of cars to test with, my mate kept the other one, I always intended to rebuild the car but never got round to it. Any way I hope this sheds some light on the cars past.
It tied up perfectly with my thoughts that the car was one of the first...
I asked a few more questions about the parts missing and a he replyed :
Looking at the car I think it has been driven a little but not since I have had it. It probably spent longer in the wind tunnel than it did on the track! I have never seen the front diff or drive shafts. I don't know for sure if the fixed wings on the buggy were definatly set at my Uni but it had certainly been in the wind tunnel before we got our hands on it so the chances are yes they probably were. We only tested the body shells and the wings on them. All the fittings to mount the car stayed with the university. The rear wing on the body I am sending to you was set and adjusted in the wind tunnel. It was done very crudely but still got the results.
I picked up the car yesterday and it looks fantastic, thumbing through the old manual I can pick out certain things beside the chassis number which match up perfectly. The car has a steering link with a curved centre in the tub (a bit like a calendar hanger) there are also extra holes drilled in the front and rear gearboxes that can be seen in the manual.
The upper front arms are not the very early unswept ones
as shown in the book, but the lower front arms are the single hole caster versions, one of the bits that really stand out are the (presumably) hand made white nylon front damper mounts located in the tub.
I will try and post some pics if anyones interested and I'll try and scan the manual too Chris.
... here's what the seller e-mailed me ....
I acquired the predator about 12 or 13 years ago. I was at university studying mechanical engineering, my final year project was to take over the testing of the Tenth Tech cars. I say take over because I think the cars had already spent a some time being tested in the university wind tunnels. Myself and another student had to carry out wind tunnel testing on body shells for the car. We were working for a client. I can’t be 100% sure if it was Tenth Technology or a company manufacturing body shells for them but I always thought we were working for tenth tech themselves. Our university lecturer corresponded with the client and probably took all the credit for our work! We tested the buggy shell and two touring car shells. The touring car shells were an Alfa Romeo and a Vauxhall Calibra shell. During testing the Calibra shell was much better aerodynamically than the Alfa shell. We went on to set the rear wing on the Calibra to its optimum height and angle. Although I no longer have the test data (this went to the client) I do still have the Calibra shell you are welcome to that too if you would like it. It’s not in the best condition because we had to glue hundreds of tiny pipes and other things to it but it does have a lovely paint job. Let me know if you would like it. I don’t think it will affect the postage cost as the hardly weighs a thing! I had many questions about the cars past during the auction so you may be on to something. I had no idea it would attract so much interest, I thought it may be a useful source of spares to someone. I am quite sure that the car is an early prototype we had a couple of cars to test with, my mate kept the other one, I always intended to rebuild the car but never got round to it. Any way I hope this sheds some light on the cars past.
It tied up perfectly with my thoughts that the car was one of the first...
I asked a few more questions about the parts missing and a he replyed :
Looking at the car I think it has been driven a little but not since I have had it. It probably spent longer in the wind tunnel than it did on the track! I have never seen the front diff or drive shafts. I don't know for sure if the fixed wings on the buggy were definatly set at my Uni but it had certainly been in the wind tunnel before we got our hands on it so the chances are yes they probably were. We only tested the body shells and the wings on them. All the fittings to mount the car stayed with the university. The rear wing on the body I am sending to you was set and adjusted in the wind tunnel. It was done very crudely but still got the results.
I picked up the car yesterday and it looks fantastic, thumbing through the old manual I can pick out certain things beside the chassis number which match up perfectly. The car has a steering link with a curved centre in the tub (a bit like a calendar hanger) there are also extra holes drilled in the front and rear gearboxes that can be seen in the manual.
The upper front arms are not the very early unswept ones
as shown in the book, but the lower front arms are the single hole caster versions, one of the bits that really stand out are the (presumably) hand made white nylon front damper mounts located in the tub.I will try and post some pics if anyones interested and I'll try and scan the manual too Chris.
as they're exposed to the airflow, but it wouldn't make much difference