So at about 8:15 am this morning Graham arrived with the Ultima trailer in tow to collect my soon to be rolling chassis.  The first job was to get a set of wheels onto the chassis, these wheels are just the temporary ones used by the factory for shifting the chassis around.  These went on without a fuss and the chassis was ready to be rolling for the first time...

So after a well earned cup of tea and with the help of Steve and Nigel (thanks guys) the chassis was lowered to the floor.  Damn was it heavy all those bits bolted on soon seem to add up...

The next job was getting the chassis up on to the trailer and with the guidance of Graham the chassis (I think I can call it a car now) rolled gently into place...

With the chassis, sorry car, now on its way to Hinckley I was left with just one thing...

So that's it for now, I'm off to see Ted tomorrow and then on up to Donington.  Next Post will be Monday with pics from the factory and the GT Championship...

PS. To Celebrate the completion of the rolling chassis and the start of body fit (by Ultima) I have made a few changes to the site

So early on Saturday morning I made the trip up to the Ultima Factory to see if my rolling chassis had made it safe and sound. As I was a little early (read 'excited!') I had a short wait before Ted arrived, although I knew that he was on his way as I could hear him! The sound alone of the Ultima in the distance was enough to remind me why I was building one. The yellow Can-Am then roared into the small industrial estate and Ted had truly arrived (in style). Although there was no need for words (you could tell from the smile on his face) Ted confirmed that even after some 16 years of driving Ultimas they still continued to give him a buzz...

After we both grabbed a coffee it was down to business, first off was the hard part (the money), but when the product is as good as this you certainly feel that 'you get what you pay for'. With the finances out of the way I could concentrate on my list of questions of which I had a few. I won't highlight them all but I have updated the My Car section to reflect some of the additional purchases/decisions made while I was there. The other questions were all regarding my rolling chassis, this was the bit I was a little unsure about as now was the time I was going to find out what Ultima thought about the build quality of my chassis. Hopefully I quote correctly, 'You've made a lovely job' was the words that Ted used. After suggesting that he may say that to everyone and getting a black look and the answer 'NO', I couldn't help be feel a little pleased with myself. Not forgetting the massive amount of effort that my father has put in (thanks Dad) and the considerable support that I have had from the factory (Thanks!). It's statements like that, that make all the hard work worth it.
 

After all the questions were done Ted had a little trump card up his sleeve as right behind me was my gleaming red body waiting to go. Looked damn good to and from what I could see it was almost ready for fitment, so hopefully it will be ready in time for the factory open day on Sunday 27th April. With the piccies in hand it was time to leave my baby to the professionals and be on my way to Donington for the GT Championship. Ted has agreed to take some pics of the body full fit so the next updates will be as and when I receive them. Next Donington...

Annette and I then made our way up towards Donington for a weekend of racing. We had recently purchased a new tent and were keen to see what it was going to be like. We weren't disappointed the tent is massive, a little big for two as you can see from the pic below, but should be good for later in the season (Chris, Dave and Geoff take note).

One of the main reasons we were there is that we knew an Ultima would be taking part and were keen to see how it was going to fare. Unfortunately on Saturday it was a complete no show (sniff, sniff). But we did come across another car that caught our eye and eventually won, it was a Mosler MT900 and a damn fine looking car it was, sounded pretty awesome too.

On Sunday the beast emerged and after talking with the team it became apparent that they had only arrived at the circuit at midnight on Saturday due to major engine probs. They were now suffering from water in the fuel!, but hoped to make the start of the race albeit at the back of the grid on Sunday. And start they did in the first lap the Ultima passed 5 other cars, unfortunately that was the only lap that it did as it pulled into the pit-lane on the next lap never to be seen again. Oh well the potential was obviously there so we will have to wait until the next race at Snetterton on the 20th April. In the meantime here are some piccies...

Oops!, forgot the last few links, sorted now...

First up today is news from the other side of the world (Australia).  Quite a few mails come in each week from people around the world, but this one was a little different and after asking, Jim has agreed for me to post an article.  Jim had been following the site for some time and decided it was time to share a little more info about his project.  No he's not building an Ultima (shoot that man!) but he is doing something far crazier than that, for he is building/designing his own self assembly car from scratch (mad man!).  The spec of the car can be found here and sounds good to me and below you can see some of the piccies that Jim has sent me.  Jim has stressed that the project is still in the early stages but it his dream in the making, we all wish you the best of luck.

Keep us posted of the progress...

As for Ultima news, very little I'm afraid.  Ted has assured me that the boys up at the factory are finishing all the other jobs up to allow them to concentrate on the most important GTR of all (hehehehehe)...

In the mean time I have been sourcing some additional parts for the dash, this consists of a starter button, indicator switch and the remote control system!!??.

More next week...

Well still no news on the progress of my body fit I'm afraid, will keep you posted throughout this week.  In the mean time pictured below is the new home for my GTR as it has now outgrown the single garage that the build was started in.

There will also be a full update on Monday following the Ultima factory open day on Sunday 27th April.

The Latest is...

Having spoken to Richard at Ultima today the latest news is that due to the factory having a vast amount of work on over the last few weeks my GTR is still in is rolling chassis form.  The chassis will be on display at the Open Day where my father and I will also be.  Hope to see you all there...

On Show...

So on Sunday my father and I made the trip to Hinckley home of Ultima Sports Ltd, as our GTR rolling chassis was going to be there for all to see. There were around 20 or so Ultimas on show and some damn fine examples there were too. In particular the two GTRs at the far end, one yellow the other red were particularly impressive. It was a good opportunity to see the mods that others had made to their cars, also it was nice to put a few faces to the emails that I have got over the last 6 months.

So to the rolling chassis then. I must confess that although I knew that the chassis was going to be there on the day, I was surprised to find that it was in the centre of the factory floor. When we arrived there were over a dozen people stood around the chassis, pointing, photographing, videoing and even some steering was taking place (oi get off, that's mine that is!). I think my father couldn't help but feeling a little chuffed with ourselves and thanks guys for your kind words and words of encouragement. The chassis will also be on display at the National Kit Car Show 2003 at Stoneleigh and I will also be around on one of the days, not sure which one as yet.

So it will still be a little while before my body full fit takes place, but work will start after the car returns from Stoneleigh (fingers crossed)...

Next update on Monday, details from Stoneleigh, until then...