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Enterprising students are aiming to take pole
position by building a new high-performance Tiger
Cat kit car.
Motor vehicle students at South Cheshire College
are gearing up to piece together the highly-tuned
model from scratch.
The programme, which is expected to take between
12 and 18 months to complete, is being tackled
by first and second year Motor Vehicle students.
MARCH
2005 - Kit Car
Unveiled at Show
Proud students were in top gear when they unveiled their
new Tiger Cat kit car at one of the country's biggest car
shows.
First and second year Motor Vehicle students at South Cheshire
College took their high-performance motor to the Car
Craft event at Stafford's County Showground.
Over 20 students have been busy building the new vehicle
since October 2004 and have made fantastic progress by
almost completing it within six months.
Sponsors from local garages have backed the project which
has given students the chance to tackle a live project
and build a kit car from scratch.
Dave Brooks from Crewe-based Dave Brooks engines has handed
over car parts worth up to £3,000.
His donations include a donor engine, pistons and other
important parts including Cosworth con rods a cylinder
head and a competition camshaft.
Popular garage in Crewe have also helped out by donating
a gear box while the Smithy Garage in Haslington have handed
over an engine which students have used to create spare
parts.
Crewe firm Howard Basford also generously agreed to paint
the bodywork of the vehicle.
During the two-day Car Craft event Motor Vehicle staff
and students showed off their new set of wheels and mingled
with other incredible cars which were on show.
The annual event attracts kit car manufacturers, racers,
glorious classic cars, street machines and niche models
from the major car producers.
Student Kit Car Project Manager Josie Armitage has been
responsible for pulling the kit car project together.
She said: "It has been a fantastic project and everyone
has pulled their weight to get the car completed in such
a short space of time.
"I've found that taking on a project like this gives you
a real buzz because we have seen the car taking shape from
next to nothing.
"About 20 students have worked on the project but we have
often stayed behind after college or worked on the car
in our spare time because we've found it so enjoyable.
"It almost becomes a hobby as well as a project. We are
really proud that we have almost completed the car within
six months - even though we gave ourselves 18 months to
finish it.
"I definitely want to do something like this again and
I think if I was to do it again putting the car together
would be so much easier because you learn what to do as
you go along."
Tiger Cats hold the speed record by reaching 0-60 miles
per hour (mph) in just 2.9 seconds.
Motor Vehicle Lecturer Matt Duncalf said:
"This has been an excellent project and students can be
extremely proud of what they have achieved now it is almost
complete.
"The Car Craft event was a chance to celebrate all the
hard work which has gone into the car and display it alongside
some of the country's finest motors."
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