Home / Ariel Atom / Improvements / Misc Stuff 54
Misc minor changes, modifications, and upgrades.
- Hankook Ventus Z211 Tires
Hankook Ventus Z211 tires. Gripped OK and were long-wearing on street, and were decent in rain with full tread. Were also OK on the track, but didn't heat up properly for autocross (due to the Atom's low weight). - license plate fasteners
License plate fasteners installed. Drilled holes, then used a nibbler to square off holes prior to installing black plastic inserts. - gray zip ties
All black zip ties that were used on the frame were replaced with gray/silver and it looks much better. - added fuel fill drain holes
Added water drain holes (lit from underside for photo) to cure this. - magnetic oil plug
Picked up a magnetic oil drain plug from my local GM dealer (on left). It was an OEM part, although the parts guy thought it may be discontinued. - wilwood speedbleeders
For Wilwood Dynalite calipers, size is 1/4 - 28, Russel part # 639540, Speedbleeder part # SB1428. Screw on top is stock. - pbr speedbleeders
For PBR rear calipers, size is 10mm X 1.0, Russel part # 639590, Speedbleeder part # SB1010, Help! part # 12701 (from Advanced Auto). Both screws in photo are stock. - bias control bracket
A bracket was fabricated for a Tilton brake bias control. - bias control finished
Bracket powdercoated in satin black, and Tilton brake bias control installed. - steering spacer
A 2-inch steering wheel spacer was fabricated from some spare aluminum and powdercoated. - falken azenis rt-615
I tried a set of Falken Azenis RT-615 tires for autocross and street duty, but they weren't very well suited to the car. - fender clearance 1
Stock rear fender clearance (leading edge) after mounting Falken Azenis RT-615 225-50-16 tires. - fender clearance 2
Stock rear fender clearance (trailing edge) after mounting Falken Azenis RT-615 225-50-16 tires. - hot lap 1
Hot Lap lap timer display. Bracket was fabricated and attached to tub using riveted threaded inserts. - hot lap 2
Hot Lap lap timer infrared receiver located behind seat. - fender spacers
I cut a bunch of varying thicknesses of aluminum to act as front fender spacers, so the fender aligns with the outer edge of the tire better. Photo taken after pieces were abrasive blasted. - fender spacers powdercoated
Aluminum fender spacers after powdercoating satin black. - fender spacers installed
- fender spacers - before and after
Before (left) and after (right) fender spacer installation. Aaah, much better after removing that gap. - dash - before
Dash layout before modification. - dash - after
Layout of dash after adding brake bias control (to easiest-to-reach location) and relocating headlight control. Never-used fog light control relocated behind dash. - steering shaft
View of steering shaft and U-joint after unfastening it from dash crossmember. - steering - old bushings
Steering shaft and old plastic bushings. The bushings are being replaced due to squeaking, binding, and excessive slop. - steering - new bushing
Steering shaft and new bronze bushing. More info on the process HERE. - toyo r888 - side
Toyo R888 245/45/16 on 7" wide Team Dynamics wheel.