Hey Speedhunters, it’s 11pm here in Ireland and we are loading the van and finishing off all those things that seem to take so much time when you’re packing for a trip. We have a 9am ferry to catch tomorrow morning to the UK, then to France and all the way to Norway…

There’s just time to look at the final build pictures of the D-Mac86 in its Evolution 2 form.

A lot of time has been spent routing the various AN lines for oil, fuel, brake fluid and vacuum. We made this pretty tasty carbon panel to allow the various lines to enter the cabin. Sorry about the poor quality…

Our ‘Godzilla’ brake upgrade is complete. We called it the Godzilla kit because we are using Skyline GTR brakes.

The cockpit has been closed off from the heat of the radiator and plumes of Falken Tire smoke with carbon-fibre and clear Lexan panelling.

Our NASCAR track bar or panhard bar adjusters are in place and we have also changed spring-rate on our D-Mac/AVO double adjustable rear coilovers.

The Skyline rear brakes have also been fitted along with zinc-plated link arms. And yes I know the disk is on the wrong side…

Up front we have new AE86 tension rod pivot relocation brackets available now. They allow the aftermarket tension rod to pivot in the correct factory position. We will look at this in a little more detail below.

These are the alloy brackets for the GTR calipers. Space is tight, but everything fits snug inside the floating rotors.

Here are the tension rod pivot relocation brackets again mocked up on our new and eagerly-awaited D-Mac Spec lower control arms. The tension rod brackets are powder-coated black for a durable finish and mount the anti-roll bar without have to remove the bracket, unlike the factory ones.

The tension rod comes with an extra-long adjuster in situ to make up the difference in length, meaning that if you do purchase the D-Mac Spec lower control arms you can upgrade to the relocated bracket and still use the same control arms.

Here are the new D-Mac Spec AE86 lower control arms. Electro-plated for a durable long-lasting anti corrosion finish, they have in situ adjustment on the outside to give greater clearance so wider wheels can be used and caliper-to-tension rod clearance is increased. Extra track can also be added to the inner heim if needed and there is also a heim used for the anti-rollbar link. We use a very strong single bolt pivot to connect the lower control arm to the tension rod, so you don’t end up with the bolts binding when adding track, like in  the factory two-bolt system.

We have also added a lockstop  to the rear of the arms so you can prevent your steering from going over centre on a drift car. Alloy plates can be added to stop the steering at the correct location and the alloy plate also prevents the arm getting scratched and rusting. And the good news for Silvia owners is that we are making D-Mac Spec lower control arms for you next!

Okay, so we mentioned the steering going over-centre above, and here we have the solution to getting mega steering angle and not getting the steering stuck on full lock. We have a pair of offset rack spacers available now for the AE86, and also pictured above is our prototype steering knuckle we will be testing at Gatebil.

This was the engine two days ago still awaiting a turbo, etc. We have a pretty trick water pump delete on the front which routes the coolant pipes rearward. We have concentrated a lot on weight distribution for the second evolution. Small things like this make all the difference.

All the aluminium panels from last year have been replaced with carbon fibre and the silver on carbon of the inside looks really great I think.

These pics were taken about 15 hours ago as the interior really came together. Again, everything just works so much better this time around.

I love this car minus all the exterior panels just as much as I love it with them. I don’t think an AE86 chassis can get much better than this… time will tell I suppose!

The car is a bit lopsided as the ride heights haven’t been set, but this is the rear. It doesn’t get more purpose-built than this.

Another shot of the rear brakes with adjustable anti-roll bar added.

I’m not in love with the shape of the turbo to intercooler pipe, and thinking of reworking it when we return from Gatebil. It looks like Fred Flintstone’s telephone at the moment…

The engine bay is now complete and I’m loving it. It would have been nice to have a bit more time to paint some stuff, but so be it. We really concentrated on moving as many things as possible to the passenger side (right-hand) of the engine as rotaries are very right side heavy and we’ve done such a good job it’s now a pain in the ass to change plugs.

I really wanted to make the exhaust manifold as short as possible to increase response this year over the long runner equal manifold we had last year. We are also using a Tial stainless steel exhaust housing, which should increase response further and lower the power band on the Hayward Rotary Bridgeport. The turbo oil and water lines are now very short, simple and easily accessible. I’m going to put a 120-degree fitting on the oil feed when we return though.

Here is the obligatory steering angle shot with the D-Mac arms and knuckles fitted. We will be capable of making more with a few tweaks, but more importantly the geometry has remained correct and ackerman hasn’t been deleted like so many other brands out there. We will push the limits of the D-Mac steering setup when we return to Ireland, but overall the driver feel and feedback has been given preference over just getting as much steering angle as possible for the sake of it and ruining the car. We are also using the front of the car to generate rear grip, so this cannot be forgotten.

Here is a closer look at the dry sump oil pump and AN lines. There is also an alternator hidden under there. Alternators aren’t really sexy are they, so we mounted it out of sight. We are also using a Ting alternator which is a significant weight saving over the stock Mazda one.

A good thing about AE86 front struts is they can be mounted on the left or the right and it allows you to put the brake calipers in front or behind of the wheel centre. We mounted the calipers on the rear, again for weight distribution. We are not using the original brake hose mount on the struts, which would be the only problem with mounting the right strut on the left-hand side

Finally this is the passenger footwell as we finish the interior wiring. The OBP oil tank sits as low as possible in the chassis and is also off-setting the weight of the driver on the left-hand side.

Sorry if my explanations were a bit short but I’m shattered and my brain isn’t working so well! Okay… we’ve got to head to the ferry in three hours. Speedhunters… Gatebil here we come!

D-Mac