Complete Kit Car – September 2019

READER’S BUILD

82 September 2019 http://www.completekitcar.co.uk

plumbed in it can oh so easily provide almost double

that output.

Originally the engine was fitted with a mechanical

fuel pump – Russ prefers mechanical simplicity over

electronic complexity – but it just wasn’t reliable,

so the system was rebuilt with twin Aeromotive

Phantom electronic units. The idea behind this

dual pump system being that one pump takes care

of fuel and the other handles the nitrous oxide –

simple but effective. Well sort of, as occasionally the

Phaeton would suffer from fuel starvation on the

track due to the sintered bronze filters becoming

clogged, however, the replacement stainless gauze

items appear to work much better. The only job

Russ has left to do under the bonnet is change from

0.8mm piping to 1mm, as the pumps occasionally

run hot on longer road runs due to the high pressure

of the system.

With such a ferocious engine powering it, the

Dutton is capable of hitting over 150mph by the end

of the quarter-mile, which means it needs equally

formidable brakes to bring it to a halt. Russ found

the perfect tools for the job in a set from a Ford

Sierra Cosworth and used spacers to fit the much

larger calipers to the Triumph derived front, and

Ford derived rear suspension assemblies.

While there he uprated the suspension with the

fitment of stronger Ford Transit drop links and

adjustable springs and dampers. But even with these

changes the engine was far too heavy for the car

to cope and its front weight bias was easily visible

due to the steep angle of the body. The standard

springs were simply not up to the task of holding

the Chevrolet unit above the ground, so before

the sump took a beating Russ had a set of custom

thicker coils made for the car. As it turned out the

foreman at the plant – which was more used to

manufacturing springs for industrial applications –

had owned a Dutton in his youth and was more than

happy to assist in producing parts for what could be

the ultimate example of the breed. This heavy duty

engineering approach would continue at the rear of

the Phaeton.

As Russ puts it, “With this level of power the

strip always finds, or at least tries to find, the weakest

mechanical point.” This problem was perhaps no

more evident than in the Mustang sourced rear axle

that often ended a weekend with distorted halfshafts

and ended its life with a blown casing. It just wasn’t

capable of transmitting up to 1100bhp to the track

on a regular basis. A suitable replacement was soon

found in an American pick-up truck assembly that

Russ purchased from a local swap meet. But even in

standard form this behemoth of an axle wouldn’t be

strong enough, so he took it down to Hauser Racing

in Wellingborough for shortening and strengthening.

However, as soon as he saw the specialist drag racing

equipment on the walls he couldn’t pass up the

opportunity to have Hauser build him a specific axle

instead. “It was like being a kid in a sweet shop,”

explains Russ as he ordered his modular aluminium

• still truck derived – cased axle and differential.
  The Trutrack differential was a particularly good
  choice as its weapons-grade helical gears not only
  afforded better cornering on the road but also, more
  importantly, allowed him to perform much neater
  and impressive burnouts on the strip.
  Like most other motorsports, drag racing comes
  with its own regulations and safety standards but, as
  opposed to being class by class, they’re mostly time
  and speed dependent. This means that as the Dutton
  performs faster runs on the strip, scrutineers become
  increasingly vigilant and demanding in the name of
  safety. Particular attention in the past was given to
  the Dutton’s roll-cage and crash structure which, in
  standard form, wasn’t up to the task of protecting its
  occupants from the forces involved in a typical drag
  race shunt. This meant that the Phaeton’s chassis
  needed significant bracing as well as a full-cage
  fabricating, which was all outsourced to a friend
  in the drag racing community. As I’ll explain in a
  second, Russ was happy to make these changes but
  the ever moving goalposts does mean it’s unlikely
  that the Dutton will ever perform a run that’s below

New larger engine was a tight fit.

The rollcage improved and evolved with the car.

Repaired chassis awaiting its new body.

Accident damage comes with the drag territory.

Substantial rear axle originates from an American...

The new body was painted by a friend.

New rear was moulded from another Phaeton.

...pick-up truck which means it’s extremely tough.

Racing propshaft is yet another heavy component.

080 Readers build.indd 82 01/08/2019 12:49 pm