DUTTON PHAETON
http://www.completekitcar.co.uk September 2019 83This would have been the storage space but... ...nitrous is a must for any respectable drag car....their lower positioning is far more suited to racing.Luso seats replace the original bench...From this angle the Phaeton looks like any well finished Dutton. Many wouldn’t guess what’s underneath.8.5sec – which it’s perilously close to achieving.
This is because as soon as the barrier is consistently
crossed, Russ will be expected to fit a complex, heavy
and expensive deployable parachute to the car.
But, like all race builds, safety must come first
and, while accidents have thankfully been a rare
occurrence, they do still happen and not long
after fitting the new engine Russ’s son Shaun hit
the barrier on a slippy winter run. Thankfully the
damage to both Shaun and the Dutton was mainly
superficial, but it did leave the rear bodywork in
a sorry looking state and in need of repair. A new
mould was created from a different Phaeton’s back-
end, which was then modified to create its wider
arches and integrated mudguards, which gave the car
the beefed-up proportions it still has today. While
Russ always intended for the Phaeton to look as
close to a standard Dutton as possible, he hasn’t been
afraid to make alterations in the name of both safety
and improving the fit and finish of the occasionally
patchy build that’s expected of the bargain marque.
One area Russ wasn’t particularly happy with
being the Phaeton’s original interior. He felt its
moulded-in bench seat was particularly poor, with its
driving position being more akin to sitting on the carthan in it, which didn’t suit the sporting pretensions
one bit. Russ’s solution was to cut out the ageing
fibreglass innards and fabricate a new cockpit from
fire retardant aluminium instead. The templates
were all made from waste cardboard before the
aluminium sheets were ordered, jigsawed to size and
bent into shape. The new flat floor made the perfect
foundation for the subsequent racing seats, the most
recent of which being a pair from Luso Motors,
that transformed the Dutton’s driving position. That
wasn’t all that changed, however, as the standard
flickering ’80s Ford dials were not best suited to a
sport which requires quick reactions and therefore
a steady minute hand. The Autometer dials chosen
may look comically sized to some but, when the
speedo needle is lapping the dial in mere seconds,
it makes sense to have the clearest display possible.
Finally what drag car would be complete without a
nitrous boost computer? Well not this one at least
and from inside all pressures, percentages and delays
can be changed on the fly to suit conditions on the
day. This really is an unbelievably capable bit of
classic kit and we shall take a closer look at what it’s
like on both road and track when we revisit Russ’s
Phaeton in the next issue.Paint: Pokies Paintshop, Logic
Works, Dewsbury Road,
Ossett WF5 9QF.
T: 01924 283999.
F: http://www.facebook.com/pokiespaintshopDrivetrain: Shafiroff Racing, 35 Davinci Drive,
Bohemia, New York 11716, USA.
T: 01933 682500.
W: http://www.hauserracing.comEngine: Shafiroff Racing, 35 Davinci Drive,
Bohemia, New York 11716, USA.
T: (001) 631 218 7530.
W: http://www.shafiroff.comLighting and electrical: Europa Spares,
Fauld Industrial Park, Tutbury,
Burton-on-Trent, DE13 9HS.
T: 01283 815609.
E: [email protected]
W: http://www.europaspares.comUSEFUL CONTACTS
080 Readers build.indd 83 01/08/2019 12:49 pm